Before this excursion, some of us had been of opinion, that these people were addicted to an unnatural passion, because they had endeavoured to entice some of our men into the woods; and, in particular, I was told, that one who had the care of Mr. Forster’s plant bag, had been, once or twice, attempted. As the carrying of bundles, &c. is the office of the women in this country, it had occurred to me, and I was not singular in this, that the natives might mistake him, and some others, for women. My conjecture was fully verified this day: for this man, who was one of the party, and carried the bag as usual, following me down the hill, by the words which I understood of the conversation of the natives, and by their actions, I was well assured that they considered him as a female; till, by some means, they discovered their mistake, on which they cried out, Erramange! Erramange! It’s a man! It’s a man! The thing was so palpable that every one was obliged to acknowledge, that they had before mistaken his sex; and that, after they were undeceived, they seemed not to have the least notion of what we had suspected. This circumstance will show how liable we are to form wrong conjectures of things, among people whose language we are ignorant of. Had it not been for this discovery, I make no doubt that these people would have been charged with this vile custom.
In the evening I took a walk, with some of the gentlemen, into the country on the other side of the harbour, where we had very different treatment from what we had met with in the morning. The people we now visited, among whom was our friend Paowang, being better acquainted with us, showed a readiness to oblige us in every thing in their power. We came to the village which had been visited on the 9th. It consisted of about twenty houses, the most of which need no other description than comparing them to the roof of a thatched house in England taken off the walls and placed on the ground. Some were open at both ends; others partly closed with reeds; and all were covered with palm thatch. A few of them were thirty or forty feet long, and fourteen or sixteen broad. Besides these, they have other mean hovels, which, I conceived, were only to sleep in. Some of these stood in a plantation, and I was given to understand, that in one of them lay a dead corpse. They made signs that described sleep, or death; and circumstances pointed out the latter. Curious to see all I could, I prevailed on an elderly man to go with me to the hut, which was separated from the others by a reed fence, built quite round it, at the distance of four or five feet. The entrance was by a space in the fence, made so low as to admit one to step over. The two sides and one end of the hut were closed or built up in the same manner, and with the same materials, as the roof. The other end had been open, but was now well closed up with mats, which I could not prevail on the man to remove, or suffer me to do it. There hung at this end of the hut a matted bag or basket, in which was a piece of roasted yam, and some sort of leaves, all quite fresh. I had a strong desire to see the inside of the hut, but the man was peremptory in refusing this, and even showed an unwillingness to permit me to look into the basket. He wore round his neck, fastened to a string, two or three locks of human hair; and a woman present had several about her neck. I offered something in exchange for them; but they gave me to understand they could not part with them, as it was the hair of the person who lay in the hut. Thus I was led to believe, that these people dispose of their dead in a manner similar to that of Otaheite. The same custom of wearing the hair is observed by the people of that island, and also by the New Zealanders. The former make Tamau of the hair of their deceased friends, and the latter make ear-rings and necklaces of their teeth.
Near most of their large houses were fixed upright in the ground the stems of four cocoa-nut trees, in a square position, about three feet from each other. Some of our gentlemen, who first saw them, were inclined to believe they were thus placed on a religious account; but I was now satisfied that it was for no other purpose but to hang cocoa-nuts on to dry. For when I asked, as well as I could, the use of them, a man took me to one, loaded with cocoa-nuts from the bottom to the top; and no words could have informed me better. Their situation is well chosen for this use, as most of their large houses are built in an open airy place, or where the wind has a free passage, from whatever direction it blows. Near most, if not all of them, is a large tree, or two, whose spreading branches afford an agreeable retreat from the scorching sun. This part of the island was well cultivated, open and airy; the plantations were laid out by line, abounding with plantains, sugar-canes, yams, and other roots, and stocked with fruit trees. In our walk we met with our old friend Paowang, who, with some others, accompanied us to the water-side, and brought with them, as a present, a few yams and cocoa-nuts.
On the 15th, having finished wooding and watering, a few hands only were on shore making brooms, the rest being employed on board, setting up the rigging, and putting the ship in a condition for sea. Mr. Forster, in his botanical excursion this day, shot a pigeon, in the craw of which was a wild nutmeg. He took some pains to find the tree, but his endeavours were without success. In the evening a party of us walked to the eastern sea-shore, in order to take the bearing of Annattom, and Erronan or Foottoona. The horizon proved so hazy that I could see neither; but one of the natives gave me, as I afterwards found, the true direction of them. We observed that in all, or most of their sugar plantations, were dug holes or pits, four feet deep, and five or six in diameter, and on our inquiring their use, we were given to understand, that they caught rats in them. These animals, which are very destructive to the canes, are here in great plenty. The canes, I observed, were planted as thick as possible round the edge of these pits, so that the rats in coming at them are the more liable to tumble in.
Next morning we found the tiller sprung in the rudder-head, and by some strange neglect, we had not a spare one on board, which we were ignorant of till now it was wanting. I knew but of one tree in the neighbourhood fit for this purpose, which I sent the carpenter on shore to look at, and an officer, with a party of men, to cut it down, provided he could obtain leave of the natives; if not, he was ordered to acquaint me. He understood that no one had any objection, and set the people to work accordingly. But as the tree was large, this required some time; and, before it was down, word was brought me that our friend Paowang was not pleased. Upon this I gave orders to desist, as we found that, by scarfing a piece to the inner end of the tiller, and letting it farther into the rudder-head, it would still perform its office. But, as it was necessary to have a spare one on board, I went on shore, sent for Paowang, made him a present of a dog and a piece of cloth, and then explained to him that our great steering paddle was broken, and that I wanted that tree to make a new one. It was easy to see how well pleased every one present was with the means I took to obtain it. With one voice they gave their consent, Paowang joining his also, which he perhaps could not have done without the others; for I do not know that he had either more property or more authority than the rest. This point being obtained, I took our friend on board to dinner, and after it was over went with him on ashore, to pay a visit to an old chief, who was said to be king of the island, which was a doubt with me. Paowang took little or no notice of him. I made him a present, after which he immediately went away, as if he had got all he came for. His name was Geogy, and they gave him the title of Areeke. He was very old, but had a merry open countenance. He wore round his waist a broad red and white checquered belt, the materials and manufacture of which seemed the same as that of Otaheite cloth; but this was hardly a mark of distinction. He had with him a son, not less than forty-five or fifty years of age. A great number of people were at this time at the landing-place; most of them from distant parts. The behaviour of many was friendly, while others were daring and insolent, which I thought proper to put up with, as our stay was nearly at an end.
On the 17th, about ten o’clock, I went ashore, and found in the crowd old Geogy and his son, who soon made me understand that they wanted to dine with me; and accordingly I brought them, and two more on board. They all called them Areekees (or kings); but I doubt if any of them had the least pretensions to that title over the whole island. It had been remarked that one of these kings had not authority enough to order one of the people up into a cocoa-nut tree to bring him down some nuts. Although he spoke to several, he was at last obliged to go himself, and by way of revenge, as it was thought, left not a nut on the tree, taking what he wanted himself, and giving the rest to some of our people.
When I got them on board, I went with them all over the ship, which they viewed with uncommon surprise and attention. We happened to have for their entertainment a kind of pie or pudding made of plantains, and some sort of greens which we had got from one of the natives. On this, and on yams, they made a hearty dinner; for, as to the salt beef and pork, they would hardly taste them. In the afternoon, having made each of them a present of a hatchet, a spike-nail, and some medals, I conducted them ashore.
Mr. Forster and I then went over to the other side of the harbour, and having tried, with Fahrenheit’s thermometer, the head of one of the hot springs, we found that the mercury rose to 191°. At this time the tide was up within two or three feet of the spring, so that we judged it might, in some degree, be cooled by it. We were mistaken, however; for, on repeating the experiment next morning, when the tide was out, the mercury rose no higher than 187°; but, at another spring, where the water bubbled out of the sand from under the rock at the S. W. corner of the harbour, the mercury, in the same thermometer, rose to 202° 1⁄2, which is but little colder than boiling water. The hot places before mentioned are from about three to four hundred feet perpendicular above these springs, and on the slope of the same ridge with the volcano; that is, there are no vallies between them but such as are formed in the ridge itself; nor is the volcano on the highest part of the ridge, but on the S. E. side of it. This is, I have been told, contrary to the general opinion of philosophers, who say that volcanos must be on the summits of the highest hills. So far is this from being the case on this island, that some of its hills are more than double the height of that on which the volcano is, and close to it. To these remarks I must add, that, in wet or moist weather, the volcano was most violent. There seems to be room for some philosophical reasoning on these phænomena of nature; but not having any talent that way, I must content myself with stating facts as I found them, and leave the causes to men of more abilities.
The tiller was now finished; but as the wind was unfavourable for sailing, the guard was sent on shore on the 19th, as before, and a party of men to cut up and bring off the remainder of the tree from which we had got the tiller. Having nothing else to do, I went on shore with them, and finding a good number of the natives collected about the landing-place as usual, I distributed among them all the articles I had with me, and then went on board for more. In less than an hour I returned, just as our people were getting some large logs into the boat. At the same time four or five of the natives stepped forward to see what we were about, and as we did not allow them to come within certain limits, unless to pass along the beach, the sentry ordered them back, which they readily complied with. At this time, having my eyes fixed on them, I observed the sentry present his piece (as I thought at these men), and was just going to reprove him for it, because I had observed that, whenever this was done, some of the natives would hold up their arms, to let us see they were equally ready. But I was astonished beyond measure when the sentry fired, for I saw not the least cause. At this outrage most of the people fled: it was only a few I could prevail on to remain. As they ran off, I observed one man to fall; and he was immediately lifted up by two others who took him into the water, washed his wound, and then led him off. Presently after, some came and described to me the nature of his wound; and, as I found he was not carried far, I sent for the surgeon. As soon as he arrived, I went with him to the man, whom we found expiring. The ball had struck his left arm, which was much shattered, and then entered his body by the short-ribs, one of which was broken. The rascal who fired pretended that a man had laid an arrow across his bow, and was going to shoot at him, so that he apprehended himself in danger. But this was no more than they had always done, and with no other view than to show they were armed as well as we; at least I have reason to think so, as they never went farther. What made this incident the more unfortunate, was, it not appearing to be the man who bent the bow that was shot, but one who stood by him. This affair threw the natives into the utmost consternation; and the few that were prevailed on to stay ran to the plantations and brought cocoa-nuts, &c. which they laid down at our feet. So soon were these daring people humbled! When I went on board to dinner they all retired, and only a few appeared in the afternoon, amongst whom were Paowang and Wha-a-gou. I had not seen this young man since the day he dined on board. Both he and Paowang promised to bring me fruit, &c. the next morning, but our early departure put it out of their power.