About ten o’clock I dispatched Mr. Gore with three boats, two from the Resolution and one from the Discovery, to try the experiment he had proposed. And, as I could confide in his diligence and ability, I left it entirely to himself, to act as from circumstances he should judge to be most proper. Two of the natives who had been on board accompanied him; and Omai went with him in his boat as an interpreter. The ships being a full league from the island when the boats put off, and having but little wind, it was noon before we could work up to it. We then saw our three boats riding at their grapplings, just without the surf, and a prodigious number of the natives on the shore abreast of them. By this we concluded that Mr. Gore and others of our people had landed, and our impatience to know the event may be easily conceived. In order to observe their motions, and to be ready to give them such assistance as they might want, and our respective situations would admit of, I kept as near the shore as was prudent. I was sensible, however, that the reef was as effectual a barrier between us and our friends who had landed, and put them as much beyond the reach of our protection, as if half the circumference of the globe had intervened. But the islanders, it was probable, did not know this so well as we did. Some of them now and then came off to the ships in their canoes with a few cocoa-nuts, which they exchanged for whatever was offered to them, without seeming to give the preference to any particular article.
These occasional visits served to lessen my solicitude about our people who had landed. Though we could get no information from our visitors; yet their venturing on board seemed to imply, at least, that their countrymen on shore had not made an improper use of the confidence put in them. At length, a little before sun-set, we had the satisfaction of seeing the boats put off. When they got on board, I found that Mr. Gore himself, Omai, Mr. Anderson, and Mr. Burney, were the only persons who had landed. The transactions of the day were now fully reported to me by Mr. Gore; but Mr. Anderson’s account of them being very particular, and including some remarks on the island and its inhabitants, I shall give it a place here nearly in his own words.
“We rowed toward a small sandy beach, upon which, and upon the adjacent rocks, a great number of the natives had assembled, and came to an anchor within a hundred yards of the reef, which extends about as far, or a little farther from the shore. Several of the natives swam off, bringing cocoa-nuts; and Omai, with their countrymen, whom we had with us in the boats, made them sensible of our wish to land. But their attention was taken up for a little time by the dog which had been carried from the ship, and was just brought on shore, round whom they flocked with great eagerness. Soon after, two canoes came off; and, to create a greater confidence in the islanders, we determined to go unarmed, and run the hazard of being treated well or ill.
“Mr. Burney, the first lieutenant of the Discovery, and I went in one canoe a little time before the other; and our conductors, watching attentively the motions of the surf, landed us safely upon the reef. An islander took hold of each of us, obviously with an intention to support us in walking over the rugged rocks to the beach, where several of the others met us, holding the green boughs of a species of Mimosa in their hands, and saluted us by applying their noses to ours.
“We were conducted from the beach by our guides, amidst a great crowd of people, who flocked with very eager curiosity to look at us, and would have prevented our proceeding, had not some men, who seemed to have authority, dealt blows with little distinction amongst them to keep them off. We were then led up an avenue of cocoa-palms, and soon came to a number of men arranged in two rows, armed with clubs, which they held on their shoulders much in the manner we rest a musket. After walking a little way amongst these, we found a person who seemed a chief, sitting on the ground cross-legged, cooling himself with a sort of triangular fan, made from a leaf of the cocoa-palm, with a polished handle of black wood fixed to one corner. In his ears were large bunches of beautiful red feathers which pointed forward. But he had no other mark or ornament to distinguish him from the rest of the people, though they all obeyed him with the greatest alacrity. He either naturally had, or at this time put on a serious but not severe countenance; and we were desired to salute him as he sat by some people who seemed of consequence.
“We proceeded still amongst the men armed with clubs, and came to a second chief, who sat fanning himself, and ornamented as the first. He was remarkable for his size and uncommon corpulence, though to appearance not above thirty years of age. In the same manner we were conducted to a third chief, who seemed older than the two former, and, though not so fat as the second, was of a large size. He also was sitting, and adorned with red feathers; and after saluting him as we had done the others, he desired us both to sit down, which we were very willing to do, being pretty well fatigued with walking up, and with the excessive heat we felt amongst the vast crowd that surrounded us.
“In a few minutes the people were ordered to separate; and we saw, at the distance of thirty yards, about twenty young women, ornamented as the chiefs with red feathers, engaged in a dance, which they performed to a slow and serious air sung by them all. We got up and went forward to see them; and though we must have been strange objects to them, they continued their dance without paying the least attention to us. They seemed to be directed by a man who served as a prompter, and mentioned each motion they were to make. But they never changed the spot as we do in dancing; and though their feet were not at rest, this exercise consisted more in moving the fingers very nimbly, at the same time holding their hands in a prone position near the face, and now and then also clapping them together.[[169]] Their motions and song were performed in such exact concert, that it should seem they had been taught with great care; and probably they were selected for this ceremony, as few of those whom we saw in the crowd equalled them in beauty. In general they were rather stout than slender, with black hair flowing in ringlets down the neck, and of an olive complexion. Their features were rather fuller than what we allow to perfect beauties, and much alike; but their eyes were of a deep black, and each countenance expressed a degree of complacency and modesty peculiar to the sex in every part of the world, but perhaps more conspicuous here, where Nature presented us with her productions in the fullest perfection, unbiassed in sentiment by custom, or unrestrained in manner by art. Their shape and limbs were elegantly formed; for, as their dress consisted only of a piece of glazed cloth fastened about the waist, and scarcely reaching so low as the knees, in many we had an opportunity of observing every part. This dance was not finished when we heard a noise as if some horses had been gallopping toward us; and, on looking aside, we saw the people armed with clubs, who had been desired, as we supposed, to entertain us with the sight of their manner of fighting. This they now did, one party pursuing another who fled.
“As we supposed the ceremony of being introduced to the chiefs was at an end, we began to look about for Mr. Gore and Omai; and though the crowd would hardly suffer us to move, we at length found them coming up, as much incommoded by the number of people as we had been, and introduced in the same manner to the three chiefs, whose names were Otteroo, Taroa, and Fatouweera. Each of these expected a present; and Mr. Gore gave them such things as he had brought with him from the ship for that purpose. After this, making use of Omai as his interpreter, he informed the chiefs with what intention we had come on shore; but was given to understand, that he must wait till the next day, and then he should have what was wanted.
“They now seemed to take some pains to separate us from each other; and every one of us had his circle to surround and gaze at him. For my own part, I was at one time above an hour apart from my friends; and when I told the chief, with whom I sat, that I wanted to speak to Omai, he peremptorily refused my request. At the same time I found the people began to steal several trifling things which I had in my pocket; and when I took the liberty of complaining to the chief of this treatment, he justified it. From these circumstances, I now entertained apprehensions, that they might have formed the design of detaining us amongst them. They did not, indeed, seem to be of a disposition so savage, as to make us anxious for the safety of our persons; but it was, nevertheless, vexing to think we had hazarded being detained by their curiosity. In this situation I asked for something to eat; and they readily brought me some cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, and a sort of sour pudding, which was presented by a woman. And on my complaining much of the heat, occasioned by the crowd, the chief himself condescended to fan me, and gave me a small piece of cloth, which he had round his waist.
“Mr. Burney happened to come to the place where I was, I mentioned my suspicions to him, and, to put it to the test, whether they were well-founded, we attempted to get to the beach. But we were stopped when about half way, by some men, who told us that we must go back to the place which we had left. On coming up, we found Omai entertaining the same apprehensions. But he had, as he fancied, an additional reason for being afraid, for he had observed that they had dug a hole in the ground for an oven, which they were now heating; and he could assign no other reason for this, than that they meant to roast and eat us, as is practised by the inhabitants of New Zealand. Nay, he went so far as to ask them the question; at which they were greatly surprised, asking in return, whether that was a custom with us? Mr. Burney and I were rather angry that they should be thus suspected by him, there having as yet been no appearances in their conduct toward us, of their being capable of such brutality.