We stood in again, and running the vessel close in with the edge of the surf (the wind blowing off shore) came to in eight fathoms. In a few minutes, a native made his appearance on the coral bank, near us, with his arms full of cocoa-nuts, which he held up, as if for our acceptance, waving at the same time a green branch, and frequently jumping about upon the rocks, in a childish, playful manner. A boat was sent to bring him off; but when he saw her approaching pretty near, he threw the nuts in the water towards her, and hastily retired. A coral bed, like that at Caroline Island, extended off fifty or a hundred yards from the shore, which, like that, was perforated every where with holes, and resembled, in its frail appearance, ice that has been for a long time exposed to rain. The tide was low, and the surf breaking but lightly upon it, we were enabled to land without difficulty. At our approach the natives all ran off, and for a considerable time could not be prevailed upon to come near us. After a while their timidity relaxed, and they came round us, one by one, until we had a dozen of them assembled. Still they were very much afraid, starting with every motion we made, and if we attempted to touch them, they ran from us, and became as shy as ever. From our place of landing, we could discover that this island was similar to the Duke of Clarence, being a narrow chain of little islets and reefs, of coral formation, covered with bushes and cocoa-nut trees, and comprehending within the chain a lake of many miles in circumference.
At our place of landing, the island between the ocean and inland sea, was not more than two hundred yards wide, and this appeared to be as wide as any part of the chain that came under our immediate observation. In passing over to the borders of the lake, we saw near the centre of it a large raft, and a number of canoes filled with people. On first landing, we were surprised not to see any women or children, the mystery of which was now explained, as well as the singular visit we received on first approaching this part of the island. The person in the canoe had been sent off as a spy, to reconnoitre us, and from the report he made, it was thought expedient to remove the women and children, where we now saw them at a place of safety. They did not appear to be more than thirty in number, and the men on the island did not exceed fifteen. The men resembled the inhabitants of Clarence Island, in dress, colour, and every thing, except that they had a sickly look, and, in strength and activity, seemed much their inferiors. Their canoes were also the same. Like the inhabitants of the Duke of Clarence Island, they had nothing amongst them that indicated a visit of white men before. The cocoa-nut, except when they catch fish, is their only food. No bread-fruit trees were seen growing upon either island. They exchanged for iron hoop and old nails, their rude shell ornaments, mats, cocoa-nuts, and fishing nets. We witnessed several instances of dishonesty, practised by them upon us, and each other. Their fishing-nets, which were beautifully wrought, they had concealed, from the apprehension that we would plunder them; but when they had made acquaintance with us, and found that our disposition towards them was friendly, persons, to whom the nets did not belong, would purloin, and bring them to us, in exchange for pieces of iron hoop. Not long afterwards the owner would discover his net in the possession of one of our people, and claim it as his property, or demand a gratuity. In this way, they made us pay in some instances three or four times for the same thing, frequently (we began to suspect) pretending a fraud had been committed upon them, whilst they themselves were the rogues. We saw no animals or birds upon the island, but presented them with a pair of pigs, male and female, with which they were very much pleased, and before we left them, so far acquired their confidence, that they came amongst us without fear, and, in many instances, became troublesome by their familiarity. The only water we saw on the island was in a few trunks of cocoa-nut trees, the stumps of which had been hollowed out, and from whence we supposed that, in time of drought, if not always, they are supplied with this important necessary of life. We regretted the more that we could not find a sufficient supply here, as the thinly populated state of the island would admit of sending our parties on shore, without the least apprehension of hostility from the natives, and because the landing was such, as to permit the embarkation, without great labour, or risk of losing boats.
As the Duke of York Island was not inhabited, when discovered by Commodore Byron, thirty-five years previous to the visit of the Dolphin, it is reasonable to suppose, from the strong resemblance of the natives to those of Clarence Island, their dress and canoes being the same, that they came from thence at no very distant period. The distance of these islands from each other, is only about forty miles, and a canoe, being driven from one in the direction of the other, in tempestuous weather, would soon be in sight of it. Towards evening in returning on board, we found, to our regret, that the tide had risen two or three feet over the coral bank, and it became difficult for us to see the holes, some of which, being now filled with water, were deep enough to be attended with danger. Besides this, the surf, as is usual upon these coral banks, had increased with the rising tide to such a degree, that we found it difficult to embark. Guided by our observation, in the morning, however, we got on board safely, with the exception of some trifling accidents. The most serious of which was having the boat bilged against the rocks.
At four, P.M. on the 31st of October, we got under way, and steered to the westward. For several days the weather was squally, and the wind variable, shifting suddenly to all points of the compass, and blowing at times with great violence. We experienced strong currents setting in different directions, which were now a cause of serious alarm to us, as we should soon be surrounded by reefs and chains of islands, all low, and to be seen only for a few miles on a clear day. On the 9th of November, Byron's Island was seen, at 8 P.M. six miles from us, and soon afterwards the shore was lighted up with a number of fires. The surf was beating heavily upon the weather-shore. We stood off and on until morning, when, having been driven to leeward by a strong current, we beat up for the island, passing several canoes on our way, and having a great many others in different directions to windward, running down for us. At meridian, we were close in with the land, where we beat about for several hours, looking for anchorage. Once we tacked, in three fathoms, so close to the coral bank, where was beating a heavy surf, that we could almost have jumped upon it. At 6, P.M. on the tenth, we anchored in ten fathoms, within less than a cable's length of the surf, and where the water was so clear, that we could see almost every coral rock at the bottom. Besides the rocks, it presented the appearance of a splendid landscape of trees and copse-wood, ornamented with the most lively and brilliant colours, which, affected by the swelling of the ocean, were transformed into a representation of a rich and beautiful country of mountain and valley.
Whilst we were beating about, canoes were assembling near us, in great numbers, and as soon as we anchored, came along side, the people jumping on board without the least hesitation, talking and hallooing to each other so loud, as almost to deafen us with their noise. They had not been long on board, before several of them were detected in thieving, and when threatened, seemed quite regardless of our displeasure, although it was expressed in a way calculated to make them sensible of its disagreeable consequences. They were all provided with long shark's-tooth spears, and walked about the deck with a swaggering, independent air, that seemed to challenge, at least, an equality. But few brought any thing else with them but their spears, which they would not dispose of, and altogether, their number and appearance was truly formidable. At sunset, we sent them off, and they all returned to their respective islets.
The appearance of Byron's Island, differed scarcely in any respect from that of the Duke of Clarence. Its dimensions and formation were perfectly similar; and, like the latter, it was inhabited by an enterprising and warlike people, whose dress, arms, canoes, and manner of life, seemed to be identically the same. The islet abreast of us was all night illuminated with numerous fires, and the air rung incessantly with the shouts of hundreds of people.
When the day dawned, the whole ocean was whitened with the little sails of canoes that were seen coming from every direction, and some of them as far as the eye could distinguish so small an object. In an hour, not less than a hundred of them were alongside, and our deck was crowded with the natives. The officer of the watch undertook to wash off the deck, which he found altogether impracticable: not a word could be understood for the noise that they made, and when they were pushed out of the way by our people, they became insolent and resentful. We were at length, obliged to resort to some little violence to clear the decks of the unruly rabble, whose disposition to thievery and violence, became every moment more difficult to repress.
An old athletic chief, whom our captain had treated with more than ordinary attention, suddenly put his arms round him, and embraced him with such herculean strength, that he was constrained to call on the men near him for assistance; in a moment, they had a rope around the old chief's neck, and broke his grasp, and the captain having enough of Indian courtesy, was well pleased to dismiss them. They still remained near us, and as many as were allowed, came alongside. They exchanged for pieces of old iron, coarse matting, flying-fish, shell ornaments, and a few of them disposed of their spears.
One fellow, who evinced an obstinate determination to come alongside, was ordered off by the sentinel, who pointed his musket at him. As soon as the musket was pointed, he raised his spear, and stood in the attitude of throwing it until the sentinel came to a shoulder, when he again took to his paddle; the musket was again presented, and the Indian, with the same promptitude, raised his spear, until the sentinel, feeling the awkwardness of his situation, reported the circumstance to an officer. I went forward, and pointing at the native a pistol loaded with very fine shot, motioned for him to retire; upon which, he raised his spear at me, and I discharged the pistol at his legs, when he dropped his arms and fled with the greatest precipitation; I afterwards remarked him outside of all the rest of the canoes, apparently afraid to come nearer the vessel. After this example, none of them seemed disposed to question the authority of a sentinel.
The islands we had seen, since our departure from the Marquesas, resembling each other so much, and none of them affording indications of water sufficient for our purposes, we began to think seriously, that we might experience great inconvenience, and perhaps suffering, before we could procure a supply; we determined, therefore, to let no opportunity escape us, of examining every island that came in our way, if it could be done without too much risk. With a view to this object, the captain pulled in shore, followed by nearly all the canoes; but when he arrived at the edge of the surf, which was so heavy as to make the landing difficult, he remarked that the people on shore, of whom a great many were assembled, had all armed themselves with spears and stones. This hostile appearance, together with the violence of the surf, made him hesitate about proceeding further, although the natives, on shore as well as those in canoes, pressed him to land. When, finally, he relinquished his object, and was about to return on board, the people on shore dashed into the water and swam off, and uniting with those in the canoes, made a violent attempt to drag the boat into the surf. The men promptly repelled them, when they dived to the bottom, and coming up, showered a volley of stones into the boat, which wounded a few of the crew slightly, and broke several pieces of the gunwale. In the midst of the excitement and confusion that prevailed, a native seized a pistol, which he struggled violently to carry off, until a musket was fired, and he was taken into the nearest canoe severely wounded; it had the effect to disperse the natives, who fled from the boat in every direction, as she returned to the schooner. When she was hoisted in, they came alongside, and some of them got on board. We commenced getting underway, and one of the anchors was already up; the other having hooked to a coral rock, the captain directed the sentinel forward, to give the musket to him, and repair to his station. A native, who had been talking to the captain, embracing a favourable opportunity, seized the musket, upon which was a fixed bayonet, and jumping overboard with it, swam towards the shore, keeping half the time under water. Muskets were fired at him, but he bore his booty safely through the surf to the coral bank, where, although he was still within striking distance, he marched away with the most perfect composure, until he disappeared in the bushes.