It was late in the evening when we got underway, at the Mulgraves, for the last time. We had surveyed all that part of the islands intervening between our first anchorage and the Globe's landing, and now steered to the eastward by the bearings we had previously taken. Squalls of wind and heavy rain coming on, we soon lost sight of the land. The loud roaring of the surf, off the extreme north-eastern point, as well as the heavy swell that set in immediately afterwards, apprised us that we had cleared the group. The land was in sight from the mast-head, in the morning, when we ran down for the eastern end of the island, where we had first anchored, and at a convenient distance run along upon the weather side, taking hearings at the end of every base of three or four miles. Near the centre of the windward part of the group we passed a wide opening into the inland sea, not far from which was a reef of considerable extent, where a very high surf was breaking. Within a short distance of the reef, we saw the bottom plainly in ten fathoms water. There was no place on the weather side of the islands, where it was possible to land with any degree of safety. After passing the extreme northern point we steered off, with the trending of the land W. by S.; and, at sun-down, were up with the island, from whence I had taken Lay, having sailed nearly round the group. Here we hove to for the night.
The group of Mulgrave Islands, as they are called, form a circular chain of narrow strips of land, which are no where more than half a mile wide, inclosing within the circle an inland sea, one hundred and forty miles in circumference, filled with shoals and reefs of coral. It is every where bounded on the sea-side, by a bank of coral, that protects it from the violence of the ocean. This bank generally extends but a short distance from the shore, when it goes off into unfathomable water. At the chief's islet, where we buried the surgeon, it was wider than at any other place about the group, being upwards of a cable's length, which, for a low coral island, may be considered good anchorage. The whole circle is broken alternately into clumps, a few feet above the water, of level and low coral reefs, some of which are above high-water mark, and some sufficiently low to afford a passage for boats. The clumps vary in length, but none of them are more than two miles long, without an interruption of a dry or drowned reef. They are covered with a thick growth of bushes, and trees of small size, except where the cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees rear their tall heads, and wide-spreading branches. Wherever these grow, the underwood disappears, and the place has the appearance of an old forest, cleared for a pleasure ground, where a few trees have been left standing, for the advantage of their shade.
The bread-fruit tree is of two kinds. One is the same as that, which is found at the Society, Sandwich, and many other islands of the Pacific. This has no seed, and can only be produced by cuttings from the tree, or shoots, that spring up from the roots. The other kind is seminal, and very much superior to the first. It was not the bread-fruit season, when we were at the Mulgraves, and much to our regret, we could not obtain any of the seeds of this rare and valuable plant. This tree, in general, attains a size considerably larger than that of the common bread-fruit. The leaf of the bread-fruit tree strongly resembles that of the fig, and any one, who has seen the latter, would immediately recognise it, by the resemblance, and the fine rich foliage it bears, when growing luxuriantly. This is by far the most important production of the Mulgrave Islands. When the fruit is not blasted, as sometimes happens, there is a great plenty for the inhabitants. It lasts, however, only for a few weeks; and it is to be presumed, that the natives have no way of preserving it, in a dried or baked state, as is practised with many of the South Sea Islanders, none having been seen by us during our stay. The cocoa-nut tree is next in value to the natives. Of this food there is an ample supply, unless the fruit is blasted. When the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut, both fail in the same year, the natives experience great distress, and are reduced to the necessity of living upon a fruit, they call bup. It is commonly used by the poorest people, and in small quantities by the chiefs at all times. It grows upon almost all the islands in the West Pacific; but, when wild, is much inferior to that growing on the trees, which have a clear open space around them.
Lay lived upon the wild bup for a considerable time after the massacre, when residing with the poor old man, who saved his life, and before the high chief took compassion on him. It has a sweet taste, like the juice of a green corn-stalk. Bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and bup, is the only food of the inhabitants of the Mulgrave Islands, except at the season of the year, when great numbers of fish are taken. The industrious and enterprising have an abundant supply at that period; but it is only whilst the season lasts, as they are not in the practice of preserving them. The bup-tree is the most remarkable of all the vegetable productions of the Mulgrave Islands. To shipwrecked seamen, it might be the means of sustaining life, when no other food could be found, and, as it is a never-failing resource, it ought to be generally known amongst those, who navigate the Pacific Ocean. The tree generally grows from twenty to thirty feet high,—sometimes singly, but more frequently in small clusters. The diameter of the body rarely exceeds six inches. It has a hard thick bark, but the wood is spongy, like that of the cocoa-nut tree. It stands on from half a dozen to a dozen roots or prongs, by which it is propped up two or three feet from the ground. The fruit is an exact resemblance of a pine-apple. Its smell, when ripe, is at first agreeable, but, so powerful, that it soon becomes offensive. The taste of the ripe fruit has much the same effect—agreeable at first, like a mellow, sweet apple, but cloying and nauseous to the stomach, when taken in any quantity. The ripe fruit is never eaten by the natives of the Mulgraves. When green, it is not considered in a state to be eaten, until a beard, which grows out alongside of the stem, has acquired a length of four or five inches. It may then be taken from the tree, and eaten raw, or roasted between hot stones. The soft part of the seeds (if I may so call them) is alone palatable, the other part being hard and tough. The manner of eating it is, to twist the soft part off with the teeth, whereby the juice is expressed. There was but little about the islands that would excite the interest of either the botanist or naturalist. We saw but few flowers or plants. The islands were swarming with a species of small rat, that had a tuft of hair upon its tail. The natives spoke of them as being very troublesome. By throwing a small quantity of food upon the ground, near one of the huts, dozens of them could be collected together in a few moments.
When one of the natives is sick, the friends collect at the hut, where he is lying, and chant over him, to appease the offended spirit that has afflicted him. The same prescription is given for all diseases, which is a tea, made from an herb found upon the island. If death takes place, the friends of the deceased assemble, and mourn over the body, keeping it until it becomes very offensive. Frequently, in the midst of their most bitter mourning and lamentation, some of the mourners will intentionally say or do something calculated to excite mirth, when they all burst out into immoderate laughter, as if their mourning were the affectation of children, and as soon as the humorous excitement has passed over, again relapse into their mournful strain of howling and chaunting. When the body can be kept no longer, and the day of interment arrives, the grave is dug, and the corpse taken upon sticks, and carried to it by the friends of the deceased, followed by a large concourse, who move along without order, and some one occasionally breaks in upon their solemnity by a humorous trick, which gives rise to others, and sets them all laughing. This is soon again succeeded by mourning. The body is lowered into the grave, and covered up, when a little canoe, with a sail to it, and laden with small pieces of cocoa-nut or other food, having been previously prepared, is taken to the sea-shore on the leeward part of the island, and sent off, with a fair wind, to bear far away from the island the spirit of the deceased, that it may not afterwards disturb the living. This ceremony is considered indispensably necessary, and is never neglected. At the head of the grave a cocoa-nut is planted, the tree that springs from which, is held sacred, and its fruits never eaten, in times of the greatest famine. Their burial places are usually a short distance back of the houses, and the females are strictly prohibited from going to them.
Their marriages are conducted with but little ceremony. If a man fancies a female for his wife, he makes the proposal to her, which, if agreeable, he applies to her friends. They meet, and hold a consultation, as to the propriety of the match, and decide whether it shall take place. If the man's suit is denied, nothing more is said on the subject. When united, they are said to be very faithful, and jealous of each other's chastity. Lay or Huzzy related an occurrence, that took place during their residence on the islands, which shows how keenly a sense of injury is felt by them, and that jealousy sometimes inspires them with the most ferocious and deadly revenge. A young man had taken a young woman for a wife, whom he supposed to be a virgin. In a very short time after she went to live with him, however, it was evident that she was pregnant, and before the period which nature has prescribed had elapsed, gave birth to a child. The indignant husband took the infant from its mother's arms, and in her presence dashed its head upon a stone in front of his hut. It was an act for which, under other circumstances, he would have suffered death, by a custom of the islands, forbidding the destroying of human life; and, as the female was of superior rank to the man, being the daughter of a chief, it was believed that he would be punished. Her friends were loud in their calls for justice upon the offender, until a council of the chiefs was called, and the matter brought before them.
After an investigation, the chiefs were satisfied, that the woman had grossly imposed upon her husband, whom they suffered to depart without censure. It is permitted to the men to have as many wives as they can get; but as food is very scarce, and they find it difficult to support one, there are few, even of the chiefs, who have more. The high chief was the only exception to this remark at the time of our visit. He had six, one of whom was a particular favourite.
Latuano, the high chief of the Mulgraves, was called the greatest warrior that the islands had produced for a long time. He told us that in one of his wars he was driven from his islands, and remained (I think) fourteen days at sea in his canoe, most of the time out of sight of land. He steered for an island, which, according to the tradition of his countrymen, lay to the west of the Mulgraves, and, after a great deal of suffering, arrived there in safety. The high chief of this isle (south Pedder's Island) received him with kindness, and after he had visited thirteen different islands of the group,[[11]] sent him back to the Mulgraves with a fleet of canoes, and a great many men. He arrived there in safety, conquered his enemies, and at the time of our visit was tributary to the chief of Pedder's Island, who had given him a daughter or grand-daughter in marriage. They told us that every few years the chief of Pedder's Island, who is very powerful and very wise, sends a fleet of canoes to the Mulgraves, for tribute. Lay and Huzzy were to have been sent to him, as also the Globe's whaleboat and swivel. I was particularly struck with Latuanos' strong resemblance to General Bolivar. His stature was about the same, and his face bore the same marks of care and serious thought, when his attention was not awakened to any particular thing; and, when animated by conversation, the same vivid expression beamed from his fine features, and sparkling black eyes. I could not but think, when I was looking at him, that if he and General Bolivar could be placed near to each other, similarly dressed, it would be difficult to tell which was the Indian chief, and which the patriot hero.
The high chief is absolute in his authority, but, in the administration of justice, particularly where the life of an individual is concerned, he is influenced in passing judgment by the opinion of the chiefs of most consequence.[[12]] Like all other men, whether civilized or uncivilized, they have different grades of rank in their society, from the high chief down to the farthest remove of relationship to royalty. The different islets that are inhabited, are partitioned off to different chiefs, who acknowledge their subordination to the high chief, by sending him a part of whatever grows, or is taken within the limits of their government. They send him a portion of their cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, and bup, and of the fish or birds, that may be caught by themselves or any of their people. The high chief requires this for the support of his numerous family. Besides his wives and children, he usually keeps a large number of men about him, who go in his canoe, and perform other essential duties in his service. Several of the principal chiefs are also in attendance, and live with him constantly. In his family, there is no ceremony, to remind the common people of their lowly condition. They all eat, drink, and sleep alike. In dress, there is nothing to distinguish the chiefs from the common people, except that the former sometimes wear a mat that comes down to the knee, of straw, and finely wrought. This, however, I believe, is only worn upon particular occasions.
The men wear bunches of grass hanging down before and behind, such as I have described at our first anchorage, being about the size and appearance of a horse's tail. Those in most common use, were of a reddish colour; but a few of them were white. The bark of which they are made is taken from a long running vine. The boys go quite naked until they are ten or twelve years old, when a dress similar to that of the men is put on them. Their ornaments consist of shell bracelets and necklaces, and sometimes a string of thorn is put round the head; flowers, when they can be obtained, are often used instead of shells. Many of the men, and some of the women have large slits in their ears, through which they put rolls of leaves from one to two inches in diameter. The women wear beautiful white straw mats, of elegant workmanship, about two feet square, and sometimes larger, bordered round the edge, from one to two inches, with black diamond figures, worked in with coloured straw, died with the husk of the cocoa-nut. They usually wear two of these mats, one of which is behind and the other before, tied round the waist with a beautiful round cord of braided straw. The ornaments of the women are the same as those worn by the men. They have no manner of worship. They acknowledge the existence of a Great Spirit whom they call Kenneet, and who, they say, can make them sick and kill them: they look for nothing good from him, and, so far as I could learn, have no idea of rewards and punishments after death. They have a sort of conjurers amongst them, for whose art they entertain great reverence, and in whom they place a strict reliance. To them they apply in all cases of great emergency. Their art consists in having a large bunch of straws, which they fold double and tie in a great many different ways; if, after the straws are thus folded, doubled, and tied, they can be drawn out without being in any manner entangled the one with the other, the omen is propitious; but otherwise, the contemplated undertaking is relinquished. On the following morning it is again resorted to, and so on until success is promised. It must never be tried but in the morning, and only once on the same day. The morning I took Lay from the natives, the chiefs had recourse to this art before they would allow him to speak to us; they were promised good fortune, otherwise he would have been concealed from us. He who cannot perform the mysteries of this art, is not allowed to drink from the same cup with him who can.