Natives on board.—Good prospects of fresh provisions.—An interment on board.—A night scene.—Visit to the Island Group.—Fáole.—Voyage trip to Sikayana.—Narrative of an English sailor.—Cruelty of merchantmen in the South Sea Islands.—Tradition as to the origin of the inhabitants of Sikayana.—A king.—Barter.—Religion of the natives.—Trepang.—Method of preparing this sea-slug for the Chinese market.—Dictionary of the native language.—Under sail.—Ile de Contrariété.—Stormy weather.—Spring a leak.—Bampton Reef.—Smoky Cape.—Arrival in Port Jackson, the harbour of Sydney.
The short distance at which we found ourselves from Sikayana, called Stewart's Island by the English, as also the prospect of procuring there fresh provisions for the crew, among whom after 66 days' confinement on board ship, some symptoms of scurvy began to appear, determined our Commodore on spending a day there, and effecting a landing. Towards afternoon, when we were about four or five miles distant
from the western island, two splendid large canoes approached the ship, in which were fifteen men stark naked, except for a piece of linen round their loins. They were all tall, robust, powerful men, five and a half to six feet high, some with long, others broad faces, all having long noses, of a light brown colour, and the greater number with glossy black hair. With the exception of one who had whiskers, they were beardless; almost all being tattooed from the elbow to the shoulder. They spoke broken English, and even had English names. We never saw among the savage races such finely built, well-proportioned, healthy-looking men, as these inhabitants of the coral reef of Sikayana. Their free, unaccustomed, familiar deportment was something surprising. But our astonishment reached its height when one of these apparently savage children of nature, happening to find on a table on the gun-deck a draught-board lying open, immediately challenged one of the by-standers to a game, which it seems he understood so well that he beat his antagonist two games out of three. We afterwards heard that the natives at Sikayana have learned draughts, as also an English game at cards known as "odd fourth," of which they seemed passionately fond, from some English sailors, who several years before had spent five months on these islands, preparing Trepang, or biche-de-mar, for the Chinese market, those sea-slugs having formerly been found here in large quantities.
To our question whether they had fresh provisions for sale, and of what description, they replied that they possess on
the island plenty of Taro, cocoa-nuts, bananas, pigs, and poultry, which they would willingly exchange for fish-hooks, tobacco, calico, gunpowder, ammunition, biscuit, playing-cards, and ornaments for their wives. For money they did not show the slightest desire, and of the value of gold they seemed to be utterly ignorant. They showed the utmost eagerness for playing-cards and trinkets.
We now also learned that there was on the island one white settler, an English sailor. This man attempted to come off to the frigate in a small canoe, but owing to night setting in, he could not reach her. As these hearty people were taking their leave, we promised to pay them a visit early next morning, with which they seemed highly delighted.
There still remained the same evening one mournful duty for those on board the Novara. During the afternoon one of our sailors had died after protracted sufferings consequent on dysentery, and we had now, for sanitary reasons, to commit his remains to the deep the very evening of his death. It was already dark when the officers and crew were mustered on deck, to pay the last honours to the departed. The captain gave the customary orders, the ship's bell tolled, the narrow plank, on which lay the body of the deceased sewn up in his hammock, was brought to the gangway, where an iron weight was attached to the body by the feet, and last of all the plank being tilted up, the heavy body plunged into the waves with a hollow splash, and the watery tomb closed over him.
We looked down into the abyss and beheld myriads of stars
reflected in all their lustre in the smooth mirror of the ocean; the deep, blue, unfathomable ocean appearing like a second firmament beneath our feet! Nothing in the gay scene around seemed out of harmony with the mournful act which the community of Christians on board the Novara had been celebrating. Everything about us—the brightly glistening stars, the whispering ripple of the waves, the balmy atmosphere, all left an impression of a higher state of felicity and tranquil happiness, and seemed to remind us that everything in the universe, even the poor remains we had just committed to the waves, obeyed but one eternal, immutable law!
On the morning of 17th October, three boats put off from the Novara with some of the officers and all the naturalists of the Expedition, bound for Sikayana, between three and four miles distant, while the frigate cruised about in the vicinity.