CHAPTER ONE
Ā Ā THE SEA ā LONGINGS FOR SHORE ā A LAND-SICK SHIP ā
DESTINATION OF THE VOYAGERS ā THE MARQUESAS ā ADVENTURE OF A
MISSIONARY'S WIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES ā CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTE OF
THE QUEEN OF NUKUHEVA
Ā Ā Six months at sea! Yes, reader, as I live, six
months out of sight of land; cruising after the sperm-whale beneath
the scorching sun of the Line, and tossed on the billows of the
wide-rolling Pacific ā the sky above, the sea around, and nothing
else! Weeks and weeks ago our fresh provisions were all exhausted.
There is not a sweet potato left; not a single yam. Those glorious
bunches of bananas, which once decorated our stern and
quarter-deck, have, alas, disappeared! and the delicious oranges
which hung suspended from our tops and stays ā they, too, are gone!
Yes, they are all departed, and there is nothing left us but
salt-horse and sea-biscuit. Oh! ye state-room sailors, who make so
much ado about a fourteen-days' passage across the Atlantic; who so
pathetically relate the privations and hardships of the sea, where,
after a day of breakfasting, lunching, dining off five courses,
chatting, playing whist, and drinking champagne-punch, it was your
hard lot to be shut up in little cabinets of mahogany and maple,
and sleep for ten hours, with nothing to disturb you but 'those
good-for-nothing tars, shouting and tramping overhead', ā what
would ye say to our six months out of sight of land?
Ā Ā Oh! for a refreshing glimpse of one blade of grass ā
for a snuff at the fragrance of a handful of the loamy earth! Is
there nothing fresh around us? Is there no green thing to be seen?
Yes, the inside of our bulwarks is painted green; but what a vile
and sickly hue it is, as if nothing bearing even the semblance of
verdure could flourish this weary way from land. Even the bark that
once clung to the wood we use for fuel has been gnawed off and
devoured by the captain's pig; and so long ago, too, that the pig
himself has in turn been devoured.
Ā Ā There is but one solitary tenant in the
chicken-coop, once a gay and dapper young cock, bearing him so
bravely among the coy hens.
Ā Ā But look at him now; there he stands, moping all the
day long on that everlasting one leg of his. He turns with disgust
from the mouldy corn before him, and the brackish water in his
little trough. He mourns no doubt his lost companions, literally
snatched from him one by one, and never seen again. But his days of
mourning will be few for Mungo, our black cook, told me yesterday
that the word had at last gone forth, and poor Pedro's fate was
sealed. His attenuated body will be laid out upon the captain's
table next Sunday, and long before night will be buried with all
the usual ceremonies beneath that worthy individual's vest. Who
would believe that there could be any one so cruel as to long for
the decapitation of the luckless Pedro; yet the sailors pray every
minute, selfish fellows, that the miserable fowl may be brought to
his end. They say the captain will never point the ship for the
land so long as he has in anticipation a mess of fresh meat. This
unhappy bird can alone furnish it; and when he is once devoured,
the captain will come to his senses. I wish thee no harm, Pedro;
but as thou art doomed, sooner or later, to meet the fate of all
thy race; and if putting a period to thy existence is to be the
signal for our deliverance, why ā truth to speak ā I wish thy
throat cut this very moment; for, oh! how I wish to see the living
earth again! The old ship herself longs to look out upon the land
from her hawse-holes once more, and Jack Lewis said right the other
day when the captain found fault with his steering.
Ā Ā 'Why d'ye see, Captain Vangs,' says bold Jack, 'I'm
as good a helmsman as ever put hand to spoke; but none of us can
steer the old lady now. We can't keep her full and bye, sir; watch
her ever so close, she will fall off and then, sir, when I put the
helm down so gently, and try like to coax her to the work, she
won't take it kindly, but will fall round off again; and it's all
because she knows the land is under the lee, sir, and she won't go
any more to windward.' Aye, and why should she, Jack? didn't every
one of her stout timbers grow on shore, and hasn't she
sensibilities; as well as we?
Ā Ā Poor old ship! Her very looks denote her desires!
how deplorably she appears! The paint on her sides, burnt up by the
scorching sun, is puffed out and cracked. See the weeds she trails
along with her, and what an unsightly bunch of those horrid
barnacles has formed about her stern-piece; and every time she
rises on a sea, she shows her copper torn away, or hanging in
jagged strips.
Ā Ā Poor old ship! I say again: for six months she has
been rolling and pitching about, never for one moment at rest. But
courage, old lass, I hope to see thee soon within a biscuit's toss
of the merry land, riding snugly at anchor in some green cove, and
sheltered from the boisterous winds.
Ā Ā . . . . . .
Ā Ā 'Hurra, my lads! It's a settled thing; next week we
shape our course to the Marquesas!' The Marquesas! What strange
visions of outlandish things does the very name spirit up! Naked
houris ā cannibal banquets ā groves of cocoanut ā coral reefs ā
tattooed chiefs ā and bamboo temples; sunny valleys planted with
bread-fruit-trees ā carved canoes dancing on the flashing blue
waters ā savage woodlands guarded by horrible idols ā HEATHENISH
RITES AND HUMAN SACRIFICES.
Ā Ā Such were the strangely jumbled anticipations that
haunted me during our passage from the cruising ground. I felt an
irresistible curiosity to see those islands which the olden
voyagers had so glowingly described.
Ā Ā The group for which we were now steering (although
among the earliest of European discoveries in the South Seas,
having been first visited in the year 1595) still continues to be
tenanted by beings as strange and barbarous as ever. The
missionaries sent on a heavenly errand, had sailed by their lovely
shores, and had abandoned them to their idols of wood and stone.
How interesting the circumstances under which they were discovered!
In the watery path of Mendanna, cruising in quest of some region of
gold, these isles had sprung up like a scene of enchantment, and
for a moment the Spaniard believed his bright dream was
realized.
Ā Ā In honour of the Marquess de Mendoza, then viceroy
of Peru ā under whose auspices the navigator sailed ā he bestowed
upon them the name which denoted the rank of his patron, and gave
to the world on his return a vague and magnificent account of their
beauty. But these islands, undisturbed for years, relapsed into
their previous obscurity; and it is only recently that anything has
been known concerning them. Once in the course of a half century,
to be sure, some adventurous rover would break in upon their
peaceful repose. and astonished at the unusual scene, would be
almost tempted to claim the merit of a new discovery.
Ā Ā Of this interesting group, but little account has
ever been given, if we except the slight mention made of them in
the sketches of South-Sea voyages. Cook, in his repeated
circumnavigations of the globe, barely touched at their shores; and
all that we know about them is from a few general narratives.
Ā Ā Among these, there are two that claim particular
notice. Porter's 'Journal of the Cruise of the U.S. frigate Essex,
in the Pacific, during the late War', is said to contain some
interesting particulars concerning the islanders. This is a work,
however, which I have never happened to meet with; and Stewart, the
chaplain of the American sloop of war Vincennes, has likewise
devoted a portion of his book, entitled 'A Visit to the South
Seas', to the same subject.
Ā Ā Within the last few, years American and English
vessels engaged in the extensive whale fisheries of the Pacific
have occasionally, when short of provisions, put into the
commodious harbour which there is in one of the islands; but a fear
of the natives, founded on the recollection of the dreadful fate
which many white men have received at their hands, has deterred
their crews from intermixing with the population sufficiently to
gain any insight into their peculiar customs and manners.
Ā Ā The Protestant Missions appear to have despaired of
reclaiming these islands from heathenism. The usage they have in
every case received from the natives has been such as to intimidate
the boldest of their number. Ellis, in his 'Polynesian Researches',
gives some interesting accounts of the abortive attempts made by
the ''Tahiti Mission'' to establish a branch Mission upon certain
islands of the group. A short time before my visit to the
Marquesas, a somewhat amusing incident took place in connection
with these efforts, which I cannot avoid relating.
Ā Ā An intrepid missionary, undaunted by the ill-success
that had attended all previous endeavours to conciliate the
savages, and believing much in the efficacy of female influence,
introduced among them his young and beautiful wife, the first white
woman who had ever visited their shores. The islanders at first
gazed in mute admiration at so unusual a prodigy, and seemed
inclined to regard it as some new divinity. But after a short time,
becoming familiar with its charming aspect, and jealous of the
folds which encircled its form, they sought to pierce the sacred
veil of calico in which it was enshrined, and in the gratification
of their curiosity so far overstepped the limits of good breeding,
as deeply to offend the lady's sense of decorum. Her sex once
ascertained, their idolatry was changed into contempt and there was
no end to the contumely showered upon her by the savages, who were
exasperated at the deception which they conceived had been
practised upon them. To the horror of her affectionate spouse, she
was stripped of her garments, and given to understand that she
could no longer carry on her deceits with impunity. The gentle dame
was not sufficiently evangelical to endure this, and, fearful of
further improprieties, she forced her husband to relinquish his
undertaking, and together they returned to Tahiti.
Ā Ā Not thus shy of exhibiting her charms was the Island
Queen herself, the beauteous wife of Movianna, the king of
Nukuheva. Between two and three years after the adventures recorded
in this volume, I chanced, while aboard of a man-of-war to touch at
these islands. The French had then held possession of the Marquesas
some time, and already prided themselves upon the beneficial
effects of their jurisdiction, as discernible in the deportment of
the natives. To be sure, in one of their efforts at reform they had
slaughtered about a hundred and fifty of them at Whitihoo ā but let
that pass. At the time I mention, the French squadron was
rendezvousing in the bay of Nukuheva, and during an interview
between one of their captains and our worthy Commodore, it was
suggested by the former, that we, as the flag-ship of the American
squadron, should receive, in state, a visit from the royal pair.
The French officer likewise represented, with evident satisfaction,
that under their tuition the king and queen had imbibed proper
notions of their elevated station, and on all ceremonious occasions
conducted themselves with suitable dignity. Accordingly,
preparations were made to give their majesties a reception on board
in a style corresponding with their rank.
Ā Ā One bright afternoon, a gig, gaily bedizened with
streamers, was observed to shove off from the side of one of the
French frigates, and pull directly for our gangway. In the stem
sheets reclined Mowanna and his consort. As they approached, we
paid them all the honours clue to royalty; ā manning our yards,
firing a salute, and making a prodigious hubbub.
Ā Ā They ascended the accommodation ladder, were greeted
by the Commodore, hat in hand, and passing along the quarter-deck,
the marine guard presented arms, while the band struck up 'The King
of the Cannibal Islands'. So far all went well. The French officers
grimaced and smiled in exceedingly high spirits, wonderfully
pleased with the discreet manner in which these distinguished
personages behaved themselves.
Ā Ā Their appearance was certainly calculated to produce
an effect. His majesty was arrayed in a magnificent military
uniform, stiff with gold lace and embroidery, while his shaven
crown was concealed by a huge chapeau bras, waving with ostrich
plumes. There was one slight blemish, however, in his appearance. A
broad patch of tattooing stretched completely across his face, in a
line with his eyes, making him look as if he wore a huge pair of
goggles; and royalty in goggles suggested some ludicrous ideas. But
it was in the adornment of the fair person of his dark-complexioned
spouse that the tailors of the fleet had evinced the gaiety of
their national taste. She was habited in a gaudy tissue of scarlet
cloth, trimmed with yellow silk, which, descending a little below
the knees, exposed to view her bare legs, embellished with spiral
tattooing, and somewhat resembling two miniature Trajan's columns.
Upon her head was a fanciful turban of purple velvet, figured with
silver sprigs, and surmounted by a tuft of variegated feathers.
Ā Ā The ship's company, crowding into the gangway to
view the sight, soon arrested her majesty's attention. She singled
out from their number an old salt, whose bare arms and feet, and
exposed breast, were covered with as many inscriptions in India ink
as the lid of an Egyptian sarcophagus. Notwithstanding all the sly
hints and remonstrances of the French officers, she immediately
approached the man, and pulling further open the bosom of his duck
frock, and rolling up the leg of his wide trousers, she gazed with
admiration at the bright blue and vermilion pricking thus disclosed
to view. She hung over the fellow, caressing him, and expressing
her delight in a variety of wild exclamations and gestures. The
embarrassment of the polite Gauls at such an unlooked-for
occurrence may be easily imagined, but picture their consternation,
when all at once the royal lady, eager to display the hieroglyphics
on her own sweet form, bent forward for a moment, and turning
sharply round, threw up the skirt of her mantle and revealed a
sight from which the aghast Frenchmen retreated precipitately, and
tumbling into their boats, fled the scene of so shocking a
catastrophe.
CHAPTER TWO
PASSAGE FROM THE CRUISING GROUND TO THE MARQUESAS ā SLEEPY TIMES ABOARD SHIP ā SOUTH SEA SCENERY ā LAND HO ā THE FRENCH SQUADRON DISCOVERED AT ANCHOR IN THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA ā STRANGE PILOT ā ESCORT OF CANOES ā A FLOTILLA OF COCOANUTS ā SWIMMING VISITORS ā THE DOLLY BOARDED BY THEM ā STATE OF AFFAIRS THAT ENSUE
I CAN never forget the eighteen or twenty days during which the light trade-winds were silently sweeping us towards the islands. In pursuit of the sperm whale, we had been cruising on the line some twenty degrees to the westward of the Gallipagos; and all that we had to do, when our course was determined on, was to square in the yards and keep the vessel before the breeze, and then the good ship and the steady gale did the rest between them. The man at the wheel never vexed the old lady with any superfluous steering, but comfortably adjusting his limbs at the tiller, would doze away by the hour. True to her work, the Dolly headed to her course, and like one of those characters who always do best when let alone, she jogged on her way like a veteran old sea-pacer as she was.
What a delightful, lazy, languid time we had whilst we were thus gliding along! There was nothing to be done; a circumstance that happily suited our disinclination to do anything. We abandoned the fore-peak altogether, and spreading an awning over the forecastle, slept, ate, and lounged under it the live-long day. Every one seemed to be under the influence of some narcotic. Even the officers aft, whose duty required them never to be seated while keeping a deck watch, vainly endeavoured to keep on their pins; and were obliged invariably to compromise the matter by leaning up against the bulwarks, and gazing abstractedly over the side. Reading was out of the question; take a book in your hand, and you were asleep in an instant.
Although I could not avoid yielding in a great measure to the general languor, still at times I contrived to shake off the spell, and to appreciate the beauty of the scene around me. The sky presented a clear expanse of the most delicate blue, except along the skirts of the horizon, where you might see a thin drapery of pale clouds which never varied their form or colour. The long, measured, dirge-like well of the Pacific came rolling along, with its surface broken by little tiny waves, sparkling in the sunshine. Every now and then a shoal of flying fish, scared from the water under the bows, would leap into the air, and fall the next moment like a shower of silver into the sea. Then you would see the superb albicore, with his glittering sides, sailing aloft, and often describing an arc in his descent, disappear on the surface of the water. Far off, the lofty jet of the whale might be seen, and nearer at hand the prowling shark, that villainous footpad of the seas, would come skulking along, and, at a wary distance, regard us with his evil eye. At times, some shapeless monster of the deep, floating on the surface, would, as we approached, sink slowly into the blue waters, and fade away from the sight. But the most impressive feature of the scene was the almost unbroken silence that reigned over sky and water. Scarcely a sound could be heard but the occasional breathing of the grampus, and the rippling at the cut-water.
As we drew nearer the land, I hailed with delight the appearance of innumerable sea-fowl. Screaming and whirling in spiral tracks, they would accompany the vessel, and at times alight on our yards and stays. That piratical-looking fellow, appropriately named the man-of-war's-hawk, with his blood-red bill and raven plumage, would come sweeping round us in gradually diminishing circles, till you could distinctly mark the strange flashings of his eye; and then, as if satisfied with his observation, would sail up into the air and disappear from the view. Soon, other evidences of our vicinity to the land were apparent, and it was not long before the glad announcement of its being in sight was heard from aloft, ā given with that peculiar prolongation of sound that a sailor loves ā 'Land ho!'
The captain, darting on deck from the cabin, bawled lustily for his spy-glass; the mate in still louder accents hailed the masthead with a tremendous 'where-away?' The black cook thrust his woolly head from the galley, and Boatswain, the dog, leaped up between the knight-heads, and barked most furiously. Land ho! Aye, there it was. A hardly perceptible blue irregular outline, indicating the bold contour of the lofty heights of Nukuheva.
This island, although generally called one of the Marquesas, is by some navigators considered as forming one of a distinct cluster, comprising the islands of Ruhooka, Ropo, and Nukuheva; upon which three the appellation of the Washington Group has been bestowed. They form a triangle, and lie within the parallels of 8 degrees 38" and 9 degrees 32" South latitude and 139 degrees 20" and 140 degrees 10" West longitude from Greenwich. With how little propriety they are to be regarded as forming a separate group will be at once apparent, when it is considered that they lie in the immediate vicinity of the other islands, that is to say, less than a degree to the northwest of them; that their inhabitants speak the Marquesan dialect, and that their laws, religion, and general customs are identical. The only reason why they were ever thus arbitrarily distinguished may be attributed to the singular fact, that their existence was altogether unknown to the world until the year 1791, when they were discovered by Captain Ingraham, of Boston, Massachusetts, nearly two centuries after the discovery of the adjacent islands by the agent of the Spanish Viceroy. Notwithstanding this, I shall follow the example of most voyagers, and treat of them as forming part and parcel of Marquesas.
Nukuheva is the most important of these islands, being the only one at which ships are much in the habit of touching, and is celebrated as being the place where the adventurous Captain Porter refitted his ships during the late war between England and the United States, and whence he sallied out upon the large whaling fleet then sailing under the enemy's flag in the surrounding seas. This island is about twenty miles in length and nearly as many in breadth. It has three good harbours on its coast; the largest and best of which is called by the people living in its vicinity 'Taiohae', and by Captain Porter was denominated Massachusetts Bay. Among the adverse tribes dwelling about the shores of the other bays, and by all voyagers, it is generally known by the name bestowed upon the island itself ā Nukuheva. Its inhabitants have become somewhat corrupted, owing to their recent commerce with Europeans, but so far as regards their peculiar customs and general mode of life, they retain their original primitive character, remaining very nearly in the same state of nature in which they were first beheld by white men. The hostile clans, residing in the more remote sections of the island, and very seldom holding any communication with foreigners, are in every respect unchanged from their earliest known condition.
In the bay of Nukuheva was the anchorage we desired to reach. We had perceived the loom of the mountains about sunset; so that after running all night with a very light breeze, we found ourselves close in with the island the next morning, but as the bay we sought lay on its farther side, we were obliged to sail some distance along the shore, catching,...