The king and myself, became high carnies, (or great friends) the day after our arrival; and from that time until our departure, he did everything in his power to merit my regard. My mess was constantly supplied with bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, tarrow, and bananas; and whenever I was on shore, he waited upon me everywhere with the most friendly attention. Our friendship commenced in the following manner, simple enough, it is true, but I believe it was not the less sincere on that account. Seeing me with a jack-knife in my hand, he expressed a wish to look at it, when I told him that he might have it. He received it, and after observing me for a moment, put his hand upon my arm and remarked, now you and I will be high carnies. I sincerely reciprocated his kindness, so strongly recommended by the disinterested simplicity with which it was proffered. Two or three days after our arrival, I landed with a view of traversing the island. I found king Dick, as I used to call him, upon a bank of coral that stretched out from his house, with a long wooden spear in his hand, looking about in the holes for fish. He begged me to wait until he had taken one for his dinner, and he would accompany me. Accordingly, having succeeded in a few minutes afterwards, we set off together.
The island was two or three miles wide, and we had not proceeded far, when we came to an extensive marsh that runs through the middle of it. King Dick stopped, and insisted upon carrying me over on his back. Feeling that it was too menial an office to be performed by a king, although an untutored native, I remonstrated with him, and positively refused to be carried; but after resisting his importunity for some time, he took my musket in his hand, and I mounted on his shoulders. The marsh was several hundred yards wide, and king Dick found his burthen very heavy before he landed me on the opposite side. We there entered upon a romantic and extensive plain, covered with cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, plantain walks, papayas, &c.; interspersed through which, were numerous huts that appeared to have been long deserted. We traversed this plain for miles, with little variation; the same pleasing prospect everywhere presenting itself, when suddenly king Dick stopped, and made the whole forest ring with the shrill notes of his voice. After repeating it for several times, he was answered at a distance, and soon afterwards, we saw a native making his approaches towards us. King Dick said something to him, and he ascended a cocoa-nut tree, after the manner of the people of the Marquesas, and threw down a sufficient quantity of nuts to quench our thirst. He afterwards conducted us to a house where there were two women and several children. They were delighted to see us, and hospitably proffered whatever they had of refreshment. They gave us a preparation of dried bread-fruit, of which king Dick ate very heartily, but to me it was scarcely palatable. Near the house there were several citron and lemon trees, the only ones that I saw on the island.
In our route back, we met with large quantities of sugar cane in a wild state. We passed the burial-place of the village, where, beside two or three newly made graves, were rudely carved images placed there in conformity to a native custom, that had not yet been abolished by the influence of the missionaries. When we arrived at king Dick's house, we found dinner waiting for us. It consisted of the fish he had taken in the morning before our departure, roasted fowls, bread-fruit, tarrow, &c. The whole was wrapped up in plantain leaves, and placed on a mat upon the floor, around which, we all seated ourselves, there being a number of visiters present. During our repast, king Dick went frequently to a large chest, where he kept a bottle of rum I had given him, and, after proffering me the bottle, he would help himself, and lock it up in the chest again, without taking the least notice of the rest of his visiters. No miser ever guarded his treasure more penuriously than the king did his bottle of rum; not only on this, but all other occasions. His house was large, and a lounging place for all the idle people of his village; and, although there were always a number present when I made my visits, and he never failed to offer me a portion of his favourite beverage, the wistful lookers-on received not the slightest notice. I once ventured to propose to him to give some to his friends, but he said no, it was too good for them. When, after a week's stay at Toubouai, our departure was spoken of, king Dick expressed the liveliest regret, and proposed going with us. We told him that he would never be able to get back again; to which he replied, that he should not care about returning. The day before we left, he sent me, on board, an abundant sea-stock, of fruits and vegetables, and a good-sized hog. As a parting gift, I dressed him up in an old uniform of mine, that seemed to give him infinite pleasure. To his presents, his wife added several pieces of the tappa cloth, some of which, were as fine specimens of the native manufacture, as I ever met with anywhere.
At Toubouai, we added considerably to our collection of curiosities. The most ingeniously wrought article, was a lash, used by the natives for brushing the flies off of their backs. The handles were carved to represent a man's face, or some animal familiar to them. The lash itself, was, in several strands, finely braided from twine of the cocoa-nut husk. The natives were, in general, naked, except a wrapper round their waists, and had a sickly and feeble look. The island is very fertile, producing, in many parts, large quantities of cocoa-nut and bread-fruit, and is capable, without further improvement, of sustaining some thousands of people. The population has greatly diminished within the recollection of recent visiters. It must have been much greater when visited by the mutineers of the Bounty, who built a fort on the island, but afterwards became dissatisfied, and left it in consequence of the treacherous and hostile character of the natives. The only survivor of those guilty men, who is now the patriarch of Pitcairn's Island, states, that they had war with the natives previous to leaving Toubouai, and that they killed a great many of them. His estimate of the inhabitants at that time, is fifteen thousand. King Dick told me, that the huts we saw on the side of the island opposite to where we anchored, were once inhabited by people who were all dead. We obtained wood and water of a good quality, without much labour. Hogs were scarce, and we got none but what were presented to us. The natives gave us a few domestic fowls, in exchange for writing paper. The paper was used by the women for making paste-board for a bonnet, that had just been introduced amongst them by the wives of the Otaheite missionaries.
On the island of Toubouai, there is a tree, the bark of which, makes excellent cordage. It is produced in great abundance, and grows to the size of six or eight inches in diameter. After the ship builders were interrupted in their work, by the discontent of some of the party, the remainder made a rope-walk, and devoted themselves to making rope of this bark. They had several small cables, and a considerable quantity of rope. We purchased some, and found it to wear nearly, or quite, as well as hemp. Arrow root, grows spontaneously upon the island, and has been taken away by several vessels, as an article of commerce. We were informed that the scarcity of hogs was in consequence of a great many having been carried off recently, by a vessel belonging to the missionaries. Also, that they lay all the small islands under contribution, and annually send their small vessels to collect the hogs, which they barrel, and send to Port Jackson. This may be true or not. It was positively asserted.
Our stock of bread was nearly exhausted, and what remained, was in a damaged state. Having failed in all our attempts to obtain a supply of yams, that would enable us to reach the coast of South America, an examination was held upon the bread, to the end, that we might adopt such expedients as should be deemed most proper. Valparaiso, was our most direct port; there was but one inhabited island (Oparro,) in our way, and that at some distance from a straight course. To avoid, however, so disagreeable a circumstance as being without bread, we determined to touch at Oparro, and get whatever we could for a substitute. Accordingly, we put to sea on the 22d of June, and on the 25th, made Oparro, a little before day-light, five leagues from us. When we came near, its appearance was rude and inhospitable in the extreme, being a mass of rugged mountains, about a thousand feet high, and eight or ten miles in circumference. On the north-west side, there were no signs of inhabitants. The mountains rose almost perpendicularly from the Ocean, and we sounded frequently, close to the shore, without getting bottom. In rounding the island, to the northward and eastward, we opened a valley, where there was a number of huts, and some patches of tarrow. A boat was sent in shore, and two of the natives came on board, who informed us that there was a harbour to the eastward. We continued on, and after landing at one or two other small valleys, where there were huts and tarrow patches, opened a beautiful deep bay, that had an appearance of great fertility. Soon afterwards, an Englishman came on board, and offered to pilot us in. He had not advanced far with the vessel, before she grounded on a bank of coral, but fell off immediately, on putting the helm down and throwing all aback. We were everywhere surrounded by shoals of coral, and fearful of accidents, came to outside of the harbour, where we had ten fathoms of water on one side, and five on the other. The boats were sent off immediately, in search of tarrow. It was planted everywhere, in large patches, where there was a small valley, through which a stream of water found its way from the mountains to the sea, and at a distance, the hills were green with another species we had not before seen, called mountain tarrow. The latter is superior to the low land tarrow, and will keep longer at sea.
When we landed in the bay, which was several miles deep, we found two different missionary establishments, occupied by natives of Otaheite. No one else, that we saw, seemed to have any authority. They permitted us to dig as much tarrow as we pleased, without asking any return for it, and by night, we had as much on board as we knew what to do with. One of the missionary establishments was situated at the extreme depth of the bay. On landing there, I was met by the missionaries themselves, and conducted to their house, where their wives, who were also from Otaheite, received me, dressed in their own island costume, with large straw bonnets on their heads. After remaining with them for a few minutes, I repaired to the place where the boats' crew were employed in collecting tarrow. A group of natives, male and female, had assembled round, none of whom, could be prevailed upon by the rewards we offered them, to assist our people in their occupation. They had a sickly look, almost without an exception. Their dress differed altogether from any we had before seen. It consisted of a heavy mat of grass, weighing from ten to fifteen pounds, which was thrown over their shoulders, and another light mat of the same material, for the loins. Their deportment was modest and retiring, and they evinced a disposition to have but little intercourse with us. A few of their houses were scattered about upon the hills. They were extremely miserable, and might, without disparagement, be compared to dog kennels. They were long, and very narrow, and about three or four feet high, so that when one entered them, it was necessary to get down upon the hands and knees. The Otaheite missionaries were distinguished from the natives, by wearing the tappa cloth, of their own island, and an old cloth jacket they had obtained from white visiters. I added something to their stock of clothes, before I took leave of them, for which, they gave me many thanks. When I returned on board, I found the other two missionaries there, and several of the natives, who had accompanied the captain. They spent the night with us, and the next morning, showed us where to obtain a quantity of the mountain tarrow. It is large, and very much resembles the West India yam. For a vessel long at sea, and requiring vegetables, there is none more valuable.
The Englishman who came on board to act as our pilot, was residing at the island, in charge of a party which had been left there by the English Consul at the Sandwich Islands, to collect beach la mer, a valuable article of commerce, at Canton. The collecting of sandal-wood, was also to be an object of their attention; but they told us, that both were scarce, and difficult to obtain—a statement, we considered, of doubtful veracity.
At 2, P.M., on the 27th of June, we got underway, and made sail for Valparaiso, which is distant from Oparro, about three thousand five hundred miles. This island, which is called by the discoverer, Oparro, is called by the natives, Lapa. It is situated in latitude 27 degrees 34 minutes south, west longitude 144 degrees. At 5, P.M., we saw the islands, called by Quiros, Los Corones, and hauled up, until eight, to clear them.
For the first three days after we sailed, it blew a severe gale from the westward, after which, it became more moderate, but nearly all our passage to Valparaiso, was wet and boisterous. It was less disagreeable, however, than we anticipated, as the wind was almost constantly fair. We had the more reason to apprehend a severe trial of our fortitude, as it was in the dead of winter that we were advancing into a high latitude, after having been a long time within the tropics, and besides that, our sails and rigging were very much worn, some of our articles of provisions were quite exhausted, and others, of the first necessity, reduced to a small quantity. If, therefore, we had encountered tedious gales ahead, we must have suffered greatly in our shattered and ill-fitted condition.