A \ B \ C \ D \ E \ F \ G \ H \ I \ J \ K \ L \ M \ N \ O \ P \ R \ S \ T \ U \ V \ W \Z

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17 by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17




Near this spot, at a distance from any other dwelling, the natives pointed
out to them the residence of a hermit, who, they said, had formerly been a
great chief and warrior, but had long ago quitted the shores of the island,
and now never stirred from his cottage. They prostrated themselves as they
approached him, and afterward presented to him a part of such provisions as
they had brought with them. His behaviour was easy and cheerful; he scarce
shewed any marks of astonishment at the sight of our people, and though
pressed to accept some of our curiosities, he declined the offer, and soon
withdrew to his cottage. He was described as by far the oldest person any
of the party had ever seen, and judged to be, by those who computed his age
at the lowest, upward of 100 years old.

As our people had imagined the mountain not to be more than ten or twelve
miles from the bay, and consequently that they should reach it with ease
early the next morning, an error into which its great height had probably
led them, they were now much surprised to find the distance scarce
perceptibly diminished. This circumstance, together with the uninhabited
state of the country they were going to enter, made it necessary to procure
a supply of provisions; and for that purpose they dispatched one of their
guides back to the village. Whilst they were waiting his return, they were
joined by some of Kaoo's servants, whom that benevolent old man had sent
after them, as soon as he heard of their journey, laden with refreshments,
and authorised, as their route lay through his grounds, to demand and take
away whatever they might have occasion for.

Our travellers were much astonished to find the cold here so intense; but
having no thermometer with them, could judge of it only by their feelings,
which, from the warm atmosphere they had left, must have been a very
fallacious measure. They found it, however, so cold, that they could get
but little sleep, and the natives none at all; both parties being
disturbed, the whole night, by continued coughing. As they could not, at
this time, be at any very considerable height, the distance from the sea
being only six or seven miles, and part of the road on a very moderate
ascent, this extraordinary degree of cold must be ascribed to the easterly
wind blowing fresh over the snowy mountains.

Early on the 27th they set out again, and filled their calibashes at an
excellent well about half a mile from their hut. Having passed the
plantations, they came to a thick wood, which they entered by a path made
for the convenience of the natives, who go thither to fetch the wild or
horse-plantain, and to catch birds. Their progress now became very slow,
and attended with much labour; the ground being either swampy, or covered
with large stones; the path narrow, and frequently interrupted by trees
lying across it, which it was necessary to climb over, the thickness of the
underwood on both sides making it impossible to pass round them. In these
woods they observed, at small distances, pieces of white cloth fixed on
poles, which they supposed to be land-marks for the division of property,
as they only met with them where the wild plantains grew. The trees, which
are of the same kind with those we called the spice-tree at New Holland,
were lofty and straight, and from two to four feet in circumference.

After they had advanced about ten miles in the wood, they had the
mortification to find themselves, on a sudden, within sight of the sea, and
at no great distance from it; the path having turned imperceptibly to the
southward, and carried them to the right of the mountain, which it was
their object to reach. Their disappointment was greatly increased by the
uncertainty they were now under of its true bearings, since they could not,
at this time, get a view of it from the top of the highest trees. They,
therefore, found themselves obliged to walk back six or seven miles to an
unoccupied hut, where they had left three of the natives and two of their
own people, with the small stock that remained of their provisions. Here
they spent the second night; and the air was so very sharp, and so little
to the liking of their guides, that, by the morning, they had all departed,
except one.

The want of provisions now making it necessary to return to some of the
cultivated parts of the island, they quitted the wood by the same path they
had entered it; and, on their arrival at the plantations, were surrounded
by the natives, of whom they purchased a fresh stock of necessaries; and
prevailed upon two of them to supply the place of the guides that were gone
away. Having obtained the best information in their power, with regard to
the direction of their road, the party, being now nine in number, marched
along the skirts of the wood for six or seven miles, and then entered it
again by a path that bore to the eastward. For the first three miles they
passed through a forest of lofty spice-trees, growing on a strong rich
loam; at the back of which they found an equal extent of low shrubby trees,
with much thick underwood, on a bottom of loose burnt stones. This led them
to a second forest of spice-trees, and the same rich brown soil, which was
again succeeded by a barren ridge of the same nature with the former. This
alternate succession may, perhaps, afford matter of curious speculation to
naturalists. The only additional circumstance I could learn relating to it
was, that these ridges appeared, as far as they could be seen, to run in
directions parallel to the sea-shore, and to have Mouna Roa for their
centre.

In passing through the woods they found many canoes half-finished, and here
and there a hut; but saw none of the inhabitants. Having penetrated near
three miles into the second wood, they came to two huts, where they
stopped, exceedingly fatigued with the day's journey, having walked not
less than twenty miles, according to their own computation. As they had met
with no springs, from the time they left the plantation-ground, and began
to suffer much from the violence of their thirst, they were obliged, before
the night came on, to separate into parties, and go in search of water;
and, at last, found some left by rain in the bottom of an unfinished canoe,
which, though of the colour of red wine, was to them no unwelcome
discovery. In the night, the cold was still more intense than they had
found it before; and though they had wrapped themselves up in mats and
cloths of the country, and kept a large fire between the two huts, they
could yet sleep but very little, and were obliged to walk about the
greatest part of the night. Their elevation was now probably pretty
considerable, as the ground on which they had travelled had been generally
on the ascent.

On the 29th, at day-break, they set out, intending to make their last and
utmost effort to reach the snowy mountain; but their spirits were much
depressed, when they found they had expended the miserable pittance of
water they had found the night before. The path, which extended no farther
than where canoes had been built, was now at an end; and they were
therefore obliged to make their way as well as they could; every now and
then climbing up into the highest trees, to explore the country round. At
eleven o'clock, they came to a ridge of burnt stones, from the top of which
they saw the snowy mountain, appearing to be about twelve or fourteen miles
from them.

It was here deliberated, whether they should proceed any further, or rest
satisfied with the view they now had of Mouna Rao. The road, ever since the
path ceased, had become exceedingly fatiguing; and every step they advanced
was growing still more so. The deep chinks, with which the ground was every
where broken, being slightly covered with moss, made them stumble at almost
every step; and the intermediate space was a surface of loose burnt stones,
which broke under their feet like potsherds. They threw stones into several
of these chinks, which, by the noise they made, seemed to fall to a
considerable depth, and the ground sounded hollow under their feet. Besides
these discouraging circumstances, they found their guides so averse to
going on, that they believed, whatever their own determinations might have
been, they could not have prevailed on them to remain out another night.
They therefore at last agreed to return to the ships, after taking a view
of the country, from the highest trees which the place afforded. From this
elevation they saw themselves surrounded, on all sides, with wood toward
the sea; they could not distinguish, in the horizon, the sky from the
water; and between them and the snowy mountain, was a valley about seven or
eight miles broad, above which the mountain appeared only as a hill of a
moderate size.

They rested this night at a hut in the second wood, and, on the 30th,
before noon, they had got clear of the first, and found themselves about
nine miles to the north-east of the ships, toward which they directed their
march through the plantations. As they passed along, they did not observe a
single spot of ground that was capable of improvement left unplanted; and
indeed it appeared, from their account, hardly possible for the country to
be cultivated to greater advantage for the purposes of the inhabitants, or
made to yield them a larger supply of necessaries for their subsistence.
They were surprised to meet with several fields of hay; and, on enquiring
to what uses it was applied, were told, it was designed to cover the young
tarrow grounds, in, order to preserve them from being scorched by the sun.
They saw a few scattered huts amongst the plantations, which served for
occasional shelter to the labourers; but no villages at a greater distance
than four or five miles from the sea. Near one of them, about four miles
from the bay, they found a cave, forty fathoms long, three broad, and of
the same height. It was open at both ends; the sides were fluted, as if
wrought with a chisel, and the surface glazed over, probably by the action
of fire.

Having given this account of the most material circumstances that occurred
on the expedition to the snowy mountain, I shall now return to the other
islands that remain to be described.

The island next in size and nearest in situation to Owhyhee, is Mowee,
which lies at the distance of eight leagues N.N.W. from the, former, and is
one hundred and forty geographical miles in circumference. A low isthmus
divides it into two circular peninsulas, of which that to the east is
called Whamadooa, and is double the size of the western peninsula called
Owhyrookoo. The mountains in both rise to an exceeding great height, having
been seen by us at the distance of upward of thirty leagues. The northern
shores, like those of Owhyhee, afford no soundings; and the country
presents the same appearance of verdure and fertility. To the south-east,
between this and the adjacent isles, we had regular depths with a hundred
and fifty fathoms, with a sandy bottom. From the west point, which is low,
runs a shoal, stretching out toward Ranai, to a considerable distance; and
to the southward of this is a fine spacious bay, with a sandy beach, shaded
with cocoa-nut trees. It is probable that good anchorage might be found
here, with shelter from the prevailing winds, and that the beach affords a
convenient place for landing. The country behind presents a most romantic
appearance. The hills rise almost perpendicularly, in a great variety of
peaked forms; and their steep sides, and the deep chasms between them, are
covered with trees, amongst which those of the bread-fruit were observed
particularly to abound. The tops of these hills are entirely bare, and of a
reddish brown colour. We were informed by the natives that there is a
harbour to the southward of the east point, which they affirmed to be
superior to that of Karakakooa; and we were also told, that, on the north-
west side, there was another harbour, called Keepookeepoo.

Tahoorowa is a small island lying off the S.W. part of Mowee, from which it
is distant three leagues. This island is destitute of wood, and the soil
seems to be sandy and barren. Between Tahowrowa and Mowee lies the small
uninhabited island Morrotinnee.

Morotoi is only two leagues and a half from Mowee to the W.N.W. The south-
western coast, which was the only part near which we approached, is very
low, but the land rises backward to a considerable height; and, at the
distance from which we saw it, appeared to be entirely without wood. Its
produce, we are told, consists chiefly of yams. It may, probably, have
fresh water, and on the south and west sides, the coast forms several bays
that promise good shelter from the trade-winds.

Ranai is about three leagues distant from Mowee and Morotoi, and lies to
the S.W. of the passage between these islands. The country to the S. is
high and craggy; but the other parts of the island had a better aspect, and
appeared to be well inhabited. We were told that it produces very few
plantains and bread-fruit trees; but that it abounds in roots, such as
yams, sweet potatoes, and tarrow.

Woahoo lies to the N.W. of Morotoi, at the distance of about seven leagues.
As far as we could judge from the appearance of the N.E. and N.W. parts,
(for we saw nothing of the southern side,) it is by far the finest island
of the whole group. Nothing can exceed the verdure of the hills, the
variety of wood and lawn, and rich cultivated vallies, which the whole face
of the country displayed. Having already given a description of the bay,
formed by the N. and W. extremities, in which we came to an anchor, I have
only to observe, that in the bight of the bay, to the S. of the anchoring-
place, we found rocky foul ground, two miles from the shore. Should the
ground tackling of a ship be weak, and the wind blow strong from the N., to
which quarter the road is entirely open, this circumstance might be
attended with some danger; but with good cables there would be little risk,
as the ground from the anchoring-place, which is opposite to the valley
through which the river runs to the N. point, is a fine sand.

Atooi lies to the N.W. of Woahoo, and is distant from it about twenty-five
leagues. The face of the country to the N.E. and N.W., is broken and
ragged, but to the S. it is more even; the hills rise with a gentle slope
from the seaside, and, at some distance back, are covered with wood. Its
productions are the same with those of the other islands; but the
inhabitants far surpass all the neighbouring islanders in the management of
their plantations. In the low grounds, adjoining to the bay where we lay at
anchor, these plantations were divided by deep and regular ditches; the
fences were made with a neatness approaching to elegance, and the roads
through them were thrown up and finished in a manner that would have done
credit to any European engineer.

Oneeheow lies five leagues to the westward of Atooi. The eastern coast is
high, and rises abruptly from the sea, but the rest of the island consists
of low ground, excepting a round bluff head on the S.E. point. It produces
abundance of yams, and of the sweet root called _Tee_, but we got from
it no other sort of provisions.

Oreehow aad Tahoora are two small islands in the neighbourhood of Oneeheow.
The former is a single high hummock, joined by a reef of coral rocks to the
northern extremity of Oneeheow. The latter lies to the S.W., and is
uninhabited.

The climate of the Sandwich islands differs very little from that of the
West India islands, which lie in the same latitude. Upon the whole,
perhaps, it may be rather more temperate. The thermometer on shore in
Karakakooa Bay, never rose higher than 88 deg., and that but one day; its mean
height at noon was 83 deg.. In Wymoa Bay, its mean height at noon was 76 deg., and
when out at sea 75 deg.. The mean height of the thermometer at noon, in
Jamaica, is about 86 deg., at sea 80 deg..

Whether they be subject to the same violent winds and hurricanes, we could
not discover, as we were not there in, any of the stormy months. However,
as the natives gave us no positive testimony of the fact, and no traces of
their effects were any where visible, it is probable that, in this respect,
they resemble the Society and Friendly islands, which are, in a great
measure, free from these dreadful visitations.

During the four winter months that we remained amongst these islands, there
was more rain, especially in the interior parts, than usually falls during
the dry season in the islands of the West Indies. We generally saw clouds
collecting round the tops of the hills, and producing rain to leeward; but
after they are separated from the land by the wind, they disperse and are
lost, and others succeed in their place. This happened daily at Owhyhee;
the mountainous parts being generally enveloped in a cloud; successive
showers falling in the inland country, with fine weather, and a clear sky
at the sea-shore.

The winds in general were from E.S.E. to N.E.; though they sometimes varied
a few points each way to the N. and S, but these were light, and of short
duration. In the harbour of Karakakooa we had a constant land and sea-
breeze every day and night.

The currents seemed very uncertain, sometimes setting to windward, and at
other times to leeward, without any regularity. They did not appear to be
governed by the winds, nor any other cause that I can assign; they
frequently set to windward against a fresh breeze.

The tides are very regular, flowing and ebbing six hours each. The flood
comes from the eastward; and it is high water, at the full and change of
the moon, forty-five minutes past three, apparent time. Their greatest rise
is two feet seven inches; and we always observed the water to be four
inches higher when the moon was above the horizon, than when it was below.

The quadrupeds in these, as in all the other islands that have been
discovered in the South Sea, are confined to three sorts, dogs, hogs, and
rats. The dogs are of the same species with those of Otaheite, having short
crooked legs, long backs, and pricked ears. I did not observe any variety
in them, except in their skins, some having long and rough hair, and others
being quite smooth. They are about the size of a common turnspit,
exceedingly sluggish in their nature, though perhaps this may be more owing
to the manner in which they are treated, than to any natural disposition in
them. They are in general fed and left to herd with the hogs; and I do not
recollect one instance in which a dog was made a companion in the manner we
do in Europe. Indeed the custom of eating them is an inseparable bar to
their admission into society; and, as there are neither beasts of prey in
the island, nor objects of chase, it is probable that the social qualities
of the dog, its fidelity, attachment, and sagacity, will remain unknown to
the natives.

The number of dogs in these islands did not appear to be nearly equal, in
proportion, to those in Otaheite. But on the other hand, they abound much
more in hogs; and the breed is of a larger and weightier kind. The supply
of provisions of this kind which we got from them was really astonishing.
We were near four months, either cruising off the coast, or in harbour at
Owhyhee. During all this time, a large allowance of fresh pork was
constantly served to both crews, so that our consumption was computed at
about sixty puncheons of five hundred weight each. Besides this, and the
incredible waste which, in the midst of such plenty, was not to be guarded
against, sixty puncheons more were salted for sea-store. The greatest part
of this supply was drawn from the island of Owhyhee alone, and yet we could
not perceive that it was at all drained, or even that the abundance had any
way decreased.

The birds of these islands are as beautiful as any we have seen during the
voyage, and are numerous, though not various. There are four, which seem to
belong to the _trochili_, or honey-suckers of Linnaeus; one of which is
something larger than a bullfinch; its colour is a fine glossy black, the
rump, vent, and thighs, a deep yellow. It is called by the natives
_hoohoo_. Another is of an exceedingly bright scarlet colour; the
wings black, and edged with white, and the tail black; its native name is
_eeeeve_. A third, which seems to be either a young bird, or a variety
of the foregoing, is variegated with red, brown, and yellow. The fourth is
entirely green, with a tinge of yellow, and is called _akaiearooa_.
There is a species of thrush, with a grey breast, and a small bird of the
flycatcher kind; a rail, with very short wings and no tail, which, on that
account, we named _rallus ecaudatus_. Ravens are found here, but they
are very scarce; their colour is dark-brown, inclining to black, and their
note is different from the European. Here are two small birds, both of one
_genus_, that are very common; one is red, and generally seen about
the cocoa-nut trees, particularly when they are in flower, from whence it
seems to derive great part of its subsistence, the other is green; the
tongues of both are long and ciliated, or fringed at the tip. A bird with a
yellow head, which, from the structure of its beak, we called a parroquet,
is likewise very common. It however by no means belongs to that tribe, but
greatly resembles the _lexia flavicans_, or yellowish cross-bill of
Linnaeus.

Here are also owls, plovers of two sorts, one very like the whistling
plover of Europe; a large white pigeon; a bird with a long tail, whose
colour is black, the vent and feathers under the wing (which is much longer
than is usually seen in the generality of birds, except the birds of
paradise) are yellow; and the common water or darker hen.

Their vegetable productions are nearly the same with the rest of the South
Sea islands. I have before mentioned. that the _tarrow_ root is much
superior to any we had before tasted, and that we attributed this
excellence to the dry method of cultivating it. The bread-fruit trees
thrive here, not in such abundance, but produce double the quantity of
fruit they do on the rich plains of Otaheite. The trees are nearly of the
same height, but the branches begin to strike out from the trunk much
lower, and with greater luxuriance. Their sugar-canes are also of a very
unusual size. One of them was brought to us at Atooi, measuring eleven
inches and a quarter in circumference, and having fourteen feet eatable.

At Oneeheow they brought us several large roots of a brown colour, shaped
like a yam, and from six to ten pounds in weight. The juice, which it
yields in great abundance, is very sweet, and of a pleasant taste, and was
found to be an excellent substitute for sugar. The natives are very fond of
it, and use it as an article of their common diet; and our people also
found it very palatable and wholesome. We could not learn to what species
of plant it belonged, having never been able to procure the leaves; but it
was supposed, by our botanists, to be the root of some kind of fern.

Agreeably to the practice of Captain Cook, I shall subjoin an abstract of
the astronomical observations which were made at the observatory in
Karakakooa Bay, for determining its latitude and longitude, and for finding
the rate and error of the time-keeper. To these are subjoined the mean
variation of the compass, the dip of the magnetic needle, and a table of
the latitude and longitude of the Sandwich Islands.


The latitude of the observatory, deduced
from meridian zenith distances of the
sun, eleven stars to the south, and four
stars to the north of the zenith 19 deg. 28' 0" N.
The longitude of the observatory, deduced
from 253 sets of lunar observations;
each set consisting of six observed
distances of the moon from the
sun or stars; 14 of the above sets were
only taken at the observatory, 105 sets
being taken whilst cruising off Owhyhee,
and 134 sets when at Atooi and
Oneeheow, all these being reduced to
the observatory, by means of the timekeeper 204 deg. 0' 0" E.
The longitude of the observatory, by the
time-keeper, on the 19th January,
1779, according to its rate, as found
at Greenwich 214 deg. 7' 15' E.
The longitude of the observatory, by the
time-keeper, on the 19th January,
1779, according to its rate, corrected
at different places, and last at Samganoodha
Harbour, in Oonalaschka 203 deg. 37' 22" E.
The daily rate of the time-keeper losing
on mean time, was 9",6; and, on the
2d February, 1779, it was 14^h 41' 1"
too slow for mean time.
The variation of the compass, by azimuths,
observed on shore with four
different compasses 8 6 0 E.
The variation of the compass, by azimuths,
observed on board the Resolution,
with four different compasses 7 32 0 E.
Dip of the north /Balanced needle\ 40 22 30 E.
pole of the magnetic | |
needle on | Unbalanced, or |
shore, with \ plain needle / 40 41 15 E.
Dip of the north /Balanced needle\ 41 50 0 E.
pole of the magnetic | |
needle on | Unbalanced | 40 30 5 E.
board, with \ needle /

Copyright (c) 2007. bestextbooks.com. All rights reserved.

Thomas Clarkson - "A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume II (of 3)"

Arthur M. Mann - "The Boer in Peace and War"

Edmund Spenser - "Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I"

Woodrow Wilson - "The New Freedom"