Account of a voyage of discovery to the west coast of Corea, and the great Loo-Choo Island

by Basil Hall

On rising from breakfast we found, near the tent, about a dozen natives, who, in most respects, resembled our friends at Napakiang, but were not so neatly dressed; and their hair, instead of being formed into a knot, was allowed to fly loose. During the morning the party amused themselves in various ways. Some took their guns and went in search of curlews and sea-snipes: others set out to explore the reefs; and two or three remained near the tent, for the purpose of making observations on the sun at noon; but as it became cloudy about this time, the latter party failed in their object. The rest were more successful; the sportsmen having shot some game for dinner; and the other party having found all things favourable for inspecting the reef.

The examination of a coral reef during the different stages of one tide, is particularly interesting. When the tide has left it for some time it becomes dry, and appears to be a compact rock, exceedingly hard and ragged; but as the tide rises, and the waves begin to wash over it, the coral worms protrude themselves from holes which were before invisible. These animals are of a great variety of shapes and sizes, and in such prodigious numbers, that, in a short time, the whole surface of the rock appears to be alive and in motion. The most common worm is in the form of a star, with arms from four to six inches long, which are moved about with a rapid motion in all directions, probably to catch food. Others are so sluggish, that they may be mistaken for pieces of the rock, and are generally of a dark colour, and from four to five inches long, and two or three round. When the coral is broken, about high water mark, it is a solid hard stone, but if any part of it be detached at a spot which the tide reaches every day, it is found to be full of worms of different lengths and colours, some being as fine as a thread and several feet long, of a bright yellow, and sometimes of a blue colour: others resemble snails, and some are not unlike lobsters in shape, but soft, and not above two inches long[10].

The growth of coral appears to cease when the worm is no longer exposed to the washing of the sea. Thus, a reef rises in the form of a cauliflower, till its top has gained the level of the highest tides, above which the worm has no power to advance, and the reef of course no longer extends itself upwards. The other parts, in succession, reach the surface, and there stop, forming in time a level field with steep sides all round. The reef, however, continually increases, and being prevented from going higher, extends itself laterally in all directions. But this growth being as rapid at the upper edge as it is lower down, the steepness of the face of the reef is still preserved. These are the circumstances which render coral reefs so dangerous in navigation; for, in the first place, they are seldom seen above the water; and, in the next, their sides are so steep, that a ship's bows may strike against the rock before any change of soundings has given warning of the danger.

The island at high water is formed into three parts, which at low water are joined by reefs; the whole being about two and a half or three miles from east to west, and tolerably clear of rocks on the south side; but on the north it is guarded by a semicircle of coral extending upwards of a mile from the shore. On the centre island is only one hut, which, as there was reason to believe it to be the actual abode of the inhabitants, it may be allowable to describe. The walls were sunk under ground, so that only the roof appeared from without, the inside was fifteen feet by six: the walls of neatly squared stones, being two feet high, and the roof in the middle about six or seven high, formed of a ridge pole supported in the centre by a forked stick; the rafters of rough branches were covered with reeds, and thatched over with the leaf of the wild pine, which grows on all the coral islands. The fire-place was at one end on a raised part of the floor, and the other end appeared to be the sleeping place. It was conjectured, that this wretched place could only be meant as a temporary residence of fishermen, whose nets we saw lying about; but the number of water jars and cooking utensils which we found in and about it, gave it the appearance of a fixed habitation.

It was almost dark when we quitted the island, and the tide carrying us out of our proper course, we missed the ships and grounded on the reefs near the town; but as the tide was flowing, we easily got off, and by coasting along, soon gained the anchorage.

Sunday, 29th of September.—This day is memorable, on account of its being the first on which we were permitted to land.

Yesterday, when we were absent at Reef Island, the chiefs had come on board to say that we might land, but that our walk must be confined to the beach, and that we were neither to enter the town, nor to go into the country. At one o'clock several of the chiefs came on board and accompanied us to the beach, where we landed amidst an immense crowd, and were handed along by Ookooma and the rest, who, in their desire to be civil, held us by the arms. The day, however, being excessively hot, and the sand deep, we found this troublesome, and begged leave to walk alone, to which they reluctantly consented, and we proceeded along the beach for a quarter of a mile.

Beginning to get tired of our walk, we stopped and expressed some surprise at such a reception, and told them how disagreeable it was to us to be in the sun at such an hour. But our remonstrances did not produce much effect, for, on our objecting particularly to the heat, they shewed us to a sort of cave in a rock on the beach, where they put down a mat and wished us to drink tea in the shade, since we disliked the sun. This could not be submitted to, however, and we told them that our object in landing was not to sit down on the beach to drink tea, but to walk about under the trees in order to recover our health, impaired by a long stay on board ship. They tried all their eloquence to persuade us that our walk, thus limited, was perfectly pleasant; till at length Captain Maxwell gave them to understand, that he wished to go to the top of the hills under the trees; but that, as he did not mean to advance a single step beyond what was approved of, he would return instantly to the ship if they persisted in confining him to the beach. A consultation was held upon this, during which, frequent reference was made to several elderly men, whose opinions appeared to have great weight. They did not wear the dress of chiefs, but, from all that passed, we suspected them to be persons about court, who had been sent to assist the councils of the local commission, without superseding its authority. They at last agreed to our going to the top of the hill, taking the precaution before we set out, of sending on a couple of runners, probably to give warning to the women who might be in that direction. About half way up the road, which winds along a steep face, there is a neatly-built well, supplied by a stream which runs along a carved water-course, and near it were three or four rudely carved stones about a foot long and four inches across, with slow matches and a small quantity of rice laid upon each. Mr. Clifford distinctly made out that this was meant as a religious offering, but its precise object could not be discovered, though it was conjectured that the guardian deity of the well might have some title to the honour. The side of the hill is cut into horizontal irregular terraces, which are cultivated with apparent care, and irrigated by means of ditches leading from the well. On gaining the brow of the hill which overlooks the anchorage, the chiefs stopped, but as we were within a few yards of the summit, where we saw a shady grove, we begged them to proceed, to which, after a short deliberation, they consented. By gaining this eminence, we commanded a view of an extensive valley more beautiful than any thing we had ever seen; and on the side opposite to us we saw the large building spoken of before, generally suspected to be the King's palace: our questions, however, on this subject were always answered in so evasive a manner, and with such apparent distress, that we seldom made any allusion either to it or to the King.

Here we remained under the trees for an hour, drinking tea and smoking pipes in company with all the chiefs, besides four or five of the old men mentioned before. We amused them by lighting their pipes with a burning glass; but one old gentleman, who suspected some trick, and did not join in the surprise shewn by the rest, held out his hand that it might be exposed to the focus; and he was soon undeceived, to the great amusement of the circle. The magnifying power of the glass engaged the attention of them all, but they were differently affected by it: a start and an exclamation of pleased surprise was the most usual effect; some laughed immoderately at every experiment, while others were made very grave by it, who had not been particularly serious before. Advantage was taken of the moment when their admiration of the glass was at the highest, to present it to Jeeroo, whose good-will it was thought expedient to conciliate: he had not expected this, and felt obliged to us for so public a mark of our esteem.

A man on horseback happening to ride by, it was gravely suggested to the chiefs that nothing would so materially contribute to the establishment of our health as this species of exercise; but they insisted upon treating our request as a mere joke. On the way back an attempt was made to vary the walk by turning to the left on reaching the brow of the hill, and so walking along the edge of the cliff to another road; the chiefs observed upon this that we should infallibly tumble down and kill ourselves; affecting, notwithstanding the absurdity of any such apprehensions, to be greatly distressed at our danger: so we turned back, after having had a short interview with an old man seated in a shed on the edge of the precipice. His white beard, which covered his breast, suited well with his sedate and contemplative air, and gave him much the aspect of a hermit. Our appearance did not in the least discompose him, nor did he take any notice of us till desired to do so by Ookooma; he then bowed slightly, but immediately resumed his fixed look, as if he had been quite alone.