A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18) by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18)

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"There are several sorts of birds, but all so scarce and shy, that they
are evidently harrassed by the natives, who, perhaps, draw much of their
subsistence from them. In the woods, the principal sorts are large brown
hawks or eagles; crows, nearly the same as ours in England; yellowish
paroquets; and large pigeons. There are also three or four small birds,
one of which is of the thrush kind; and another small one, with a pretty
long tail, has part of the head and neck of a most beautiful azure
colour; from whence we named it _motacilla cyanea_. On the shore were
several common and sea gulls; a few black oyster-catchers, or sea-pies;
and a pretty plover of a stone colour, with a black hood. About the pond
or lake behind the beach, a few wild-ducks were seen; and some shags
used to perch upon the high leafless trees near the shore."

"Some pretty large blackish snakes were seen in the woods; and we killed
a large, hitherto unknown, lizard, fifteen inches long, and six round,
elegantly clouded with black and yellow; besides a small sort, of a
brown gilded colour above, and rusty below."

"The sea affords a much greater plenty, and at least as great a variety,
as the land. Of these the elephant fish, or _pejegallo_, mentioned in
Frezier's voyage,[136] are the most numerous; and though inferior to
many other fish, were very palatable food. Several large rays, nurses,
and small leather-jackets, were caught; with some small white bream,
which were firmer and better than those caught in the lake. We likewise
got a few soles and flounders; two sorts of gurnards, one of them a new
_species_; some small spotted mullet; and, very unexpectedly, the small
fish with a silver band on its side, called _atherina hipsetus_ by
Hasseiquist."[137]

[Footnote 136: Tom. ii. p. 211. 12mo. Planche XVII.]

[Footnote 137: _Iter Palastinum_.]

"But that next in number, and superior in goodness, to the elephant
fish, was a sort none of us recollected to have seen before. It partakes
of the nature both of a round and of a flat fish, having the eyes placed
very near each other; the fore-part of the body much flattened or
depressed, and the rest rounded. It is of a brownish sandy colour, with
rusty spots on the upper part, and whitish below. From the quantity of
slime it was always covered with, it seems to live after the manner of
flat fish, at the bottom."

"Upon the rocks are plenty of muscles, and some other small shell-fish.
There are also great numbers of sea-stars; some small limpets; and large
quantities of sponge; one sort of which, that is thrown on shore by the
sea, but not very common, has a most delicate texture; and another, is
the _spongia dichotoma_."

"Many pretty _Medusa's heads_ were found upon the beach; and the
stinking _laplysia_ or sea-hare, which, as mentioned by some authors,
has the property of taking off the hair by the acrimony of its juice;
but this sort was deficient in this respect."

"Insects, though not numerous, are here in considerable variety. Amongst
them are grasshoppers, butterflies, and several sorts of small moths,
finely variegated. There are two sorts of dragon-flies, gad-flies,
camel-flies; several sorts of spiders; and some scorpions; but the last
are rather rare. The most troublesome, though not very numerous tribe of
insects, are the musquitoes; and a large black ant, the pain of whose
bite is almost intolerable, during the short time it lasts. The
musquitoes, also, make up the deficiency of their number, by the
severity of their venomous _proboscis_."

"The inhabitants whom we met with here, had little of that fierce or
wild appearance common to people in their situation; but, on the
contrary, seemed mild and cheerful, without reserve or jealousy of
strangers. This, however, may arise from their having little to lose or
care for."

"With respect to personal activity or genius, we can say but little of
either. They do not seem to possess the first in any remarkable degree;
and as for the last, they have, to appearance, less than even the
half-animated inhabitants of Terra del Fuego, who have not invention
sufficient to make clothing for defending themselves from the rigour of
their climate, though furnished with the materials. The small stick,
rudely pointed, which one of them carried in his hand, was the only
thing we saw that required any mechanical exertion, if we except the
fixing on the feet of some of them pieces of _kangooroo_ skin, tied with
thongs; though it could not be learnt whether these were in use as
shoes, or only to defend some sore. It must be owned, however, they are
masters of some contrivance in the manner of cutting their arms and
bodies in lines of different lengths and directions, which are raised
considerably above the surface of the skin, so that it is difficult to
guess the method they use in executing this embroidery of their persons.
Their not expressing that surprise which one might have expected from
their seeing men so much unlike themselves, and things, to which, we
were well assured, they had been hitherto utter strangers; their
indifference for our presents; and their general inattention; were
sufficient proofs of their not possessing any acuteness of
understanding."

"Their colour is a dull black, and not quite so deep as that of the
African negroes. It should seem also, that they sometimes heightened
their black colour, by smutting their bodies; as a mark was left behind
on any clean substance, such as white paper, when they handled it. Their
hair, however, is perfectly woolly, and it is clotted or divided into
small parcels, like that of the Hottentots, with the use of some sort of
grease, mixed with a red paint or ochre, which they smear in great
abundance over their heads. This practice, as some might imagine, has
not the effect of changing their hair into the frizzling texture we
observed; for, on examining the head of a boy, which appeared never to
have been smeared, I found the hair to be of the same kind. Their noses,
though not flat, are broad and full. The lower part of the face projects
a good deal, as is the case of more Indians I have seen; so that a line
let fall from the forehead would cut off a much larger portion, than it
would in Europeans. Their eyes are of a middling size, with the white
less clear than in us; and though not remarkably quick or piercing, such
as give a frank cheerful cast to the whole countenance. Their teeth are
broad, but not equal, nor well set; and, either from nature or from
dirt, not of so true a white as is usual among people of a black colour.
Their mouths are rather wide; but this appearance seems heightened by
wearing their beards long, and clotted with paint, in the same manner as
the hair on their heads. In other respects, they are well-proportioned;
though the belly seems rather projecting. This may be owing to the want
of compression there, which few nations do not use, more or less. The
posture of which they seem fondest, is to stand with one side forward,
or the upper part of the body gently reclined, and one hand grasping
(across the back) the opposite arm, which hangs down by the projecting
side."

"What the ancient poets tell us of _Fauns_ and _Satyrs_ living in hollow
trees, is here realized. Some wretched constructions of sticks, covered
with bark, which do not even deserve the name of huts, were indeed found
near the shore in the bay; but these seemed only to have been erected
for temporary purposes; and many of their largest trees were converted
into more comfortable habitations. These had their trunks hollowed out
by fire, to the height of six or seven feet; and that they take up their
abode in them sometimes, was evident from the hearths, made of clay, to
contain the fire in the middle, leaving room for four or five persons to
sit round it.[138] At the same time, these places of shelter are
durable; for they take care to leave one side of the tree sound, which
is sufficient to keep it growing as luxuriantly as those which remain
untouched."

[Footnote 138: Tasman, when in the bay of Frederick Henry, adjoining to
Adventure Bay, found two trees, one of which was two fathoms, and the
other two fathoms and a half in girth, and sixty or sixty-five feet
high, from the root to the branches.--See his Voyage, in Harris's
Collection, Campbell's Edition, vol. i. p. 326.--D.]

"The inhabitants of this place are, doubtless, from the same stock with
those of the northern parts of New Holland. Though some of the
circumstances mentioned by Dampier, relative to those he met with on the
western coast of this country, such as their defective sight, and want
of fore-teeth, are not found here; and though Hawkesworth's account of
those met with by Captain Cook on the east side, shews also that they
differ in many respects; yet still, upon the whole, I am persuaded that
distance of place, entire separation, diversity of climate, and length
of time, all concurring to operate, will account for greater
differences, both as to their persons and as to their customs, than
really exist between our Van Diemen's Land natives, and those described
by Dampier, and in Captain Cook's first voyage. This is certain, that
the figure of one of those seen in Endeavour River, and represented in
Sidney Parkinson's Journal of that voyage, very much resembles our
visitors in Adventure Bay. That there is not the like resemblance in
their language, is a circumstance that need not create any difficulty.
For though the agreement of the languages of people living distant from
each other, may be assumed as a strong argument for their having sprung
from one common source, disagreement of language is by no means a proof
of the contrary."[139]

[Footnote 139: The ingenious author of _Recherches sur les Americains_
illustrates the grounds of this assertion in the following satisfactory
manner: "C'est quelque chose de surprenant, que la foule des idiomes,
tous varies entr'eux, que parlent les naturels de l'Amerique
Septentrionale. Qu'on reduise ces idiomes a des racines qu'on les
simplifie, qu'on en separe les dialectes et les jargons derives, il en
resulte toujours cinq ou six languesmeres, respectivement
incomprehensibles. On a observe la meme singularite dans la Siberie et
la Tartarie, ou le nombre des idiomes, et les dialectes, est egalement
multiplie; et rien n'est plus commun, que d'y voir deux hordes voisines
qui ne se comprennent point. On retrouve cette meme multiplicite de
jargons dans toutes les Provinces de l'Amerique Meridionale." [He might
also have included Africa.] "Il y a beaucoup d'apparence que _la vie
sauvage, en dispersant les hommes par petites troupes isolees dans des
bois epais, occasione necessairement cette grande diversite des
langues_, dont le nombre diminue a mesure que la societe, en rassemblant
les barbares vagabonds, en forme un corps de nation. Alors l'idiome le
plus riche, ou le moins panvre en mots, devient dominant, et absorbe les
autres." Tom. i. p. 159, 160.--D.]

"However, we must have a far more intimate acquaintance with the
languages spoken here, and in the more northern parts of New Holland,
before we can be warranted to pronounce that they are totally different.
Nay, we have good grounds for the opposite opinion; for we found that
the animal called _kangooroo_ at Endeavour river, was known under the
same name here; and I need not observe, that it is scarcely possible to
suppose that this was not transmitted from one another, but accidentally
adopted by two nations, differing in language and extraction. Besides,
as it seems very improbable that the Van Diemen's Land inhabitants
should have ever lost the use of canoes or sailing vessels, if they had
been originally conveyed thither by sea, we must necessarily admit that
they, as well as the _kangooroo_ itself, have been stragglers by land
from the more northern parts of the country. And if there be any force
in this observation, while it traces the origin of the people, it will,
at the same time, serve to fix another point, if Captain Cook and
Captain Furneaux have not already decided it, that New Holland is no
where totally divided by the sea into islands, as some have
imagined."[140]

[Footnote 140: The reader is aware of the erroneous opinion generally
entertained at this time, of Van Diemen's Land being connected with the
continent of New Holland. He will therefore modify the remark above
given, as to its inhabitants being stragglers by land from the more
northern parts of the country. It is of some consequence also to inform
him, that in the visit of D'Entrecasteaux, it was found that the people
who inhabited the shores of the channel were in possession of bark
canoes.--E.]

"As the New Hollanders seem all to be of the same extraction, so neither
do I think there is any thing peculiar in them. On the contrary, they
much resemble many of the inhabitants whom I have seen at the islands
Tanna and Mallicolla. Nay, there is even some foundation for hazarding a
supposition, that they may have originally come from the same place with
all the inhabitants of the South Sea. For, of only about ten words which
we could get from them, that which expresses _cold_, differs little from
that of New Zealand and Otaheite; the first being _Mallareede_, the
second _Makkareede_, and the third _Mareede_. The rest of our very
scanty Van Diemen's Land Vocabulary is as follows:

Quadne, _A woman._
Everai, _The eye._
Muidje, _The nose._
Kamy, _The teeth, mouth, or tongue_.
Laerenne, _A small bird, a native of the woods here_.
Koygee, _The ear_.
Noonga, _Elevated scars on the body_.
Teegera, _To eat_.
Togarago, _I must begone,_ or, _I will go_.

"Their pronunciation is not disagreeable; but rather quick; though not
more so than is that of other nations of the South Sea; and, if we may
depend upon the affinity of languages as a clue to guide us in
discovering the origin of nations, I have no doubt but we shall find, on
a diligent enquiry, and when opportunities offer to collect accurately a
sufficient number of these words, and to compare them, that all the
people from New Holland, eastward to Easter Island, have been derived
from the same common root."[141]

[Footnote 141: We find Mr Anderson's notions on this subject conformable
to those of Mr Marsden, who has remarked, "that one general language
prevailed (however mutilated and changed in the course of time)
throughout all this portion of the world, from Madagascar to the most
distant discoveries eastward; of which the Malay is a dialect, much
corrupted or refined by a mixture of other tongues. This very extensive
similarity of language indicates a common origin of the inhabitants; but
the circumstances and progress of their separation are wrapped in the
darkest veil of obscurity."--_History of Sumatra_, p. 35.

See also his very curious paper, read before the Society of Antiquaries,
and published in their _Archaeologia_, vol. vi, p. 155; where his
sentiments on this subject are explained more at large, and illustrated
by two Tables of corresponding Words.--D.]

SECTION VII.

_The Passage from Van Diemen's Land to New Zealand.--Employments in
Queen Charlotte's Sound.--Transactions with the Natives
there.--Intelligence about the Massacre of the Adventure's Boat's
Crew.--Account of the Chief who headed the Party on that occasion.--Of
the two young Men who embark to attend Omai.--Various Remarks on the
Inhabitants.--Astronomical and Nautical Observations._

At eight o'clock in the morning of the 30th of January, a light breeze
springing up at W., we weighed anchor, and put to sea from Adventure
Bay. Soon after, the wind veered to the southward, and increased to a
perfect storm. Its fury abated in the evening, when it veered to the E,
and N.E.

This gale was indicated by the barometer, for the wind no sooner began
to blow, than the mercury in the tube began to fall. Another remarkable
thing attended the coming on of this wind, which was very faint at
first. It brought with it a degree of heat that was almost intolerable.
The mercury in the thermometer rose, as it were instantaneously, from
about 70 deg. to near 90 deg.. This heat was of so short a continuance, that it
seemed to be wafted away before the breeze that brought it; so that some
on board did not perceive it.

We pursued our course to the eastward, without meeting with any thing
worthy of note, till the night between the 6th and 7th of February, when
a marine belonging to the Discovery fell over-board, and was never seen
afterward. This was the second misfortune of the kind that had happened
to Captain Clerke since he left England.

On the 10th, at four in the afternoon, we discovered the land of New
Zealand. The part we saw proved to be Rock's Point, and bore S.E. by S.,
about eight or nine leagues distant. During this run from Van Diemen's
Land, the wind, for the first four or five days, was at N.E., N., and
N.N.W., and blew, for the most part, a gentle breeze. It afterward
veered to S.E., where it remained twenty-four hours. It then came to W.
and S.W.; in which points it continued, with very little deviation, till
we reached New Zealand.

After making the land, I steered for Cape Farewell, which at day-break
the next morning bore S. by W., distant about four leagues. At eight
o'clock, it bore S.W. by S., about five leagues distant; and, in this
situation, we had forty-five fathoms water over a sandy bottom. In
rounding the Cape we had fifty fathoms, and the same sort of bottom.

I now steered for Stephens's Island, which we came up with at nine
o'clock at night; and at ten, next morning, anchored in our old station,
in Queen Charlotte's Sound. Unwilling to lose any time, our operations
commenced that very afternoon, when we landed a number of empty
water-casks, and began to clear a place where we might set up the two
observatories, and tents for the reception of a guard, and of such of
our people whose business might make it necessary for them to remain on
shore.

We had not been long at anchor before several canoes, filled-with
natives, came along-side of the ships; but very few of them would
venture on board; which appeared the more extraordinary, as I was well
known to them all. There w as one man in particular amongst them, whom I
had treated with remarkable kindness, during the whole of my stay when I
was last here. Yet now, neither professions of friendship, nor presents,
could prevail upon him to come into the ship. This shyness was to be
accounted for only upon this supposition, that they were apprehensive we
had revisited their country, in order to revenge the death of Captain
Furneaux's people. Seeing Omai on board my ship now, whom they must have
remembered to have seen on board the Adventure when the melancholy
affair happened, and whose first conversation with them, as they
approached, generally turned on that subject, they must be well assured
that I was no longer a stranger to it. I thought it necessary,
therefore, to use every endeavour to assure them of the continuance of
my friendship, and that I should not disturb them on that account. I do
not know whether this had any weight with them; but certain it is, that
they very soon laid aside all manner of restraint and distrust.

On the 13th we set up two tents, one from each ship, on the same spot
where we had pitched them formerly. The observatories were at the same
time erected; and Messrs King and Bayly began their operations
immediately, to find the rate of the time-keeper, and to make other
observations. The remainder of the empty water-casks were also sent on
shore, with the cooper to trim, and a sufficient number of sailors to
fill them. Two men were appointed to brew spruce beer; and the carpenter
and his crew were ordered to cut wood. A boat, with a party of men,
under the direction of one of the mates, was sent to collect grass for
our cattle; and the people that remained on board were employed in
refitting the ship, and arranging the provisions. In this manner we were
all profitably busied during our stay. For the protection of the party
on shore, I appointed a guard of ten marines, and ordered arms for all
the workmen; and Mr King, and two or three petty officers, constantly
remained with them. A boat was never sent to any considerable distance
from the ships without being armed, and under direction of such officers
as I could depend upon, and who were well acquainted with the natives.
During my former visits to this country, I had never taken some of these
precautions; nor were they, I firmly believe, more necessary now than
they had been formerly. But after the tragical fate of the Adventure's
boat's crew in this sound, and of Captain Marion du Fresne, and of some
of his people, in the Bay of Islands (in 1772), it was impossible
totally to divest ourselves of all apprehension of experiencing a
similar calamity.

If the natives entertained any suspicion of our revenging these acts of
barbarity, they very soon laid it aside. For, during the course of this
day, a great number of families came from different parts or the coast,
and took up their residence close to us; so that there was not a spot in
the cove where a hut could be put up, that was not occupied by them,
except the place where we had fixed our little encampment. This they
left us in quiet possession of; but they came and took away the ruins of
some old huts that were there, as materials for their new erections.

It is curious to observe with what facility they build these occasional
places of abode. I have seen above twenty of them erected on a spot of
ground, that, not an hour before, was covered with shrubs and plants.
They generally bring some part of the materials with them; the rest they
find upon the premises. I was present when a number of people landed,
and built one of these villages. The moment the canoes reached the
shore, the men leaped out, and at once took possession of a piece of
ground, by tearing up the plants and shrubs, or sticking up some part of
the framing of a hut. They then returned to their canoes, and secured
their weapons, by setting them up against a tree, or placing them in
such a position, that they could be laid hold of in an instant. I took
particular notice that no one neglected this precaution. While the men
were employed in raising the huts, the women were not idle. Some were
stationed to take care of the canoes; others to secure the provisions,
and the few utensils in their possession; and the rest went to gather
dry sticks, that a fire might be prepared for dressing their victuals.
As to the children, I kept them, as also some of the more aged,
sufficiently occupied in scrambling for beads, till I had emptied my
pockets, and then I left them.

These temporary habitations are abundantly sufficient to afford shelter
from the wind and rain, which is the only purpose they are meant to
answer. I observed that, generally, if not always, the same tribe or
family, though it were ever so large, associated and built together; so
that we frequently saw a village, as well as their larger towns, divided
into different districts, by low pallisades, or some similar mode of
separation.

The advantage we received from the natives coming to live with us, was
not inconsiderable. For, every day, when the weather would permit, some
of them went out to catch fish; and we generally got, by exchanges, a
good share of the produce of their labours. This supply, and what our
own nets and lines afforded us, was so ample, that we seldom were in
want of fish. Nor was there any deficiency of other refreshments.
Celery, scurvy-grass, and portable soup were boiled with the pease and
wheat, for both ships' companies, every day daring our whole stay; and
they had spruce-beer for their drink. So that, if any of our people had
contracted the seeds of the scurvy, such a regimen soon removed them.
But the truth is, when we arrived here, there were only two invalids
(and these on board the Resolution) upon the sick lists in both ships.

Besides the natives who took up their abode close to us, we were
occasionally visited by others of them, whose residence was not far off;
and by some who lived more remote. Their articles of commerce were,
curiosities, fish, and women. The two first always came to a good
market, which the latter did not. The seamen had taken a kind of dislike
to these people, and were either unwilling, or afraid, to associate with
them; which produced this good effect, that I knew no instance of a
man's quitting his station, to go to their habitations.

A connection with women I allow, because I cannot prevent it; but never
encourage, because I always dread its consequences. I know, indeed, that
many men are of opinion, that such an intercourse is one of our greatest
securities amongst savages; and perhaps they who, either from necessity
or choice, are to remain and settle with them, may find it so. But with
travellers and transient visitors, such as we were, it is generally
otherwise; and, in our situation, a connection with their women betrays
more men than it saves. What else can be reasonably expected, since all
their views are selfish, without the least mixture of regard or
attachment? My own experience, at least, which hath been pretty
extensive, hath not pointed out to me one instance to the contrary.[142]