NARRATIVE

OF A

WHALING VOYAGE

ROUND THE GLOBE.

LONDON :

J. H. NICHOLS AND SON, 25, PARLIAMENT STREET.

I/

NARRATIVE

OF A

WHALING VOYAGE ,

ROUND THE GLOBE,

FROM THE YEAR 1833 TO 1836.

COMPRISING SKETCHES OF

POLYNESIA, CALIFORNIA, THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO,

ETC.

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF

SOUTHERN WHALES, THE SPERM WHALE FISHERY,

AND

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CLIMATES VISITED.

BY

FREDERICK DEBELL BENNETT, ESQ. F.R.G.S,

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, LONDON.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON:

RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,
$ubtts1)n- in (©rtmarp to ftn

1840.

847

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

CHAPTER I.

Final departure from the Sandwich group — Proceed for the
"off-shore" cruising ground — Approach the American con_
tinent — Discover a cluster of islands — The Lobos Islands —
Arrival at Cape St. Lucas — Description of its coast and
settlement — Inhabitants of an estancia, or grazing-farm —
Their social state — Religion — Commerce — Natural produc-
tions of the Cape — The Puma, or American lion — Deer —
Vultures, or Turkey-buzzards — Pigeons — Reptiles — Turtle
Haliotis, or ear-shell — Vegetation of the soil — Its luxu-
riance and beauty — Species of Cactus — The Sargasso-weed.

Page I

CHAPTER II.

Leave Cape St. Lucas and proceed to the southward — A false
alarm — Cross the Equator, and cruise to the westward —
Second visit to Santa Christina, Marquesas — Unfavourable
prospects of the missionaries there — Selfish policy of the
chief, Eutiti — War averted by the interference of the mis-
sionaries— Distillation of ardent spirits by the natives —
Its dreaded effects — Endeavours to introduce a breed of ducks
on the island — Departure — Visit Huahine — Description of

VI CONTENTS.

the island — Settlement at Fare — Mr. Barff — Success of the
coffee-plant grown on this soil — Captain Cook's Shaddock-
tree — Third visit to Raiatea — Improved condition of the
people — Their versatile character — Vigilance of the native
police — Passage to Tahiti — Sir Charles Saunders Island —
Eimeo — Domestic state of Tahiti — Laws prohibitory of the
use of ardent spirits — Improved state of commerce — Meet
with natives of the Palisser Islands — Journey to Mairipehe
— Battle-field near Bunaauia — Moral of Paea — Remarkable
caverns in the S.W. coast — Their probable origin — Curious
sub-marine springs — Tati, governor of Papara — Great Morai
of Maihatea — Excursion to the celebrated mountain-lake at
Vaihirea — Village and harbour of Mairipehe — Atinua 21

CHAPTER III.

Cruise to the northward — Tetuaroa — Return to Tahiti to
repair a leak — Native worship — Observance of the Sabbath
— The Ofai-marama or moon-stone — Visit of the Zebra —
Remarks on missionary labours in Polynesia — Sail for Eng-
land, by way of the Cape of Good Hope — Rotch Island —
Remarkable effects of a current — Capture Sperm Wales —
Tench's Island — See other islands — Enter the Indian Archi-
pelago— Floating pumice-stone — Capture a water-snake, Hy-
drophis bicolor — Spirula Australis — Take a large Whale in
Pitt's Passage — Curious effects of refraction — Speak the
Soubrou, Bombay trader — Approach the Island of Timor —
Its coast scenery . . . . .50

CHAPTER IV.

Anchor in Soutranha Bay, Timor — Visit the rajah — The ship
visited by the rajah, his family, and suite — Description of the
country and its inhabitants — Village of Soutranha — Physical
character of the natives — Their clothing — Ornaments and
food — The Betel masticatory — Despotism of the rajah — His

CONTENTS. VT

warriors and wars — Religion of the people — Malay and abo-
riginal languages — Commerce and manufactures — Chinese
residents — Proas and canoes — Climate — Natural productions
Reflections on the probable Asiatic origin of Polynesian
Islanders — Natural History corroborative of that opinion

74

CHAPTER V.

Quit Soutranha — Enter the Indian Ocean — Relinquish whaling
— Passage round the Cape of Good Hope — Complete the
circuit of the Globe — Arrival at St. Helena — Its coast
scenery — Account of the Island — Visits to Longwood and
the tomb of Napoleon — Remarks on a rumoured intention to
remove the remains of Napoleon to Europe — Population of
the island — Soil and climate — Effects of the recent change of
government — Geological remarks — Natural productions of
the island — Departure — See a Sperm Whale — The Sargasso-
or Gulf- weed — Return to the port of London . Ill

APPENDIX.

ZOOLOGY. — Cetaceans .... 145 — 241

Birds .... 242—254

Fishes .... 255—289

Mollusca .... 290—318

Marine Phosphorescence . . 319 — 326

BOTANY 327 — 395

NARRATIVE

OF

A WHALING VOYAGE

ROUND THE GLOBE.

CHAPTER L

Final departure from the Sandwich group — Proceed for
the " off-shore " cruising ground — Approach the Ame-
rican continent — Discover a cluster of islands — The
Lobos Islands — Arrival at Cape St. Lucas — Description
of its coast and settlement — Inhabitants of an estancia, or
grazing-farm — Their social state — Religion — Commerce
— Natural productions of the Cape — The Puma, or
American lion — Deer — Vultures, or Turkey-buzzards —
Pigeons — Reptiles — Turtle — Haliotis, or ear-shell —
Vegetation of the soil — Its luxuriance and beauty-
Species of Cactus — The Sargasso -weed.

WE took our final leave of the Sandwich
Islands on the 4th of November, 1835 ; and pro-
ceeded for the American continent and the
Equator by nearly the same route we had taken
in the preceding year. On this occasion, how-
ever, it was not until we reached the thirty-fifth
degree of north latitude that we found winds
favourable to an easterly course. As we advanced
thus far to the northward the barometer main-
tained an unusually high grade ; namely, from

VOL. II. B

2 DISCOVER THREE ISLANDS.

30*40 to 30'60, which last was the highest it
marked during the entire voyage.

Dec. 10.— In latitude 24° N., long. 115£° W.,
numerous shoals of bonita, albacore, and skip-
jacks, (Salt atrix y CatesbyJ came around us ;
several turtle also made their appearance ; and
the sea was covered with a large quantity of the
sea-weed named porra by the olden Spanish na-
vigators, who were accustomed to regard its
presence as an indication of their vicinity to the
coast of Mexico.

At daylight on the morning of the 12th,
land was unexpectedly seen from the deck of the
ship, bearing N.N.E., distant thirty miles. It
proved to be a group of three islands, extending
in an east and west direction, of moderate size,
elevated, rocky, and apparently barren. By our
observations, this group lies in lat. 24° 9' N.,
long. 112° 39' W. — a spot where no land is laid
down in any of our charts. An ordinary map of
North America, of 1814, places islands in the
vicinity under the name of Celisos ;* but it is
more than probable that this group is the Lobos
(or Seal) Islands, laid down in Krusenstern's and
in Arrowsmith's charts 1 50 miles to the N.N.W.
of the position above assigned.

* Probably a corruption of A lejos, signifying " in the
offing " or " afar off."

VISIT CAPE ST. LUCAS. 3

These islands are so perilously placed for
shipping making Cape St. Lucas from the north-
ward, (a route annually followed by numerous
South-Seamen,) that it is surprising they should
have remained so long unnoticed, or their posi-
tion undetermined.* That we failed to observe
them during our passage of the preceding year,
arose from our having then hauled up for the
American continent much more to the southward
than on the present occasion.

On the following day the dark and elevated
land of the N. American continent was seen from
the mast-head, bearing E. by S. ; and on the
morning of the 15th we approached that coast
within eight miles, and hove to between Cape St.
Lucas and Cape Palmo, (the southern extremity
of the peninsula of California,-}-) off the mouth of

* Upon our subsequent arrival at Cape St. Lucas we
were informed, that the existence of this group had been
reported there by a brig, trading on the coast, and that
some small vessels in quest of fur-skins had attempted to
visit it, but without success. Judging from the appearance
of the island, it is very probable that the fur-seal abounds
on their shores.

f Discovered by Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico, in
honour of whom the gulf or strait was formerly named. In
the year 1578, Sir F. Drake visited this peninsula, and
(with the sanction of the sovereign chief of the whole
country) took possession of it for the British crown. But

B 2

4 ST. LUCAS BAY.

a bay, corresponding to a small grazing settle-
ment. Upon landing here we were kindly
received by the inhabitants, and hospitably en-
tertained by them during the two days we were
engaged in receiving beef on board the ship,
and salting it for sea-stock.

This bay is situated on the N.E. side of Cape
St. Lucas, and is extensive ; but affords anchor-
age only on its eastern side, in about seventeen
fathoms water close to the shore, and lies ex-
posed to S.E. gales, which occasionally (and
chiefly in the tempestuous summer months) in-
vade its shores with great severity : the sea
inundating the lowlands and leaving permanent
traces of its inroads. Its beach is sandy, and
washed by a long surf; but landing from boats
may be safely effected. The tide on the coast is
regular, with a rise and fall of six feet.

The level plain that opens upon the bay is
about thirty miles in length by ten in breadth,
and entirely composed of a fine silicious sand,
covered with a dense jungle. The mountains
that enclose it are of white and red granite, and
clothed with a cheerful verdure. The entire
plain is one estate, which was originally possessed

this claim was never vindicated by Great Britain; and,
until the late war of independence, California, with the
annexed coast of Mexico, remained a possession of Spain,
by the right of discovery and conquest.

A SPANISH SETTLEMENT. 5

by a Spaniard, who obtained it from the Mexican
government by the payment of twenty dollars,
and held it at a rent, or tenure, of one dollar per
annum. He applied it to the purpose of an estan-
cia, or grazing-farm, for supplying bullocks to the
numerous South-Seamen frequenting this coast.
Since his death, the management of the estate
has devolved upon his son-in-law, an American,
named Fisher.

The village or settlement consists of about
eight dwellings, erected at a distance from the sea,
beneath the shade of some mimosa trees. They
are small, built of adobes, (or unburnt bricks,)
and thatched with flags, obtained from the
neighbouring town of St. Jose. Each hut
usually contains one or never more than two
apartments ; and is faced with a portico, which
affords a favourite lounge for the resident
family. Their furniture is scanty, and rather
more useful than ornamental. The hairy sur-
face of a dried bullock's hide, spread on the hard
earthen floor, is the usual bed ; and the ta-
bles and benches are very rudely constructed.
Beneath the portico are deposited dried or
tanned hides; the horse -furniture of the far-
mers, including the cumbrous but luxurious
saddles, saddle-bags, (capable in themselves of
containing a horse-load,) and spurs of mur-
derous length ; whilst on lines passing across

6 DESCRIPTION OF THE RESIDENTS,

the roof, are suspended cows' udders or tongues,
and large pieces of beef undergoing the process
of jerking. Some sheds, distinct from the
dwellings, are used for cooking, or preparing
cheese ; and an extensive range of corrals, or
cattle-pens, contain at night the milch-kine and
goats.

The residents consist of about thirty persons,
who, together with the occupants of other and
similar farms scattered on the contiguous coast,
form a motley population of " old country"
and creole Spaniards ; Spanish half-castes, or
cholos ; and native Indians. Nor does this
small community furnish any exception to the
rule, that there are but few habitable parts of
the world which do not contain a subject of
Great Britain or of the United States of America.
The creole Spaniards (or those born of parents
from the mother-country) do not differ in ap-
pearance from their European progenitors : the
women, who seldom expose themselves to the
sun, have fair and even ruddy complexions.
The cholos, also, (when but slightly tinged with
Indian blood,) are sufficiently fair ; while their
features are rendered more softened, pensive,
and pleasing, by an admixture of native traits.

The costume of the women is neat, and as
light as the climate demands. It is comprised
in a chemise garment of white cotton, and a

THEIR DRESS AND DIET. 7

short striped-cotton petticoat. Their hair is
simply parted on the forehead, and descends
over the shoulders, braided in an elaborate and
becoming manner. The men wear a cotton
shirt, open at the neck, breeches loose at the
knees, (to facilitate equestrian exercises,) a
broad-brimmed straw hat, and shoes and bus-
kins of rudely-tanned leather, well adapted to
protect their legs from the thorny plants of
the country. Some of the men wear their hair
short ; while others have it braided into a queue
and pendant over the shoulders, after the man-
ner of the women. A large woollen rug, white
striped with blue, worn over the shoulders or
enveloping the entire person, they more ca-
priciously assume, and chiefly when on their
journeys.

Since the character of the soil offers no in-
ducement to agricultural pursuits, these people
confine their attention to rearing cattle, which,
together with the cheese they prepare from the
milk of their herds, form the staple commodi-
ties of the settlement. As we had been accus*
tomed among the Polynesian islands, to notice
a race of people living almost solely on a vege-
table diet, so here we found another subsisting
as entirely upon animal food : the only vege-
tables they consume being maize,, (which they
procure from a distant part of the country,) and

8 SOCIAL STATE OF THE PEOPLE.

a few small and indifferent sweet-potatoes, which
they rack their own soil to produce.

No rivers are to be found on this spot, nor
any natural supply of fresh water, beyond a few
ponds filled by the periodical rains. The inha-
bitants draw their supply of this essential from
wells sunk in the sands, which produce good
water at a very inconsiderable depth. The
sale and use of ardent spirits is interdictedby
their social laws ; but they nevertheless indulge
occasionally in a kind of rum or aquadiente, dis-
tilled from sugar-cane, grown in the inland parts
of the country. Notwithstanding their mono-
tonous, and highly animalized diet, these people
are healthy, active, and robust : their only en-
demic diseases are agues, which they contract
from the malaria arising from the jungle, soon
after the termination of the rainy season. They
live contented, and consequently happy; and
their conduct towards each other, as well as to
ouselves, was equally courteous and hospitable.
The women are notable and modest. The
men are expert equestrians, and excel in the
use of the lasso.* It is a curious fact, that the

* A strong and flexible rope of neatly-twisted hide,
with a noose at one extremity, to cast over and entangle
wild animals, while the other end is fastened to the saddle of
the horse. The more correct orthography is /c/zo, a Spanish
word, signifying a slip-knot or noose.

JESUIT MISSIONARIES. 9

women, whether Creole Spaniards or half-caste,
cannot be prevailed upon to eat with the men : a
prejudice which must be regarded as of native
or Indian origin, and one which coincides in
a remarkable manner with the primitive custom
of the Polynesian tribes. We noticed here also,
an interesting Indian boy, about seven years
old, whose only clothing was a girdle of cloth,
whilst his features, complexion, and figure, ac-
corded so closely with the Polynesian charac-
teristics, that it would have been impossible to
have detected him as an alien amidst an as-
semblage of Society Island youth of the same
age.

The Spanish language is universally em-
ployed by this people. They profess the Roman
Catholic religion ; and receive occasional pas-
toral visits from the padre of the neighbouring
town of St. Jose ; but of any literary acquire-
ments they are ignorant to the extent of perfect
bliss. At a very early period after its discovery,
a Spanish Jesuit mission was established on
the peninsula of California, and supported by
supplies from the parent society at Manilla:
the richly-freighted galleons, passing annually
between the latter country and Acapulco, being
instructed to touch at Cape St. Lucas on their
way, to learn from the residents if their further

10 COMMERCE.

progress was free from the danger of enemies'
ships. The Jesuit missionaries would appear
to have performed their duty with assiduity and
success ; the native Indians, with the exception
of a very few tribes, having adopted in a great
measure the language, religion, and habits of
their civilized teachers. The objects of this
mission having been considered as effected,
the establishment has ceased to exist, and the
spiritual charge of the mixed population is now
entrusted to ordinary priests, as amongst the
Roman Catholic nations of Europe.

The commerce of the residents at the Cape
is nearly confined to the English and American
South-Seamen, that call there for supplies, and
from which they procure the foreign manufac-
tures they require, in exchange for the produce
of their farm. The nominal price of a bullock
is from three to ten dollars ; cheese two dollars
the 20 Ibs. ; turkeys a dollar and a half each ;
and other provisions in proportion ; but the
difficulty they find in procuring foreign mer-
chandise, excepting at the exorbitant prices of
the Spanish-American market, as well as the
profit they derive from vending contraband
goods at the town of St. Jose, or annual fair at
La Paz, makes them anxious to trade in kind
with the vessels they supply. When foreign

ADVANTAGES OF THE PORT. li

ships are known to be hovering on the coast, an
officer from the custom-house of St. Jose is
stationed at this grazing settlement to prevent
the contraband introduction of foreign goods ;
but this Cerberus is always greedy for a sop, and
is himself seldom averse to doing a little in the
way of free trade.

To ships in want of essentials this port offers
some advantages ; but is not remarkable for the
abundance or variety of the supplies it affords.
Wood and water may be obtained by purchase,
conveniently, and in sufficient quantity; and
when a ready market is promised, the residents
bring from the interior of the country an abund-
ance of musk- and water-melons, oranges, ba-
nanas, pumpkins, and other fruits which their
own sterile soil denies. The excellent beef also
that can be obtained here, proves invaluable to
South-Seamen when their stock of salt provi-
sions is exhausted, and often enables them to
make a much more protracted stay in the Pacific
than they would otherwise be enabled to do.

The oxen found here do not differ essentially
from the European breed. Their average size
is perhaps less ; and their prevailing colour
black, or black and white ; they all, except the
milch kine, rove unrestrained through the jungle
of the plain, or browse on the declivities of the

12 DOMESTIC QUADRUPEDS.

mountains, as the temptations of pasture may
induce them. When any are required for
slaughter, the owner, or his herdsman, fgaucho,}
rides in pursuit of them, and casting his lasso
over their horns, brings them captive to the
settlement. Their meat is exceedingly well
flavoured ; and this may in some measure be
attributed to the quality of their food, which is
chiefly a herb, a species of Chenopodium, bear-
ing tall, plumy, and fragrant flowers, and which
covers the soil in sufficient abundance to supply
the place of a grass pasturage. When the re-
sidents have more beef than they can imme-
diately consume, they cut it into broad slices,
and expose it to the sun until it becomes dry
and hard ; in this form, or, as it is usually
termed, jerked, (a corruption of the Spanish
word charqui,) it remains unchanged for a long
time, and if well packed is very eligible as a sea-
store. The other domestic animals are horses,
of a breed more remarkable for bone than blood,
but which are tall, active, and docile ; goats,
which are numerous, and sold at low prices ; and
swine, which are but few, and, from their foul-
feeding, held in little esteem.

Amongst the more remarkable quadrupeds,
/era naturce, that obtain on this coast, we find
the puma, or American lion ; the only large

FEROCITY OF THE PUMA. 13

feline animal the New World affords. It is seldom
this creature visits the settlement at Cape St.
Lucas, though he holds his lair in its immediate
neighbourhood, amidst the bush of the plains,
or, more commonly, on the surrounding heights.
The residents relate many instances of his at-
tacking man, and even human dwellings. But a
short time before our visit to this place, a wo-
man, residing in the settlement, had left her
house at night to draw water from a well, when
finding in her path a deer, which had been re-
cently killed by a puma, she imprudently took
possession of the carcase and drew it into her
hut. The puma returned soon after to his prey,
and scenting the spot to which it had been con-
veyed, broke through the thatch roof of the
dwelling, and before he could be put to flight
destroyed two children and lacerated the woman
severely. An Indian, also, employed on a farm,
distant about fifteen miles from the bay-settle-
ment, had recently been attacked by a puma
while he was at work in the jungle. The man
defended himself courageously with a knife and
succeeded in destroying the savage beast, but
subsequently fell a victim to the injuries he re-
ceived in the conflict. Notwithstanding these
accidents, the people have but little dread of
this creature ; and pursue their journeys through

14 DEER. — HARES.

the country both by day and night, often sleep-
ing in the bush in the wildest districts, without
any apprehension of its attacks : they describe
it, indeed, as pusillanimous — more prone to
shun than attack mankind — and ascribe its oc-
casional attacks to a state allied to madness.
The strong dogs of the country attack the puma
with much animosity, and when the latter ani-
mal finds his affairs in an unfavourable condi-
tion, he ascends a tree, and from its height
watches his yelling foes beneath. While his at-
tention is thus directed, an Indian will some-
times contrive to cast a lasso round his neck,
and, fastening an end of the thong to the tree,
twitch him from the bough, and leave him
hanging, strangled by the noose.

Several kinds of deer frequent the dense and
more sequestered thickets. One of these, which
we encountered in the depth of the jungle, was
a beautiful creature ; in size rather larger than
the fallow deer ; the livery a pale iron-gray ; the
face marked with black spots on a pale ground ;
the head adorned with a noble pair of tall and
spreading antlers. Many young fawns, also,
which had been captured, were running about
the houses of the settlement, perfectly tame.
The hares we noticed here were much larger
than those of England ; their ears are of

TURKEY-BUZZARDS. 15

extraordinary length and breadth, and their
livery gray, like that of our common wild rabbit.
The skunk, fViverra putorius,) is commonly
found in the vicinity of the settlement ; squirrels
frolic in the highest trees ; and many bats, of
small size, flit in the evening twilight.

The birds most conspicuous near the settle-
ment are vultures, or " turkey-buzzards." One
of the two most common species has the general
plumage brown-black; the under surface of
the wings silver-gray ; the head and upper half
of the neck are naked, and of a bright scarlet
colour ; the head bears a resemblance to that
of the domestic turkey, and the legs and feet
(which are white) approach nearer in appear-
ance to those of the gallinaceous than predaceou3
tribes of birds. The other, and more numerous
species of vulture, is much larger than the last-
described. Its plumage is brown and white,
and with the exception of a naked and scarlet
space on each cheek, its head and neck are
entirely clothed with feathers. These birds are
usually perched on commanding heights, watch-
ing for prey ; and during the butchering of an
ox attend in vast flocks to devour the offal :
their utility as scavengers (in which duty they
are assisted by some carrion-crows) amply com-
pensating for their foul habits and disgusting

16 TURTLE. — EAR-SHELLS.

familiarity. Wild pigeons, of the ordinary blue
colour, are also abundant. At certain seasons
of the year they resort to the sea-side in large
flights to drink the salt water, and at any time
a little grain, sprinkled on the soil, brings them
together in sufficient numbers to afford the
sportsman a massacre upon an extensive scale.

The amphibia of the jungle are lizards, and
many kinds of snakes, some of which are in-
nocuous, and others highly venomous ; of the
latter, rattle-snakes are particularly numerous.
The most valuable fish in the waters around the
coast is the rock-cod, which at particular
seasons arrives in large shoals. From amongst
the turtle that float to these shores, the re-
sidents occasionally capture the hawkVbill
species, (testudo caretta,) from which they pro-
cure some good tortoise-shell.

On the rocks in the vicinity of the Cape we
find a great abundance of those elegant univalves,
the California- or ear-shells, Chaliotis.) The
fish they contain have the habits of a limpet,
(patella,) and are a very palatable food.

Although the soil of this bay-settlement bears
from the sea a desolate and barren aspect, and
is, in an agricultural point of view, literally
sterile, yet in none of the more luxuriantly
wooded lands we had before visited had we

VEGETATION. I/

found a spot which for variety and beauty of
vegetation could compete with this. Foliage is
certainly not profuse ; and the style of vegeta-
tion is nearly allied to that which obtains at the
Cape of Good Hope ; but the abundance and
beauty of its flowering plants, the novel forms
of growth they often assume, and above all, the
active juices and rich aroma possessed by almost
every herb and tree, present a perfect picture of
tropical botany. I could not but ask, if such
was the desert — the mere land's end — the beach
of the country — what must be the botanical
productions of the inland and more fertile
districts ? Truly we might say to this spot—

"Thy very weeds are beautiful, thy waste
More rich than other climes' fertility."

That any vegetation should exist on a plain
of parched and dusty sand is remarkable ; yet
not only do trees of respectable height and
girth, and often of luxuriant foliage, flourish on
this tract, and a dense brushwood occupy the
intervening space, but even the lowly and
moisture-loving mushroom occurs in more than
one spot, rearing its head, in full and juicy flesh,
above the arid soil. On the whole it was
evident that, notwithstanding the dryness of
their surface, the sands had absorbed a great

VOL. II. C

18 TREE-CACTUS.

quantity of water during the annual rains, and
which they return hy evaporation from their
depths, in the drier seasons of the year —
scantily, it is true, hut yet in sufficient quantity
to support vegetation ; while the succulent
character of the leaves, and bulbous form of the
roots of the greater number of the plants, tend
much to economise their supply of moisture.
To the botanist this spot alone offers a rich
field for useful exertion : amongst more than
seventy plants collected during our short stay,
the majority prove to be new species, and several
must be regarded as new genera.

The more abundant, or conspicuous vegeta-
tion includes some splendid examples of the
Cactus family. One of these is peculiarly con-
spicuous on the plains, rising in an erect and
columnar form to the height of fifteen or twenty
feet ; its sides deeply fluted, (the angles armed
with clusters of black thorns,) and its summit
ramifying scantily. Some of the more aged
examples have a bole four feet in circumference,
destitute of thorns, and covered with a smooth
white bark — the leaf in this stage of growth as-
suming the decided character of a caulis, or
trunk. We observed neither flower nor fruit in
this species. A vegetable column of this de-
scription, rising isolated in the midst of the

THE PRICKLY PLUM. 19

plain, with a vulture perched motionless on its
summit, had much the appearance of a highly-
wrought zoophoric. A second many-sided cactus
resembles that last described, in the form of its
stem or leaf, but has a procumbent and diffused
growth, and bears a profusion of flowers with
broad and elegant rays of white petals, succeeded
by fruit the size and shape of a large orange,
green when immature, and when ripe of a bright
crimson colour. Within the rind, (which is
dense and leathery,) is contained a red, juicy,
and farinaceous pulp, studded with small black
seeds. This berry is caUed by Europeans the
" prickly plum." It is produced in great abun-
dance, and its pulp (which has a cool, sweet, and
subacid taste, not unlike that of a raspberry
preserve) is an exceedingly wholesome and
delicious food. A third species, resembling
Cactus tuna,, is the most common in the jungle,
where its long and rigid thorns prove very
troublesome to the traveller, penetrating his
flesh, and resisting extraction by the barbed
structure of their points. The species with
broad and spinous leaves, (the " prickly pear" of
other tropical lands,) we noticed but rarely here
and never with either flower or fruit.

Amongst the sea-weeds floating close in with
the land, we found several examples of the

c 2

20 SARGASSO WEED.

Sargasso- or gulf-weed, usually noticed in such
extensive banks in the Atlantic Ocean. I re-
gretted that we had not an opportunity of ex-
amining minutely the weeds growing on the
rocks around the Cape, as it was probable that
we should have found this species in its rooted
state. But the fact of its appearance here in
any form is interesting, inasmuch as it proves
that this mysterious fucus inhabits the waters of
the western, as well as the eastern side of the
American continent.

CRUISE TO THE SOUTHWARD. 21

CHAPTER II.

Leave Cape St. Lucas and proceed to the southward —
A false alarm — Cross the Equator, and cruise to the
westward — Second visit to Santa Christina, Marquesas
— Unfavourable prospects of the missionaries there —
Selfish policy of the chief, Eutiti — War averted by the
interference of the missionaries — Distillation of ardent
spirits by the natives — Its dreaded effects — Endeavours
to introduce a breed of ducks on the island — Departure
— Visit Huahine — Description of the island — Settle-
ment at Fare — Mr. Barff — Success of the coffee-plant
grown on this soil — Captain Cook's Shaddock-tree —
Third visit to Raiatea — Improved condition of the
people — Their versatile character— Vigilance of the
native police — Passage to Tahiti — Sir Charles Saunders
Island — Eimeo — Domestic state of Tahiti — Laws pro-
hibitory of the use of ardent spirits — Improved state
of commerce — . Meet with natives of the Palisser
Islands — Journey to Mairipehe — Battle-field near
Bunaauia — Morai of Paea — Remarkable caverns in the
S.W. coast — Their probable origin— Curios suub-marine
springs — Tati, governor of Papara — Great Morai of
Maihatea — Excursion to the celebrated mountain-lake
at Vaihirea — Village and harbour of Mairipehe —
Atinua.

ON the 17th of December we made sail from
Cape St. Lucas and steered to the S.E., with

22 A FALSE ALARM.

winds from N.W., and a strong current setting
to the eastward.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, when we were
far distant from any land, a strong sensation was
produced amongst our ship's company by the
watch at the mast-head reporting the approach
of a solitary boat, filled with human beings. On
closer investigation, however, the object seen
proved to be a log of drift wood, with several
boobies perched upon it : the timber, undulating
with the waves, and the actions of the birds to
preserve their balance, presenting, in the distance,
a very deceptive resemblance to a boat, with her
crew pulling hard at their oars.

On the 17th of January, 1836, we crossed the
equator in long. 112°W., and dropped to the
westward with the line current. The Cachalots
we found here were chiefly small parties of half-
grown males, journeying to the eastward. They
were so active and shy that our average success
amongst them was much less than we had
experienced in the previous year.

Early in the month of February we shaped
a course for the Marquesas group. In lat. 6° S.,
long. 134° W., the easterly winds began to
freshen every night, in the manner of a " land
turn ;" small white noddies came about the
ship ; and frequent squalls, with thunder, light-

RETURN TO SANTA CHRISTINA. 23

ning, and rain, denoted our approach to an
insular mountain-land.

On the 19th of February, La Dominica and
Santa Christina were in sight. We sailed through
the narrow channel which separates these two
islands, and on the following morning cast anchor
in Resolution Bay, Santa Christina. The ship was
scarcely moored, before Eutiti, and several other
principal chiefs of the island visited us in their
canoes ; whilst crowds of inferior natives flocked
on board, and continued to be our daily visitors.
They informed us that seven sail, British and
American, had touched at this port since our last
visit.

We found our missionary friends zealously
occupied ; but no alteration had taken place in
their professional prospects. The natives con-
tinued to behave towards them with propriety,
and to a certain extent with kindness, but had
not as yet manifested any disposition to receive
instruction, or to abolish any further their heathen
prejudices. A congregation of fifteen or twenty
persons, including Eutiti and his family, assem-
bled in the valley of Vaitahu for Christian wor-
ship on the Sabbath morning ; but their attend-
ance was capricious, and more the result of
persuasion, or intended as a compliment to the
missionaries, (who addressed them in the Mar-

24 STATE OF THE ISLAND.

quesan tongue,) than from any desire to profit
by the good counsel offered to them. Eutiti
expressed much anxiety to retain the missionaries
in his territory, and was at little pains to conceal
the selfish policy that influenced him. He per-
sists in regarding their interests as identical with
those of the shipping frequenting the surround-
ing seas, and in some measure with the British
government; from which last he entertains great
hopes of receiving a valuable present of cannon
and ammunition.

The entire island continued to be in a state of
profound peace, and since our last visit its tran-
quillity had been interrupted only on one occa-
sion, when a woman from the weather valley,
Mutabu, having hung her cloth upon a sacred
edifice at Vaitahu, the people of the latter village
armed themselves to avenge the sacrilege by the
slaughter of the offending tribe. Their angry
feelings were calmed, however, by the remon-
strances of the missionaries ; and the feud was
at length amicably settled, by the inhabitants of
Mutabu paying the offended party a number of
hogs, as an atonement for the offence of their
countrywoman. The only advance these island-
ers had made in civilized arts was an attempt
to distil an ardent spirit from fermented bananas,
under the tuition of some Society and Sandwich

VISIT HUAH1NE. 25

Islanders resident among them. The liquor they
produced was but little better than vinegar.
Nevertheless, several of the natives had indulged
in it to the extent of intoxication, and had
proved riotous and quarrelsome. We observed
with regret this growing desire for ardent spirits,
since, should it become as great here as at the
Society Islands, the disunited form of the govern-
ment will tend to perpetuate the vice, and foster
its most destructive effects.

Of the pair of Moscovy-ducks we had left on
this island, the drake only remained, his mate
having been stolen and eaten by the natives, who
had previously taken the same liberty with her
eggs. Captain Stavers kindly repaired this loss
to the missionaries by presenting them with
another duck of the same breed; and at the
same time gave some admonitory hints to Eutiti
on the propriety of encouraging the propagation
of the bird, as a mean of increasing his commerce
with shipping — the only topic on which his sen-
sibility could be excited.

After remaining five days in Resolution Bay
we continued our cruise to the westward and S.
of W. until the llth of March, when we made
the Society Islands, and hove to off the harbour
of Fare, Huahine.

Upon landing at the settlement we were re-

26 FARE BAY.

ceived by a crowd of stout, orderly, and well-
attired natives, who, at our request, conducted
us to the residence of their worthy missionary,
Mr. Barff, from whom we received many polite
attentions.

This island, (which is the easternmost of the
Society group,) is composed of two insular
mountain lands, closely approximated to each
other. The northern and largest section is called
Huahine nue ; the southern and smallest, Hua-
hine itl. Both are nearly surrounded hy a com-
mon barrier -reef ; and the tranquil water it
encloses is studded with numerous verdant
motus. The bay of Fare (Owharre of Cook) is
in the N.W. side of Huahine nue. It is pro-
tected from the ocean by a barrier coral-reef,
which has a broad and deep aperture that per-
mits shipping an easy access to the Bay, unless
the trade winds should blow strongly from S.E.,
when ingress would of course be denied. Not-
withstanding some defects in its anchorage, and
a natural impediment to ships obtaining a con-
venient supply of fresh water on its shores, this
harbour has been more commonly the resort of
South-Seamen than any other of the leeward
cluster: supplies of live-stock and vegetables
being abundant, and the natives friendly and
anxious for traffic.

MISSIONARY SETTLEMENT. 27

The settlement at Fare occupies a tract of
level land, of crescentic form, and about two
miles in length — its southern extremity bounded
by a bluff cliff ; its northern, stretching into the
sea in the form of a low and extensive tract of
sandy soil, picturesquely clothed with dense
groves of cocoa-nut trees. The lowlands are
well watered and exceedingly fertile : in no other
spot of similar extent had I seen so profuse a
display of cocoa-nut, orange, and lime trees, as
was here exhibited. The dwellings of the resi-
dents are scattered far asunder, but respectably
built. Convenient paths intersect the land in
every direction, and conduct to the adjoining
districts ; some excellent causeways, constructed
of block-coral, shorten the road where creeks or
inlets of the sea intervene ; and several small rus-
ticbridges facilitate the passage over as manynar-
row but deep rivers. The Christian church of
this settlement is a large and handsome edifice,
erected close to the sea- side.

The residence of the missionary is situated
more remote from the coast. It presents
traces of former value, but is at present suffi-
ciently dilapidated and modestly furnished to
acquit its apostolic occupant of any overween-
ing attention to his personal comfort. There
are, indeed, but few missionaries in Polynesia

28 POPULATION. — NATURAL PRODUCTIONS.

more respected by natives and foreigners than
Mr. Barff; and there are also but few, who,
from the even tenour of their course in active
and useful benevolence, have better deserved
that tribute. He has resided for more than
twenty years amongst these islands ; has been
indefatigable in labouring for the cause he
advocates ; and though himself little prone to
display, his patient and intelligent researches
have proved a valuable fund to his many more
literary colleagues.

The population of Huahine amounts to about
2000 persons, of which the greatest proportion
resides at Huahine nue, and chiefly at Fare, or
the adjacent districts. The supreme authority
of the government is vested in the person of the
royal chief ess Ariipaea, sister to Tamatoa. king
of Raiatea.

Oxen, ducks, and pigeons are the most use-
ful exotic animals introduced to this island.
Amongst the indigenous fruit-trees, the moun-
tain-plantain (fei) obtains on the elevated
lands, but is so scarce that its fruit is eaten
only by the chiefs. In the garden attached to
the missionary's house at Fare, we noticed a
plantation of tall and vigorous coffee -shrubs,
at this season covered with a profusion of ripe
and scarlet fruit. Mr. Barff kindly presented

COOK'S SHADDOCK TREE. 29

to us several pounds of their recent berries,
which, when prepared for the table, aiforded a
strong and well-flavoured beverage. It was
only at Oahu that we had hitherto seen any at-
tempt to introduce the coffee-plant into Poly-
nesia ; though Mr. Barff informed me, that he
had planted it on several islands ; and, where
proper attention had been paid to its culture,
the result had been always satisfactory.

Near the northern extremity of the settle-
ment I remarked a tall and venerable Shaddock-
tree, (Citrus decumana,) loaded with large and
ripe fruit. This is the only tree of its kind that
exists on any of the Society Islands, and it bears
th e reputation of having been planted by Cap-
tain Cook, when he visited this island to restore
Omai, the Society Islander, who, on a former
voyage, had accompanied him to England. The
spot on which the tree flourishes is a portion
of the land obtained for Omai by Captain Cook,
and hence named Beritani, or Britain, by the
natives. Ever anxious to compare foreign pro-
ductions with those indigenous to then* own
soil, the Huahine people name this tree (from
a similarity in its fruit and growth) uru papa,
or the white man's bread-fruit tree. They do not
eat the fruit, but betray a partiality for its
odour by wearing fragments of the rind and

30 RAIATEA IN 1836.

pulp as necklaces. Every effort to propagate
this Shaddock-tree by its seed has failed ; and
I am not aware that any other method has been
tried. It certainly affords as interesting and
authentic a relic of our great navigator as any
Polynesian island can produce.

Quitting Huahine, we made sail for Raiatea,
and, on the 12th of March, brought up at our
former anchorage off Utumaoro. The state of
this settlement had very materially improved
since our last visit. Its inhabitants were more
numerous and cheerful, more orderly and better
clothed, than we had seen them at any former
period. Their dwellings, also, though still
dirty, had a somewhat more comfortable and
respectable appearance. The royal chief, Ta-
matoa, whom we had last seen so lost to all
sense of propriety, and plunged in degrading
debauch, was now an altered man, healthy and
robust, correct in his conduct, and residing
in a neat hut, until a wooden house, now build-
ing in the best style of architecture in these
islands, should be completed for his use.

The pleasing improvement a few months had
wrought in this community was chiefly to be
attributed to a voluntary and rigorous abolition
of the use of ardent spirits, as well as to the re-
establishment of a missionary authority on the

INSTANCE OF NATIVE EQUITY. 31

island : Mr. Platt having relinquished the cure
of Borabora, (where the natives are reported as
" too bad,") and fixed his residence at Utu-
maoro. Mr. Platt was at this time absent on
a visit to the Navigator Islands ; yet the pre-
sence of his family alone, at Raiatea, appeared
sufficient to keep the natives in their line of
duty.

It required as many visits as we had paid to
this island to enable us to form any correct
estimate of the character of a people so versa-
tile in their conduct. From what I observed, it
is evident that they hold any one moral cha-
racter upon a very frail tenure ; and as they are
influenced by good or bad example, and con-
trolled by wholesome authority or left to the
sway of their passions, they are ever ready to
pass rapidly to the extremes of good and bad ;
and afford at short intervals, and often in the
same persons, striking examples of saintly vir-
tues, or of the most degrading vices.

A circumstance occurred, during our present
visit, which reflected great credit upon the state
of the laws at this island. A few hours after
our arrival at the port, a knife was missed from
one of the boats ; and as no natives excepting
the pilot and his boat's crew had been on board
the ship, suspicion naturally fell upon that

32 STATE OF THE SETTLEMENT.

party ; but as the loss was trifling, the fact was
casually mentioned to one of the chiefs and we
thought no more about it. On the following
morning, however, one of the native judges
came off to the ship in his canoe, bringing with
him the stolen knife and a hog. He informed us,
that the thief had been detected in one of the
pilot's crew, as had been suspected, and that
having been tried by the judges and convicted,
he had been sentenced to restore the knife and
give a large hog as an atonement for his of-
fence.

The local defects in the settlement remained
unremedied — swamps were as numerous, and
bridges and clear runs of water as scarce as
heretofore. Disease also, (and perhaps as a
consequence,) had in no degree diminished,
and the number and distressing character of
the maladies of the people, unpitied and un-
aided, were truly appalling to humanity.

On the 15th of March we made sail for the
windward, or Georgian Islands. The winds
were at first favourable to our progress, but
ultimately returned to the trade quarter and
compelled us to beat the greater part of the
passage.

At noon on the 17th we were detained by
a calm, about eight miles due east of Sir Charles

SIR C. SAUNDERS' ISLAND. 33

Saunders' Island, Tabuaemanu, or Maiaoiti, (one
of the Georgian cluster, and discovered by
Captain Wallis, in 1/67;) the islands Eimeo
and Tahiti being at the same time visible to us,
distant forty or fifty miles to the S. E.

When approached from the S. W., and while
yet distant, Tabuaemanu appears elevated, cir-
cumscribed, and not unlike a distant sail. It is
a small, though fertile island, of moderate ele-
vation, and wooded to its topmost heights. Its
longest diameter extends in a N. E. and S. W.
direction, its each extremity stretching into the
ocean as a long and low spit, or promontory,
covered with cocoa-nut trees. It was formerly
celebrated for the excellence and abundance of
its yams. It is now employed as a penal settle-
ment from Tahiti. No European missionary
resides on its shores : the pastoral charge of
the people being included in the duties of the
missionary at Huahine, who pays an occasional
visit to this spot to superintend the labours of
native teachers.

On the 19th of March we approached closely
the shores of Eimeo, or Moor£a ;* and on the

* An island situated to the westward of Tahiti, from
which last it is separated by a navigable strait, fourteen
miles in breadth. It is encircled by a distinct coral reef,
is nearly thirty miles in circumference, elevated, pecu-

VOL. II. D

34 REVISIT TAHITI.

following day cast anchor in the harbour of
Taone, Tahiti.

The moral improvement, so evident in the
Raiateans, we found equally great amongst the
Tahitians, — by whom indeed the example had
been set. Missionary influence now prepon-
derated in this island ; and the laws inculcating
temperance, soberness, and chastity, were con-
sequently strictly enforced. The distillation
and importation of ardent spirits were prohi-
bited, and intoxication severely punished. It is
true that this, like all other legal enactments of
the same government, was carried to an oppres-
sive extreme ; since every private residence in
the settlement was liable to an occasional search
by the native authorities, when all the prohibited
liquor they contained (above a certain quantity,
warranted for medicinal purposes) was seized,
and the owner subjected to a pecuniary fine ; —
the odour of the breath of a native, who had in-
dulged in private, was alone considered evi-

liarly wild, mountainous, and rugged in aspect ; but ex-
ceedingly fertile, and abounding in picturesque scenery.
The missionary settlement on its shores is chiefly remark-
able for a public school, established for the education of
the missionaries' children of both sexes ; and also for a
stone church, (a rare edifice in these islands,) constructed
with the coral blocks of ancient morais.

POLITICS AND COMMERCE. 35

dence sufficient to convict him before his judges.
Nevertheless, it is unquestionable, that feeble
measures, or any indulgence to individuals,
would open a path for evasion, and destroy the
effect of what has been, for this people, a very
salutary and requisite law. The shores of Tahiti
now no longer exhibited the revolting scenes of
debauchery that disgraced them during our visit
in the year 1834.

The practice, so prevalent with Asiatic and
other semi-civilized governments, of pandering
to the indolence and cupidity of the higher
classes by oppressing the inferior and more in-
dustrious grades of society, was but too evident
here. The farmers complained loudly of the
heavy duties the chiefs had imposed upon the
sale of their produce, and which compelled them
either to increase their price, and hence diminish
the demand for their commodities, or to relin-
quish a just remuneration for their toil.

We found upwards of twelve sail, chiefly
American South-Seamen, at anchor in Papeete
harbour ; and during our stay, a schooner, be-
longing to an English resident here, reached the
same port, with a cargo consisting of twenty-
four tons of pearl-shell and many valuable
pearls, the result of four months fishing amongst
the islands of the Dangerous Archipelago.

D 2

36 PALLISER ISLANDERS.

Some other small vessels, belonging to this
island, were absent on distant voyages — a
schooner was on the stocks — a fine brig had
been recently added, by purchase, to the mer-
chant-navy of the foreign residents — and, upon
the whole, the commercial state of Tahiti of-
fered a fair prospect of improvement.

A party of natives of the Palliser Islands *
had lately arrived here in three large sailing
canoes, bearing a customary present, or tribute,
of pearls, mats, and cinnet, for the queen of
Tahiti. They resided in temporary huts erected
upon the beach at Papeete, where their canoes
were drawn up, and presented an interesting
gipsy-like group of men, women, and children.
In personal appearance they resemble the Tahi-
tians ; though their complexion is some shades
darker, and their features harsher and less
agreeable. Their canoes are superior in size
and construction to those in general use amongst
the Society Islands, and the paddle with which
they are steered has the part corresponding to
the blade shaped as a vertical crescent, or tail-
fin of a fish ; from which last, it is more than
probable the idea of its form was originally
derived.

* Situated to the eastward of Tahiti, and now included
amongst the Paumotu, or Pearl Islands.

BATTLE-FIELD, NEAR BUNAAUIA. 37

On the 27th of March I accompanied Mr. S.
Henry (the son of the worthy and venerable
missionary of that name) to his estate near
Mairipehe,* with the intention of proceeding
from thence to visit the celebrated mountain-
lake at Vaihiria. From Papeete we journeyed
on horseback along the west coast, by a road
which was good for a short distance beyond
Bunaauia, but which ultimately became rocky,
or encumbered by brushwood, and occasionally
lost on the sands of the sea-shore. Its winding
course, however, unfolding to our view a con-
stant succession of opening valleys^ or towering
and verdant heights, afforded scenes of extreme
beauty; while many of the spots we passed
possessed a local interest which the kindness and
intelligence of my companion did not permit me
to disregard.

A short distance beyond Bunaauia, we crossed
a plain, memorable, in the history of the civil
wars of this island, as having been the scene of
the decisive battle, fought in the year 1815, be-
tween the idolatrous and Christian Tahitians ;
when the latter, under the command of Pomare
II., drove their adversaries from the field with
great slaughter, and the loss of their leader Upu-

* A district on the S. E. side of Tahiti, and distant
about thirty miles from the settlement at Papeete.

38 REMARKABLE CAVERNS.

fara, the chief of Papara, and brother to Tati,
the present chief of that district. In the vicinity
of the battle-field, on a spot named Paea, in the
district Teoropaa, there stands, close to the sea,
an ancient morai, — a colossal pile of coral blocks,
originally of square form, but now ruinous, and
almost concealed by the spontaneous vegetation
that clothes its surface.

On the S. W. side of the island, I noticed, with
interest, the numerous caverns which perforate
the precipitous cliffs that form this portion of
the coast. One of the most remarkable of these,
opened at the base of a mural cliff, about two
hundred feet in height, and its face covered with
ferns and other elegant verdure. The cavern,
(which at its mouth formed a very large and per-
fect arch,) diminished in size as it receded into
the cliff; but to what extent it penetrated we
could not ascertain, as its floor was occupied by
a sheet of fresh water of considerable depth,
produced by infiltration through the rocks above.
The land intervening between the sea and this
capacious cave, rises gradually as an amphithea-
tre, enlivened by rills of water, and mantled with
a profuse vegetation, including some splendid
varieties of the fern tribe ; and were it cleared
from brushwood, would display, together with
the verdant cliff and cavern entrance in the back-

SUBMARINE SPRINGS. 39

ground,, a magnificent view from the lagoon-sea
that bathes its shores. But two causes can be
assigned for the existence of these mysterious
caves ; namely, lava-currents, or the inroads of a
turbulent sea, previous to the growth of a pro-
tecting reef ; and of these, the latter appears the
more probable cause, since we find on the ex-
posed coast of Matavai Bay some similar caverns,
filled with sea-water, and invaded by a heavy
surf.

We also noticed on this coast many subterra-
nean streams, rising as springs of fresh water
from the midst of the sea, at various distances
from the shore. Their situation is marked by
small eddies, or whirls, on the smooth sea over
the coral reef ; and upon some of these the na-
tives have placed bamboos, with apertures in
their sides, through which the fresh water flows
as from a pump. When fishing on the coast, in
their canoes, it is not unusual for the natives to
dive beneath the surface of the sea and quench
their thirst at these fresh-water springs.

In the afternoon we entered Papara ; a large
and fertile district, containing a missionary resi-
dence, and a Christian church of vast dimen-
sions. The missionary at this station is Mr.
Davies, whose pastoral charge (including the
population of Papara and some adjoining dis-

40 TATI, CHIEF OF PAPARA.

trict) cannot be estimated at less than two thou-
sand souls.

Tati, the governor of this district, is a member
of the royal family of Tahiti ; and, owing to his
rank and possessions, bears considerable sway in
the politics of the island. In passing, we paid a
visit to this chief at his residence, — a large and
very superior wooden building, newly erected,
and provided with an unusual quantity of Euro-
pean furniture. He received us cordially, and
produced a bottle of wine for our refreshment.
He is an elderly man, of tall stature, and very
corpulent. His features, which are coarse,
heavy, and by no means prepossessing, bear
some resemblance to the extant portraits of
Pomare II., to whom he is nearly related. In
his youth, Tati had been " educated for the
church ;" or, in other words, initiated in the
mysteries of heathen rites, to qualify him to act
as a priest amongst his idolatrous countrymen :
though, in his maturer years, he has proved him-
self a warm advocate for the Christian cause,
and a tried friend to the European missionaries.

A short distance further on our journey, we
passed a dense plantation of venerable trees —
one of the sacred groves of ancient idolatry —
and without deviating greatly from our route,
approached the sea- side to visit the celebrated

GREAT MORAI OF PAPARA. 41

" Great Moral of Papara," so ably described and
delineated by Captain Cook, when it was in the
zenith of its popularity. This morai is not,, cor-
rectly speaking, in the district of Papara ; but
on a spot named Mahiatea, in the district of
Tevauta. It is now much ruined and diminished
in height ; and vast quantities of the coral-blocks
of which it is composed, are scattered on the
surrounding soil, and occasionally carried away
by the natives for other and more useful purposes.
Nevertheless, what remains of the edifice is
strongly expressive of its original gigantic and
not unornamental structure; and while it excites
our wonder, as a monument of the almost in-
credible energy a naturally-indolent people can
display when stimulated by superstitious zeal, it
equally claims our regret that so interesting an
antiquity should suffer from other devastations
than those of time. Its height, though abridged,
is yet above forty feet; the base retains its
original size and form, and the summit its
pyramidal character ; the compartments between
the terraces are alternately composed of square,
and apparently hewn, blocks of coral, and paral-
lel horizontal rows of globular stones, resembling
cannon-balls.

Unlike the impressive grove of Tamanu and
Casuarina trees that surrounds the great morai

42 EXCURSION TO VAIHIRIA.

at Opoa, the ancient thicket around this edifice
is chiefly composed of Purau and tangled brush-
wood, and contains but few of the more funereal
trees.

In the evening we reached Mr. Henry's resi-
dence at Atinua, where the kindest hospitality
obliterated the fatigues, and enhanced the plea-
sures, of the past day.

At day-break on the following morning I
quitted Atinua, in company with a native guide,
and rode four miles further along the coast, to
Mairipehe, whence we proceeded on foot, inland
and to the northward, for the lake of Vaihiria.

For a short distance, our route lay over an
extensive tract of fertile land, in some parts
thinly strewn with the cultivated plots and
modest huts of the natives, though more gene-
rally overrun by a rank vegetation and inter-
sected by streams, which compelled us to take to
the water and practise those aquatic exercises
which we had afterwards so frequently to repeat.
As we advanced inland the country assumed a
wilder and more romantic character. An occa-
sional hut, erected as a temporary shelter for
the fruit-gatherer, was the only trace of hu-
man occupation ; and a river of respectable size,
arising inland, near Vaihiria, flowed through the
land with a winding and impetuous course, to

HIGHLAND VEGETATION. 43

empty itself into the sea on the coast of Mairi-
pehe.

The road to the lake follows closely the chan-
nel of this river, or only departs from it to evade
circuitous bends, rapids, or unfordable depths.
In our journey to Vaihiria and back we crossed
this stream one hundred and eighteen times.
It was often both broad and deep at the fords,
and its current so strong as to require some
exertion to stem it. The dry and detached
paths, trodden by former visitors, were narrow,
often concealed by vegetation, and covered with
loose and rugged stones that rendered travelling
painfully laborious.

Midway between the coast and Vaihiria, a
solitary cocoa-nut tree, serving as an index to
this distance, was the last of its family we
passed. The Guava-shrub, also, became more
scarce, and gradually disappeared, although it is
making vigorous and promising efforts to accom-
pany man to the borders of the lake. The ordi-
nary vegetation of the coast was now exchanged
for groves of the mountain- plantain, covering
the neighbouring heights with their palmy
foliage, crowned with erect clusters of scarlet
fruit ; elegant arborescent ferns and many
varieties of club -mosses clothed the banks of the
river ; and several continuous acres of land were

44 THE MOUNTAIN-LAKE,

covered solely with thickets of a species of Amo-
mum, called Obuhl by the natives, its pinnated
leaves rising to the height of eight feet above the
soil, and emitting, when crushed, a powerful and
agreeable odour, not unlike that of pimento.

The towering heights on either side of our
route frequently presented the deceptive appear-
ance of closing upon our path, and as often led
me to anticipate the task of ascending them.
We continued, however, along the torrent, with-
out surmounting any abrupt eminence, until in
the vicinity of the lake, when a steep and rugged
hill rose before us, covered with vegetation, and
bounded on our left by a lofty cliff, from the
summit of which a broad cascade sprung majes-
tically over a verdant precipice, with a fall of
more than two hundred feet, and contributed its
waters to the river we had tracked. On the
summit of this hill, the valley and lake of Vai-
hiria burst impressively^upon our view, spreading
at our feet an enchanting scene of placid and
picturesque beauty, for which no description
had prepared me, since none could do justice to
its merits. A short and abrupt descent con-
ducted us into a level valley, bounded on all
sides by rocky heights, luxuriantly wooded, and
inaccessible, except at the spot where we entered,
or over a similar hill on the opposite side.

AND ITS PECULIAR BEAUTIES. 45

The lake occupies one extremity, and a great
portion of the valley. It is nearly circular in
form, and about one mile in circumference ; its
surface tranquil, or ruffled but for a moment
by the passing breeze ; its waters fresh, and of
a dull-green colour. Its greatest depth, as
ascertained by sounding, does not exceed four-
teen fathoms. Two spiry cliffs, conspicuous for
their majestic height and uniform appearance,
bound the lake on opposite sides, many small
and silvery waterfalls pouring from their crests,
and stealing silently over the short and bright
verdure of their precipitous faces into the basin
beneath. Its shores are formed in part by the
bases of these cliffs ; but chiefly by a beach of
soft black sand, strewn with cellular boulders,
and by low ledges of breccia, or volcanic rock of
a very friable character. Some black and rugged
rocks, also, rear their heads above the smooth
surface of the lake, presenting a gloomy but
powerful contrast to the mild and reposing cha-
racter of the surrounding landscape.

An extensive plain, stretching from the border
of the lake to the foot of the more remote hills,
is almost entirely covered with a species of
Polygonum, very closely resembling the land
variety of P. amphibium. Eels are the only fish
known to inhabit the lake, and the privilege of

46 NATIVE AND FOREIGN VISITERS.

capturing them is the hereditary right of a native
family residing at Mairipehe. A flight of wild-
ducks rose from the water on our approach ;
and the plaintive note of a bird, not unlike the
cooing of a dove, was the only sound that inter-
rupted the death-like tranquillity of this secluded
spot.

A few rafts, made with the stalks of the
mountain-plantain, lying on the borders of the
lake, and some temporary huts, covered with
the leaves of the same tree, betrayed that other
visiters than ourselves had recently intruded
upon this scene. They might, probably, have
been a native party which, a few weeks before,
had escorted the queen, Aimata, on her first
visit to Vaihiria ; or the officers of H. B. M. S.
Challenger, 28, who had made an excursion to
this spot in the previous year. The Tahitians,
ever fond of the marvellous, assert that the
waters of the lake are unfathomable ; but a cir-
cumstance which occurred to the Challenger's
party, and which was related to me by Mr.
Henry, proves, how much easier it is to find the
bottom of the lake than to fathom the duplicity
of the Tahitian character. One of the officers,
when crossing the lake on a raft, for the purpose
of shooting wild-ducks, found his frail craft in
danger of upsetting, and^ in order to save him-

VOLCANIC TRAITS. 47

self, allowed a valuable double-barreled fowling
piece to fall from his hands into the depths be-
low. A native attendant was set to dive for the
lost property, which he did, and declared it was
not to be found ; and it was not until he had
been urged to repeated attempts by Mr. Henry,
that he at length produced it. This man after-
wards confessed, that he had found the gun
when he first dived, and had concealed it in
a spot, under water, where he could readily
obtain it for himself, at another and more favour-
able opportunity ; and that he had no intention
whatever of restoring it to the rightful owner,
if Mr. Henry had not been so angry and pe-
remptory on the subject.

The geological character of the surrounding
land strengthens the opinion that this lake is
the crater of an extinct volcano, filled with
water by cascades and rivulets, as well as by
subterranean streams, that open perceptibly on
many parts of its surface. That there may be
some exit for its waters is probable, though at
present destitute of proof. The height of the
spot it occupies is estimated, by Captain
Beechey, at 1,500 feet above the level of the
sea. The ascent from the coast, however, is
made by a circuitous route, and is so gradual
as to be almost imperceptible : the direct dis-

48 PORT OF MAIRIPEHE.

tance from Mairipehe to the lake does not
exceed eight miles.

It was noon when we reached Vaihiria. The
sky was clouded, the temperature low, and
every thing around us saturated with moisture.
The morning dew on the thickets, the river-
fords, and subsequently, some heavy showers of
rain, had wetted us thoroughly ; but this was
only a temporary inconvenience to my native
companion, who, on starting, had taken the
precaution to roll his body-cloth into a small
and compact form, and now invested himself in
its dry folds, with something, I thought, like
satirical satisfaction. But I had my revenge ; for
the dampness of the spot defied all his efforts to
produce fire by rubbing two pieces of wood to-
gether, in the usual Polynesian manner, and en-
abled me to display the superiority of civilized
over savage expedients, by immediately produ-
cing the desired element with a Lucifer-match.

Returning by the same route, we reached
Mairipehe* by six o'clock in the evening. This
district includes a wide extent of fertile plain,

* A name compounded of two Tahitian words, signify-
ing " to finish a song ;" the minstrels, who formerly
strolled round the island, having been in the habit of com-
mencing their performances at Papara, and finishing
them at this place.

VILLAGE OF ATINUA. 49

and its population presents a healthy rustic ap-
pearance, which we look for in vain amongst
the dissipated natives of the more commercial
ports. Its coast is well protected by the bar-
rier coral reef ; and the tranquil water within
the latter, affords good anchorage for shipping,
off a native village where every essential supply
can be obtained.

Previous to my return to Papeete, on the
morning of the 29th, I devoted a few leisure
hours to viewing the beauties of Atinua. The
principal building on this spot is Mr. Henry's
residence, a neat and convenient dwelling,
erected at the foot of some pastured hills, and
surrounded by cultivated lands, which include
the largest sugar plantation on the island. Na-
tive huts, grouped around, were mingled with
superior habitations occupied by foreigners, (En-
glish and Americans,) pursuing employments as
respectable mechanics. The refreshing coolness
of the morning air, passing through a dense
foliage ; the appearance of cattle, swine, and
poultry, strolling about, orderly and domesti-
cated ; together with the general aspect of rural
comfort this estate presented, would have in-
duced me to fancy myself in a respectable En-
glish farm, had not the plumy cocoa-nut palms
and broad-leaved bananas destroyed the illusion.

VOL. II. E

50 CRUISE TO THE NORTHWARD.

CHAPTER III.

Cruise to the northward — Tetuaroa — Return to Tahiti
to repair a leak — Native worship — Observance of
the Sabbath — The Ofai-marama or moon-stone —
Visit of the Zebra — Remarks on missionary labours
in Polynesia — Sail for England, by way of the
Cape of Good Hope — Rotch Island — Remarkable
effects of a current — Capture Sperm Whales — Tench's
Island — See other islands — Enter the Indian Archi-
pelago— Floating pumice-stone — Capture a water-
snake, Hydrophis bicolor — Spirula Australis — Take a
large Whale in Pitt's Passage— Curious effects of re-
fraction— Speak the Soubrou, Bombay trader — Ap-
proach the Island of Timor — Its coast scenery.

ON the morning of the 31st of March, we
took advantage of the land breeze to sail from
Tahiti^ on a cruise to the northward. On the
following day we passed close to Tetuaroa, a
low and extensive coral-island, belonging to the
crown of Tahiti, and much frequented by the
Tahitians for purposes of health or pleasure.
Its structure is analogous to that of Caroline
Island, which I have already described.

On the 4th of April we again visited Maurua,
for the purpose of renewing our stock of yams ;

SPRING A LEAK. 51

and in the following evening sailed from that
island, with winds from N. W. and very bois-
terous weather. The same contrary winds op-
posed our progress to the northward for several
days ; and we had not proceeded beyond the six-
teenth degree of south latitude, when it was dis-
covered that a leak in the bow of the ship, two
feet below water-mark, * and which had for some
time required a frequent use of the pumps, was
now so much increased as to require our imme-
diate return to Tahiti for its repair. We conse-
quently tacked to the S. E., and the wind being
favourable to our reversed course, reached Tahiti
on Saturday, the 22d of April, and cast anchor
in the tranquil harbour of Papeete Bay.

The day of our arrival being the Sabbath at
this island, I landed in time to attend divine
service at Papeete Church, where Mr. G. Prit-
chard, the indefatigable missionary of this dis-
trict, officiated to a large congregation of na-
tives, including the queen, Aimata, and her hus-
band. The conduct of the two latter personages
was not, on this occasion, calculated to set a
good example to their subjects. The queen was

* The precise situation of this leak was detected by the
use of a long bamboo, applied in the manner, and on the
principles, of the stethescope.

E 2

o2 THE NATIVES SABBATH.

playful and inattentive ; and her husband did not
even enter the church, but, seated on the thres-
hold, amused himself during the time of service
with cutting sticks, playing with children, or
in the enjoyment of passing events in the road
without — pastimes for which he was occasionally
rebuked by an elderly chief who stood near him.
It was pleasing, however, to notice the
manner in which this day was preserved by the
mass of the population. No canoes were to
be seen on the water, nor any natives occupied
with traffic or manual labour ; their food, pro-
cured and cooked on the previous day, is of
better quality and more abundant than ordinary ;
the floors of their huts are usually strewn with
a fresh layer of grass ; and natives of every
grade, attired in their best apparel, may be seen
hastening to church at the sound of the sum-
moning bell, and returning an orderly, if not
an edified, train. To the stranger, these public
demonstrations of piety convey an opinion
highly flattering to the native character, and
lead him to infer, that if the Tahitians do not
possess a true religious sentiment, they at least
contrive to ape that virtue exceedingly well,
and deserve to be praised for their docile
obedience to the wholesome laws enacted for
them.

THE MOON-STONE. 53

I availed myself of our return to this island,
to visit the Ofai mamma (moon-stone) of the
natives ; a natural curiosity, second only to the
lake of Vaihiria. It is situated on a spot named
Puna-ru, about two miles and a half inland from
the west coast. The road to it, as pursued by
my native guide, penetrated the country imme-
diately behind the village of Bunaauia, and tra-
versed a valley, covered with luxuriant herbage,
and enlivened by a broad stream, winding
through its centre ; whilst oxen and horses,
grazing on the rich pasturage, and occasional
groupes of native huts, helped to form a very
pretty rural landscape. At the head of this
valley, in a narrow rocky defile, bounded on
either side by precipices, we found the object
of our curiosity — a prostrate basaltic column,
half-imbedded in the soil, and lying in a cave,
excavated as it were for its reception, at the
base of a mural cliff of considerable height. Its
position is horizontal, and nearly parallel to
the sides of the cave ; its length about seven
feet, its height three and a half, and its breadth
nearly six feet ; its surface is dark and polished,
and marked with a few vertical fissures, so
regularly disposed as to convey an impression
that the column is composed of several blocks,
united by human ingenuity. It is connected in

54

VISIT OF THE ZEBRA.

some parts with the rock of the cliff, and its
extremity, that presents at the mouth of the
cave, has a smooth surface, resembling the half-
risen moon in shape, whence its native name. It
offers, on the whole, an interesting example of a
basaltic column, which originally formed a por-
tion of the surrounding cliff ; but whose more
compact structure has retained its integrity,
while the rock around has separated in slaty
exfoliations.

The British man-of-war brig Zebra, which
now lay at anchor in Papeete harbour, was
the only ship -of- war we met with during
the voyage. Her trim and well-disciplined
appearance recalled many agreeable thoughts

INDUSTRY DISPLAYED. 55

of our native land, and from her commander
and officers we received many polite and
valuable attentions. The presence of a man-
of-war in their port, seemed to produce any
thing but a joyous effect on the natives ; since
they derive but little amusement or profit
from a ship of this character, and the rigour of
her discipline is not at all adapted to their
taste.

There was at this time, however, an unusual
degree of bustle and activity amongst the natives
on the coast, the greater number being em-
ployed in gathering bark for the manufacture
of native cloth ; while, in a large shed at Papeete,
more than fifty young females, their heads be-
decked with flowers, assembled daily to make
the welkin ring with the sound of then* cloth
mallets. They all told me that they were work-
ing for the queen ; and I imagined they were
preparing some customary tribute, until I was
informed by the European residents, that such
display invariably attends the presence of a
foreign ship-of-war in the port, and is intended
to impress the naval officers with a favourable
opinion of native industry.

Previous to taking leave of this island, which
must be deemed the head-quarters of British

56 POLYNESIAN MISSIONARIES :

missionaries in Polynesia, I may with propriety
hazard a few remarks upon the apparent extent
and effects of missionary exertions ; although,
from the conflicting opinions existing on this
topic, the task becomes one of extreme delicacy.
I have been led by personal observation to
believe, that while the missionaries at these
islands have been libelled by one party, they
have been too highly lauded by another ; and
that the strictures of Kotzebue are not more
unworthy of implicit belief than the flowery and
exaggerated tone of description adopted by the
missionary party. From the statement of the
one, we should judge that missionaries were
tyrannical, ignorant, bigotted, avaricious, and
almost the cause of every vice perceptible in the
native character, and that the natives themselves
are in a more degraded state than at the period
of their most barbarous idolatry. From the
other, we are to believe, that the missionaries are
universally beloved ; that the natives are saints,
martyrs, and primitive apostles ; that their
churches are cathedrals, and their grouped huts
cities. But with whichsoever of these party im-
pressions the voyager visits the debatable land,
he will find himself disappointed; and by ob-
serving calmly and unprejudiced, will doubt-

THEIR LABOURS AND PROSPECTS. 57

less determine, that the truth rests in the
medium.

It cannot be denied, that from the landing of
the first party of British missionaries, in 1797,
to the present time, a constant tendency to a
fixed point of improvement has been evident in
the more favoured Polynesian nations. — I say a
fixed point, because I believe, that after idolatry
has been supplanted by the Christian religion,
and the elements of education introduced, the
work will remain stationary for a time ; and
that a nobler superstructure can only be raised
by the maturing influence of many years' inter-
course with civilized nations. The first steps
have been successfully attained by the mis-
sionaries, at both the Society and Sandwich
groups, after many years of anxious toil and
dangerous re-action ; and their chief duty at
present consists in retaining the ground they
have gained, and in giving such intellectual im-
provement to the rising generation of natives as
circumstances may permit. And it will be no-
ticed, in the accounts I have given of distinct
islands, how soon the absence, or loss of in-
fluence, on the part of then* missionary in-
structors, causes the capricious natives to revert
to then* former excesses, and indifference to

58 MISSIONARY INFLUENCE,

moral laws. A missionary, resident amongst
these newly-converted people, has almost a
regal influence ; for however passive he may be,
his presence alone has the effect of stimulating
the chiefs and church party to enforce the
observance of religious law amongst the people ;
whilst the latter, from a feeling of decorum, and
a love of approbation, (peculiar to their character,)
act with much show of propriety; since no
native, however depraved in principle, will act
in open violation of morality under the eye of
his missionary, whom he always regards with a
kind of innate respect, although professing, to
his party, that he holds both the man and his
precepts in contempt.

It may be asked, how far has commercial in-
tercourse alone, with civilized nations, tended to
the improvement of these islanders ? I would
answer, that the effect of commercial intercourse
can extend but little farther than to make the
natives acquainted with civilized habits, (and
bad habits they too frequently are,) and by the
introduction of foreign manufactures, to increase
their comforts, and afford them the means of
imitation. But it would be absurd to assume,
that the transient visits of shipping, or even the
residence amongst them of foreign merchants,

AS COMPARED WITH COMMERCIAL. 59

with minds engrossed by mercantile speculations,
and destitute of all responsibility, would go far
to correct or educate these people. The press,
also, (that mighty engine for the development
of the human intellect,) as well as the reduction
of the Polynesian languages to a standard rule,
would have long remained absent from these
nations, had their introduction depended solely
upon commercial relations with their protecting
countries.

Since some few errors and abuses are in-
separable from human nature, we may admit
that the missionaries perform their duties with
great moderation and purity. The principal
faults laid to their charge, are too great an in-
terference in the political and domestic affairs
of the natives, and too keen a participation in
commercial transactions. Nor are these charges
altogether groundless ; although more frequently
applicable to individuals than to the collective
body. The missionaries shield themselves from
the blame of political interference, by attributing
all legal enactments, at their stations, to the will
of the principal natives ; but the influence they
exercise over the minds of the chiefs, and the
frequency with which the latter consult them
upon all important affairs, are too well known,

60 SECURITY FOR SHIPPING.

to permit the administration of the one party to
be unassociated with the wish of the other.
Commercial dealings, although irrelevant,, may
not, perhaps, be deemed strictly opposed to their
spiritual profession, unless permitted to interfere
with the due performance of their pastoral
duties ; and, when conducted in a liberal and
upright manner, may afford useful instruction
to the natives ; but it is not considered just, that,
as salaried officers for the performance of a
distinct duty, they should present themselves as
competitors with the increasing number of
merchants, resident on the islands, and depen-
dent for their support solely upon their com-
mercial success ; and hence embroilments ensue,
which should with propriety be avoided.

If shipping experience any inconvenience from
missionary supremacy in these islands, it is in
some measure repaid to them, by the comparative
security with which they may approach the
shores of a land where they see the dwelling of
the missionary erected as a beacon of peace ;
and this the more especially, as the missionary
is usually the first to quit the spot, when the
natives are insensible to control, or involved in
the turmoil of war. On the whole, we have
much reason to be satisfied with the conduct of

CROSS THE MERIDIAN. 61

our Polynesian missionaries, and to admit that
they have done all in their power to improve the
natives, and to implant in their minds respect
and esteem for the British character.

Leaving Tahiti on the 2nd of May, on our
return to England by the way of the Cape of
Good Hope, we steered to the N. W., until near
the equator, in long. 166° W. ; and then shaped
a westerly course between the parallels of 2° and
3° S. lat, with winds chiefly from N. E., and a
current setting to the westward at the rate of
one mile an hour.

Crossing the meridian of 180', on the 22nd of
May, we commenced reckoning east longitude,
and noted the following day as the 24th of the
month, (thus reducing our current week to six
days,) in order to reconcile our time with the
apparent loss we should sustain of twenty-four
hours, upon our return to the meridian of Green-
wich by this, the western circuit of the globe.

May 26, 1836.— In lat. 2° 30' S., long. 175°
10' E., discovered a low and extensive island,
covered with trees, and surrounded by a sandy
beach, with moderate surf; some smoke seen
rising from the land, led us to believe that it
was inhabited. Allowing for a difference of one
degree in longitude, this would appear to be

62 EXTENSIVE FROTH-LINE :

Rotch Island, discovered by Capt. Clerk, of the
John Palmer, in 1 826, and laid down by Krusen-
stern, in lat. 2° 30' S., long. 176° 10' E. A current,
setting strongly to the N. W., caused us to pass
its shores with a rapidity, by no means consistent
with the light airs, approaching to a calm, which
prevailed at the time.

In lat. 2° 53' S., long. 174° 55' E., a remarkable
white line was observed on the surface of the
ocean, about two miles a-head of the ship, and
bearing the appearance of a low surf, breaking
on a sand-bank, or reef. The ship's course was
altered, until a boat, lowered to ascertain the true
character of the water, displayed a signal that no
danger was to be apprehended, when we resumed
our course, and soon after passed through the ob-
ject of alarm. It proved to be an undulated line
of froth) or scum, several yards in width, extend-
ing on either side as far as was visible with the
naked eye, and accompanied by a heterogeneous
assemblage of floating mollusks, small fish, crabs,
and other marine animals, drift-wood, and oceanic
birds. The birds formed the most mysterious
feature of the phenomenon : they were chiefly
of the noddy and petrel families; and whilst
some of them appeared but recently dead, others
lay in a torpid and helpless state on the surface

ITS COMPOSITION AND CAUSE. 63

of the sea. A black petrel, (Procellaria fu-
liginosa,) in this latter condition, was taken by
our boat's crew and brought to the ship. It was
sufficiently lively when on board ; and the state
in which it was found could scarcely be at-
tributed to repletion, for, on dissection, I found
its stomach perfectly empty. Janthinae, or sea-
snails, were the most abundant of the floating
rnollusks. Their number was immense ; and
their floats contributed greatly to the white,
appearance of the froth-line. One species of
this family, which I obtained here, was new to
me ; and is certainly very rare : its shell was
yellow ; rather smaller and more elongated than
J. communis ; and the whirl more prominent
and spiral. The contained animal was also of a
yellow colour ; but in the form of its float, and
other respects, it closely resembled the ordinary
blue-shelled species.

This line of miscellanies on the ocean, denoted
the termination of a current,* which, in its

* Immediately after passing this spot, we lost the strong
N. W. current that had hitherto accompanied us ; and it
is worthy of remark, as associated with the limits of
currents, (which are often capricious,) that some of our
older navigators have recorded the existence of a current-
ripple, and others that of a froth, in nearly this precise
place.

64 SPERM WHALES.

progress, had swept the surrounding waters of
their passive, or feeble denizens, and had borne
them thus far in a dense and confused mass.
Rising and falling with the swell, and its white
hue conspicuous above the blue surface of a
calm sea, it had much the appearance of surf,
and if it had been seen only in the distance by
a passing ship, might have added a " suspected
shoal" to our charts.

On the same day we noticed many kinds of
cetaceans, including a school of Sperm Whales,
which our boats pursued with success. As we
sailed to the westward, also, in the parallel of
3J S. lat., Cachalots were frequently observed ;
and the produce of several was added to our
cargo. They were for the most part shy and
mischievous, and were seldom destroyed without
some injury to the boats. From a school, at-
tacked by our boats in long. 158°E., four whales
were obtained ; three of these were adult females,
whilst the fourth, a male calf, the offspring of
one of the former, did not exceed sixteen feet in
length, and produced but three barrels of oil.

June 13. — Tench's Island bore S. W., distant
seven miles. This is a low and small island, (not
exceeding three miles in circumference,) mar-
gined by a sandy beach, well wooded, and indeed

TENCH'S, AND OTHER ISLANDS. 65

chiefly conspicuous from its tall trees, rising as
it were from the surface of the sea. It is
situated in lat. 1° 39' S., long. 151° 31' E., and
was discovered in 1790, by Lieut. Ball, who
states that it is inhabited by a stout and healthy
race of people. On the evening of the same
day, (Tench's Island being still visible,) Kerue's
Island, and Mathias, or Prince William Henry's,
Island, were seen in the N. W. The latter,
which is the westernmost of the two islands, is
large, elevated, and covered with verdure ; its
western extremity terminating as a long, low,
and well-wooded point. The three islands last
mentioned, appear to have been laid down with
extreme accuracy by Lieut. Ball. On the 16th,
we saw the Anchorite Islands, bearing S. W.,
distant fifteen miles ; and found in their vicinity
a current, setting to the S. W.

During a calm, in lat. 0° 66' S., long. 140° E.,
several logs of drift-wood were seen floating
within a short distance of the ship. We went
in a boat to the largest, and found it an entire
tree, more than sixty feet in length, covered
with weeds, barnacles, Unices, and crabs, and
much perforated by the ship-borer (Teredo
navalis.) In the water around was assembled a
vast number of fish, chiefly yellow-tails, (Elaga-

VOL. II. F

66 THE YOEL GROUP.

tis,) rudder-fish, (Caranx antilliarumj file-
fish, (Balistes,) some albacore, brown sharks, and
many other kinds, of grotesque forms and gaudy
hues, for which even the sailors had no names ;
the whole presenting a marine spectacle of
a highly novel and animated character. The
timber was towed to the ship, and a part of
it taken on board for fire-wood, and upon
making sail, a large proportion of the fish
accompanied the ship, and continued to do so
for several weeks.

After crossing the equator in long. 137° E.,*
we renewed a course to the westward, within
the parallel of 1° N. lat., and nearly in Bougain-
ville's track of 1768.

On the 27th of June, the elevated land of
New Guinea was in sight ; and on the following
day we entered a strait, twenty-four miles in
breadth, bounded on the one side by the moun-
tainous island of Wageeoo, and on the opposite,
by the Yoel group — a cluster of small islands,
the greater number but little raised above the
level of the sea, and richly vegetated. One of

* On the evening of the day we crossed the line, a
frigate-bird alighted on the spanker- gaff, and permitted
itself to be captured by hand — an occurrence so unusual
at aea, as to be almost unprecedented.

FLOATING PUMICE-STONE. 67

them, remarkable for its more limited cir-
cumference but greater elevation, is shaped like
a gunner's quoin, and rises as an amphitheatre,
luxuriantly wooded to the water's edge.

The surface of the sea in this strait, was
covered with vast quantities of pumice-stone,
floating in small pieces, rounded by attrition.
Some of them were black, others of an olive-gray
colour ; and it is remarkable, that the specific
gravity of many of them was so nicely balanced,
that although they floated in the sea, they sank
when placed in fresh water. Their origin is due
to the volcanic islands of this Archipelago : the
volcanic mountain of Ternate is often in action ;
and as late as the year 1836, South- Seamen
cruising in the straits of Timor, were compelled
to keep their decks wet, on account of the
showers of hot ashes thrown upon them during
a volcanic eruption on the Island of Flores.*
Such collections of pumice-stone on the surface
of these seas are not uncommon ; and are oc-
casionally so great, that ships have had their
copper brightly polished by passing through
them.

* To the same cause may be attributed, the origin of
those large porous stones occasionally found floating on
the sea, to the great surprise of navigators.

F 2

68 ACCOUNT OF A WATER-SNAKE.

While we were yet engaged in this strait, my
tow-net captured a water-snake. (Hydrophis
bicolor.)* It was two feet in length; the upper
surface of the body uniformly black ; the inferior
of a bright-yellow colour ; the tail vandyked
with black and white. It had the ordinary form
of a land snake, with the exception that the
belly was keel-shaped, and the tail compressed,
(to facilitate swimming,) and blunt at the
extremity. The teeth were similar to those of
innocuous land snakes.-}* It did not appear
much inconvenienced by being removed from
its natural element, and when taken on board
the ship, resembled the terrestrial snakes in its
modes of rearing the head, gazing fixedly, and
rapidly protruding and retracting a cloven
tongue. It did not appear, however, to possess
any power of progressing on land ; since, when
placed on the deck of the ship, it made the
lateral motions usual with land snakes, but
could not advance. It uttered no sound, nor
did it make any attempt to bite. On dissection
after death, I found several small fish in its
stomach.

* Delineated in Russell's India Serpents, Vol. II.,
Plate XLIL

f It should be remembered, tbat some sea-snakes have
tubular or poisonous teeth mingled with the true teeth.

CURRENT-RIPPLES. 69

Upon entering the Gilolo passage,* the view
commanded from the deck of the ship included,
in addition to some of those we had passed, the
islands Een, Rab, Wihang, Sihang, Hi, and
Gaby. Indeed, the sea we were now sailing
upon presented a perfect garden of islands;
some of them lofty and mountainous ; others,
as Sihang, low, and resembling the coral for-
mations of the Pacific ; whilst all were clothed
with a dense and brilliant verdure, and afforded
a picturesque scene, heightened in beauty by
the serenity of the sky, and by the wide ex-
panse of blue ocean that surrounds their shores,
and bathes the feet of their wooded amphi-
theatres.

An anchor was now got over the bows, as
a precaution against the calms and currents,
so much to be dreaded amongst these islands,
and which here began to beset us with greater
frequency — the currents often approaching as
a long line of rolling surf, breaking against
the ship with a loud, confused, rippling sound,
and bearing large quantities of vegetable refuse
of the land, shoals of fish, marine mollusks,
and a great number of the elegant shells (for-
merly named CrozlersJ contained in the body

* A strait, between the islands of Gilolo and Wageeoo.

70 PULO P1SANG, AND OTHER ISLANDS.

of that curious nondescript animal, the Spirula
Australis.*

When in the longitude of about 130° E.,
we recrossed the equator during a severe gale,
and steered south and west courses, in sight of
the islands Otah, Gagie, Pulo-f- Moar, and Joyie ;
the sea occasionally assuming a green hue, with
turbulent currents setting to both the east and
west.

In the morning of the 3d of July we passed
close to an extensive chain of small and beau-
tiful islands, formed by the Weeda group, Pulo
Roa, Lapar-dammar, Little-dammar, Lookisong,
three others, whose names were unknown, or
not noted on our charts, and Pulo Pisang. The
last-named island is small though lofty, and in
the aspect we viewed it, appeared wholly com-
posed of two high mammillary-shaped moun-
tains. In the afternoon of the same day we
passed close to Maccluer's rock, or " danger-
stone," (a naked vlgia, resembling the hull of a
ship,) and entered Gasses-straits, a channel

* The nearest approach we made to the possession of
this rare animal, was by taking, in a towing-net, the
inferior portion of the body, with the camerated shell
in situ, and protruding through the soft parts in the
normal manner. This fragment was of a bright orange-
colour.

f Pulo, in the Malay language, signifies an island.

EFFECTS OF REFRACTION. 7l

eighteen miles in breadth, bounded on either
side by the islands Fulo Pisang, Lawn, the
Button, Kekik, and Pulo Gasses.

When in Pitt's Passage, with the islands Go-
mona and Oby-major in sight, a large body of
Sperm Whales was seen moving quickly. Our
boats pursued them, and, when close in with
the shores of Oby-major, succeeded in killing
a male Cachalot, of the largest size. The first
boat that fastened had its entire line taken out ;
the second was more successful; and by the
united efforts of all the boats, the whale was at
length despatched and brought to the ship.
When in his " flurry," the creature descended,
and died beneath the surface of the sea, so that
it required the combined exertions of all the
boats' crews to raise the carcase from the depth
of forty fathoms ; but when this was effected, it
floated buoyantly. Some extraordinary effects of
refraction had been often visible to us since we en-
tered this Archipelago, but were never so strongly
marked as on the present occasion : the boats,
floating on a calm sea, at a distance from the
ship, were magnified to a great size ; the crew,
standing up in them, appeared as masts or trees,
and their arms, in motion, as the wings of wind-
mills ; while the surrounding islands (especially
at their low and tapered extremities,) seemed

72 EXTRAORDINARY WINDS.

to be suspended in the air, some feet above the
ocean's level.*

A continued course to the southward of west
brought us in sight of the islands Oby Latta
and Ceram, and close to the low but picturesque
island of Gomona. At night, the breeze from off
the land wafted to us a sweet odour, like that
of flowers ; and the surrounding waters con-
tained such vast numbers of that curious fish,
the Leptocephalus, or " small-head,"-}- that my
tow-net was constantly filled with them.

On the following day, when in sight of the
islands Booro, Xully Bissy, and Lassamatula, a
bark was seen standing towards us, with Eng-
lish colours flying. Extraordinary as it may
appear, although the strange sail was steering
due west, and the Tuscan due east, both ships
approached with the wind "dead aft" and stud-
ding sails set, until within two miles of each
other, when they were alike baffled by calms and
light airs. The stranger proved to be the
Bombay bark Soubrou, Captain Smith, bound
to Lombock and Bally, for a cargo of rice for
the China market.

* On a previous occasion, and owing to the same cause,
we had seen the setting sun assume the form of the hull of
a ship, and change, in a few moments, to a perfectly square
shape.

f See Illustrations of Natural History, — Fish.

TIMOR. COAST SCENERY. 73

Entering the Banda sea by Pitt's Passage,
on the 16th July, we got sight of the Wetter,
Ombay, Dog, and Cambing (Goat) islands ; and
on the following morning were engaged in the
straits of Timor, or Ombay Passage. * Current
ripples were here as numerous and forcible as
we had experienced them in any part of the
Archipelago. On one occasion, the ship was
turned completely round by the sudden eddy
of waves they produced.

The island of Timor, as seen from this chan-
nel, has not a very inviting aspect. Its general
features are mountainous, wild, and arid ; the
lofty hills, rising from the coast, are thinly
strewn with trees, and covered with a coarse and
seared pasturage ; whilst occasionally, herds of
buffalo may be seen grazing on their acclivities.
On many parts of the coast, extensive valleys,
occupied by native villages, open upon the sea ;
and here, thickets of spontaneous vegetation,
and groves of palm-trees, surrounding the
dwellings, present a much more verdant and
pleasing appearance.

* A broad channel, lying in a direction nearly N. E.
and S. W., and bounded on either side by the weathered
and lofty coasts of the islands Ombay and Timor. Its
waters are deep and its shores so abrupt that soundings
can be obtained in but few spots, however close to the land.

74 ARRIVAL AT SOUTRANHA.

CHAPTER IV.

Anchor in Soutranha Bay, Timor — Visit the rajah — The
ship visited by the rajah, his family, and suite — De-
scription of the country and its inhabitants — Village of
Soutranha— Physical character of the natives— Their
clothing — Ornaments and food — The Betel masti-
catory— Despotism of the rajah — His warriors and
wars — Religion of the people — Malay and aboriginal
languages — Commerce and manufactures — Chinese re-
sidents— Proas and canoes — Climate — Natural produc-
tions— Reflections on the probable Asiatic origin of
Polynesian Islanders — Natural History corroborative
of that opinion.

AT noon, on the 18th of July, we entered
Soutranha Bay, on the western side of Timor,
and cast anchor off a Malay settlement, where
the Dutch flag was hoisted in front of the
principal residence. Soon after our arrival
we received a visit from Don Simon De Cruz,
the son of the rajah of this district, and
his friend Mr. Brown, (a half-caste, between
Dutch and Malay,) who had arrived here from
Coupang, to collect sandal-wood. The latter
was an intelligent young man, and, as he
spoke the English and Malay languages fluently,

VISIT THE RAJAH. 75

proved a valuable associate to us in our inter-
course with this people.

On landing for the purpose of paying our
respects to the rajah, Don Domingos Santa
Cruz, we were conducted to the residence of
that personage, a large wooden edifice, erected
close to the beach, enclosed by lofty palisades,
and embowered in a plantation of cocoa-nut
trees. After waiting in a kind of guard-room
for a time which, although tedious to us, was
considered by the native party as consistent
with etiquette, we ascended by a ladder to an
elevated apartment, where we found the rajah
seated on a mat, surrounded by pillows and
cushions. He was indisposed, but rose to re-
ceive us, and invited us to be seated on some
chairs, that formed a part of the furniture of the
room. He is an elderly man, of short stature,
and by no means well-formed. His features,
broad, harsh, and truly Malay, were not improved
by a pair of bright ferocious eyes, and a mouth
broad to deformity, and stained with the san-
guineous hue of the betel-nut. His counte-
nance expressed an austere dignity, which, com-
bined with a manner peculiarly his own, was
repulsive of any approach to familiarity. He
spoke with a shrill, querulous voice, but slowly,
with much emphasis, and with very impressive

76 ARISTOCRATIC GUESTS.

gesticulation ; his remarks were shrewd, and
gave us a favourable opinion of his intellectual
powers. We acquitted his toilet of having oc-
casioned any delay in our reception ; for his
only vesture was a scanty cloth, covering the hips,
and a cotton handkerchief, folded as a turban
on the head. In one corner of the apartment,
a tall and delicately-formed female was engaged
in bruising betel-nut in a small silver mortar,
and in preparing relays of this luxury for the
rajah, whom she occasionally approached, to
present her offering, with a timid supplicating
look, and a crouching attitude, highly expres-
sive of slavish awe.

After a short conversation on general topics,
during which arrack and cocoa-nut milk were
offered for our refreshment, we took our leave
of the rajah, and were conducted by Don Simon
to his own residence, a very modest dwelling,
surrounded by a garden, neatly planted with Eu-
ropean and other exotic vegetables. Tea, tur-
tle-eggs, honey, and fruits, were here spread for
our evening meal ; and a ramble through the
village concluded the day.

On the 21st, the rajah and his grandson dined
on board the Tuscan, by invitation. They came
attended by a large suite of slaves and followers,
bearing umbrellas, betel-nut, the apparatus for

DESCRIPTION OF TIMOR. 77

preparing the latter, and many minor comforts,
which denoted that the Rajah was no practised
traveller. The old gentleman had added little to
his ordinary costume, heyond a larger and more
gaudy cloth, a silk waistcoat, made in the ancient
Dutch fashion, and a profusion of cotton hand-
kerchiefs distributed about his person. His
grand-child, an interesting little boy about five
years old, was more completely clothed, in a dress
partly Asiatic and partly European, and was suf-
ficiently bedizened with tinsel to do credit to a
stage at Bartholomew Fair. Don Simon was also
of the party, but proved un de trop : etiquette
forbade him to be seated in the presence of his
father, or to partake of food in the same apart-
ment, unless expressly invited to do so by the
rajah — a condescension which, unfortunately,
was not extended to him on this occasion.

Timor, one of the Sunda Isles, is about 240
miles in length, (from N.E. to S.W.,) and sixty
miles broad. Lying within the limits of the mon-
soons, it is subject to the seasonable vicissitudes of
climate they produce ; the S.E. monsoon, of the
winter months, bringing fair and dry weather;
while the N.W. is the harbinger of rain, tem-
pests, and an unwholesome atmosphere. Local
peculiarities, rather than the climate, (which is
also common to many salubrious lands,) render

78 POPULATION, GOVERNMENT, &C.

this island injurious, and often destructive, to
European constitutions.

The native population consists of Malays,
occupying the lowlands or coast, (and who must
be regarded as ancient colonists,) and Harraforas,
or tribes inhabiting the interior and mountainous
parts of the island, a people distinct from the
Malays in person, language, and customs, and
who are, in fact, the aborigines of the soil.

The native government is feudal : many chiefs,
of various grades of rank and power, holding
territories independent of each other, with the
liabilities to frequent aggressions and wars de-
pendent on such a system. They are all, however,
subservient to either the Dutch or Portuguese,
who have divided the dominion of the country
between them ; the greater share being retained
by the Dutch.

The principal European settlement is Coupang,
(on the S.W. extremity of the island,) possessed
and fortified by the Dutch. On the western
coast there are several bays, off Malay villages,
as Baraca, Delhi, A^ntecoupar, Coushay, and
Soutranha, which offer anchorage, and abun-
dant supplies for shipping. The most valuable
exports Timor is capable of affording, are sandal-
wood, bees-wax, horses, and cotton. Its com-
mercial intercourse is chiefly with China, Java,

BAY AND VILLAGE OF SOUTRANHA. 79

Macassar, and other islands of the Indian Archi-
pelago, and occasionally with vessels from the
Isle of France, calling here for horses.

The bay of Soutranha is capacious, but affords
anchorage only on one bank, or shoal, of limited
extent. From its waters, a view is commanded
of the island of Pantar, on the opposite side of
the strait ; as well as of a small, elevated, and
picturesque islet, named Pulo Batta, or " Batta
rock," distant about nine miles to the S.W.

The Malay village on its shores occupies a
level plain, some miles in extent, covered with
jungle from the sea to the foot of the enclosing
hills, and abounding, near the coast, in swamps,
overgrown with lofty mangroves, and retaining,
not only the waters of the land, but much also of
those from the sea, forming brackish marshes,
which are of all others the most pernicious to
the health of man. Many chasms, or gulches,
torn through the soil, strewn with rolled boulders,
and resembling broad and deep roads, intersect
the coast, marking the progress of torrents during
the rainy season ; but rivers, or any permanent
streams of pure water, are rare.

The dwellings of the natives are scattered over
the plain in detached groups, surrounded by
cultivated enclosures, or embowered in groves of
the Palmyra,, cocoa-nut, and Areka palms. They

80 NATIVE DWELLINGS.

vary much in material, size, and form. The re-
sidence of the rajah (which is the largest build-
ing in the settlement, and the most characteristic
of native architecture,) is constructed with
wood, and thatched with the leaves of the Screw-
pine. Its only two habitable apartments are
raised by posts to the height of eight feet above
the ground, and are surrounded by a covered
balcony, to which we ascend by a broad ladder.
The outer or largest apartment is open on three
sides, to admit the breeze, or may be closed, at
will, by blinds composed of light mats ; its floor
is formed of split bamboos, arranged as an open
or trellis-work, exceedingly cool and neat in
appearance, as well as strong and durable, but
which gives, to the unaccustomed tread of the
stranger, a sensation of elasticity and frailty, by
no means agreeable or easily overcome. The
ground-floor is enclosed with boards, and used
only as a store-room. The inferior huts are
mostly erected in the same elevated manner as
the royal-lodge, though but few have their apart-
ments raised to a greater height than four feet
above the ground. Some of them are so densely
covered with leaves as to be impervious to light
or air, except at the entrance ; whilst others
are simply wattled with bamboo. They have
each but two apartments, which, as they con-

APPEARANCE OF THE INHABITANTS. 81

tain but few auxiliaries to domestic comfort,
present a naked and gloomy appearance.

The population is a very unprepossessing Ma-
lay race, with a dingy soot-black complexion.
The men are short in stature, small-boned, and
meagre ; their countenances, naturally haggard
and ferocious, being rendered yet more unsightly
by long and tangled locks of coarse black hair,
and mouths stained red with the betel-nut. We
found them reserved and apathetic, and, although
avaricious, honest and punctual in their dealings.
The women are but little superior to the men in
personal attractions, and, preserving the usual
inferiority in size which characterises the female
sex, are almost infantine in stature, and re-
markably slender-limbed. They are laborious,
very subservient to the men, decorous and re-
tiring in their behaviour to strangers, and main-
tain a proper moral distinction between the
virtuous and profligate of their sex.

The ordinary male dress seldom exceeds a
piece of cloth worn round the loins, and a hand-
kerchief covering the head. On ceremonial
occasions, however, the higher ranks assume an
attire composed of a kind of petticoat, (sarong,)
fastened by a girdle or sash ; a tight vest
(budju) ; and a scarf (llpa) ; the whole con-
structed of a strong, neatly-woven cloth, varie-

VOL. II. G

82 PERSONAL ORNAMENTS.

gated with black, red, blue, and white. The
rajah and his sons wear their hair short ; the
lowest class of men permit it to flow wildly over
their shoulders ; but the most national, or cha-
racteristic mode, and that adopted by the more
punctilious natives, (and especially by the mili-
tary attendants on the rajah,) is to have the
hair of great length, and secured at the crown of
the head, where it towers, as an immense bush,
to a considerable height. The ornamental combs,
occasionally worn in this toupet, are made with
the ribs of the cocoa-nut leaf, and bear a striking
resemblance to those in common use amongst
the natives of the Tonga Isles.

Silver, or ivory rings, (the bangles of Asia-
tics,) encircling the arms, as well as necklaces
and bracelets, composed of coloured beads, or
of small, fragrant, black-and-yellow seeds, indi-
genous to the island, are the favourite ornaments
of both sexes ; parrots' feathers, tied to a slip of
bamboo, are occasionally worn in the ears, and
bangles of long white hair around the ancles.
A long European knife, contained in a sheath,
is the more common substitute for the kris, or
native dagger. Tatooing the person is but little
practised, and seldom extends beyond a few
small devices on the arms.

The most remarkable mode of decorating the

SINGULAR DECORATION. 83

person we observed here, was that of covering
the front teeth with plates of silver ; when the
gleam of the polished metal, displayed within the
parted lips, added to the natural ferocity of the
Malayan features, produced an extraordinary
and almost diabolical effect. We noticed that but
few of the natives, and those only men, assumed
this decoration; and I was informed, that it
is an order of military merit, conferred by the
rajah upon those of his warriors who had dis-
tinguished themselves in the field.

The diet of this race is exceedingly frugal.
Maize and rice, together with some coarser ve-
getables, constitute their ordinary sustenance ;
and spring-water, or toddy, obtained from the
Palmyra and cocoa-nut palms, are almost then*
only drink. Although they have easy access
to arrack, the vice of intoxication is scarcely
known to exist amongst them. Notwithstand-
ing, however, the extreme simplicity of their
own meals, we found them accomplished cooks,
when catering for Europeans. On several oc-
casions, when we were entertained at the re-
sidence of Don Simou, the ceremonies of Eu-
ropean etiquette which were preserved, the com-
plete, and even refined style in which the
table was laid, the (excellence and profusion of
the dishes and liquors, together with the se-

G2

84 THE BETEL MASTICATORY.

dulous attendance of numerous servants, were
sources of considerable surprise to us, when
contrasted with the half-naked, unsophisticated
appearance of our host, and the shed-like aspect
of the dwelling in which these entertainments
were spread.

The practice of chewing the betel, so preva-
lent throughout the continent of India, is here
adopted by both sexes, and by every individual
above the age of puberty. The ingredients of
this favourite masticatory are the leaves and
fruit of the betel-pepper, the nut of the Areka-
palm, (commonly called betel-nut,) and chunam,
or quick-lime, produced by burning sea-shells
and coral. The whole are placed in the mouth
and chewed together for some minutes. The
betel-leaf has a pungent aromatic taste, and
excites a very copious flow of saliva. It ranks
with the narcotic inebrients, and is, in fact,
nearly allied both in family and effects to the
Kava-pepper of Polynesia. The fruit is pre-
ferred to the leaves, and is mostly reserved for
the use of the highest rank of natives. The
areka-nut is astringent and slightly bitter, and
stains the saliva of a brown colour, which is
changed to bright-red by the alkaline quality
of the lime. The betel-leaf and nuts, (the latter
cut into thin slices,) are carried by the natives

DON DOMINGOS SANTA CRUZ. 85

in cases, neatly manufactured from the split
leaves of the fan-palm, and stained with many
bright colours ; while the chunam is contained
in small gourds, or bamboo boxes, elaborately
carved. Nutmegs are highly esteemed as an
addition to the betel masticatory, but are rare
and expensive, even on this, their chosen soil,
where the jealous policy of the Dutch will nei-
ther permit them to grow wild nor to be cul-
tivated. Both sexes almost invariably carry a
quid of tobacco-leaf beneath the upper lip,
where it is retained by a groove, filed through
the surface of the front teeth. They also smoke
the same weed in the form of cigars, (rocos,)
prepared by enclosing the cut leaf in the de-
licate husk of the Indian-corn, or in the leaf of
the fan-palm ; both agreeably scented. Opium,
in the form of an extract, is also smoked for its
sedative and intoxicating effects, but is a luxury
in which but few indulge, as it is not only
expensive but prohibited by the laws.

Don Domingos Santa Cruz, the present rajah
of Soutranha, holds his territory under the
Dutch, as he formerly did under the Portuguese,
flag. He possesses a perfect knowledge of the
elements of European education, and speaks
the Portuguese, as well as the aboriginal and
Malayan languages. He has also acquired repu-

86 DESPOTISM OF THE RAJAH.

tation as a warrior, and bears on his person the
scars of many wounds. He governs his people
with absolute sway, and requires the most
prompt and abject obedience : none of his
subjects, including his own children, presume
to sit, eat, or chew the betel in his presence ;
nor do any approach to address him without
first bowing low and kissing his hand. Similar
marks of respect are paid by the inferior peo-
ple to the rajah's sons, and by the latter to
each other, in proportion to their seniority ; so
that a foreigner finds it difficult to reconcile this
formal and aristocratic state of society, with the
equality in dress and habits which appears to
prevail throughout all classes of the community.
The impetuous despotism of the old rajah, the
"sic volo, sic jubeO) stet pro ratione voluntas" of
his rule, has the effect of keeping his people in a
state of strict discipline, the slightest deviation
from which, exposes the offending party to the
punishments of heavy pecuniary fines — flogging,
(from which even the ladies are not exempt,)
and protracted durance in the stocks.*

* The place where criminals are confined and pun-
ished is an enclosed court, adjoining the rajah's residence.
Here we noticed several natives, of either sex, seated on
mats in the open air, some of them with their legs in the
stocks, and their heads shaved, and all encumbered with

MILITARY AND WARS. 87

The entire adult male population are soldiers,
by necessity ; but the " standing army" consists
of only a few picked men, employed as atten-
dants on the rajah, or as guards to his residence.
They are distinguished from the civilians by
possessing a musket, and wearing, in front of
their girdle, a cartouche -box, highly carved, de-
corated with silver, and containing musket-balls
and rows of bamboo cartridges.

Although Soutranha was in a state of pro-
found peace at the time of our visit, wars with
neighbouring independent states, and more es-
pecially with the inhabitants of the hills, are not
unfrequent; but the result of these conflicts
has been usually in favour of the Soutranha
people, owing, probably, to the superiority in
the munitions of war their coast position affords

a heavy log of wood, from five to eight feet long, its one
extremity resting on the ground, while the opposite re-
ceived the neck of the criminal through a groove in its
centre, and rested on his shoulders. A system of " prison
discipline" which renders every movement of the pri-
soner difficult, and escape impossible. One roguish-
looking fellow thus situated, and who spoke a little Eng-
lish, (which, by the way, went far to prove that he de-
served his post,) told us that he had been " at anchor"
for ten days, and expected to remain so ten days longer.
We had no reason to doubt the correctness of his reckon «
ing, as he evidently kept a very steady log.

88 SPIRITUAL STATE OF THE PEOPLE.

them. A young shrub of Jatropha curcas,
planted within the precincts of the royal-lodge,
marks the spot where the rajah had buried the
head of a rival chief, who, while invading Sou-
tranha with his tribe, had been defeated and
slain. A second hostile rajah, subdued by Don
Domingos, was for some time kept as a state-
prisoner on Batta rock, in humble imitation
of a similar line of policy adopted by the po-
tentates of Europe. A low stone wall, pierced
for cannon, protects the rear of the village, but
its guns were now removed to the sea-side, as
a precaution against some threatened piratical
descents by the natives of the islands Pantar
and Ombay, who had already plundered much
of the adjacent coast, and even carried away a
proa from Soutranha Bay.

The professed religion of this people is the
Roman Catholic, which they have received
from Portuguese missionaries, formerly resident
amongst them. A large hut, at the north ex-
tremity of the settlement, was originally in-
tended for a chapel ; but the people at large
are without education, have no priest, pre-
serve neither the Sabbath nor any of the sacra-
ments of the church, and, with the exception of
the cross that usually decorates their person,
have nothing to indicate their religion. They

MALAYAN AND ABORIGINAL DIALECTS. 89

appear, however, to have retrograded from a
very fair state of missionary training, are anxious
for education and a pastoral adviser, and, were
an opportunity offered them, would doubtless
do credit to their teachers.

The Malayan language, as spoken here, is
certainly so exceedingly harmonious, that to call
it " the Italian of the East" would be a com-
pliment to the European tongue. It is less
in single words than in sentences, that the
liquid melody of the language is heard ; and
when recited by a good, and especially by a
female voice, it is perfect music to the ear. I
could glean from its vocabulary but few words
that bore any resemblance to those in use
amongst the Polynesian islands we had visited.
In euphony there was a general similitude ; as
also in the reduplication of words ; and some
few words were actually the same; but on
the whole, the alliance between the languages
did not appear to be very close. The Harra-
foras, or mountaineers, speak a language dis-
tinct from the Malayan ; and it would appear,
that the aboriginal tribes of the Indian Archi-
pelago possess languages not only differing
from the Malayan, but also essentially distinct
from each other. We found amongst the in-
habitants of Soutranha, a slave, obtained by

90 COMMERCE OF THE PORT.

purchase from a neighbouring island, whose
language was unintelligible to all the residents
on Timor. His history was unknown ; but he
was evidently a native of one of the islands of
this Archipelago.

A large proportion of the commerce of this
port is derived from the visits of English South-
Seamen, which call here during the " Timor-
season" to procure refreshments. No pilotage
or harbour-dues are demanded, permission to
take wood and water is freely bestowed, and
every essential supply may be readily obtained.
Provisions are dear, if purchased with specie,
but as the natives prefer barter, and chiefly
require European manufactures, such as mus-
kets, ammunition, and cutlery, in exchange
for then: commodities, the balance of trade is
much in favour of shipping. The current coins
are principally dollars, and the rupees of India.

The price of a buffalo (without regard to size)
is five dollars, or two may be purchased for a
musket ; sheep are sold at one dollar a-head ;
a hog at two dollars, and fowls at one dollar the
couple. Vegetables are sold by weight, (by the
picul, or 136lbs.,) as in China. Teeth of the
Sperm Whale, when solid and of large size, are
eagerly purchased by the natives, both for home
consumption, (in the manufacture of ivory

DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES. 91

ornaments, sheaths for krises, &c.,) and for
exportation to other of the Malay islands, and
China. The teeth of the largest male Cachalots
bear an average value of two dollars each, those
of adult females, three dollars the dozen. The
surplus European commodities, received by the
natives on the coast, are rapidly absorbed by
the inland tribes, or by exportation to other
islands, not frequented by shipping. In return
for such exportations, the Soutranha people
receive slaves, and some kinds of cotton cloth,
superior in texture and pattern to any they can
themselves construct.

Their domestic manufactures are chiefly
Cotton-cloth, mats, and fancy works, executed
with the split leaves of the fan-palm, and
prettily stained. Weaving cloth (the occupation
only of the women) is performed with the most
primitive simplicity. The loom is a mere wooden
frame, fastened at one extremity to the ground,
and at the opposite to the person of the operative;
the woof being passed across the warp by hand,
and beaten close with a thin lath, or " sword,"
like the method employed in ships, to make
what is termed a " sword-mat." It is a tedious
labour; for a scarf, or lipa, cannot be com-
pleted with less than a week's diligent work.
The cloth, consequently, bears a proportionate

92 CHINESE EMIGRANTS.

value. Its texture is strong and neat ; its colours
are fast, and usually red, blue, white, and yellow,
blended with tasteful effect* The finer kinds
possess qualities which recommend them strongly
to Europeans. I am informed, that English
weavers have endeavoured in vain to imitate
them — nor is this improbable — the patient toil
and care which the Malay woman devotes to her
web can be but badly represented by the rapid
evolutions of machinery, or by the manual labour
of the busy workman of highly civilized lands,
whose time is so precious, that he too often
depends for his daily bread, less upon the ex-
cellence than upon the quick dispatch of his
work.

There were no foreign residents at this place,
except a few Chinamen, employed in collecting
sandal- wood, bees-wax, or any commodities
which would turn to profitable account in their
commerce with China and Java. It is true,
that there are but few countries which have not
Chinese amongst then* residents. From the
thrifty, and (notwithstanding the opposition of
their national laws) the migratory disposition of

* The red yarn is stained with the bark of the mangrove-
tree (Rhizophora mangle) ; the blue, with the berries of a
species of Phyllanthus ; the yellow, with the root of the
Morinda umbellata.

NAVY. CLIMATE. 93

these people, they have been designated "the
Scotsmen of the East," and between the tropics,
at least, they verify the voyager's axiom, that
" a Chinaman, an English musket, and a Spanish
dollar, are to be found in ever}7 land."

The entire navy of Soutranha was comprised
in two or three small proas, drawn up on the
beach, and one similar vessel on the stocks.
The canoes, in common use, differ much in
form. Some are sharp at either end, without
outriggers, and in shape and construction inter-
mediate to a boat and canoe ; others have an
outrigger, and resemble the Polynesian canoe.
A third variety which we noticed, with an out-
rigger on either side, had a complicated and
very awkward appearance.

Notwithstanding the insalubrious character of
this soil, its population, although an attenuated,
appeared a very healthy race, not a single
instance of serious disease being evident amongst
them.* Our crew also enjoyed perfect health,
as regards any influence of the land. The un-
healthy season of the " wet monsoon" would no
doubt produce a very different scene, but during
our stay, the S. E. winds of the winter months
prevailed, the land was comparatively dry, the

* Small-pox is endemic on this island, and many of the
natives are much disfigured by its eruption.

94 NATURAL PRODUCTIONS.

weather delightfully serene, no rain fell, and the
barometer seldom varied from 30*0, or the ther-
mometer from 82° in the shade.

It is evident, (and commanders of ships are
well aware of the fact,) that a large proportion
of the fatal maladies which attack the crews of
shipping, employed on the unhealthy coasts of
India or the Oriental isles, find an active
auxiliary in the potent, and almost poisonous
spirit of those countries — a kind of whiskey,
distilled from rice, and sold at a cheap price
under the name of arrack. This liquor our
sailors obtain with facility, use with imprudence,
and often, when under its influence, expose
themselves to the unwholesome breeze and heavy
dews of the night, in direct violation of physical
laws, whose penalty is suffering and death. The
rajah of Soutranha, with a policy worthy of
imitation, forbids his people to supply this ardent
spirit to the crew of a vessel at anchor in his
port, if such prohibition is desired by the
commander.

The natural history of Soutranha is interest-
ing in some points, and especially so when com-
pared with the natural productions of the Asiatic
continent and Polynesia.

The horses, so numerous on this, as well as
on other parts of the coast of Timor, are stout,

BREED OF HORSES. 95

docile, and active ; though not remarkable for
symmetry or other beauty. They are used for
riding and burden, and great numbers of fine
colts are reared for exportation. The natives
seldom go any distance from home but on horse-
back, and nothing can exceed the simplicity
with which some of these people ride : without
any gear on the head or body of their steed, and
seated on its bare back, they guide the animal
in any required direction, by merely applying
to its head a pole, which they carry in their
hands. This is not, however, an elegant mode
of riding; since the unfurnished condition of
both horse and rider exhibits neither to advant-
age. The superior equestrian equipment consists
of a rude bridle, and a broad band, or girth,
encircling the body of the horse, and to which
wooden stirrups are attached. As an aristocratic
distinction, the bridles used by the rajah and
his sons are decorated with a light fabric, rising,
in branches, high above the horse's head, and
profusely covered with tufts of white and crimson
hair, parrots' feathers, and small bells.

The buffalo found here is a very pure breed
of this elder branch of the ox family. It is dis-
tinguished by a short and rotund body, a full
front, armed with strong and very divergent
horns of a dark colour, and by short clumsy

96 THE TIMOR BUFFALO.

legs. Its hide is like that of a hog, a red and
chapped skin appearing through a thin covering
of rigid hairs, of a dark-gray colour. The cry
this animal makes is peculiarly shrill, resembling
that of an infant in distress ; and is altogether
different from the lowing of the ordinary
European ox. The flesh is well developed, and
of good flavour ; hut it is a curious fact, that
however well conditioned it may be, the carcase
never affords tallow, and but little fat of any de-
scription. A few buffaloes, chiefly cows with their
calves, are domesticated in the settlement ;
while vast herds roam over the country, grazing
on the coarse pasturage that clothes the de-
clivities of the hills. In this state of freedom
they are often so mischievous, that the natives
seldom visit their more secluded haunts without
the protection of a musket. When captured for
the use of shipping, they are brought to the
coast in a very excited state, and taken on
board by swimming ; and it is remarkable, that
however savage the buffalo may be when on
land, he is no sooner placed on the novel or in-
secure footing of a ship's deck, than he becomes
quiet and docile, and may be approached and
handled with impunity. The stalk of the plantain-
tree is the best provision that can be made for
their support at sea, since they eat it with

MONKEYS.— FLYING FOXES. 9/

avidity, and the quantity of fluid it contains
obviates the necessity of supplying the animal
with water.

The sheep are of that gaunt, hairy, and goat-
like species (Ovis aries Africana) common to
the continents of India and Africa. Goats are
also denizens of the soil ; as well as swine, which
are of the ordinary mixed breed. Dogs, of
mongrel race, and cats conclude the list of
domestic quadrupeds.

The only mammalia, feres natures, that came
under our notice, were monkeys and bats. The
former are of a dull-yellow colour, and in size
and appearance bear a close resemblance to
the common Barbary, or Gibraltar-monkey, of
itinerant notoriety. An infant example of the
species, which we obtained, was covered with
down of a glossy-black colour. During the day
they may be seen in the jungle, playing their
antics upon the boughs of trees, and as night
advances they approach the settlement, and
fill the air with their querulous cries, as they
arrange their roosts on the surrounding palms,
or quarrel for the inside places. Some of these
grotesque creatures, tamed by the natives, were
sold to our crew at the rate of a rupee each.

The bats are of that large kind which sailors
call "flying-foxes." When our wood-cutters

VOL. II. H

98 MALAY FOWLS.

commenced their labours in the forests, the first
blow of the axe caused a large flock of these
creatures to mount in the air, and wing their
way to a less precarious retreat. They flew in
a body to the distance of more than two hundred
yards, then returned as simultaneously to the
vicinity of the spot they had quitted, and
ultimately settled in the depths of the jungle.
Considering how little their vision is adapted
for day-duty, it was interesting to notice
the systematic manner in which they directed
their flight ; one, which arose some time after
the others, taking immediately the right di-
rection to follow and join the main body of fu-
gitives.

Sperm Whales frequent the abrupt coast of
this, in common with other of the Malay Islands,
probably attracted by the animated currents
that prevail in their vicinity. Many English
South-Seamen cruise, during the winter months,
in the Straits of Ombay and adjacent seas, and
usually with success. It is somewhat remarkable,
that American whalers, though seldom behind
the English in enterprise, have not as yet
ventured their barks in these waters.

The domestic fowls are of the Malay breed,
so superior to every other for size and courage —
qualities which the natives devote much at-

COCK-FIGHTING. 99

tention to improve; since cock-fighting,* and
the gambling it implies, is here as enthusiastically
enjoyed as amongst other of the Malay people.
The steel spurs, with which they arm the heels
of their game-cocks for the combat, are murder-
ous weapons, nearly four inches in length, broad,
flat, and both pointed and edged. Only one leg
of the bird is thus artificially armed, and the
spur is fixed under the sole of the foot, in a very
complicated manner. The rajah has many of
these fighting birds, which he keeps fastened
by the leg to the balcony of his house. It is the
sole duty of one slave to attend upon them, and
certainly, in size, plumage, and noble bearing,
they afford the finest models of game-cocks it is
possible to conceive. For the table, however,
they do not maintain the same superiority over

* The Malays, throughout Asia, pursue this barbarous
amusement with extreme ardour. Their fowls are bred,
selected, and trained with great care. A losing cock is
not allowed to live ; and an amateur will often stake the
liberty of himself, his wife, and children, upon the success
of his favourite bird. The punctilio of the game is, conse-
quently, somewhat great. Should one of the two conflicting
cocks be slain, the victory is not given to the survivor,
unless he exhibits sufficient vigour to peck his dead foe,
plucked and otherwise disfigured, a stated number of times,
before a cocoa-nut shell, perforated with holes and floating
on water, has time to fill and sink

H 2

100 THE SULPHUR CRESTED COCKATOO.

the domestic fowls of other lands. We thought
them, indeed, inferior in this respect to any we
had obtained amongst the islands of the Pacific.
Domestic ducks have been but recently in-
troduced, and are not as yet numerous.

Wild pigeons abound in the jungle. Those
we shot had the plumage of the back, and outer
surface of the wings, of a light-olive colour,
transversely barred with a darker shade ; the
throat and breast white, elegantly barred with
black ; the interior of the wings bright-cin-
namon ; the beak and legs blue ; and a yellow
circle of naked skin around each eye.

The only species of the parrot tribe we noticed
on this coast, was the " Lesser Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo." (Plyctolophus sulphureusj Some
examples of this bird have the eyes entirely
black, whilst others have a black pupil and red
iris. I have reason to believe, that the latter
colour is characteristic of the female. Those we
obtained from the natives talked well, and were
apt at their learning, but when newly purchased,
their communications were made only in the
Malayan tongue ; hence, with the exception of
the word "cockatoa," the pith of their discourse
was lost to their European possessors.

The fishing-eagle, called, in India, the Brahmin
Kite, is seen hovering over the waters of this

AMPHIBIOUS FROG-FISH. 101

coast, and frequently descending to seize, with
a sudden dipping-action of its claws, any offal
floating on the surface of the sea. It utters a
whistling cry when engaged with food, and in
habits and diet is closer allied to the vulture
than to the falcon family.

A harmless snake, four feet long, and elegantly
variegated with black and white, was the only
land reptile we noticed. Turtle are numerous
in the surrounding waters, and from Pulo Batta,
which is their principal breeding resort, the
natives of Soutranha obtain an abundant supply
of their eggs.

Sea and river fish are also numerous. A
species of frog-fish, (probably Lophius histrio,)
its colour yellow, with brown spots and stripes,
floats in great numbers on the surface of the
straits ; and a second species, not exceeding two
inches in length, its colour gray spotted with
black, and remarkable for very prominent black
eyes, swarms in incredible numbers on the
muddy banks at the mouth of a Soutranha river.
Supporting themselves upon their brachiated
pectoral fins, they hop about the land with much
activity, and on the slightest alarm, hasten to
the water ; so that it is with the utmost diffi-
culty any of them can be captured.

Prawns, the size of small lobsters, are also

102 CORALLINES. — THE TEREDO.

found on this coast ; as well as many shell-fish.,
common to both the Indian and Pacific Ocean.
Empty shells of the giant-clam (Tridacne gigasj
are usually seen amongst the refuse of dwellings :
the bulky animals they contained having been
eaten by the natives. The sandy beach of the
bay is strewn with dead shells, occupied by
hermit-crabs ; bunches of an elegant jointed
coralline, (FlabellariaJ the organ-pipe coralline.
(Tubipora musicaj sponges, sea-pens, and in-
credible quantities of croziers, or shells of
the Spirula cephalopod. Ship-borers (Teredo
navalis)* infest the waters of the bay to a very
troublesome extent.

* While in this port, we took on board part of a man-
grove tree, which was found lying inland, but in a marshy
soil to which salt water had access, either by infiltration or
by occasional encroachments of the sea. Upon the log
being chopped for fire-wood, eleven days after we left
Soutranha, it was found to contain several ship-borers,
either alive or but very recently dead. The largest of these
worms was 10^ inches long by 2£ in circumference. In
all the examples, the tail, armed with the auger or boring-
shells, presented towards the heart of the log ; whilst the
head protruded its two de icate double-penniform shelly
appendages (resembling plumy corallines) through a
minute orifice in the surface of the timber. The body of
the worm was, as usual, white, soft, and elastic ; and con-
tained a muddy fluid.

WILD BEES.— EDIBLE GRUB. 103

Wild bees are the most valuable insects this
island possesses. The natives keep no hives,
but collect vast quantities of honey and wax
from the hollow trees in the jungle. Some
winged insects, which I found enclosed in the
fruit of a wild fig-tree, bore a very close re-
semblance, both in appearance and habitat, to
the Cynips Pscenes, (or Cynips ficus caric&J
of the Mediterranean islands. Large locusts,
brilliantly coloured, ants, domestic flies, and
many kinds of cockroach, were common ; but
strange, though agreeable, to say, no mosquitoes
made their appearance. Our wooding party
brought me the larva of a gigantic beetle —
which had been found in the trunk of a tree.
It was of that kind usually eaten by the Malays,
and which, when preserved in sugar, is also
esteemed a delicacy by the Chinese. Its body
is soft, of a delicate whiteness, and, in addition
to the normal members, has on the back a
series of false feet, similar to those that obtain
in the Cerambyx family of beetles. Lepidoptera,
chiefly gaudy butterflies, were numerous and ac-
cessible ; and, on the whole, it appeared that a
large and valuable entomological collection might
be made on this spot.

Vegetation does not here assume that lux-
uriant character which we had been accustomed

104 VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.

to behold in fertile Polynesia ; and is, generally
speaking, more remarkable for variety than pro-
fusion. The higher lands are but thinly tim-
bered, and pastured with a tall coarse grass. The
lowlands possess some tall well-grown trees,
very eligible for ships' spars ; and, in addition
to a wild jungle, are covered for many continuous
acres, with dense thickets of wild mint. The
more valuable vegetable productions, (chiefly
cultivated,) are cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, bananas,
jacca, or "jack-fruit," oranges,* limes, pome-
granates, tamarinds, papaws, guavas, custard-
apples, areka-nuts, betel-leaf, sandal-wood, cotton,
candle-nuts, castor-oil- nuts, maize, rice, yams,
pumpkins, sweet-potatoes, tomatos, capsicums,
and gourds; together with some of the more
common esculents of Europe, as onions, radishes,
and cabbages.

In more particularly noticing the botany of
this island, it will be interesting to observe, how
closely its prominent features (especially as re-
gards littoral vegetation,) accord with those
visible in the more remote Polynesian islands.

* One variety of this fruit, common here, is the " her-
maphrodite orange/' which resembles the ordinary orange
in colour and flavour, but the lemon in form. A second
variety, equally common, is the " Mandarin orange," of
very diminutive size, and lusciously sweet.

ORIGIN OF POLYNESIAN NATIONS. 105

It is impossible to follow the route we had
taken, from the American, to the vicinity of the
Asiatic continent, and to view the many insular
lands scattered on the way, like as many links
of communication between the two most ex-
tensive portions of the habitable globe, without
indulging in some reflections upon the cor-
respondence which exists between the Asiatic
and Polynesian countries, in regard to geological
character, population, and natural productions.

Both the Indian and Polynesian islands bear
indubitable traces of being the offspring of vol-
canic action. Some of them may be fairly sup-
posed to derive their volcanic origin and com-
motions from their vicinity to their respective
continents ; but there are others, so remote
from continents, and apparently so independent
in their existence, which still exhibit similar
phenomena, (as the earthquakes at Tahiti, the
active volcanoes at the Sandwich Isles and New
Hebrides, and the many extinct craters on several
other islands of the Pacific,) that we are called
upon to admit the existence of a distinct Plu-
tonic action in the centre, and at the bottom, of
a vast and fathomless ocean.

Facts are in favour of the opinion, that the
current of population has flowed to Polynesia
from the westward ; or, in other words, that

106 EMIGRATION TO THE EASTWARD.

the South-Sea Islanders have chiefly emanated
from Asiatic nations. The strongest argument
advanced against this opinion is, that the S.E.
perennial, or trade winds, would ever be opposed
to the nautical progress of the human species to
the eastward, within the tropics. The season-
able accessions of the N. W. monsoon, however,
do not permit this objection to apply to the space
intervening between intertropical Asia and the
145th degree of east longitude, and I have
already had occasion to remark, that westerly
winds, (probably an extension of the N. W. mon-
soon,) will often prevail from that longitude to the
easternmost of the Polynesian islands, for a very
protracted period. Such winds are the better
calculated, also, to extend population in the di-
rection to which they propel, from the circum-
stance of their usually blowing in sudden and
violent gales, and from their being diametrically
opposed to the normal trade-winds, on which
Polynesian natives are accustomed to depend
for their safe conduct, in canoes, from one to
another, and more leewardly, island. These
unsophisticated voyagers, upon encountering a
contrary and boisterous wind, are unable to
make their intended haven ; become confused
in their local knowledge; and may thus be
driven, in distress, to any remote land to which
chance may direct them.

NATIONAL DIALECTS. 107

The occasional occurrence of such accidents,
during a lapse of centuries, together with an ad-
venturous spirit and other causes, which often
actuate these islanders, of both sexes, to proceed
in quest of uncertain lands, may be deemed
sufficient to account for a gradual advance of
population to the easternmost islands of the
Pacific, or even to the shores of America. The
Papuan races, inhabiting the New Hebrides,
New Caledonia, &c., maybe cited as conclusive
evidence, that a portion, at least, of the Polyne-
sian islanders can claim an origin from lands
more westerly than those they now inhabit.

As regards an identity in language between
the Oriental and Polynesian nations, I can
assert but little from personal knowledge. At
Timor, as I have elsewhere noticed, we found the
Malayan dialect accord but little with that we
had been accustomed to hear spoken amongst
the natives of the Pacific. Nevertheless, there are
many facts on record, proving that such identity
does exist ;* and, perhaps, the strongest of these

* Mr. Marsden states, that the Tahitian words wai,
water ; and mata, the eyes ; are employed by the
Lampoons, a native tribe on the southern extremity of
Sumatra. The words which we found commonly used
by the Malays at Soutranha, and by the South-Sea
Islanders, were mate, to die ; niu, a cocoa-nut ; manu, a
fowl ; and, (as a near approach,) tana, a man.

108 CORROBORATIVE FACTS.

is that advanced by M. de la Perouse, namely,
that the Malayan language, as spoken by a
native of the province of Tagayan, island of
Luconia, whom he had on board his ship, and
the language spoken by the people of the Na-
vigators Islands, (and which is a dialect of the
Tahitian,) were mutually intelligible to the re-
spective parties. The people, also, of Freewill' s
Islands {placed but little to the eastward of
Gilolo Island,) speak a language which is per-
fectly intelligible to the natives of the Sandwich
group.

Although the majority of Polynesian nations
exhibit the prominent characteristics of the Ma-
layan variety of man, they are, on the whole, a
taller and handsomer race than the Malays of the
Asiatic Islands. This may partly depend upon
the greater luxuries they enjoy, in climate, food,
and habits ; but here, as well as with regard
to language, a wide vista of speculation is before
us ; since the Malays cannot be regarded as a
type of the aborigines of the Eastern Archipe-
lago, of whom, comparatively speaking, we as
yet know little or nothing.

Some manners and customs common to the
Indian and Pacific Islanders, afford strong proofs
in favour of an identity of people. Amongst
these, we may briefly notice the practice of ta-

EVIDENCE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 109

tooing the skin, (so prevalent amongst the na-
tives of the Indian island, Pulo Pogy, in parti-
cular) ; the manufacture of cloth from the bark
of trees, and the use of wooden pillows, by the
people of Sumatra; circumcision, the use of
the rume, the employment of oil-nuts, skewered
on a stick, for the purpose of illumination, and
the outriggers and general form of the primi-
tive canoes, which we noticed at Soutranha.
The use of bangles of hair around the ancles ;
the length to which the nails of the hands are
allowed to grow, as a symbol of rank ; and the
peculiar form of some edifices ; which we noticed
at Santa Christina, Marquesas, accord strictly,
also, with similar facts noticeable amongst the
islanders of the Eastern Archipelago.

The natural productions, and more especially
the aboriginal domestic quadrupeds, of a newly-
discovered insular land, should aiford us a good,
if not the best clue to the probable origin of its
population. The swine, dogs, and domestic
fowls, found on all the Polynesian groups, and
apparently coeval with man in then: existence
on those lands, betray much of an Asiatic
origin. Domestic swine, in particular, were
unknown to the natives of America until their
intercourse with Europeans ; hence, if the Po-
lynesian islands drew their supply of those ani-

110 BOTANICAL COINCIDENCES.

mals from the American continent, it must have
been at a period subsequent to that when the
American coasts on the Pacific were first vi-
sited by the Spaniards.

Vegetation, also, (and we may notice in
proof, the bread-fruit, candle-nut, sandal-wood,
iron-wood, (CasuarlnaJ arrow-root, (TaccaJ
and turmeric,) offers much that is common only
to Polynesian and Asiatic lands. The fan-
palms of Santa Christina, Marquesas, give to
that island a peculiarly oriental aspect.

Arguments in support of the eastern side of
this question, must be gleaned from the histo-
ries of American nations on the verge of the
Pacific — the only other quarter whence the po-
pulation of Polynesia can have sprung, unless
we are to entertain the startling theory, that the
islands of the Pacific Ocean are but the scat-
tered ruins of a former vast continent.

DEPARTURE FROM TIMOR. Ill

CHAPTER V.

Quit Soutranha— Enter the Indian Ocean — Relinquish
whaling — Passage round the Cape of Good Hope —
Complete the circuit of the Globe — Arrival at St.
Helena — Its coast scenery — Account of the Island —
Visits to Longwood and the tomb of Napoleon —
Remarks on a rumoured intention to remove the
remains of Napoleon to Europe — Population of the
island — Soil and climate — Effects of the recent change
of government — Geological remarks — Natural produc-
tions of the island — Departure — See a Sperm Whale —
The Sargasso- or Gulf-weed — Return to the port of
London.

ON the morning of the 23d of July we sailed
from Soutranha with the land-breeze, and
steered to the S. W., along the coast of Timor.
On the 25th we passed the island of Savu, (at
the S. W. extremity of Timor Straits,) and, en-
tering the Indian Ocean, continued on the same
course, crossing the ordinary track of out-
ward-hound ships from Europe to India.

When in lat. 26° S., long. 50° E., the oc-
casional appearance of pintado-petrels and al-
batross, and gales from N. W., with long and
heavy seas, denoted our approach to the Cape
of Good Hope, and made us feel the necessity

112 APPROACH THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

of preparing for the boisterous weather we might
soon encounter. Hitherto, the mast-heads had
been regularly manned, and the boats kept
in readiness for immediate service ; but as the
idea of adding any further to our cargo was
now relinquished, the look-out for whales was
discontinued, the platform on the deck, and
" fenders" on the side of the ship, were re-
moved, the heavy masonry of the " try -works"
was broken up and thrown over-board, the
whaling gear stowed away, and the routine of
duties of the crew, and the appearance of the
ship, reduced to those of an ordinary mer-
chantman, bearing a cargo to her destined
port.

Upon nearing the Cape, the weather became
as turbulent and treacherous as is proverbial
to this region ; the gales we experienced being
chiefly from the north or south of west, but the
most severe from N. E. During changes of
wind from north to south, the barometer almost
appeared to talk, and often put us on our guard
against very distressing weather.

In lat. 34° S., long. 27° E., we entered the
green, or discoloured, water which marks the
extent of LTAgulhas Bank ; sighted for a short
time the South African coast, bearing N. by W.,
35 miles ; and experienced a powerful current

COMPLETE THE CIRCUIT OF THE GLOBE. 113

setting to the S. W , attended by many ripples,
or lines of broken water. At night, when the
wind blew off the shore, the odour of land was
very perceptible, and a large quantity of fine sand
was deposited on our sails. While yet on this
Bank, we obtained soundings in fifty-four and
forty fathoms water. A hook and line, lowered
to the latter depth, brought up a large fish, a
species of Spams, or gilt-head, (the " snapper,"
of sailors.) Its colour was red ; the back ele-
gantly marked with longitudinal lines of gold
and purple.

We rounded the Cape of Good Hope on the
12th of September ; but it was not until the 1 5th
that the winds permitted us to shape a direct
course for St. Helena — a time when the voyager
hails with delight, the certainty of exchanging
the comfortless weather, as well as the toil and
anxiety of Cape navigation, for a warmer climate,
and uninterrupted fair winds to the equator.

September 22, 1836. — Crossed the meridian
of Greenwich, in lat. 20° S., (thus completing
the circuit of the Globe by a westward route,)
and again entered the western hemisphere.

On the evening of the 25th September, St.
Helena was in sight, bearing N. W. by N., dis-
tant twenty-five miles. We approached this
island early on the following morning, and sailed

VOL. II. I

114 ST. HELENA. — COAST VIEW.

close to its majestic, gloomy, barren, and inac-
cessible cliffs, washed at their base by a fathom-
less ocean. The entire coast, indeed, presents
a rampart of weathered and iron-bound cliffs,
of a sombre, burned hue — scarce a trace of ve-
getation is visible — a line of low surf frets at the
foot of the steeps — a few sea-fowl skim the water,
or fly from the hollows of the rocks — while some
solitary signal-houses, perched on the topmost
heights, or a conspicuous magazine and battery,
on the summit of a mountain called High Knoll,
are the only indications of human occupants.
The scene it offers is novel and grand, — even
" sublime in barrenness," — but melancholy in the
extreme, — and well adapted to elicit the remark
made by Napoleon, when he gained the first
view of the land of his exile : " Is this the Pro-
methean rock to which I am to be chained for
life ?" To him it was indeed a Promethean rock,
where the vulture of Disappointment never
ceased to prey upon his heart.

We had felt some surprise, when approaching
this island, at receiving none of the usual inter-
rogatory signals from the look-out houses ; and
not less, when a boat, despatched (in conformity
with ancient custom) to a powerful battery on
Sugar-loaf Point, to report the ship, and request
permission to proceed to the anchorage, returned

DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 115

with the intelligence that the fort was unoccu-
pied ; one of the boat's crew having scaled the
rock,, and looked over the walls,, to satisfy his
officer of the fact. Towards noon we opened
the more lively scenery of James' Valley, and
cast anchor in St. Helena Roads ; when the ap-
pearance of the union-jack, floating on the bat-
teries, and the uniforms of the 91st regiment
and Royal Artillery corps, informed us that this
island had recently passed from the possession
of the Honourable East India Company, and was
now in the custody of the British crown.

On landing at James' Town, the English as-
pect which everywhere prevailed, seemed to unite
us once more to civilized life, and to the national
attractions of our native land ; whilst the ex-
treme kindness we experienced from the inha-
bitants, and more especially in the domestic
circle of Carrol, Esquire, the American Con-
sul at this port, rendered our stay agreeable,
and to be remembered only with the most grate-
ful and pleasurable emotions.

Rising from the bosom of the broad Atlantic,
to a sudden elevation of 2,697 feet, with a cir-
cumference not exceeding thirty miles, and far
remote from any other land, St. Helena forms a
conspicuous and interesting island on our charts.
In a commercial point of view, it offers some ad-

I 2

116 CAPABILITIES OF THE SOIL.

vantages to fleets returning from the eastern
hemisphere, as a spot for rendezvous, supplies,
or departure ; although, in a political light, the
necessity for preserving this speck of land, at no
inconsiderable expense, as an important key to
our eastern territories, should cause the British
to regret that it had ever emerged from the
ocean.

To call this island a " rock," is libellous, and
by no means descriptive ; for notwithstanding
the desolate and repulsive appearance of its
coast, the interior of the country is sufficiently
well vegetated and watered, possesses extensive
valleys of verdant and arable soil, and offers
numberless scenes of the most picturesque and
romantic beauty. With due allowance, also, for
the demands of an over-grown population, and
of many shipping, the fertility of the soil is not
to be despised : more than 8000 acres of land
are now successfully cultivated ; and of potatoes
alone, upwards of 6,000 bushels are annually
produced.

All accessible parts of the coast are very
strongly fortified, but more especially the en-
trance to James' Valley, and the cliffs that com-
mand the anchorage. Many of the inland
mountains, also, whose pinnacled heights ap-
pear inaccessible, are defended by pieces of ord-

LADDER-HILL. — JAMES* TOWN. 117

nance, slung in chains, or carriaged on their rocky
summits. Telegraphs, communicating from hill
to hill, convey intelligence over the island with
extreme rapidity. One strong fort, peculiarly
commanding the offing, is erected on the crest
of " Ladder-hill," an eminence bounding one side
of the mouth of James' Valley, and terminating
as a bluff at the sea-side. A steep and circuit-
ous path conducts from the town to the summit
of this hill ; but the more direct communication
is by a broad ladder, erected against the face of
a precipice, with a railway on either side of it,
on which smaU carriages, for the conveyance of
stores, are lowered and drawn up by machinery.
The ladder is built of wood, strongly secured by
iron bolts, and has three hundred and sixty-five
steps. It is safe to ascend ; but, notwithstand-
ing the conveniences of balustrades and many
seats for repose, its top cannot be gained with-
out considerable fatigue.

James' Town, (the only settlement and port
this island can boast,) occupies a long narrow
valley, or ravine, opening upon the roadstead,
and bounded on three sides by rocky and arid
hills. It consists of one principal, and several
smaller streets, built in the English style, and
containing many respectable shops, as well as
large and elegant private dwellings. The chief

118 JAMES' TOWN.

public buildings are " the Castle/' or governor's
town residence, with a garden or public prome-
nade attached ; an excellent church ; a barrack,
and military hospital ; officers' mess-house ;
post-office ; and infant-school ; together with a
few good boarding-houses and taverns* A thea-
tre formerly existed, but it is now in ruins. A
small plot of ground, near the centre of the
valley, is devoted to the purpose of a Botanic-
garden. When viewed from its surrounding
heights, and its size reduced by vertical dis-
tance, the town has a novel appearance ; not un-
like that of a deep channel of a mountain tor-
rent, densely covered with pigmy dwellings ;
while the light construction of many of the
houses, and the diversity of colours, as red, yel-
low, blue, or white, with which they are painted,
convey the gaudy and fantastic effect of a toy-
village.

Rows of shady trees, chiefly of the Banian
family, planted on the esplanade, as well as in
the principal streets, tend to relieve the sterile
appearance of the soil near the coast, and to
communicate an air of verdure which it does not
naturally possess. Some scattered ornamental
villas, more remote from the sea, are surrounded
by gardens, tastefully disposed, and containing
a few plantain, cocoa-nut, date, and other orien-

EXCURSION TO LONGWOOD. 119

tal palms, which flourish in native vigour, and
afford the only vegetation that brings to mind
the intertropical situation of this island ; unless
we except the extensive hedge-rows of Agaves,
and Cactus, (the former bearing tall wooden
scapes, covered with scarlet blossoms ; and the
latter a small but edible fruit,) which surround
the more elevated plantations and cultivated
lands. A rivulet of pure water, crossed by some
neat bridges, flows through the town; and derives
its origin from a cascade of great beauty, falling
over a verdant steep at the top of the valley.

I could not again visit St. Helena, although
for the third time, without paying yet another
visit to its greatest popular attractions, namely,
the tomb, and former residence of Napoleon
Buonaparte ; respectively situated at the distance
of four and six miles from the coast at James'
Valley. And to this I was actuated, not more
by the intense interest such objects must ever
excite, than by the opportunity the excursion
affords, of enjoying the delightful scenery so
abundantly commanded from the elevated centre
of the island.

A carriage -road winding over the western,
and a second, commencing on the eastern hill
that bounds James' Valley, equally conduct to
Longwood. The latter is the more direct route,

120 INLAND SCENERY.

but the former includes the greatest proportion
of impressive scenery ; while the one being
chosen for departure, and the other for return, a
visit to Longwood and the Tomb may be made
to comprise a tour of nearly half the island, and
a distinct prospect of the whole. The western
road passes close to the well-timbered and orna-
mental grounds of Plantation House, (the coun-
try residence of the governor of the island,) and
from one point, commands a view of "Lot's Wife/'
a remarkable column of basaltic rock, based on
the summit of an isolated hill, picturesquely
placed in the midst of a deep glen, covered with
flowering gorse and abounding with game. On
every side, dark ravines, naked columnar rocks,
and broken mountains, (their summits capped
with clouds,) contrast forcibly with thick planta-
tions of Pine and Acacia trees, mantling the de-
clivities of distant hills ; amphitheatres covered
with pasturage, and watered by rivulets or small
cascades ; and smiling valleys, sprinkled with
cottages, specks of cultivated land, and grazing
cattle ; the whole presenting a landscape which
at every turn of the road unfolds some new and
beautiful feature — characteristically wild, it is
true, yet such as cannot be viewed without plea-
surable and almost enthusiastic emotions.

Approached from this direction, the vicinity of

LONGWOOD ESTATE. 121

Longwood has a rocky, convulsed appearance.
Heavy clouds or mists, floating beneath, and
casting their shadows on the face of gloomy
mountains, together with a profound silence,
but occasionally interrupted by startling gusts of
eddying wind, rushing through the chasms of the
hills, give a peculiar character to the scene, too
well in keeping, to be unassociated, with the
memory of the Master- Spirit of his age, whose
fate is so closely identified with the spot.

Longwood estate is situated on an extensive
and level range of mountain land, which although
lofty, is not so elevated but that it is commanded
by other, and more distant heights. A broad
and excellent carriage-road conducts to a lodge,
or entrance to the grounds, from whence a long
and level drive through a verdant lawn, planted
with an avenue of aged gum-wood trees, is con-
tinued to the dwelling last occupied by Napo-
leon.

The house in which the chosen Emperor of
the French lived and breathed his last, is now in
the possession of a St. Helena farmer, who treats
the building with respect, in an inverse propor-
tion to the extent of his agricultural improve-
ments. When I visited this venerated edifice in
the early part of the year 1833, it bore the
appearance of a respectable cottage. A small

122 PRESENT CONDITION OF THE HOUSE.

plot of gar den -ground, enclosed by a wooden
fence, and a few steps, conducting to a portico
covered by a light veranda, occupied the front of
the dwelling ; while the interior consisted of a
billiard-room and drawing-room, consecutively
disposed, and a third, and more interior apart-
ment, communicating on either side with a small
closet, one of which had served as Napoleon's
study, the other as his bed-room. The sacra
auri fames had then spared the first apartment,
or billiard-room, which, furnished with a table
and chairs, was employed as a refreshment-room
for visitors ; the drawing-room, in which Napo-
leon expired, was more dilapidated, and con-
tained a threshing and winnowing machine, pro-
fusely pencilled and chalked with names of
persons. Now, alas ! the floors of all the rooms
were broken, decayed, and scarce safe to tread ;
the drawing-room was filled with manure ; and
the rest of the building devoted to stabling, or
something worse ; — the whole presenting a scene
of filth and ruin that would scarcely bear in-
vestigation. Many rustic impediments, also,
cast in the way of easy access to the building,
sufficiently evinced that visitors to the spot were
rather tolerated than desired. But few relics
of the garden behind the house now remained,
beyond a portion of the quick-turf enclosure, a

SANE VALLEY. 123

tank or fish-pond, and a solitary peach-tree ;
which last was at this time covered with its de-
licate blossoms, as if in mockery of the sur-
rounding desolation.

The " new-house/' erected for Napoleon, but
which he did not live to occupy, is a large and
handsome building, placed but a short distance
from the old residence, and so sunk in a vale, as
to leave little more than its roof visible from
the approaches. It was, until recently, the go-
vernor's country residence ; but is now occupied
by a chaplain, and partly employed as a church.

Although the situation of Longwood is bleak,
and exposed to melancholy mists or profuse
rains, the temperate, and even cold climate
which belongs to its elevation of nearly 2000
feet above the sea, will not permit its inter-
tropical position to be included in the charges
brought against its salubrity. The mountain-
soil it occupies is highly fertile, well covered with
timber, (chiefly indigenous trees,) and is now
converted into a valuable farm, abounding with
pasture-lands, vegetable gardens, and fields of
oats.

About a mile and a half from Longwood,
as we return to James' Town, the high road
overlooks the tomb of Napoleon, placed con-
spicuously in the bosom of Sane Valley, or, as it

124 TOMB OF NAPOLEON.

is now called, Napoleon Vale ; — a lovely spot,
luxuriantly vegetated, and bounded on every
side by hills, clad with a cheerful verdure. A
steep and winding path, branching from the road
at Huyt's gate, conducts to the immediate vici-
nity of the spot, where the mortal remains of

" The last single captive to millions in war "

occupy but a scanty space of soil. The tomb is
of square form ; raised, by masonry, a few inches
above the ground ; and covered by three stone
slabs, placed transversely, and destitute of any in-
scription or sculptural embellishment. A square
iron railing immediately protects the tomb, and
around this again, there is an extensive enclosure
of verdant sward, encircled bylowwooden palings.
Some flowers, planted by Madame Bertrand,
bloom at the head of the grave ; and close to the
iron rails, but without them, stand Napoleon's
favourite willows.* The latter have an ancient
appearance and are hastening to decay : of five,
the original number, only three now remain ; but
it is pleasing to observe, that on the opposite side
of the sepulchre, many young willows, scions of
the original stock, have been planted ; together

* A cutting from this stock is now flourishing as a tree
in the Royal Gardens at Kew. In leaf and flower it is
distinct from every European species, and has been named

Salic Napoleonensis.

THE SERJEANT'S TALE. 125

with some ornamental shrubs of a species of
China-cypress.

At the base of a hill, and but a few feet from
the tomb enclosure., is Napoleon's spring, — a
small basin, over-arched by the bank above, and
overgrown by luxuriant herbage. The water it
supplies exudes from a compact red rock, at the
rate of two gallons per minute ; the superfluous
quantity running off, through narrow channels,
to water the valley. It is exceedingly transpa-
rent and cool, and is supposed to be identical
with the water at Sandy Bay. By Napoleon's
express desire, all the water he drank was ob-
tained from this source.

The guardian and cicerone of the tomb is an
old English sergeant, with a fine rubicund face,
and who carries a stick of ample dimensions, to
assist a limping gait. He goes through his evo-
lutions as showman with great precision. After
entertaining the visitor with "a taste of his
quality," by recounting some of the more remark-
able events of his own life, he will, as a subject of
secondary importance, undertake to say some-
thing of Napoleon, and informs us, that this was
"the General's" favourite resort, where, seated
beneath the shade of the willows, he read, while
Madam Bertrand's children played around him,
— that after his decease, the body lay in state at

126 THE ALBUM.

Longwood ; — the funeral procession from Long-
wood to Sane Valley, when winding over the
road on the brow of the mountain, was received
hy the military of the island, c*with all reversed;"
— the body, clothed in a field-marshal's uniform,
and enclosed in four coffins, rests in the tomb
with the head to the west and the feet to the
east. The veteran concludes his statement of
facts, by expressing his admiration of the de-
parted hero, as "the bravest man that ever
drew a sword." Nor will he refuse some twigs
from the willows, (although he declares that to
give them is contrary to orders,) if, by " backing
his friend," he does not see them gathered; thus
adhering to the letter, but departing sadly from
the spirit of his instructions.

An album is deposited in a sentry-box, near
the tomb enclosure, to receive the names and
sentiments of visitors. It contains amongst
others, many grandiloquent effusions in the
French language, a few of which are in poetry,
others in prose, and a great number in " prose
run mad ;" but all of them abounding in bitter
tirades against the British government, and the
line of policy adopted towards the illustrious
exile of the Great Nation.

Constant rumours are afloat in St. Helena,
of an intention to remove the remains of Buo-

REMARKS ON THE SPOT OF SEPULTURE. 127

naparte to Europe. Should such an event ever
occur, it must prove a source of deep regret to all
lovers of the poetry of history, if not a decided
act of injustice to the memory of the deceased
Emperor. Setting aside Napoleon's dying re-
quest that he should be entombed in this fa-
vourite and sequestered spot, as being secon-
dary to a wish to be interred on the banks of
the Seine, I cannot believe but that the situa-
tion his mortal remains now occupy, is pre-
cisely that which an ambitious man would
desire. An entire island is his monument,
rising from the bosom of the Atlantic, a solitary,
majestic, and imperishable mausoleum. Here
crowds of visitors from all nations, endure a
fatiguing pilgrimage to do homage to his re-
mains ; while the spot of his sepulture is dis-
tinguished by a simple and natural beauty, an
air of melancholy repose, but too well calculated
to extract the tear of sympathy, even from
those who have the least cause to regret his
fate. It is a spot indeed, so complete and cha-
racteristic in itself, that the addition of any
sculptured pile, or effigy, would appear but
intrusive. Nor do the masterly fortifications
by which this island is girt, and the military
precautions preserved on its shores, accord ill
with the resting-place of a warrior, so terrible

128 POPULATION.

in life, and, politically speaking, even in death
to be feared. If removed to France, what
would be the fate of his remains ? To-day,
probably, adored by an admiring but capricious
multitude, and to-morrow outraged by an op-
posing and triumphant faction ; or, at best,
shrouded in a marble mausoleum, (that divides
honours between the deceased it celebrates and
the artist who decorates,) to be lost in an over-
adorned city. It is better as it is : —

" He joy'd in battles, and the breath
Of stormy war and violent death ;
And should, methinks, when all was past,
Have rightfully been laid at last,
Where rocks were rudely heap'd and rent,
As by a spirit turbulent ;

Where sights were rough and sounds were wild,
And every thing unreconciled."

The population of St. Helena, (including the
military,) was, in the year 1834, estimated at
6000 souls. It contains, in addition to Eu-
ropeans, people of many Asiatic nations ; but
Mulattoes, of many grades from the negro,
and called in this country " yam-stalks," form
by far the most numerous and conspicuous
class. Negro-slaves have been hitherto pos-
sessed by the white residents, but their ma-
numission is now secured by an economical and
effective arrangement.

DISEASES. CLIMATE. 129

The British, born and bred on this island,
have a robust, healthy appearance, and are ge-
nerally well-educated. The ladies may compete
for the palm of beauty with those of their mo-
ther-land, and are accomplished to a degree,
far beyond that which might be expected from
their secluded position, but which is chiefly
attributable to a spirit of emulation that is
strong amongst them.

Diseases are rare amongst every class of the
population. There are none strictly endemic ;
and although epidemics, as influenza, measles,
hooping-cough, and small-pox have prevailed
here, in spite of a very rigorous enforcement of
quarantine laws, they were blown off the island,
(to use an expression apparently metaphorical,
but probably literally correct,) very soon after
their invasion, and have never again appeared.
Both the soil and climate are peculiarly salu-
brious. The sterile and rocky lowlands, as at
James' Valley, attract the sun's rays and are
oppressively sultry, unless refreshed by the pe-
rennial S. E. breeze, blowing in gusts from the
mountains ; but the ascent of the higher lands
conducts to many lower grades of temperature,
and even to those which are unpleasantly cold
when the sun is absent or obscured. Tran-
sient rains are frequent, though there is,

VOL. II. K

130 RECENT CHANGES.

fortunately, an immunity from the periodic inter-
tropical deluges, which would be attended with
the worst effects in a land so mountainous as
this. But a short time before our arrival, a
heavy cloud, which some believed to be a water-
spout, burst over a mountain in the vicinity of
James' Town, and occasioned considerable in-
jury to person and property. Rupert's Valley,
and Sandy-Bay, are the two principal outlets
for the waters cast on this island by heavy
rains.

The change of government which St. Helena
had recently experienced, had not, as might be
anticipated, given very general satisfaction to
the residents, or improved their interests. The
employment of signal-houses, to telegraph the
arrival of shipping, was abolished, or only re-
tained at the expense of the resident mer-
chants ; the formidable batteries were for the
most part deserted, or left in charge of an
invalid, residing on the spot with his family ;
the St. Helena corps, the former guardians of
the land, were disbanded ; the resident Ho-
nourable Company's officers, their " occupation
gone," had mostly retired to England, the Cape,
or elsewhere. Commerce was in a depressed
state: the poorer classes of people suffered
much from the scarcity and dearness of provi-

MILITARY PRECAUTIONS. 131

sions ; while the novel and strict enforcement
of a custom-house duty, of five per cent, upon
British, (or " home,") and ten per cent, on
foreign importations, adds greatly to the poverty
of a people who depend almost solely on exotic
produce for the most common necessaries of
life.

The garrison was at this time composed of
the 91st Regiment of Foot, and a detachment
of one hundred of the Royal Artillery corps.
A transport at anchor in the harbour, how-
ever, was about to convey a large proportion of
the infantry to the Cape of Good Hope ; and
it was anticipated, that St. Helena would be
shortly held upon the same lax tenure as the
Island of Ascension.

Amongst the former defensive precautions,
yet preserved, a large proportion of the Eu-
ropean male population are trained as sol-
diers, and serve in a volunteer corps ; no
shore-boat is permitted to go off to a ship after
sunset, unless by express permission from the
island authorities ; and the draw-bridge, com-
municating between the landing-quay and the
town, is raised at 9^ p. m., and neither ingress
nor egress permitted, except upon emergencies,
which must be duly represented to the officer
of the guard.

K 2

132 GEOLOGICAL APPEARANCES.

The most prominent features in the geolo-
gical structure * of St. Helena, as well as the
presence of some extinct craters, offer indubi-
table evidence that this island is of volcanic
origin. The prevailing form of the land, es-
pecially as regards an alternate arrangement of
its valleys and hills, radiating from the interior
and descending to the coast, reminded me for-
cibly of the similar construction that obtains in
the principal volcanic islands of the Pacific
Ocean.

The arable soil is chiefly composed of a red
argillaceous earth. The composition of the
mountains is for the most part a blue or dark-
gray basaltic rock, occasionally exhibiting
sulphur in its fissures. In some parts of the
island, as at Stone Top, there are cliffs which
present a vertical arrangement of basaltic co-
lumns, equally elegant and interesting with those
of the Giant's Causeway ; although they are on a
much less gigantic scale. Some of the naked hills,

* Robert Scale, Esq. F. R.S., resident at St. Helena,
has published some beautiful drawings, illustrative of the
geology of this island ; and has, after many years patient
labour, perfected a most complete model of the country
in plaster of Paris, and which is now in the possession of
the Honourable East India Company.

FOSSIL SHELLS. 133

rising from the interior, near Longwood, obtain
a lively and variegated hue from an almost alter-
nate deposition of chalk and red- clay strata on
their exposed surfaces. Rocks of breccia also
obtain ; and the more arid hills on the coast are
covered with so much small cinders, clinkers,
lavas, &c., as renders the ascent of their acclivi-
ties not only difficult and fatiguing, but often
somewhat dangerous. On these rocky heights
I have frequently found large boulders of basalt,
which, on their exterior, present tokens of having
been exposed to an intense heat ; while their in-
terior contains vast numbers of small cells, each
containing a spherical, colourless, and transpa-
rent spar, apparently vitreous felspar.

Amongst the most curious geological pheno-
mena this island affords, we may notice the
existence of the fossil shells of Helix dextra, on
the summit of a hill, and at the height of 1,900
feet above the level of the sea ; and the presence
of salt-water pools, and salt contained in caves, at
an elevation of more than seven hundred feet
above the ocean's level.

The more valuable mineral productions are
several kinds of jasper, capable of being applied
to ornamental uses ; excellent gypsum, or plaster
of Paris ; rock-crystal ; and limestone ; which last
abounds in many parts, but chiefly at Sandy Bay.

134 BIRDS.

No kind of human food is indigenous to this
soil ; and the greater number of its natural pro-
ductions are exotics. The only wild quadrupeds
are hares, rabbits, and numerous rats and mice,
which dwell in the crevices of the rocks. Horses,
oxen, sheep, and poultry, are chiefly imported
from the Cape ; but a deficiency of pasturage
and grain keeps their number within small
limits. The wild-birds are pheasants and par-
tridges, the latter of the red-legged East Indian
species ; (Tetrao rufus -J and a small but ele-
gant species of wax-bill, or amaduvade, about
the size of a wren ; the beak rose-colour ; the
plumage barred with gray and brown ; a dash
of red over the throat and abdomen, and a line
of scarlet extending across each eye. It is a
kind common also to the Cape of Good Hope.
They are taken in great numbers by the island-
ers, and are sold at the rate of about two shil-
lings the dozen ; they do not sing, and badly
bear removal to a colder climate. A small bird,
of melodious song, and known to the residents
as the " Canary-bird," is also abundant in the
inland thickets, although less so than the former
species. Crows were at one time introduced,
to clear the land of worms, but they disappeared
very soon after their importation.

The most remarkable insects that came under

FISHES. 135

my observation here, were some centipedes,
adorned with brilliant hues, and two butterflies,
too closely resembling the Venessa cardui and
V. urtica, of England, to be easily separated
from those species.

The fish around this coast are somewhat nu-
merous, and form the chief dependence of the
bulk of the population. The principal varieties
are coal-fish, which bear a high price in the
market ; cavalloes ; bonita ; albacore ; (called
St. Helena beef, by sailors ;) mackarel, (Scomber
scomber J very abundant, and constantly in the
anchorage ; and conger-eels. A great number
of boats are daily employed in fishing, either
with hook and line, or by a process termed
"jigging," and which consists in sprinkling some
bait on the sea to attract the fish to the surface,
when they are swept out of the water by a stick,
armed with many hooks. Flying-fish, of very
large size, are often driven on the beach in front
of the town ; but, although their flavour is very
delicious, the islanders have an inveterate pre-
judice against using them as food. The porcu-
pine-fish, (Diodon hystrioc,) or " lanthorn-fish"
of the residents, is also common on the coast.

Until very recently, a Horticultural Society
existed on this island ; and many private indivi-
duals still continue to exert themselves in a

136 EXOTIC VEGETATION.

highly praiseworthy manner, to encourage the
culture of the soil to its most complete and
useful extent. The principal Oriental and Eu-
ropean fruits now cultivated here, are plantains,
guavas, pomegranates, the China loquats,
(Eryobotrya Japonica,) an agreeable subacid
fruit, the size and form of a plum, of a yellow
colour, and the pulp enclosing three oblong
seeds ; the Cape-mulberry, rose-apples, peaches,
pears, apples, figs, and grapes. It is worthy of
remark, that the cherry-tree and gooseberry-
bush, introduced to this island from Europe,
become evergreens, and do not produce fruit.
The cocoa-nut, date, and sago-palms, though
they grow with vigour, are not prolific on this
soil. The list of culinary vegetables includes
many of the most valuable European kinds.
Those most abundant, and serviceable to the
island, are potatoes and yams. Flowers and
ornamental plants are also cultivated with much
success, and give a lively, and, to the European,
a very homely, effect to the gardens of the inha-
bitants. The grains are chiefly maize, barley,
oats, and wheat. Many hardy trees, as oaks,
firs, willows, acacias, and coral-trees, have been
planted on exposed hills, and are now of sufficient
size to furnish valuable shelter to the more tender
vegetation ; while it is the opinion of the inha-

PROCEED FOR ENGLAND. 137

bitants, that they have caused a greater quan-
tity of rain to fall upon the land. Mr. Pritchard,
an English resident here, has published a de-
tailed catalogue of the wild and cultivated plants
of the island, distinguishing the truly indigenous
from the naturalized exotic : an example worthy
of imitation in all, and especially in our more
extensive colonies.

After a stay of ten days in this port, two of
which were spent in a futile attempt to recover
a lost anchor by sweeping, we sailed for England
with a moderate trade-wind ; * sighted Ascen-
sion ; and on the 14th of October entered the
N. Atlantic Ocean — crossing our outward-bound
track of 1833.

On the equator, the sea was covered with vast
quantities of Velella mutica ; nor did the number
of these mollusks materially diminish until we
reached the latitude of 3° N. ; — a space in which
we suspected the existence of a N. W. current.

* A few pintado-petrels, or Cape-pigeons, had accom-
panied the Tuscan from the Cape of Good Hope to St.
Helena roads ; and as we left the latter anchorage, several
of these birds were visible in the offing. They are seduced
by ships thus far beyond their natural climate, but do not
remain long in so low a latitude. We lost every appear-
ance of the albatross after passing the twenty-first degree
of S. latitude, west of the Cape.

138 THE GULF-WEED :

Within the limits of a current setting to the
S. W., between the latitudes of 12° and 14° N.,
the sea was strewn with much vegetable refuse
of the land, probably derived from the Cape de
Verd group. A Sperm Whale was also noticed,
spouting and moving leisurely at a short distance
from the ship, and our crew, in conformity with
an inveterate habit, could not avoid shouting
after it ; although, under existing circumstances,
the whale had nothing to dread from their
clamour.

It was not until we were in lat. 33° N., long.
37° W., that we noticed any of the gulf-weed,
(Sargassum vulgare*) so abundantly spread

* A sea- weed too well known, even on the western
coasts of England, to need much description here. It
will be sufficient, therefore, to observe, that on this ocean
it occurs in floating banks, or fields, of very great extent ;
and usually in large bunches, irregularly branched. It
has a green-yellow or lemon-colour, (changed to red by
drying,) a strong healthy texture, a recent odour, and in-
variably presents a broken and decayed stalk ; but never
any trace of a root. Its leaves are narrow, and toothed
at the margins ; its vesicles, or " berries," are numerous,
small, globular, supported on short foot-stalks, and have
often a leaf-like appendage at their summit. A delicate
parasitic conferva usually encircles the stalks of this fucus,
and ramifies so minutely over its leaves as scarcely to be
detected, except by the many erect, bright-yellow, and

ITS GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE. 139

over a wide extent of the Atlantic. The polar
limits, commonly assigned to this weed, are
22° N., (noted as its southern boundary in 1790,)
arid 40° N. Its eastern limit is uncertain, but
probably about 34° W. ; and a ship meets with
it sooner, and in larger quantities, as she sails
most to the eastward, within those prescribed
boundaries. During a voyage from Bengal to
England, in the year 1832, I had this fucus in
sight from lat. 19° N., long. 38° W., to lat.
38° N.

The vast collections of Sargasso-weed, seen
on the Atlantic, are supposed to be borne by a
circuitous current from the Gulf of Florida, or
the Bahama Isles. I have already noticed the
existence of the same species on the coast of
California. M. Bonnet believes, that it grows
at the bottom of the ocean it covers, and asserts,

jointed tufts its fructification affords. But few examples,
also, are free from a coralline incrustation, which mostly
covers the vesicles, and which, when the latter are dried
and shrunk, continues to surround them with a minute
and elegant lace- or basket-work. Pelagic crabs, shrimps,
scilloeae, and barnacles, adhere to the weed in great num-
bers ; and amongst its fields we have occasionally taken
pipe-fish, (Syngnathus acus,) frog-fish, (Lophius histrio,)
dolphin, (Coryphcena,) sepiae of many kinds, and most of
the marine mollusks that infest the currents of tropical
seas.

140 RE-ENTER THE BRITISH CHANNEL.

in proof, that he has seen recent portions of it
rise to the surface of the sea ! The vesicular
floats or berries the plant bears, cannot be re-
garded as a proof of its pelagic origin ; since
manyfuci, as F. vesiculosus, F. gigantea, &c., are
equally provided to attain the surface of the sea,
although they are firmly rooted to rocks. But
if there is reason to believe that the gulf-weed
has been originally rent from some terrestrial
attachment, we must yet admit that it has the
power of maintaining a vigorous vitality while
it floats free on the ocean ; as very few exam-
ples, thus circumstanced, exhibit traces of de-
cay, though all bear tokens of having been long
the sport of the currents.

On the 1 1th of November we saw Flores, one
of the Western Isles ; on the 20th, entered the
green water that denotes the commencement of
soundings at the mouth of the British Channel,
and got sight of the Lizard ; but it was not
until we perceived the white cliffs of Dover,
which to the wearied voyager,

" Bring all the comforts of that home to mind,
He scorns in youth, but longs in age to find,"

that we felt the reality of being again restored
to our native land.

On the morning of the 27th of November,
1836, we arrived at Gravesend ; and were truly

CONCLUSION OF THE VOYAGE. 141

thankful to an Almighty Providence, which had
permitted us thus happily to complete a voyage
of three years and twenty-four days, without the
loss of one of our crew either by disease or acci-
dent.

END OF THE NARRATIVE.

APPENDIX.

ILLUSTRATIONS

OF THE

NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE

TUSCAN'S VOYAGE.

ZOOLOGY.

CHAPTER I.
GENERAL, REMARKS ON WHALES.

Their title to rank with quadrupeds — Skeleton — Pseudo-fins — Condition
of the vital organs and senses — Provisional uses of the fat or
blubber — Animal heat — Locomotive organs — Peculiarities in respi-
ration— Absence of voice — Nature of the spout — Points of distinction
between whales and land mammals — Whales divided into three
natural tribes or families.

THE Cetaceans, or Whale-tribe, class in zoology with
animals of the highest order ; namely, the mammiferous,
or those that produce their young alive, and nourish
them with milk from their mammae or teats; and
notwithstanding the resemblance to fish which obtains
in their external configuration, there is nothing in their
more essential anatomical structure that denies their
title to rank with mammiferous animals in general.

Their skeleton is but a modification of that of quad-
rupeds : the vertebrae of the neck are as complete in
number as in the latter animals ; though they are but
small or rudimental, and for the most part consolidated

VOL. II. L

146 ZOOLOGY.

together ; consistently with the short and fixed condi-
tion of this part in all the whale tribe. The remainder
of the spinal column is strongly and perfectly formed,
flexible, and continued as a tail through the centre of
the terminal fin, or " flukes." The ribs and breast-
bone are as perfect as in quadrupeds ; but collar-bones
are wanting ; as occurs also in a large proportion of land
mammals, where the presence of these bones is not
essential to the functions of the anterior extremities.
The bones of the arms coincide with those of digitated
quadrupeds : they have, however, no movement on each
other, excepting at the shoulder-joint, and their form
is compressed, and concealed beneath a continuous sur-
face of dense skin, which gives them the appearance of
fins, and admirably adapts them for their function as
paddles, or swimming-paws. It is in the posterior part
of the skeleton that the most remarkable deficiency is
perceptible ; for not a vestige exists of posterior ex-
tremities ; nor more than small and rudimental bones of
the firm bony fabric, or pelvis, to which they should be
attached.

The vital organs and their functions, in cetacea, bear
a close analogy to those of quadrupeds ; or depart from
the resemblance, only in such points as may distinguish
one from another order of mammiferous animals. The
organs of the senses are so little developed in this
family, as to lead to the belief that their functions are
feeble. The nerves of smell are absent in all the known
kinds, excepting the true Whales, or Rorquals ; and in
these latter genera they are of diminutive size. The
eyes, though well constructed for aquatic vision, are
invariably small, deeply planted in the head, and can
command but little oblique vision. The ear opens ex-
ternally as a very minute orifice, and has no external

CETACEANS. 147

appendage to collect or concentrate sound. Nor have
the researches of comparative anatomists tended to
prove, that whales possess the sense of taste in any
perfection. To this apparent obtuseness of the senses,
touch may perhaps be made an exception ; as I shall
have occasion to notice more particularly, when on the
subject of the structure and function of the skin in the
Cachalot, or Sperm Whale.

Buoyancy in the element they inhabit, is secured to
whales by the dense layer of lard, or blubber, deposited
in the skin of every species ; as well as by deposits
of oil in other parts of their frame, wherever it can be
of use to increase surface, and (by its low specific
gravity) to diminish proportionate weight; thus en-
abling the creature to rise in the water with facility,
and to float on the surface without any expenditure of
muscular power.*

A second use, very rationally assigned to the fatty
envelope of the whale, is that of protecting the animal
from the coldness of the medium it inhabits ; but we
must feel satisfied that this is not its only, or its
principal use, when we contemplate the large quantity
of oily matter which pervades the skeleton of every
species of cetacean ; (and which is often deposited in
cells, in the heavier or larger bones;) the internal
reservoirs of the same light material in the head of the
Sperm Whale and Dolphin ; and the solid bulk of fat
which forms so large a portion of the head of the first-
named cetacean, as well as the lips of the Greenland

* An economy very similar to this, obtains also in birds. The greater
number have air diffused within their bones and soft parts, in sufficient
quantity to enable them to support themselves, with but little muscular
effort, in the light element through which they soar ; whilst others, as
penguins, of aquatic habits, and which do not fly, have their bones solid,
or loaded with oil.

L 2

148 ZOOLOGY.

right- Whale ; and which should convince us, that there
is a design in these fatty accumulations, far beyond that
of merely preserving an equal temperature.*

The principal locomotive organ of whales is a broad
and powerful tail-fin, which expands horizontally, and
has a vertical action ; in contradistinction to the cor-
responding member in fish, which has a vertical
position, and a lateral motion. The anterior u fins,"
or swimming-paws, are diminutive, and have a very
secondary use in progression ; probably little exceeding
that of preserving the equipoise of the body, or to
assist in the slighter deviations from a straight course.
In some herbivorous whales, these anterior members
are employed as legs, to assist their progress on the
bottom of shallow waters. The pseudo-fin on the back
of many species of whale, and which tends so much to
increase their resemblance to fish, has no motive power,
— is merely composed of an indurated fatty structure, —
and is in no way connected with either the bony or
muscular system.

There is a peculiarity in the respiration of cetaceans
which alone distinguishes them from all inferior in-
habitants of the deep. It is true that fish, like terrestrial
animals, require a certain quantity of atmospheric air,
to support their existence by oxygenating their blood ;
and this they obtain from the proportion of air at all
times combined with the waters they inhabit, and which
they appropriate by means of gills, corresponding to
the lungs of mammals. But, since whales are not fish,f

* From observations made upon living dolphins, (Delphinus delphis,)
and cachalots recently dead, I am inclined to believe that the natural
standard of animal heat in the whale-tribe exceeds that of most land
animals, and is probably never less than 100°.

t " A few years ago, there was a trial at NewYork, upon this subject :

CETACEANS. 149

but rank with a higher grade of the animal kingdom,
they are, as it were by a penalty, compelled to respire
atmospheric air in its free state, and to conduct it to
their lungs through nostrils, or spiracles, provided them
for this purpose.

They are, consequently, obliged to ascend to the
surface of the water for the purpose of respiration;
and it is curious to reflect, how greatly such necessity
tends to their destruction, by exposing them to the
attacks of their chief, and perhaps only enemy, man.
Without this high pulmonary organization, the visits
of whales to the surface of the sea would not be com-
pulsory, or indicated by the treacherous spout; nor
could human arts then, as now, avail for their destruc-
tion. This part of the economy of cetaceans, therefore,
accords well with many other provisions of a wise
Providence, by which the animal is indirectly applied
to the use of man, through an organization directly
essential to its own existence.

By a peculiar modification of the air-passages, in
whales, the larynx, (or aperture of the wind-pipe,) in-
stead of opening behind the tongue, as in land mam-
mals, is continued to the spouting-canal, and deeply
inserted, and closely embraced, within its tube. Hence,

the payment of duty upon whale-oil being resisted, on the ground that
the words of the law were confined to oils produced from fish, and as
whale was not fish, the oil from that animal, it was contended, did not
come within the letter of the law. To support the allegation, naturalists
of ability and professors of the university gave it in evidence that whales
were not fish; but the jury would not be convinced by the learned
distinctions of science, and gave a verdict according to what they con-
ceived to be the meaning, though it was not the letter, of the law.

" The church of Rome regards coot as fish, and why should seal-oil
not be the produce of fish in a legal view, since whale is classed with
them ?" — Note to Griffiths' Translation of Cuvier's Animal Kingdom.

150 ZOOLOGY.

respiration cannot be performed through the mouth,
but only through the spiracles, or nostrils; nor can
any tones, approaching to a voice, be emitted, excepting
through the spiracles, which are encumbered with
valves, and evidently badly adapted for the transmission
of sound. Scoresby assures us that the Greenland
Whale has no voice ; and I have frequently noticed the
Sperm Whale, Black-fish, and many kinds of Dolphin,
suffering from extreme alarm and injury, (and when it
might reasonably be expected they would utter cries if
they had the power to do so,) but have never heard any
sound proceed from their lungs, beyond that attending
on ordinary respiration.

It is yet an unsettled point, whether the spiracles of
spouting- whales have an office solely respiratory, or if
they are also of use to eject the water received into the
mouth together with food. In favour of the opinion
that the spout is nothing more than the vapour of the
breath, we may advance, — the uniform appearance^ of
the jets, and regularity of their repetition, corresponding
with the ordinary rhyme of respiration; — their being
always present, and successively continued, as long as
the whale remains on the surface of the water ; although
the animal may be at this time unoccupied with food,
or even swimming with velocity, its head raised above
the surface of a calm sea, and its mouth shut ; — the
character of the spout, which resembles a cloud, or
mist, and can in no way be compared to a volume of
water; — the fact, that seals, and other aquatic mammalia,
as well as the herbivorous cetaceans, seize and devour
their food in the water, and rise to the surface to
breathe ; yet do not spout, and have no peculiar pro-
vision for freeing their mouth from water, if any water
be received. In the case, also, of many spouting-

CETACEANS. 151

whales, a necessity for casting water from their spiracles
should rather exist in the profound depths, where they
feed, than on the surface, where their business is chiefly
to respire.

In support of the opinion that water is ejected from
the spiracles, it may be suggested, that although in
size, capacity of lungs, and in habits, herbivorous
cetacea, and some seals, accord with many spouting-
whales, they do not, nevertheless, exhibit the pheno-
menon of visible respiration ; (if spouting be such ;> and
also, that the complex arrangement of muscles, valves,
cavities, and tubes, in the spiracular canals of spouting-
whales, would imply that their function exceeds that of
simply receiving and emitting air. Although from this
we may reserve, how far such complex organization
may be essential to expand the spiracles for the re-
ception of air, or to obstruct and eject any quantity of
water which may be accidentally received into the
nostrils during the act of inspiration.

The entire question is involved in much perplexity ;
but it is probable, that the spouting-canal may perform
both the offices attributed to it, at distinct times, and
in a distinct manner — a conclusion to which I have
been led by observing the common Dolphin (Delphinus
delphis). It is very usual to hear these small whales
blow with a short puffing sound, without any attendant
spout being perceptible ; whilst, at other times, I have
seen them cast distinct but irregular jets of water from
their spiracle. One of this species, moreover, which
was harpooned from the bows of the Tuscan, and taken
on board alive, expanded its spout-hole, and produced
a sucking sound on inspiration, and emitted a low
explosive sound on expiration; but no exhalation of
vapour was visible.

152 ZOOLOGY.

The essential points in which cetaceans differ from
quadrupeds, may be thus briefly enumerated : — an ab-
sence of cylindrical and hollow bones — a rudimental
and anchylosed state of the bones of the neck — a
modification of the anterior extremities and tail, by
which these members are adapted to the office of fins —
deficiency in posterior extremities and perfect pelvis —
inability to respire through the mouth, or utter vocal
sounds — copulation more humano — and, probably, a
higher standard of animal heat.

Cetaceans are naturally divided into three distinct
tribes, or families. The first of these is composed of
whales which feed on the vegetable productions of the
sea or rivers, and which are provided with teeth adapted
to the nature of their food. They may be regarded as
representing the herbivorous class of quadrupeds. They
include in their number, the Lamantins and Dugongs.
These whales do not blow or spout.

The second family is formed by spouting-whales, of
predatory habits. They subsist chiefly on fish and
sepise ; have teeth adapted only for the prehension, or
coarse division, of their food ; and may be said to
represent the carnivorous quadrupeds of the land.
They are exemplified in the Cachalots, Porpoises, and
Dolphins.

The third division comprises the Whalebone Whales,
as the Rorquals and Mysticetes (true or right Whales).
In the place of teeth, their jaws are provided with plates
and filaments of whalebone, (baleen,} which are moveable,
extensile, and adapted to retain, as in a net, the medusae,
or small marine animals which form the only food of this
colossal family. In habits they will bear comparison
with the insectivorous class of terrestrial quadrupeds.

CETACEANS.

153

CHAPTER II.

WHALES OF THE SOUTHERN OCEANS.

The Cachalot, or Sperm Whale (Catodon macrocephalus, Lacep. Physeter
macrocephalus, Shaw) — General and anatomical description of the
species — Dissection of & foetus — Diseases and deformities — Parasitic
occupants.

THE Sperm Whale, or Cachalot, is the largest, as well
as the most valuable of the southern whales ; and has
many points of interest in its structure and economy.
It is known to the English as the Sperm- or Anvil-
headed Whale ; the French name it the cachalot ; and
the Germans, the pottfisch.

It affords us the valuable commodities sperm-oil,
spermaceti, and ambergris. This is the only species
of cachalot with which southern whalers are acquainted ;
and, in the opinion of the accurate Cuvier, is the only
one that exists — certainly, of the many kinds distin-
guished by the names round-headed or lesser cachalot,

154 ZOOLOGY.

(Physeter catodon,) cylindrical cachalot, (Physalus cy-
lindricus,) sharp-nosed cachalot, (Physeter microps,)
and high-finned cachalot, (Physeter tursioy) none but
the last, (which is said to be an inhabitant of the North
Seas, having a tall dorsal fin, and attaining the length
of 100 feet,) differ, in the descriptions given of them by
authors, from the ordinary Sperm Whale of the South
Seas; their specific distinctions having, apparently,
been drawn from peculiarities, which are commonly
observed to attend upon age or sex in the latter
species, and which I shall have occasion to notice more
particularly.

In size, the Sperm Whale equals, and occasionally
surpasses the Greenland Whale, (Balcena mysticetus,)
with which it is most open to comparison. The ex-
perience of Captain Scoresby does not enable him to
assign to the Greenland Whale a greater magnitude
than sixty feet in length, and forty in circumference ;
nor have we any evidence that this species ever ex-
ceeds the length of seventy feet. The largest size
authentically recorded of the Sperm Whale is seventy-
six feet in length, by thirty-eight in girth ; but whalers
are well contented to consider sixty feet the average
length of the largest examples they commonly obtain.*
A mature foetal Cachalot, which I examined, was four-
teen feet in length by six in girth, which must be

* It has been asserted, that cetacea were formerly of much greater
magnitude than at present ; that their being now more frequently de-
stroyed, precludes the possibility of their reaching a full growth. This
opinion is probably fallacious; or suggested by the exaggerations in
natural history with which the ancients have so liberally supplied us.
The Sperm Whale, when much inferior to its maximum size, often bears
an appearance of great age. The largest cetacean, with which modern
naturalists are acquainted, is the Razor-back Whale, (Rorqualis Jiorealis,
Cuv.,) which acquires the length of 100 or 110 feet.

CETACEANS. 155

regarded as the minimum dimensions of the breathing
whale.

It is the male animal only which attains to the full
magnitude of his species: the adult female does not
exceed the length of thirty, or at most thirty-five feet —
a greater disproportion existing between the sexes in
this, than in any other known species of cetacean.*

Whalers technically express the size of a Cachalot by
the number of barrels of oil it is calculated to produce.
A large male has occasionally produced one hundred
barrels of oil, and a female fifty ; but both these quan-
tities are deemed extraordinary ; and from seventy to
ninety barrels from the adult male, and twenty to thirty
from the female, is the usual average.

The form of this whale is colossal, without symmetry,
and, from the general absence of other prominent organs
than the tail and pectoral fins, can be compared to little
else than a dark rock, or the bole of some giant tree.

The prevailing colour of the skin is a dull-black. In
some parts, and especially on the abdomen and tail, it
is occasionally marked with white; and this as fre-
quently obtains in the youngest as in the most aged
examples. Some individuals have their sides covered
with short and rounded elevations, or ridges, chiefly
arranged longitudinally, and passing into each other
like the convolutions on the surface of a brain — an
appearance which is not retained in the integuments
when they are removed from the carcase.

The enormous head, which has obtained for this
whale its specific name, constitutes full one-third of the
entire animal, in magnitude, and much exceeds that
proportion in weight. It approaches to a square form ;

* If any disparity in size exists between the sexes of the Greenland
Whale, it is found to be rather in favour of the female.

156 ZOOLOGY.

the snout being remarkably blunt, and either perpen-
dicular, or more or less convex in different individuals.
The body is nearly cylindrical, protrudes on either side
of the abdomen, and tapers finely at the tail. The
summit of the head and trunk presents a plane surface,
until about the posterior third of the back, whence
arises a hump, or spurious fin, of pyramidal form, and
entirely composed of fat. From this embossed ap-
pendage, an undulating series of six or eight similar
but smaller elevations occupies the upper margin, or
ridge of the tail, to the commencement of the caudal
fin. The pectoral fins, or paddles, are placed but a
short distance behind the head. They are triangular in
shape, and diminutive as compared with the size of the
whale : in a Cachalot sixty feet long, I did not find
them exceed three feet in length by two in breadth.
The integuments covering their upper surface are
frequently marked with longitudinal embossed ridges,
corresponding in number and situation to the bony
fingers within. Being connected to the trunk by a
ball and socket joint, these members possess a free
movement, which can be exercised either in a vertical
or horizontal direction.

The tail-fin, or ee flukes," is both the principal organ
of progression and a powerful weapon of defence. Its
average horizontal spread, in the adult female, is twelve
feet : in a male, sixty feet long, it measured nineteen
feet across. Each segment of its posterior, or free
border is thin and convexly crescentic ; (not waved, as
in the dolphin and porpoise families ;) and each half
overlaps the other at the central notch, or " crutch."
Owing to the flexibility of the tail, the movements of
this fin are exceedingly extensive ; whilst its power may
be estimated by the gigantic bundles of round tendons
which pass on either side the loins to be inserted into

CETACEANS. 157

its base. Whether it be wielded in sportive mood or
in anger, its action is marked by rapidity and ease ; and
when struck forcibly on the surface of the ocean, it
produces a report which may be heard at a considerable
distance. In progression, the action of this organ is
precisely the reverse of that of the tail of the lobster ;
for, whilst the latter animal swrims backward, by
striking the water with its tail from behind forwards,
the Cachalot, and other cetaceans, swim forward, by
striking with their flukes in the contrary direction ; the
fin being brought beneath the body by an oblique and
unresisting movement, while the act of springing it back,
and straightening the tail, propels the animal ahead,
with an undulating or leaping gait. When employed
offensively, as in striking at a boat, the tail is curved in
a direction contrary to that of the object aimed at ; and
the blow is inflicted by the force of the recoil.

The eyes are placed far back in the head, above and
between the pectoral fin and angle of the mouth : their
situation being chiefly denoted by a prominence of the
surrounding integuments. The aperture for vision is
not larger than two inches in its longitudinal, and one
in its vertical, diameter. The eyelids have neither eye-
lashes nor tarsal cartilages, but are otherwise complete
in the structures which adapt them for their office, and
are quite unencumbered by oil or fat. In the deacl
whale they are usually closed ; and in the living animal
they exhibit the phenomenon of winking. At the
inner angle of the eye, the conjunctiva forms a thick
duplicature, or rudimental third eyelid, of semilunar
form, and in appearance closely resembling the " haw"
in the eye of a horse. The eyeball is not a perfect
sphere : its anterior and posterior surfaces being much
flattened. It is deeply set within the lids, and chiefly

158 ZOOLOGY.

lodged in the soft parts ; but little if any of its substance
occupying the bony orbit. In size it does not much
exceed the eye of an ox.* The nerve of vision is long,
but not thicker than a crow's quill. It is closely en-
veloped by a dense fibrous sheath, four inches in peri-
meter, and which terminates on the posterior surface
of the globe. That portion of the conjunctiva which
immediately surrounds the cornea, and corresponds to
the aperture of the lids, has an intense black hue. It is
possible, however, that this dark membrane may be one
distinct from the conjunctiva; as it can be detached
from the latter tunic, and then resembles a layer of
cuticle, with a black pigment deposited beneath it.f

The structure of the eye-ball is chiefly adapted for
aquatic vision. The cornea is dense and flattened ;
the anterior chamber of the eye is small, and contains
but little fluid ; the iris is a very coarse membrane, of
the dull- brown colour so general, if not invariable, in
the whale tribe, with a narrow zone of a lighter hue sur-
rounding its outer margin ; the crystalline lens is cer-
tainly not larger than the same part of the human eye —
its form is nearly a perfect sphere ; the vitreous humour
is relatively abundant ; the retina is spread with beauti-
fully-arborescent blood-vessels, and presents a circular
bright spot at the insertion of the optic nerve. Im-
mediately beneath the retina, we find a dense mem-

* In the adult female, the size of the globe, at its greatest circum-
ference, is seven and a half inches, its longitudinal and vertical diameters
two inches and a half. The interior, or cavity, is one inch and a half in
each of the last named directions, whilst its depth does not exceed two-
thirds of an inch. The transparent cornea, at its transverse and broadest
diameter, measures one inch ; and at its vertical or narrowest, three-
quarters of an inch.

t A similar, but slighter dark tint around the cornea is not uncommon
amongst the dark-skinned varieties of the human race.

CETACEANS. 159

brane, or tapetum, of a bright-green colour. The scle-
rotic coat, at its posterior third, is excessively thick,
fibrous, and resisting, while its anterior third is thin
and flexible.*

No lachrymal organs exist; but the surface of the
eye is lubricated by a secretion from mucous ducts,
which open abundantly on the lining membrane of the
lids.

The external orifice of the ear is a longitudinal
fissure, situated a little below, and about one foot behind
the eye. Its structure is valvular, and its tube not larger
than will admit the first joint of the finger.

A single spiracle, or spout-hole, opens upon the
upper and front part of the snout, near the median
line, but with a decided bias to the left side of the
head. It is but little raised above the surrounding
surface, and affords a longitudinal fissure, eight or ten
inches in length, and shaped like the orifice in the
sounding-board of a violin. The margins are thick,
rounded, and so closely approximated in the dead
whale as to require the exercise of some force to
introduce the hand between them.

The tube of the spiracle (which is also single) is
capacious, of cylindrical form, and lined by a smooth
black membrane. Powerful muscles encircle both the
external nostril and the canal of the spiracle, to aid in
their functions ; and it is sufficiently obvious, that the

* This conformation of the sclerotic may in some measure adapt the
eye of the whale for amphibious vision : the powerful muscles surrounding
the eye-ball being thus enabled to act upon the thin anterior margin of
the sclerotica and shorten the axis of vision, by pressing the lens towards
the posterior part of the globe ; in this manner reconciling the function
of vision to the changes from a denser to a thinner medium, or from
water to air.

160 ZOOLOGY.

closed and valvular state of the spout-hole, so well
calculated to oppose the entrance of water, must
necessarily be overcome by muscular power, and the
orifice of the nostril be expanded, to admit a full
volume of air at each inspiration : in fact, the Cachalot,
when gasping in the agony of death, will occasionally
expand the orifice of its spiracle to a great size.

As compared with the huge bulk of the entire head,
the lower jaw of this whale appears diminutive, slender,
and not unlike the lower mandible of a bird. When
the mouth is closed, it is received within the soft parts
pendent from the border of the upper jaw, and is
nearly concealed by them. It is covered externally
with a smooth and firm skin, mottled black and white ;
but has no vestige of a lip. Its length averages eight
feet in the female, and from fourteen to sixteen in the
male.

The tongue is small, and shaped much like that of
the ox ; it is of a grey- white or clay-colour on the surface,
and is composed, internally, of many fleshy bundles,
imbedded in a soft fat. It is incapable of protrusion,
and occupies so small a space in the back of the mouth
as to appear little more than a rudimental organ. The
capacity of the gullet, and expansive power of the jaws,
are both fully proportionate to the size of the animal.

A very large proportion of the head of the Sperm
Whale is composed of soft parts, situated in front of
the cranium, and named by whalers the " junk " and
t( case." The junk is a solid mass of soft, yellow,
and oily fat, based on the upper jaw, and forming the
front and lower part of the snout : in a whale of large
size this part weighs between two and three tons,

The " case" and its boundaries constitute the
upper and anterior portion of the head. The cavity

CETACEANS. 1G1

to which the term " case" is more immediately applied,
is situated beneath,, and to the right of, the spouting
canal, and corresponds to nearly the entire length of
that tube. It is filled with a very delicate web of
cellular tissue, containing, in large cells, a limpid and
oily fluid, which is liberated by the slightest force.
The quantity of fluid (which is chiefly spermaceti) con-
tained in this singular receptacle is often very con-
siderable : fourteen barrels, or nearly five hundred
gallons, have been obtained from the case of one
whale. A Cachalot, taken by the Tuscan, in 1835, pro-
duced upwards of twelve barrels, or three hundred and
seventy-eight gallons, of fluid from the same reservoir.
The walls of the case are chiefly formed by a white,
spongy, and fibrous structure, loaded with a slimy
fluid; and which forms, also, a layer of separation
between this receptacle and the bulk of fat, or junk, on
which it rests.

So vast an accumulation of relatively light structures
in the head of the Cachalot, is obviously intended to
render this part of the animal peculiarly buoyant — to
ensure its correct position in swimming — to facilitate
the elevation of the spiracle above the surface of the sea
— and to counteract the weight of the bony and other
ponderous textures of the head — objects which, in the
Greenland Whale, are sufficiently attained by similar
accumulations of fat in the lips and tongue, and by the
more elevated situation of the spout-holes.

The bones of the head approach nearly, in form, to
those of the Dolphin and Porpoise families : the cranium
is equally round as in those cetaceans, and proportion-
ately well provided with brain. The forehead is ele-
vated ; and presents a deep crescentic excavation, which
gives the entire cranium a form, not unaptly compared

VOL. II. M

162 ZOOLOGY.

to that of a Roman war-chariot. The upper jaw pro-
jects as a broad and plane surface, tapering slightly as
it advances. It accords very closely with the lower-
jaw in size, notwithstanding the disparity between the
two which the aspect of the entire head would lead us
to expect.

The skeleton of the lower-jaw bears somewhat the
shape of a plough. It is composed of two long and
heavy bones, rounded and closely united for the anterior
half of their length, whilst posteriorly they diverge,
and increasing in depth at the expense of density,
expand each into a broad and thin plate, on which
the muscles are implanted. The two bones taper so
considerably from behind forwards, that, in a jaw fifteen
feet in length, the distance between the articulating
surfaces measures five feet, while the breadth of the
anterior extremity does not exceed seven inches. The
interior of the thickest portions of each bone is divided,
by bony partitions, into large cells, filled with a light
oily fluid, or spermaceti; — an organization which
tends much to lessen the specific gravity of their
ponderous structure.

The true and serviceable teeth of this whale are
situated only in the lower jaw; and, when the mouth is
closed, are received into corresponding sockets in the
soft parts, covering the margin of the upper jaw. When
in their most characteristic stage of growth, they are
raised about two inches above the gum; are acutely
pointed; and curved in a direction backward and
slightly inward. They are imbedded for a great portion
of their length in the bony sockets of the jaw, as well as
in the dense white substance, or gum, which rises as
an embossed ring around the base of each tooth. The
central teeth are of greater length, and thicker, than

CETACEANS. 163

those occupying the extremities of the series. Many of
them, placed most posteriorly, are in fact very small,
and but little raised above the gum, (to which they are
alone attached,) even in large and aged whales.

Their number varies greatly in different individuals,
and does not appear to be influenced by either age, sex,
or size. Amongst many Cachalots, I found their varia-
tions in number to be as follows : — 2 1 on one side of
the jaw, 20 on the opposite, 23-21, 22-22,24-25, 22-23,
24-26, 23-24, 22-24, 19-20 ; or from thirty-nine to fifty.

The upper jaw is not altogether toothless, as usually
described. On the contrary, it has on either side a
short row of teeth, which, for the most part, are placed
more interior than the depressions which receive the
teeth of the lower jaw ; though they sometimes, also,
occupy the bottom of those cavities. Their entire
length is three inches ; they are curved backwards, and
elevated about half an inch above the soft parts, in
which they are deeply imbedded, having only a slight
attachment to the maxillary bone. In two instances, I
found their number to be eight on each side. They
exist in both sexes of the Sperm Whale ; and although
visible externally only in the adult, they may be seen
in the young animal upon removing the soft parts from
the interior of the jaw.

Although these palatine teeth are perfect in their
structure, their relatively small size will not permit us
to regard them as more than rudimental.*

In a half-grown male, about thirty-five feet in length,
the teeth of the lower jaw are not larger than in the
adult female; but are much more symmetrical and

* Some of these teeth, from the upper-jaw of an adult female
Cachalot, I have deposited in the museum of the Royal College of
Surgeons in London.

M2

164 ZOOLOGY.

characteristic in their form. In aged males they are of
great size and solidity, and attain the weight of from
two to four pounds each ; but their crowns are never
proportionately raised above the jaw, and always pre-
sent a broad, obtuse, and much-worn appearance.

The entire structure of the tooth of this whale is
ivory. The exposed crown has a yellow and polished
appearance; while the fang, concealed in the jaw, is
dull- white, and grooved on its surface. Like the ivory
teeth of other animals, they have no covering of
enamel. In the young and growing whale, the base of
each tooth is cylindrical, and perforated by a conical
cavity, filled with a vascular pulp, intermediate in
structure to fat and glandular substance. As the tooth
becomes perfected by age, this cavity is gradually
obliterated from above downward, and the fang as-
sumes a more flattened or compressed form, and be-
comes converted into a solid mass of ivory. It is
not unusual to find in the sockets, and around the
roots, of the teeth, superfluous deposits of ivory, in
the form of large and irregularly-shaped plates.

The skin of this whale emits a peculiar half-fishy
odour, which, although but slight, is perceptibly com-
municated to the pure sea-air. It is smooth and naked,
(or entirely destitute of hair,) and secretes from its
surface an unctuous fluid, which resists the action of
water. It has almost invariably a very clean appearance ;
which may partly be attributed to the rapid and distant
journeys these animals are constantly performing, in
quest of their food, and partly to the clearness of the
deep waters they frequent ; since the True- Whale of the
South, (B. AustraliSy) which affects the more shallow
seas, and which is much more sluggish in its move-
ments, has its body encrusted with barnacles and other

CETACEANS. 165

parasites, often to the extent of resembling a rugged
rock.*

The essential parts which compose the integuments
are the same as in quadrupeds. The epidermis, or scarf-
skin, is exceedingly delicate ; being no thicker than the
membrane known as ee gold-beaters'-skin." It is trans-
parent, of a pale-brown colour, and, after the death of
the whale, is readily and easily detached from the body.

Beneath this covering is a thick layer of colouring
matter, or rete mucosum, (the " black-skin" of whalers,)
of firm, elastic, or doughy consistence, and dull, or gray-
black colour. When exposed to the air, its surface
hardens, becomes polished, and may be repeatedly
peeled off in sheets, which are sometimes preserved by
sailors and exhibited as the " skin of the whale."

I scarcely need observe, that upon this structure the
colour of the Cachalot depends ; but it is worthy of
remark, that in those parts where the body of the
animal is white, this substance is not absent, but
resembles curds of milk, or flour-paste.

The black-skin possesses a powerful alkaline pro-
perty, both in its recent state and when burned to
ashes. In the latter form it resembles powdered char-
coal, and communicates to water all the qualities of a
caustic alkali. Chemical analysis proves, that it derives
this power from a large proportion of free soda which
enters into its composition.f

* It is the opinion of whalers, that both the Sperm and True-Whales
occasionally frequent heavy surfs, and roll in the billows, to free their
skin from extraneous matters.

f A similar alkaline principle resides in the same structure in other
cetaceans ; although the fact would appear to have escaped the notice
of chemists and naturalists. It proves of very essential convenience to
the whaler, by enabling him readily to cleanse his ship and clothes from
oil, with which it combines perfectly, forming an extemporaneous soap.

166 ZOOLOGY.

Filaments, or nervous papillse, arise from every part
of the skin, as a thick mat, and stand erect, imbedded
in the layer of colouring matter. When separated
from the latter substance they are flaccid and colourless,
and may be smoothed in different directions, like the
pile of velvet or hair, whence they are sometimes de-
scribed by sailors as " the hair of the Sperm Whale."
Their size, abundance, and general distribution, would
lead to the opinion that this whale is endowed with an
acute sense of touch, which may, under some circum-
stances, compensate for a defective condition of other
senses ; and this supposition is farther sanctioned, by
the rapidity with which the animal responds to the
contact of an extraneous body; and the reliance it
appears to place, when suspicious of danger, upon the
sensitive power of its flukes. In the eyelids and some
few other parts, which are without fat, the thickness of
the true skin does not exceed the eighth of an inch ;
in every other portion of the animal its density is the
same as that of the blubber, with which its structure is
identified.

The envelope of lard, or blubber, is of compact
texture, perfectly white, and without odour. It varies
in thickness, (according to the size of the whale, or the
part of the body whence it is removed,) from four or
six inches to eight or fourteen. The breast, dorsal
hump, and upper margin of the tail, afford the thickest
blubber on the body.

The muscles, although not remarkable for extraor-
dinary development, or size of their fibres, are well
proportioned to the bulk of the animal. They have no
odour, beyond that which is perceptible in the raw
flesh of cattle ; and, when stale, do not emit any phos-
phorescent light, like fish. A fleshy layer, or panniculus

CETACEANS. 167

carnosus, lines the integuments ; and this whale, when
harpooned, has been noticed to shake its skin, " like a
wet dog/' to rid itself of the irritating weapon. The
muscles of the trunk are firmly girded by a very
beautiful expanse of fascia, composed of coarse fibres,
strongly and perceptibly interlaced, and glistening with
a bright silvery lustre.

The sexual organs are formed as in other species
of cetaceans ; hence, there is little external appearance,
beyond the size of the individual, or the development
of its teeth, to distinguish the male from the female.
Whalers are inclined to believe, that the convex, or
" hatchet-shaped," snout is characteristic of the male
Cachalot; but I do not think that there is sufficient
ground for this conclusion. The mammillary gland of
the female bears a close resemblance to that of the cow.
It secretes a large quantity of thick milk, which has a
very rich taste, and is peculiarly greasy to the touch.

In January, 1835, I was enabled, through the kind-
ness of Captain Stavers, to make an anatomical ex-
amination of a foetal Cachalot, which was removed from
the abdomen of its mother, and taken on board the
ship. Without entering into minute particulars, I may
mention the following, as the principal peculiarities
noticed in this young example, wrhich was a male, and
sufficiently mature to be within a few hours of its
birth.* It was fourteen feet long, and six in circum-
ference ; of a deep black colour, prettily mottled with a
few white spots ; and in form, as perfect as the adult
whale, with the single exception that the tail-fin was
crumpled on its free border, and had the corner of each

* This opinion was corroborated by some peculiarities which were
observed in the behaviour of the mother, previous to her being attacked
by the boats of the Tuscan.

1G8 ZOOLOGY.

fluke folded inwards. Its position in the womb was
that of a bent bow — the head and tail being approxi-
mated, and the back arched. The umbilical cord
(which was inserted at the posterior part of the
abdomen) was five feet long, nine inches in circum-
ference, and chiefly composed of five capacious blood-
vessels.

Of the bones of the neck, only the first, or Atlas, was
adapted for motion. The ribs were ten on each side ;
namely, five true ribs, and five false. The sternum
was composed of three pieces.

The stomach was complex, and composed of four
cavities, or chambers. The intestines were very volu-
minous, destitute of a coecum, and, when extended,
measured 208 feet, or nearly fifteen times the entire
length of the whale. The trachea was broad and
flattened, and, soon after entering the chest, sent off
three branches, or bronchia, the third or accessory tube
(which was the smallest) entering the upper part of the
right lung, and the other two dividing, each into two
branches, previous to perforating their respective lungs.

The spouting canal opened from the mouth by a
single orifice, which receives the larynx. After a short
course, in a vertical direction, it terminated in an
ample cavity, lined on its posterior wall by a dark
membrane, studded with flattened papilla?, whilst its
anterior boundary was smooth, and perforated by a
circular aperture. At this aperture the canal recom-
menced, and was continued to the superior extremity
of the snout, where it terminated in a second but
smaller cavity, immediately beneath the external nostril.
Between this last dilatation and the main tube, was
interposed a rigid valve, of crescentic form, and well
calculated to obstruct the passage between the cavity,

CETACEANS. 169

beneath the spiracle, and the interior canal; and as
this valve contains in its centre a layer of muscular
fibres, it is more than probable that its function is
voluntary.

I could not detect any trace of rudimental teats in
this male foetus. The thin and compact blubber which
invested its body, as well as the other fatty structures,
yielded both oil and spermaceti on the application of
heat. The mother Cachalot was of the ordinary adult
female size, and produced twenty barrels of oil.

Some departures from the natural condition are
occasionally noticed in the structure of the Cachalot, as
an abridged or distorted lower jaw, or the absence of one
or both of the pectoral fins ; although this last defect
has not been observed to occasion any material im-
pediment to the animaFs progress through the water.
The flukes and paddles are often found perforated by
circular holes, which are unaccountable in their origin ;
since they bear no appearance of being the result of
either violence or disease. A few individuals are met
with in a lean and enfeebled state, and expressing by
their actions a want of buoyancy, especially in the
head. When such whales are captured their blubber
proves to be indurated or fibrous, and peculiarly de-
ficient in oil. Ulcerous cavities in the mouth, and on
the skin of this species, are not unfrequent.

The parasitic animals, which chiefly infest the skin
of the Sperm Whale, are small whale-lice; (Larunda
ceti;) that elegant species of barnacle, the Otion Cuvieri,
which usually adheres in clusters to the integuments
around the jaws ; and some species of Gymnolcpas; but
none of these are numerous ; and it is rarely that all of
them are to be noticed on the same whale.

The blubber of the body has frequently a measly

170 ZOOLOGY.

appearance, its substance being occupied by numerous
cells, each about the size of a pea, and containing a
species of hydatid, or cysticercv,s. The presence of
these " maggots " is regarded by whalers as a token
that the blubber is of a rich and profitable quality.
Vast numbers of large entozoic round-worms, resembling
lumbricus, infest the stomach of this, in common with
every other species of cetacean I have had an op-
portunity of examining ; they are very commonly found
imbedded in the food rejected from the stomach of the
Cachalot, and which they have very profusely per-
forated.

CETACEANS. 17*

CHAPTER III.

Natural history and habits of the Cachalot — Geographical distribution
of the species — Natural indications of its places of resort.

THE Sperm Whale is gregarious ; and usually occurs in
parties, which are termed by whalers " schools " and
" pods :" the former name expressing the greater, and
the latter the less number of individuals congregated
together. A school may contain from twenty to fifty
or more Cachalots, and is composed of females, or
" cows," attended by their young, and associated with
at least one adult male, or " bull/5 of the largest size,
who acts as the guardian of the herd, and who, with a
devotion highly creditable to his gallantry, generally
takes a defensive position in the rear, when the school
is flying from danger.

The smaller associations, or " pods," consist of young
or half-grown males, which have been driven from
their maternal schools, but yet retain a social disposi-
tion ; and sometimes of large and adult males ; although
these last more commonly roam the ocean singly, or in
association with the herds of females. When a solitary,
or " lone" Cachalot is observed, it almost invariably
proves to be an old bull ; and there is some reason to
believe that, in correspondence with a similar habit
amongst gregarious quadrupeds, the aged male fre-
quently retires from a social, to a secluded, state of
existence.

Two or more schools occasionally coalesce, and form
a very large assemblage, technically distinguished as a

1/2 ZOOLOGY.

" body of Whales/5 On some tracts of ocean, peculiarly
favoured as their haunts, the number of Sperm Whales,
seen in one large body or in many distinct schools, is
beyond all reasonable conception; and could it be
accurately named, would appear incredible to persons
who alone consider the vast size of this animal, or
who may have traversed the main for many months
without noticing more than a single whale spouting in
the distance. At particular times and places, however,
we have seen the ocean, for several miles around the
ship, strewn with a constant succession of spouts,
denoting a greater number of Cachalots than, could
they all have been secured, would have afforded a full
cargo of oil for three or four ships.

These large assemblies sometimes proceed at a rapid
pace in one determinate direction, and are said to be
fe making a passage ;5' when, although the whales evince
no appearance of alarm, their speed renders them
difficult to approach, unless the boats are favourably
placed to intercept them in their route.

At other times they are observed to be scattered on
the surface of the sea, basking or sleeping, spouting
leisurely, and exhibiting every indication of being " at
home," or on their feeding-ground.

Notwithstanding its unwieldy bulk, this whale is not
deficient in activity. When first pierced by the har-
poon, it will tow the attached boat at the rate of more
than fifteen miles an hour ; but this velocity of motion
is the effect of extreme excitement, and does not con-
tinue long. Under ordinary circumstances of alarm,
as when conscious of being pursued by enemies, its
speed averages about eight or ten miles an hour:
Whale-boats, propelled by both sails and oars, and a
ship, having the advantage of a strong breeze, will

CETACEANS. 173

often succeed in overtaking the whales they pursue,
or, by their near approach, compel them to seek refuge
in the deep. When swimming rapidly, the Cachalot
moves with an easy, regular, and majestic pace, the
head being much raised above the surface of the sea,
and a portion of the back being occasionally exhibited,
in the action of leaping. The individuals composing a
retreating party will sometimes move in lines, like a
troop of horse, and exert their peculiar leaping move-
ments, descend, rise, and often even spout, simultane-
ously.

A large party of Cachalots, gamboling on the surface
of the ocean, is one of the most curious and imposing
spectacles a whaling voyage affords : the huge size and
uncouth agility of the monsters, exhibiting a strange
combination of the grand and ridiculous. On such
occasions, it is not unusual to observe a whale of the
largest size leap from the water with the activity of a
salmon, display the entire of its gigantic frame, sus-
pended at the height of several feet in the air, and
again plunge into the sea with a helpless and tremen-
dous fall, which causes the surrounding waters to shoot
up in broad and lofty columns, capped with foam;
whilst others of the school leap, or " breach/' in a less
degree ; sportively brandish their broad and fan-shaped
flukes in the air ; or protrude their heads perpendicu-
larly above the waves, like columns of black rock.

As long as the Cachalot continues on the surface
of the sea, it casts from its nostril a constant succession
of spouts ; each jet following the other after an interval
of ten or fifteen seconds, with a regularity highly
characteristic of this kind of whale. The respiratory
jet, or spout, has the appearance of a thick and white
mist, composed of numerous small drops of condensed

1?4 ZOOLOGY.

vapour. It ascends obliquely upwards and forward;
seldom rises to a greater height than six or eight feet ;
remains suspended in the air but a short time ; and is
sent forth from the spiracle by one continued effort,
accompanied by a rushing sound, resembling that of a
moderate surf upon a smooth beach ; the superior ex-
tremity of the snout being raised high above the level
of the sea at each explosive effort. It is neither
abruptly terminated, nor succeeded by any perceptible
sound of inspiration, or " drawback," as is the case
in the spouting of many of the less valued kinds of
cetacea ; in fact, its sound is, on the whole, so peculiar,
that the practised ear of the whaler can detect by it the
close vicinity of the Cachalot, although the darkness of
night should conceal the animal from his view. During
a close encounter with this whale, the latter often
spouts into the boats and amongst the crew, when the
exhaled fluid has been observed to be foetid in odour,
and to produce an acrid effect upon the skin.

When about to descend, the Cachalot assumes a
vertical posture, raising its flukes perpendicularly in
the air, an evolution which is performed leisurely, and
which is regarded by whalers as a principal point for
distinguishing this from most other kinds of cetacea.
It is one, however, which is not invariably exhibited ;
for, when desirous of a sudden and temporary de-
scent, the whale will occasionally sink in the horizontal
position, or, as it is technically expressed, fe settle
down/'

A necessity for respiring atmospheric air does not
permit the Sperm Whale to continue below the surface
of the water beyond a limited period: one hour is
perhaps the average time for an individual of the largest
size. On three occasions, when large and solitary

CETACEANS. 1?5

whales were noticed, under circumstances favourable
for observations in this point, I found that one Cachalot
continued below the surface fifty-five minutes ; a second,
forty-five minutes ; and the third, one hour and a half;
but whatever time the whale may remain under water,
after making a formal descent, it subsequently adheres
to the same period with so much regularity, that its
" risings" may be timed by a watch with considerable
accuracy.

School Whales are less open to investigation in this
respect; for, while some are rising to spout, others
are descending, and it is difficult to identify individuals.
A young male, harpooned by our boats, continued under
water, and with the line attached to it, half an hour.
The time they spend in communication with the air
is very variable; when making a rapid passage, or
when pursued, they swim for a long time on the surface
of the water, where their progress is less impeded.

Their ordinary food is the cuttle-fish, or ({ squid,"
(Sepia,) many kinds of which are rejected from the
stomach of the whale when the latter is attacked by the
boats, as well as after death, and during the process of
removing the blubber. Amongst the examples thus re-
jected we find solid masses of enormous size and
weight, though evidently but mere fragments of the
body of some vast cuttle-fish, and probably of that
kind termed the i( gigantic squid" — an animal with
which naturalists are but little acquainted ; but which
has been known to attain such huge dimensions, that,
when spread out beneath the surface of the sea, it has
alarmed navigators by its resemblance to a reef, or
shoal. We cannot fail to be impressed with a truly
magnificent idea of the profusion of animal life which
must necessarily exist in. the ocean's depths, though

ZOOLOGY.

invisible to man, when we thus behold creatures of
such stupendous magnitude as the Sperm Whale,
roaming the seas in very large assemblies, and all
replete with food and of unwieldy corpulence.

It is probable that the Cachalot occasionally indulges
in other food than the nutritious and helpless Sepia.
While we were cruising in the North Pacific, in the
year 1835, a School Whale, upon being attacked by
the boats, rejected from her stomach a bony fish, which
was secured and put into my possession. It was
rather more than a foot long, of deep and compressed
form, and covered with rough and silvery scales. It
was uninjured, beyond some slight ravages of diges-
tion, which had impaired the surface of the body and
removed the membranes of the fins. In its stomach
were small fragments of cuttle-fish. As it was not easy
to conceive, that the Cachalot could take a fish of
this size and structure by direct pursuit, I felt inclined
to the opinion, that it had been accidentally received
within the mouth of the whale, and swallowed together
with the large portions of cuttle-fish with which it was
also rejected. Some whalers assert, that they have
seen Cachalots throw up rock-cod, and even sharks.

Owing to the great projection of the snout beyond
the lower-jaw, it may be requisite for this whale to turn
on its side or back to seize its more bulky prey — a sup-
position which is strengthened by the fact, that when
the animal attacks a boat with its mouth, it invariably
assumes a reversed posture, carrying the lower jaw
above the object it is attempting to bite.

In common with most terrestrial animals which herd
together in great numbers, Sperm Whales are naturally
timid, and disposed to fly from the remotest appearance
of danger : and although many instances occur amongst

CETACEANS. 177

them of a bold and mischievous disposition, which
leads them, when molested, to attack and destroy both
boats and men, yet such traits rather belong to the
individual, than to the general character, and may be
compared to the aberrations from a mild to a vicious
temper, occasionally displayed amongst oxen, horses,
deer, and other herbivora. A shoal of Dolphins, leaping
in their vicinity, is sufficient to put to flight a large
party of Cachalots ; and when on a well-beaten cruising
ground, where the whales are exceedingly watchful,
the whaler finds it necessary to be constantly on his
guard, not to excite or confirm their suspicions, until
he has made sure of his prizes.

The signs they exhibit of a suspicion of danger, are
occasionally ceasing to spout ; lying motionless on the
water ; (evidently listening ;) sweeping their flukes slowly
from side to side, in search of some invisible but
dreaded object ; and turning upon the side, or rearing
the head perpendicularly above the waves, to bring
surrounding objects upon the axis of vision. When
pursued, they may be considered to exhibit two de-
grees of alarm ; namely, that which puts them to the
top of their speed, and which often enables them to
escape the boats ; or a more powerful and overwhelming
impression, produced by the near approach of their
enemies, or by one of their number being injured;
when they will occasionally crowd together, stationary
and trembling, or make but confused and irresolute
efforts to escape. The females, when attacked, will
often endeavour to assist each other, and those that
are uninjured will remain for a long time around their
harpooned companions ; while the males, in which the
social disposition is less strong, as commonly make a

VOL. II. N

1?8 ZOOLOGY.

rapid retreat, without any concern for the fate of their
comrades.

It is a confirmed fact, and one often noticed with
surprise by southern whalers, that upon a Cachalot
being struck from a boat, others, many miles distant
from the spot, will almost instantaneously express by
their actions, an apparent consciousness of what has
occurred, or at least of some untoward event, and
either make off in alarm, or come down to the assistance
of their injured companion. But, without attributing
to the Cachalot an extraordinary acuteness of sight or
hearing, or any more mysterious sensibility, we may
perhaps find, that the violent agitation of the sea, pro-
duced by the plunges of the harpooned whale, and the
more rapid and distinct conveyance of sound in water
than in air, * are sufficient to account for the above
phenomenon.

From the abundance of calves, accompanying the
schools, and the great number of Sperm Whales yet
visible, notwithstanding the incessant slaughter to
which they have been exposed for nearly a century and
a half, we are justified in believing that this species is
peculiarly prolific. Like other cetaceans, they couple
more hominum : in one instance, which came under my
notice, the position of the parties was vertical; their
heads being raised above the surface of the sea.

Nothing satisfactory is known about the duration of
pregnancy in this whale. We observed them copula-
ting in August, but it is probable that no particular

* Chladni estimates the velocity of sound in water to be four or five
times greater than in air. The experiments of Dr. Franklin tend to
prove, that sound, after travelling above a mile through water, loses but
little of its intensity.

CETACEANS. 179

breeding season obtains, as we observed sucking calves
during the entire eight months in the year we were
engaged in cruising. The female produces one at a
birth, but occasionally twins, as is usual with uniparous
animals. She brings forth her young in the open ocean,
and indiscriminately, on whatever spot the school may
chance to be at the time of her parturition. The calf
accompanies the school as soon as it is born. During a
chase, it was often exceedingly interesting to observe
sucklings, apparently but a few days old, leaping actively
and spouting high by the side of their dams, and keep-
ing up wonderfully well with the rapid pace of the
retreating party.

Intelligent whalers, who have occasionally seen the
female Cachalot in the act of suckling her young, agree
very closely in their descriptions of this process. They
state, that the mother reposes upon her side, with
the pectoral fin raised above the surface of the sea,
while the calf, which is thus enabled to retain its
spiracle in the air, receives the protruded nipple within
the angle of the mouth — a part where it is reasonable to
suppose that the tongue would also be found of some
assistance.

The male Cachalot takes no part in the care of his
offspring ; and I have reason to believe, that the female
is less remarkable for maternal affection than the Green-
land whale is represented to be. When pursued by
boats, the mother whale will keep in the rear of the
school, retarding her pace to accommodate the calf which
leaps by her side, and thus far expose herself to some
danger for its sake ; but other facts which I observed,
are rather opposed to the opinion that she will make
any strenuous or romantic efforts in defence of her
young, or sacrifice her life for its safety. The whaler

N 2

180 ZOOLOGY.

does not consider that a mother Cachalot is more
troublesome or dangerous to destroy than one without
charge ; and although he will harpoon a calf, in the hope
of arresting the flight of the school, or of securing the
mother, the measure often fails in its object.

I believe that we have seen the female purchase her
own safety by the desertion of her young. On several
occasions our boats destroyed a sucking calf, in the
midst of a school, without sufficient interference on the
part of the mother to lead to her being identified by the
harpooner. In one instance, the boats, while pursuing
a school, killed a calf with a single lance-wound ; the
body of the little whale remained floating on the water —
but none of the adults discontinued their flight. On
another occasion we noticed a herd of females make off
with great rapidity, and leave a small calf, swimming in
an anxious and bewildered manner, in the vicinity of the
ship ; it continued thus deserted for some time; but was
ultimately rejoined by the mother, when they both set off
to overtake the main body of fugitives.

The senses of the Sperm Whale are not despised by
the whaler, nor disregarded in his tactics. He considers
that, in this animal, the power of vision is greater
than that of hearing ; and although he is ever anxious to
approach his prey quietly, his principal attention is
directed to avoid bringing his boat within the range of
vision, or, as he expresses it, " upon the eye " of the
whale. To approach in a direct line with the snout or
the tail is not difficult. It is true that the splashing of
oars, and the rush of a boat through the water, appear
calculated to excite alarm in any animal endowed with
the most ordinary power of audition, but, independent
of the valvular conformation of the ear, it is probable
that while the whale pursues its course through the sea,

CETACEANS. 181

the breaking of the waves, and the noise of its own re-
spiration, tend much to disguise other sounds.

The habitat of the Sperm Whale is more peculiarly
the central and fathomless waters of oceans, or the vici-
nity of the most abrupt coasts. Occasionally, though
very rarely, they frequent the shallower seas, so com-
monly the resort of the True Whale.* The geographical
range of the species must be regarded as very extensive ;
since no part of the aqueous globe, excepting the Polar
Seas, would appear to be altogether inimical to their
habits or free from their visits. In the southern hemi-
sphere, their excursions are known to extend as high as
between the sixtieth and seventieth parallels of latitude,
or off the shores of the South Shetland Islands. In
the northern, their boundary can be fixed, with more
accuracy, at about the sixtieth degree of latitude, for,
although the species has been observed on the south
coast of Greenland, and as high as the corresponding
latitude off the American and Asiatic continents, it is
unknown to the whaler in the Arctic Ocean.

In all the intermediate climates Sperm Whales have
been found more or less abundant. They have been
noticed in the Mediterranean Sea, and have been occa-
sionally cast ashore upon many parts of the coast of con-
tinental Europe, and Great Britain .f Living examples
have been captured in the British Channel, and one in-
dividual in the river Thames. It is, however, in the
warmer seas, within, or upon the verge of, the tropics,

* So great is the difference in habitat between the two cetaceans,
that during the entire period we were cruising in quest of the Cachalot,
we in no single instance saw an example of the True-Whale. (B. mysti-
cettis.}

t Captain T. Stavers informs me, that he has lowered his boats in pmv
suit of a school of Cachalots when but forty-eight hours' sail from Ports-
mouth harbour.

182 ZOOLOGY.

that the Cachalot is sought with the greatest success ;
as in those corresponding to the intertropical coasts of
Africa, America, Asia, and New Holland, or surrounding
the Indian and Polynesian Islands ; but more especially
and uniformly in the "line currents," which extend
from the equator to about the seventh degree of north
and south latitude, both in the western and eastern
hemisphere.

Large parties of these whales have been remarked to
affect particular spots at distinct times ; though it has
not been ascertained that their visits to any one tract of
water are sufficiently regular to be considered as season-
able ; and it should be observed, that when seasons are
spoken of in this fishery, the term applies less to the
periodic presence of whales in the regions referred to,
than to the convenience of whale ships, in regard to
weather, &c. Thus the " Japan cruise," in the Pacific,
extending from 20° to 40° north latitude, commences
with the spring months, April and May, and concludes
with the autumnal months, September and October, or
when the accession of inclement weather may be
expected in that region ; although there is no reason to
doubt, that whales continue in its waters during the
entire year. While driven by winter weather from the
north, the whaler occupies his time in the more genial
climates of Southern America and the Equator, or "takes
the off-shore season." The same remark applies, also,
to the Sperm Fishery in the Indian seas ; where its sea-
sons are equally influenced by the variations of the
monsoons. Nevertheless, the natives of the Society
Islands expect to see the Cachalot around their shores
only during the months of April and May, or, as they
express the time, " when the Vis (Hog-plums) are ripe ;"
and whalers consider, that from September to December

CETACEANS. 183

are the most profitable months for cruising on the
Equator.

Vast tracts of ocean may be cruised over without the
slightest trace of the Sperm Whale being perceived,
whilst other, and often very limited, extents of water
will exhibit the species in great abundance. Much of
this apparent caprice, however, depends upon natural
causes. Powerful currents, or the space intervening
between two currents setting in opposite directions, are
the favourite resorts of this whale, and, doubtless,
where its food is found in greatest abundance, amidst the
inhabitants of the deep swept together by these local
streams. Hence, wheresoever currents are denoted by
their concomitant marine animals, as the floating shell-
fish Janthina, Hyafaa, and Cleodora ; or other mollusks,
as Sea Lizards (Glaucus), Velell<B> Porpita, &c., with
myriads of medusae, forming what whalers term "thick
water," Cachalots may reasonably be expected; and
their appearance often coincides in a remarkable man-
ner with the presence of such natural indications.

Nor is it difficult to conceive, that since the inhabi-
tants of the ocean, like those of the land, prey each
upon the other — the smaller and less organized being
the food of the larger and more perfect animals — so the
base of this column is formed by the mollusks, simple
in their structure, and much the sport of the element
they inhabit, and the capital by the cetacea, and the
largest or most rapacious fish.

184 ZOOLOGY.

CHAPTER IV.

Historical notice of the Sperm Whale Fishery — Its commencement by
the Americans — Rise and Progress in Great Britain and her colonies
— First carried into the Pacific Ocean by the British, in 1788 — Com-
mercial details — South- Seamen — Their equipment, crew, economy,
and destinations — Boats, lines, weapons and other implements.

THE history of this fishery may be carried back to a
very early date, if we regard the desultory manner in
which the Sperm Whale was formerly captured by the
nations of continental Europe, when the species occurred
to them in the waters around their coasts, or during their
voyages in search of the Greenland Whale. But the
earliest period at which we find the pursuit conducted
upon a systematic plan, and prominently employing the
energies of a civilized people, may be referred to about
the year 16^0, when the Sperm Fishery was commenced
by our American colonists ; those hardy people having
the greater inducement to embark in the enterprise,
from their adopted shores being at that time the fre-
quent resort of the Cachalot, as well as situated in the
close vicinity of other and more prolific whaling
grounds, which have retained their reputation to the
present day.

For many subsequent years, the Americans continued
to engross this branch of commerce ; and England was
well contented to receive from them, as a colonial im-
portation, such products of the fishery as she required.
When, however, the war of independence virtually
separated the interests of the two countries, arid when
the result of that conflict gave to the world a new and

SPERM FISHERY. 185

powerful nation, it became essential that England should,
as far as possible, provide from her own resources,
those commodities for which she had hitherto depended
upon her revolted colony. Consequently, it was in
1775, that ships were first sent out from the ports of
Great Britain for the Sperm Whale Fishery. In that
year they were ten in number, equipped by the unaided
efforts of our merchants, and chiefly by the enter-
prising and highly-respected firm of Messrs. Enderby.
In 1776, this infant trade was encouraged by a govern-
ment bounty, graduated from 500/. to 100/., and the
number of ships engaged in the fishery, progressively
increased until the year 1791> when it attained its
maximum.

The commencement of the Sperm Fishery by England
found our seamen but indifferently acquainted with this
peculiar mode of whaling; and for some years it was
necessary to appoint an American commander and har-
pooner to each ship, until competent officers could be
reared from our own service. At the same early date,
the fishing was chiefly prosecuted on the coasts of
South Greenland and Ireland, off the Western Islands,
on the coast of Africa, on the Brazil Bank, off the
Falkland Islands, and in Strait le Maire.

In the year 1788, Messrs. Enderby 's ship, the Emilia,
rounded Cape Horn, and first carried the Sperm Whale
Fishery into the Pacific Ocean. She made a short and
successful voyage, and opened a wide and fruitful field
for future exertions.

As our whalers became better acquainted with the
Pacific Ocean, many valuable resorts of the Cachalot
were discovered by their enterprising researches. In
the year 1819, the British whale-ship Syren first oc-
cupied, as a cruising ground, the more distant and un-

18G ZOOLOGY.

explored tract of ocean, in the western parts of the North
Pacific, and since so familiarly known to whalers as
the u coast of Japan f and which, for a long series of
years, has proved so prolific a resort of the Sperm
Whale, that, at a comparatively recent period, when its
value was diminished by the frequent visits of ships,
40,000 barrels of oil are recorded to have been taken
from thence in one season, by the fleets which annually
frequent its waters. The Indian Ocean, coast of New
Holland, and Indian Archipelago, were subsequently
occupied as cruising grounds ; and now but few seas are
entirely free from the visits of ships occupied in this
venturous service, under the flag of Great Britain, or of
the United States — other nations having made but
feeble and transient efforts to partake in the fishery.

Of late years, the number of British ships engaged in
this trade has materially decreased, and at the present
time, cannot be estimated at more than between thirty
and forty sail. The cause of this recent diminution in
the number of British South-Seamen is to be found in
the slow and precarious return the fishery affords to
the heavy investment of capital required for its prose-
cution, and in the abundant importation of sperm-oil
from our colony of New South Wales, (where the
fishery is conducted with much less expenditure of time
and capital,) which does not permit the British owner
to receive an adequate remuneration.

The amount of capital, involved in the outfit of a
South-Seaman, from the port of London, is from
£8,000 to £12,000. The time occupied by the voyage
is now seldom less than two-and-a-half or three years,
and the latter period is occasionally exceeded, with an
unsuccessful result. The value of a South-Seaman, on
her return to the port of London, with a full cargo, may

SPERM FISHERY.

187

be estimated at £23,000 — £3,000 being allowed for the
value of the ship and stores, and £20,000 for that of
her cargo, of 250 tuns of oil,* at £80 per tun.

The British and colonial sperm oil imported into this
country, is subject to a duty of one shilling per tun —
a sum which suffices to bring a ship, thus freighted,
under the control of the customs, without materially
enhancing the price of her cargo. To the importation
of foreign oil, a duty attaches of £26. 12s. per tun.

The subjoined account of the relative importations
of sperm oil by the British, colonial, (Australian,) and
foreign fisheries, during thirteen years, from 1820 to
1832, is extracted from a return delivered, in 1833, to
a committee of the House of Commons.

From

From

British

New

United

British

New

United

Fishery

South

States.

Fishery.

South

States.

Wales.

Wales.

Years.

Tuns.

Tuns.

Tuns.

Years.

Tuns.

Tuns.

Tuns.

1820

2264

none

147

1827

4476

334

528

1821

3005

—

—

1828

3216

116

399

1822

5009

—

—

1829

4605

818

255

1823

5743

247

—

1830

4157

498

137

1824

4940

125

—

1831

5939

1576

90

1825

3609

54

—

1832

5576

1589

—

1826

5695

388

"• '"

* One hundred and sixty tuns of oil is deemed an average cargo.
The largest quantity ever brought to this country, as one cargo, was
330 tuns, by the Rochester, Captain Smith, in 1830.— The largest
cargo of sperm oil ever taken to the United States, is said to have been
4,050 barrels, or rather more than 500 tuns.

The result of the voyage of the Tuscan, from 1833 to — 36, was a
cargo of 1,953 barrels, or 244 tuns of oil. Sperm Whales were seen,
during the voyage, on ninety distinct days, and seventy-eight whales
were killed and secured to the ship.

188

ZOOLOGY.

The extent to which the importation of sperm oil
into England, by our colonies of New South Wales
and Halifax, has increased, during ten years, from 1827
to 1836, is exhibited in the following account; for
which, as well as for all the more important commer-
cial details of this fishery, I am indebted to the kind-
ness of Enderby, Esq.

Years .

Tuns.

Years.

Tuns.

1827

900

1832

1900

1828

500

1833

2907

1829

1000

1834

2730

1830

1200

1835

2331

1831

1500

1836

2716

The consumption of sperm oil in this country, (where
its use is limited to burning in patent lamps and lu-
bricating machinery,) although influenced by high and
low prices, has gradually increased, and is now greater
than at any former period. The very general adoption
of gas for the purpose of illumination, and which might
reasonably be expected to lessen the demand for oil, has
not had that effect — on the contrary, it would appear
that the increased light of the shops and streets ra-
ther induces persons to add to their domestic illumina-
tion in a proportionate degree. The great and progres-
sive extent, also, to which steam-machinery is employed,
must ever ensure a corresponding demand for this
valuable commodity. The following is a statement
of the prices of sperm oil in the London market, at
specified periods of the fishery : —

SPERM FISHERY. 189

£.

In the year 1785 . .51 per Tun, Imperial measure.

1800 . . 84

1810 . 126

1820 . . 85

1822 . . 50

1830 . . 72

1836 . . 82

1839 . . 93

The Americans, who commenced the Southern Whale
Fishery with so much ardour and success, have con-
tinued zealous in its prosecution. The number of whale-
ships they at present possess, is estimated at about
three hundred and fifty, a large proportion of which is
engaged exclusively in the pursuit of the Sperm Whale.
With this nation, also, the whale-trade is more generally
diffused amongst the commercial classes than in England,
and instead of one merchant possessing many South-
Seamen, as with us, it is more usual to find one whale-
ship the property of several owners — an interest in her
being held by many men of small capital, and not un-
frequently by the commander and officers who prosecute
the voyage. Sperm oil is so much cheaper in the
United States than in England, that its exportation to
this country would be a source of considerable revenue
to the Americans, did not our heavy duty on foreign
oil prohibit the introduction of their produce to the
British market at a lower price than £90 per tun.

The ships engaged in the Sperm Fishery, (and which
are for the most part vessels of from 250 to 400 tons
burden,) derive a peculiar interest from the roving and
enterprising nature of the service to which they are

190 ZOOLOGY.

devoted. Not only has the South-Seaman, in common
with the merchant- vessel, to bear her cargo from distant
quarters of the globe, but also the additional task of
procuring that cargo, as it swims on the ocean, un-
certain in quantity and place, and as yet identical with
living, gigantic, and often dangerous animals. To the
Northern or Greenland whale-ship the same observa-
tion applies. South-Seamen, however, advance a step
beyond their prototypes of the. North, inasmuch as
while they collect, they may also be said to manufacture
their cargo, by the practice they pursue of separating
the useful from the more cumbrous and unimportant
parts of the whales they capture ; and thus, (in the
place of the putrefied mass which composes the lading
of a Greenland ship,) bringing their freight to port in a
state but little less pure than when it passes into the
hands of the consumer — a distinction which is secured
to these vessels by the unlimited time allowed them to
prosecute their labours in genial climates — the necessity,
entailed by their long and distant voyages, that they
should condense their cargo, and thus increase its
value — as well as by the detriment which would accrue
to the quality of the oil they supply, did they adopt the
same summary plan as the northern whale-ship.

In external appearance, the South-Seaman is prin-
cipally distinguished from the ordinary merchant-ship
by the number and form of her boats ; by the presence
of some short spars, affixed to one of her sides, to pro-
tect the hull when the blubber is being removed from
the whale to the deck ; and, when cruising, by her lofty
spars being down, her sail shortened, and her mast-
heads manned. Interiorly, one side of the deck, at the
waist of the ship, has a platform, or covering of planks,
to receive the more bulky parts of the whale, taken on

SPERM FISHERY. 191

board : an extent of ten feet of the corresponding bul-
wark being adapted for temporary removal, to facilitate
that object. To the head of the mainmast are attached
the powerful pulleys (" cutting-blocks and falls") which
communicate with the windlass, and which are employed
to raise the blubber, during the flinching of a whale. But
the most conspicuous and peculiar object on the deck,
is the edifice called the " try-works/' and used for
boiling the oil. This is a square building, ten feet in
length by five in height, extending across the deck, a
short distance behind the foremast, and constructed of
firmly cemented bricks, and strengthened with iron.
Its summit is flat, and excavated for chimneys, as well
as for the reception of two iron cauldrons, or ce try-
pots," beneath each of which there are corresponding
furnaces. The entire fabric is based upon a cistern of
water ; and an additional sheathing yet further protects
the deck from the effects of intense heat. Each boiler,
or 4C try-pot,0 is large enough to contain one hundred
and thirty-six gallons of oil, and communicates, by a
spout, with a large copper cooler, placed on the corre-
sponding side of the works. This building, which is
erected on the deck previous to the ship leaving her
port, is retained only until the cargo is complete, or
whaling relinquished, when the whole is broken up.

As a provision for taking care of the oil she may ob-
tain, each vessel is furnished with an ample supply of
casks, which, for the convenience of stowage, are of va-
rious sizes, from barracas to those containing 345
gallons, and which are the largest in use. Some of
these are kept in a disjointed state, or in "packs,"
ready to be put together as occasion demands ; while
others are filled with fresh water, and serve as ballast to
the ship, and are the source of an unlimited supply of
the pure beverage, so essential to the crew during their

192" ZOOLOGY.

labours within the tropics. In addition to the comple-
ment of casks, four iron tanks are usually fixed between
the decks, each tank being adapted to contain sixteen
barrels, or two tuns, of oil.

The average number of the crew of a South-Seaman
is about thirty officers and men, comprising a master,
surgeon, mates, boat-steerers or harpooners, boat-
swain, carpenter, cooper, armourer, steward, &c. The
boat-steerers hold a rank between the mates and able
seamen. Their duty is to attend to the equipment of
their respective boats, and to steer the latter, or har-
poon the whale.

With very few exceptions, the Captain and crew de-
pend entirely for their pay upon the profits of the
voyage, or are, as it is expressed, " upon the lay,1' or
under compact to receive, as wages, a share of the
value of the cargo, when the latter is brought to its
market. The entire amount divided amongst the crew of
a South-Seaman, from the port of London, is estimated
at between one-third and one-fourth of the whole value
of the cargo ; the residue being carried to the expenses
of the voyage, and to the remuneration of the owners.
The highest lay, or that given to the commander, is from
one-eleventh to one-fifteenth, the lowest from one hun-
dred and tenth to one two hundredth ; the one hundred
and sixtieth being the more usual share of an able
seaman.

Each ship, on sailing from England, is fully pro-
visioned for three years : all her supplies being of the
very best description; as upon their preservation
depends, in a material degree, the success of the voyage.
Both the owners and masters display a very laudable
attention to the health and comfort of the seamen they
employ ; while the effects of their liberal and judicious
arrangements are sufficiently evinced in the generally

CETACEANS. 193

healthy condition of their crews : scurvy, so long the
bane of distant voyagers, is now of exceedingly rare
occurrence amongst them ; and it is common for these
ships to return to their port, after a voyage of three
years, with an entire and healthy crew — an object which,
little more than half a century ago, could only be ef-
fected by the talent and anxious exertion of Captain
Cook, aided by every appliance it was in the power of
the British government to afford.

It is a prevalent, but very erroneous idea, enter-
tained by persons unacquainted with the economy of
South-Seamen, that these vessels are constantly in a
state of dirt and disorder. That there might formerly
have existed just grounds for such an opinion is not
improbable : the systematic observance of rules, tend-
ing to maintain health and comfort amongst seamen,
has been of comparatively recent adoption in any de-
partment of our naval service. To our great navigator,
Cook, we are chiefly indebted for having led the way to
the attainment of so desirable an object.

The better construction of ships — a greater attention
to the quality and mode of preserving provisions* —
the daily and unremitted routine of measures tending
to the cleanliness of ship and crew — as well as the en-
couragement of a proper pride amongst seamen, in re-
gard to decent apparel, and a disposition to enforce
amongst themselves that social order over which their
officers can have but little control — afford prominent

* From the remarkably early period at which the crews of some ships
are attacked by scurry, and the protracted absence from port which
others will endure without exhibiting any trace of this malady, there is
good reason to suspect, that scorbutic disease arises less from a long
continued diet of salt provisions than from the bad quality of the latter,
or from a general defect in the selection, or mode of preserving, both
food and water.

VOL. II. °

194 ZOOLOGY.

features in the improved condition of our merchant-
navy ; and in none of these respects are well conducted
South-Seamen deficient. Though the peculiar duties
of their service necessarily involves them in occasional
confusion, but a few hours after the required operations
are completed, both ship and men are restored to their
former clean and orderly state, and scarce a trace re-
mains to recall to mind the labour which has been so
recently performed.*

The destination of these ships is appointed in a very
cursory manner by their owners ; their movements,
most essential to obtain a cargo, being left chiefly to
the discretion of their commanders. Some take an
eastern, and others a western route. The former class
make their outward voyage round the Cape of Good
Hope, and hold their cruising grounds in the Indian
seas, on the coast of the Asiatic continent, as far as 40°
North latitude, and around most of the western Poly-
nesian islands. Those taking the western route, make
a passage round Cape Horn, cruise down the coast of
South America, proceed to the westward in the vicinity
of the equator, take the " Japan-season," on the western
waters of the North Pacific, and, returning to the
southward and eastward, search the Calif ornian and
Mexican coasts, and the ocean around the more
easterly islands of the South Pacific. There is pro-
bably no class of ships that more frequently circum-

* In proof of this I may advance the fact, that when two vessels acci-
dently meet on a cruising ground, it is equally an object of interest with
each to know if the other has recently taken whales. The shrewd visiter
is aware that he cannot obtain the information he seeks by verbal in-
quiries, nor from the general appearance of the ship, which is probably
as clean as when she left her port ; he therefore first directs his attention
to the " cutting falls," to ascertain if any particles of the skin of a
recent whale remain entangled in their strands, and thus draws his con-
clusions.

CETACEANS. 195

navigates the globe. A few small vessels, fitted out
from the ports of the United States, limit their search
for the Sperm Whale to the North Atlantic, and chiefly
to the coast of Africa, Western Isles, and the Equator.
They often prove highly successful.

The log-book, or journal, of a South-Seaman has
some peculiarities which distinguish it from the same
document of a merchant-ship ; these are chiefly a more
copious detail of the natural objects noticed in the sea
or air from day to day, and notes of the principal events
occurring in the pursuit of whales. Should Sperm
Whales have been seen, but not secured to the ship, the
entry of the day's work is preceded by the figure of a
whale's head. Should whales have been captured, the
same space is occupied by the representation of as many
erect flukes as there were whales obtained. When a
dead whale is accidentally found floating on the water,
and is taken to the ship, the distinguishing mark in the
journal is the same as the last, with the exception that
the flukes are reversed.

The boats used in this fishery are from twenty-seven
to thirty feet in length, by four or five in breadth. The
plank of which they are built does not exceed half an
inch in thickness ; consequently, their strength is in a
great measure sacrificed to the more essential qualities of
speed and buoyancy. They have an elegant and symme-
trical form, the stern being equally sharp with the bow,
to enable the boat to recede rapidly when the action of
the oars is reversed, without the delay of turning.

In the place of a rudder, an oar projects from the
left side of the stern, to which it is secured by a loop,
or "grummet." This "steer oar" is of considerable
length, and from its size and leverage requires some

o 2

196 ZOOLOGY.

power and tact to manage it, especially during rapid
motion through a heavy sea. The other oars are five
in number ; they are fifteen feet in length, and dis-
tinguished by appropriate names, as harpooner, bow,
midship, tub, and after oar. The thowels and row-locks,
on which they play, are muffled with mats ; and as it
is often necessary, during the attack on a whale, to
put the oars out of hand, but at the same time to have
them ready for instant use, small sockets are built on
the floor of the boat, one corresponding to each oar, to
receive its handle when depressed. Thus fixed, the
oars bristle forth at an acute angle with the gunwale,
and are said to be "apeak.55 Many boats are, in
addition, supplied with the short paddles, used by the
Polynesian islanders to propel their canoes, and which
are found of great service when employed to approach
a watchful or timid whale. " Life-lines," attached to
the sides of the boat, serve to secure the oars across
the gunwales, when the boat is shattered and filled
with water ; the oars thus arranged, the steer-oar being
lashed in the centre, will enable a boat to sustain her
crew, though she may be sunk to the level of the sea.

There are some other peculiarities in the economy of
awhale-boat, and which equally result from the exigences
of the service in which she is employed. At the stern,
a plane boarded surface, raised to the level of the gun-
wale, supports, near its centre, a stout and cylindrical
wooden pillar, or " logger-head,5' which is employed to
restrain the line, when the latter is attached to a whale.
At the bow, a boarded surface, similar to that at the
stern, but somewhat sunk beneath the gunwale, is
named the " box/5 and has fixed to its border a stout
piece of wood, or " thigh-board," excavated to receive
and steady the lower extremities of the harpooner,

CETACEANS. 197

'•vvhen he stands up to dart his harpoon or lance. The
crest of the stem has a deep groove, lined with lead,
through which the line is transmitted. At either
extremity of the boat, mats are spread to secure a
firmer footing to the steersman and harpooner; and
at the same stations, axes and knives are conveniently
placed for cutting the line upon any sudden emergency.

Two harpoons and as many lances, fitted for im-
mediate use, are neatly disposed at the interior of the
bow ; and several of the same weapons are also kept as
a reserve, or " side-irons/5 in other parts of the boat ;
the tubs, containing the line, occupying the floor of the
boat, between the seats. Each boat is also supplied
with a mast and sail ; kegs of fresh water ; apparatus
for procuring a light ; square and cumbrous pieces of
wood, or " drogues," which are sometimes fastened to
the harpoon-line to impede the progress of the whale
through the water; and "whifts," or small coloured
flags, secured to long rods, and used as signals, or to
fix in the dead and floating whale to indicate its situa-
tion.

Four of these boats is the usual complement of a
South- Seaman. They are suspended over the sides of
the vessel, their keels resting upon iron cranes ; whilst
planks, or " slides," projecting from the sides of the
ship, and presenting a convex surface to the bow and
stern of each boat, serve to guide and protect them
during their rapid descent to the water. They are
named from the stations they occupy on the quarter,
waist, or bow of the ship, and are commanded by the
captain and three mates.

When engaged with whales, the station of the com-
manding officer, or " Headsman,'5 is at the steer-oar,
and that of the harpooner at the foremost oar ; but

. ZOOLOGY.

during the attack on a whale those officers usually
exchange stations. In case of accident, one boat is
capable of receiving the crew of a second, and thus en-
cumbered with a party of twelve, and her oars ct double-
banked/5 will continue to attack the harpooned whale.
A whale-boat, manned with a sturdy and experienced
crew, is a swift and handsome craft; buoyant and
graceful in her movements, she leaps from billow to
billow, and appears rather to dance over the sea than
to plough its bosom with her keel. It may be con-
sidered that such a boat is dangerous as a vehicle, and
perhaps when under sail, in squally weather, she really
is so ; but when skilfully managed, few boats are better
adapted to encounter a turbulent sea, or to pass with
security through a heavy surf.

The whale-line, provided for British South-Seamen,
combines so completely the best qualities of cordage,
that it may be regarded as the height of perfection in
our rope manufacture. It is constructed of the best
hemp, slightly but uniformly imbued by the vapour of
tar ; is two inches in circumference ; and composed of
three strands ; each strand containing seventeen yarns,
each of which is calculated to sustain the weight of one
hundred and twelve pounds. Of this line, 220 fathoms
is the ordinary complement of each boat. It is coiled,
continuously, in two tubs, and in neat and compact
horizontal layers, or " sheaves," each extremity of the
line being kept exposed, the one for attachment to the
harpoons, the other (which is provided with a loop, or
"splice,") for connecting it to the line of a second
boat, should any probability arise that its entire length
would be taken out by the whale.

When ready for running, the commencement of the

CETACEANS. 199

line is passed over the logger-head at the stern, and
thence forward, over the oars, to be fastened to the
harpoons in the bow; about fifteen fathoms, termed
" box-line," being kept coiled in the head, or box, of
the boat, to accompany the harpoon when it is first
darted. At the spot where the box-line commences,
a mark, commonly a piece of red cloth, is attached,
to enable the whaler to judge at what distance the
boat may be from the harpoon, and consequently from
the whale, when the sea is turbid with blood.

The line is connected with two harpoons. To the
one first employed it is fastened in a firm and perma-
nent manner; while to the second, which may be
optionally used, it is connected by a provisional knot,
which leaves it free from the harpoon, unless the
weapon is darted, and the tye completed by the strain
then brought upon it ; hence, great danger is incurred
by darting the second harpoon before the first, as
the other must inevitably follow, and is always taken
out in a rapid and irregular manner, at the risk of
seriously injuring the crew. When the line is taken
out rapidly, the friction will sometimes produce a deep
and charred groove on the logger-head ; but ignition is
generally guarded against by pouring water into the
line-tubs.

Whale-lines manufactured from cotton, Manilla hemp,
and New Zealand flax, have been experimented upon
in this fishery ; but, with the exception of those pre-
pared from Manilla hemp, none have been found
eligible as substitutes for the line in common use.

The harpoon used by South-Seamen, is three feet in
length, of the ordinary arrow form, and made of the
finest wrought iron. It is fixed by its socket to a rough
and heavy pole, (usually a branch of oak or iron-

200 ZOOLOGY.

wood tree,) about five feet in length. Thus fitted, the
weapon is cumbrous, but sufficiently manageable to be
wielded by a man of ordinary strength, and darted with
force and precision to the distance of several yards.
While the boat is in chase of whales, the harpoons,
with the line attached, are kept in readiness, projecting
obliquely over the bow, and supported upon a forked
wooden implement, or " crutch/' When planted in a
whale, the weapon is buried to its socket in the body
of the animal, and holds tenaciously against the tre-
mendous strain produced between the boat and
crew on the one hand, and the efforts of the agonized
whale on the other ; and, in consequence, the harpoon,
when removed from the dead Cachalot, presents a re-
markably contorted appearance, sometimes to the extent
of a spiral twist, passing through the entire substance
of the metal. Immediately after the whale is dead,
the poles and lines are removed from the harpoons ;
but the latter are not extracted until the blubber in
which they are imbedded is removed to the deck of the
ship, when they are cut out, straightened, and, if found
without defect, refitted for use.

The lance, employed to destroy the harpooned whale,
is a slender, cylindrical, and polished shaft of metal,
furnished at one extremity with a broad and thin head,
of oval form, and keenly sharpened at its margins, and
at the opposite with a toothed spike, by which it is
fixed in a handle, or pole. The length of the lance is
between four and five feet; its composition, iron,
combined with a small proportion of steel. The pole
in which it is set is long, but much lighter and more
neatly finished than the harpoon stock : the one being
permanently fitted, and adapted for constant handling,
the other but for a single successful dart.

CETACEANS. 20 1

For its intended purpose, the whale-lance is a neat,
portable, and very powerful weapon. When in use, it
is secured to the head of the boat by a line, or a lance-
warp," seven fathoms in length ; the boat approaching
the whale within a short distance, the weapon is
darted into the body of the animal, and withdrawn by
the " warp," with a rapidity and frequency proportioned
to the opportunities offered. When strongly darted,
the lance penetrates its entire length into the whale,
and, piercing a vital part, will sometimes kill the
creature by a single wound.

The instrument with which the blubber is separated
from the whale, and subsequently cut into convenient
portions, is called a spade. It is a triangular plate of
steel, set to a very keen edge, and fixed, by a short
shank and socket, to a cylindrical handle. The length
of the spade does not exceed one foot, and that of the
pole to which it is attached, is either five or twelve feet,
according as it is adapted to be used on deck, or over
the ship's side. The spade has occasionally been em-
ployed in the boats, to dart against the harpooned
Cachalot and divide the sinews of its tail, and thus to
cripple the animal, as in ham-stringing quadrupeds;
but the whale, by sometimes returning the weapon
amongst a boat's crew, by the action of its flukes, has
given no great encouragement to this practice.

202 ZOOLOGY.

CHAPTER V.
PURSUIT AND CAPTURE OF THE SPERM WHALE,

The whaler's system of attack — Conduct of the whale when harpooned
— Difficulties that oppose the Sperm- Whaler's success — Intelligent
attempts on the part of whales to assist each other — Number of
Cachalots usually obtained at one " lowering" — Custom of
" drogueing " — Extraordinary power this whale displays in
carrying off heavy and resisting bodies — Sinking whales — Method
of " cutting in" — Voracity of sharks and ocean-birds — Process of
boiling, or " trying out" — The fuel employed — Impressive spectacle
presented by a ship's " try ing- out " at night — Dangers of the
process — Stowing the oil.

THE extensive view of the surrounding ocean com-
manded from the mast-head of a South-Seaman, en-
ables the whaler to detect early, and at a considerable
distance, the more common indications of his prey, as
floating fragments of cuttle-fish, broad oily tracks, or
<e sleeks" on the surface of the water, (produced by the
recent passage of a party of cetaceans,) or " breaches5'
and " spouts."

The appearance of a spouting or breaching whale is
announced by the cry " there she blows ! " or " there
she breaches!" (the feminine being applied as the
epicene gender of whales,) and these exclamations are
repeated as often as the phenomena are exhibited, un-
less " there again !" should be substituted, for the sake
of variety or brevity.*

* It was formerly the custom in this fishery to announce the spouting
of a whale by the cry of " Town, Oh ! " which, although not very clear
in its derivation or meaning, is yet employed by some amongst the crew
of a whale ship, when seeking turtle, &c. on shore, to announce the view
of a prize, and establish an individual claim to the discovery.

CETACEANS. 203

As soon as it is ascertained that the whales noticed
are of the required kind, and placed favourably for
attack, the order is given to commence the pursuit;
when less than two minutes suffices to place the boats
simultaneously in the water, manned with their re-
spective crews, and pulling energetically, if the whales
are to windward, or sailing as well as pulling if the
school should be to leeward; the ship, in the mean-
time, attending them at a convenient distance, to direct
their proceedings by observations made from the mast-
head, and communicated by an established code of
signals.

When a boat has approached a whale within a
reasonable distance, the harpooner quits his oar and
stands in the bow, with the harpoon in his hand, until
the exertions of the rest of the crew have advanced the
boat sufficiently close, and in a favourable position to
strike. The first harpoon is then darted, and pierces the
body of the whale — the second almost instantaneously
follows, with equal success, and the effects become
visible at a great distance, as the wounded monster
plunges convulsively, casting its flukes high in the air,
and raising clouds of foam and lofty columns of water,
which obscure, and threaten to overwhelm, the at-
tacking party. After this first display of surprise and
agony, the whale sets off with great swiftness along
the surface of the water, drawing after it the attached
boat; the line being secured around the logger-head,
her oars apeak and bristling from either side, and her
bow raised high above the level of the sea and en-
veloped in spray; whilst the water, displaced by the
velocity of her motion, rises on each side of the
depressed stern, considerably above the level of the

204 ZOOLOGY.

gun-wale, threatening an inundation which she appears
only to evade by her speed.

About this time, the officer in command resigns the
steer-oar to the harpooner, and takes his station in the
bow of the boat, where, armed with the lance, he avails
himself of every opportunity to haul up close to the
whale and dart his weapon into its body.

Finding flight in the horizontal direction insufficient
for escape, the whale endeavours to elude his pur-
suers by " sounding," or descending perpendicularly to
a great depth; but this attempt is equally ineffectual
with the first, and after a short interval he reappears
on the surface, the boat again approaches, and the
attack with the lance is renewed, until exhausted by
loss of blood, and his strenuous endeavours to escape,
the animal becomes perceptibly more feeble in his
movements, the sea for some distance around is crim-
soned with his blood, and the spout, (also mingled with
blood,) as it rises at each aspiration, is scattered con-
spicuously in the air, like shreds of scarlet cloth. After
the slow pace of the whale, and his general air of
languor, as well as the jets of dark blood, cast from his
spiracle scarce higher than the crests of the waves,
would lead to the idea that his efforts are at an end,
he again draws the attached boat rapidly over the water
and the contest appears to be renewed; but this is
merely the last struggle of the dying Cachalot, or, as it
is termed, " the flurry," and hurrying about, beating
the waves with his tail, the creature takes a circuitous
rather than a direct course — then turns on his side — his
lower jaw falls — and the " monarch of the flood'5 floats
a lifeless mass, over which the waves beat with a low
and confused surf.

CETACEANS. 205

Such is the routine in capturing a whale under
favourable circumstances. Many events, however, oc-
cur, which defeat the best-laid plans of the whaler, and
render his pursuit vexatious and unprofitable. Should
the whales be alarmed, or ee gallied," and make off to
windward, the boats seldom pursue with success ; but
should they proceed to leeward, it then becomes a fair
trial of speed ; and the boats, with the aid of both sails
and oars, will often succeed in overtaking the school,
and by harpooning one whale, may cause the others
to stop, or " heave to." On these occasions the
boats rush into the midst of the school with their sails
set ; nor do they furl their canvass until after they have
harpooned their whales. The ardour of the chase
frequently carries the boats out of sight of the ship for
some hours; but the whales often escape, either by
superior speed, or by a cunning habit they have of
descending upon the approach of a boat, and rising to
the surface at a distance, and in a direction contrary to
their former course. The harpooned whale will some-
times continue to accompany the school, or carry the
attached boat into the midst of her alarmed companions,
when it not only becomes difficult to discriminate the
individual to which the boat is fast, but it also fre-
quently happens that the line is bitten asunder, and the
whale lost. This may occur from a portion of the
line accidentally entering the mouth of a whale ; but
it is generally believed, by whalers, that Cachalots will
bite a line intentionally, and for the purpose of liberating
their companion. On one occasion, during our voyage,
the line thus detached from a harpooned whale had
become so firmly entangled around the jaw of another
individual of the school, that the exchanged victim was
retained and destroyed by the lance, without the officer

206 ZOOLOGY.

in command of the boat being aware that the whale
he was killing was not that which had been har-
pooned.

A female Cachalot (or a young male) seldom takes
out more than a tub and a half of line, or at most
an entire boat's line; but an adult male will sound
much deeper; and has been known to carry down
three continuous lines. When the whale descends to
any considerable depth, a sound, which may be com-
pared to the creaking of new leather, is conducted from
its body along the line : this fact has not been ac-
counted for, but may probably depend upon the pres-
sure to which the animal must be subjected at so great
a depth beneath the surface of the sea.

The time occupied in destroying a whale depends
upon so many fortuitous circumstances in the attack,
that it may not exceed ten minutes, or may be pro-
tracted to six or seven hours. When first pierced with
the harpoon, the Cachalot is alarmed and bewildered,
and, if promptly attacked with the lance, may be de-
stroyed in a short time ; but should it be allowed time
to rally, it often becomes a wary and mischievous
adversary. An old female, and a half-grown male, are
considered the most troublesome to encounter, from
their active and combative temper.

It occasionally happens that a whale is killed by the
harpoons alone, or by a single lance-wound. The
Russell, South-Seaman, when cruising off the Japan
coast, struck a seventy -barrel whale with two harpoons,
but at so late a period of the day as to be obliged to
cut the line, and let the animal escape without further
injury : on the following morning, however, the same
whale was found floating dead on the water, and se-
cured by a ship in company ; but was subsequently re-

CETACEANS. 20?

stored to the crew of the Russell, upon their establish-
ing their claim.

The number of Cachalots obtained at one lowering
seldom exceeds five : the greatest number recorded is
seven, but this is justly deemed extraordinary. When
opportunities offer for harpooning a greater number
than can be immediately secured, it is a frequent, but
cruel practice, to pierce several individuals of a school
with a " drogued iron/' or harpoon unattached to a
boat's line, but to which a square piece of timber, or
" drogue" is fastened, to impede the whale's flight, and
thus afford a better chance to any disengaged boat. As
may be supposed, the majority of drogued whales es-
cape, though but to experience much and protracted
suffering. In some cases the practice is necessary and
excusable, as when a boat is compelled to cut her line
and liberate a whale which is enfeebled and dying : a
" flag drogue/' (or one so loaded with lead as to re-
tain an elevated flag, to indicate the situation of the
whale when it expires and floats on the sea,) may
then be a mean of preserving to the whaler a valuable

prize.

It occurred to Captain T. Stavers, of the Tuscan, to
lose a large whale under circumstances that exempli-
fied the power of the Cachalot in carrying off encum-
brances of this kind. The whale in question, at the
time he escaped from the boat, had attached to his
body seven harpoons, three entire boat's lines, (or 1320
yards of cordage,) a line-tub, and numerous drogues ;
and, with all these powerfully resisting bodies im-
peding his progress, ultimately escaped by superior
speed. Two days after, the same whale was en-
countered, and killed with difficulty, by the ship John
Palmer, which, at a subsequent meeting in port, re-

208 ZOOLOGY.

stored to the Tuscan her harpoons and lines, found on
the dead whale.

The dead Cachalot usually floats buoyantly, with its
side raised high above the surface of the sea ; but
some few examples display an unaccountable tendency
to sink after death, and can only be kept afloat by the
assistance of the boats or ship. They will occasionally
sink after they have been secured to the ship's side,
breaking by their weight " fluke-ropes " of great
strength : it has been found requisite to chop asunder
an iron chain, which held a large and sinking whale,
to save a ship from the destructive effects of so pon-
derous a body.

When the dead Cachalot is made fast to the ship,
and floating parallel to her side, the next proceeding
of the whaler is to " cut in/5 or remove the blubber,
and other parts most valuable in commerce. For this
purpose, a plank or stage, corresponding to each ex-
tremity of the whale, is suspended over the side of the
vessel, and occupied by the principal officers, whose
duty it is to remove with judgment the more important
structures of the animal. The moveable portion of the
bulwark, on the same side of the ship, is taken away ;
the pulley-ropes, or " cutting-falls/' attached to the
mainmast head, are uncoiled ; and while the boat-
steerers take their station on the platform, the rest of
the crew man the windlass.

The surface of lard between the eye and pectoral fin,
or " rising piece," is first cut through with the spade,
and detached sufficiently to allow a large hook to be
passed through a circular hole in its centre. To fix
this hook, and connect it to the pulleys, requires that
one of the crew should descend upon the whale ; but
no other part of the process demands a similar ex-

CETACEANS. 209

posure, which must be regarded as dangerous, from the
number of sharks which swarm in the sea on these
occasions.

The windlass being put in motion, the blubber is
raised and put on the stretch, when its separation from
the carcase being assisted by the spades, and the
whale at the same time revolving slowly in the water,
it is peeled off in a spiral direction, or as the rind from
an apple, and in one continuous sheet about four feet
in breadth ; but as the elevation of the cutting-falls does
not permit a " blanket-piece " higher than the main-
mast to be received on board at one time, the sheet,
when it has attained that height, is divided, and lowered
down the main-hatchway into a room set apart for its
reception, whilst a second set of pulleys raises a piece
of similar size. Meanwhile, the important parts of the
head are secured, either by unsocketing the skull at its
junction with the spine, and taking the whole on deck,
if a small whale, or by separating, in one piece, the bulk
of soft parts in front of the skull, and which has
already been mentioned as being composed of the
valuable oily structures termed the junk and case.

When the blubber has been removed, the flinched
carcase is disjointed near the tail, and allowed to sink
or float away, according to its specific gravity; and
subsequently, the flukes are cast off, unless the ship is
compelled to economise for her cargo, when it is found
that saving this member is an addition of about one
barrel of oil to the produce of a large whale.

The lower jaw is sometimes also reserved, not more
for the sake of the oily matters attached to it, than for
its ivory teeth and colossal bones, from which the
crew, during their leisure hours, manufacture many
useful and ornamental articles.

VOL. II. P

210 ZOOLOGY.

When the head of a small whale is taken on deck,
the junk is separated from the case by following with
the spade an oblique furrow, or natural line of demar-
cation, which exists on the surface of the integuments.
The oily fat of the junk is then cut into convenient por-
tions for boiling, whilst the case is laid open at its floor,
and its soft and liquid contents removed. Should the
Cachalot, however, be of the largest size, the junk and
case are separated as they float by the side of the ship,
and the former is the only part of the head received on
deck: since it alone affords as heavy a purchase as
the main -mast can safely bear, or as the crew at the
windlass can raise. The case of so large a whale is
merely suspended to the side of the ship, in a vertical
position, and its contents removed by a bucket, pro-
pelled into its cavity by a pole, and raised by a pulley,
until the well is emptied.

While these operations continue, the ship is hove to ;
the surrounding sea is red with blood ; and crowds of
brown and blue sharks prowl about, eagerly seizing
upon every drifting portion of the fat, but daintily re-
fusing to devour the flesh of the whale. Many of these
voracious fish are killed by the spade of the whaler ;
and for some time after, it is common to have the ship
attended by numerous pilot-fish and remora, whose
predatory associates have been thus destroyed. In the
higher latitudes, also, some interesting spectacles are
presented by vast flocks of sea-birds, of the alba-
tross and petrel families, which assemble on these oc-
casions, swimming tamely around the ship, and de-
vouring the floating offal with greedy clamour.

From three to five hours are required to " cut in" an
ordinary school whale, and from ten to fourteen for a
whale of the largest size.

CETACEANS. 211

Previous to being boiled, or " tryed-out/5. the blub-
ber is cleared from adhering flesh, and cut with spades
into slips, or fe horse -pieces/5 which, (after they have
been " minced/5 or scored by a broad and thin knife,
upon an elevated block of wood, termed the " horse/')
are consigned to the boilers of the try-works. The
"head55 is first boiled, and its produce kept as distinct
as possible from the ee body /' since the one is con-
sidered as Spermaceti, or " head-matter,'5 and the other
as Sperm-oil.

It must be regarded as a curious circumstance, and
as one highly essential to the economy of these ships,
that the process of boiling the oil supplies also the fuel
required for that purpose ; the " scraps/* or refuse
from which the oil has been extracted, burning, when
placed in the furnace, with a fierce and clear flame
and intense heat, and being sufficient in quantity to
render any other fuel unnecessary; the scraps re-
maining from one affair of oil being reserved to com-
mence a second.

In a dark night, the process of " trying out " in the
open ocean presents a spectacle partaking much of the
grand and terrific. The dense volumes of smoke that
roll before the wind and over the side of the vessel, as
she pursues her course through the water — the roaring
of the flames, bursting in lofty columns from the works,
and illuminating the ship and surrounding expanse of
sea — and the uncouth garb and implements of the
crew, assembled around the fires — produce a peculiarly
imposing effect ; though one that is not altogether to
be reconciled with the ordinary character of marine
scenery.*

* There is a story current amongst whalers, that on one occasion a
South-Seaman was thus employed in sight of a British ship-of-war,

p 2

212 ZOOLOGY.

The chie,f danger to be apprehended in this operation
is the sudden access of water to the highly heated oil ;
as may occur from the hasty introduction of wet blubber,
or the sudden approach of heavy rain : the powerful
ebullition thus excited in the oil causing it to escape
from the boilers and communicate with the fires be-
neath, when the whole may become ignited, and the
ship be placed in imminent peril. On this account?
the produce of many whales is liable to be lost by a
long continuance of rains ; and heavy, though transient,
showers often render it necessary to extinguish the
fires and cease boiling.

From the coolers, adjoining the try-works, the boiled
oil is transferred to casks, and permitted to remain on
deck until sufficiently cool to be added to the cargo,
when it is pumped out of the first casks, and conducted
through a hose, either into the tanks, or into other
casks, already deposited and well secured in the hold.
Seventy barrels of oil have been boiled in thirty hours,
which is perhaps the shortest time in which that labour
could be performed. Three days is about the average
time occupied in " cutting in" and obtaining the clear
oil of a whale of the largest size.

when the latter, alarmed at her flaming appearance, approached within
hail, and demanded of the crew what they were about. The master of
the whale-ship replied that they were trying : "Trying!" repeated the
commander of the man-of-war, somewhat puzzled at the explanation,
" trying what, sir ? — to set your ship on fire ?"

CETACEANS. 213

CHAPTER VI.

DANGERS OF THE SPERM FISHERY.

Comparison between the disposition and weapons of the Greenland-
whale and Cachalot — Mischievous temper often displayed by the
latter whale — Its modes of defence and their frequently fatal
effects to whalers — Melancholy instances — Fighting whales — De-
plorable fate of the American South-Seaman Essex and her crew —
Instances of individual Cachalots notoriously dangerous to attack —
Accidents to boats, independent of a vicious temper on the part of
the whales they attack — Forbearance of sharks towards wrecked
whalers.

THE amount of hazard incurred in the Greenland
and Sperm Whale Fisheries may be considered as
nearly equal : the difficulties attending upon an inhos-
pitable climate in the one, being in a great measure
counterbalanced by the superior activity and general
powers of the whale pursued, in the other. The True-
Whale of the Arctic and Southern Seas is, as is well
known, a gentle and inoffensive creature, which seldom,
if ever, exhibits a decidedly combative temper, and
whose only defensive organ is the tail ; the Cachalot,
on the other hand, is not only better armed than the
True- Whale, in possessing a formidable weapon at either
extremity of its enormous body, but also more fre-
quently displays a disposition to employ those weapons
offensively, and in a manner at once so artful, bold,
and mischievous, as to lead to its being regarded as the
most dangerous to attack of all the known species of
the whale-tribe.

214 ZOOLOGY.

Although the Cachalot, when first harpooned, strikes
violently with its tail, plunges convulsively, and would
appear to threaten destruction to every object in its
vicinity, yet these actions are unpremeditated and
awkward, and can only be regarded as instinctive ex-
pressions of pain and alarm, which the whaler expects
to observe, and which he is well prepared to meet;
consequently, with ordinary precautions, the boats are
seldom injured at this stage of their proceedings;
although it is commonly believed to be the most
critical and hazardous. But should the animal be
allowed time to rally, it often becomes truly mis-
chievous. Actuated by a feeling of revenge, by anxiety
to escape its pursuers, or goaded to desperation by the
weapons rankling in its body, it then acts with a de-
liberate design to do mischief; and but too frequently
succeeds, either through the inevitable nature of its
attacks, or through the temerity of the whaler.

Some of these whales, when attacked, will retreat
but little from the spot on which they are harpooned ;
but rather lie, and fight with their jaws and tail until
life is extinct. Others, without being themselves in-
jured, will aid an attacked companion, and from the
circumstance of their actions being less watched, often
succeed in doing serious injury to the boats ; whilst
some few individuals make wilful, deliberate, and even
judicious attempts to crush a boat with their jaws, and,
unless avoided or killed, will repeat their efforts until
they succeed in their object.

An " under-clip," or blow received from a whale's
flukes near the surface of the water, may shatter and
overturn a boat, or injure the crew by the force of the
concussion alone ; but human life is chiefly endangered
when the tail of the animal is swept rapidly through

CETACEANS. 215

the air, and either descends upon the boat, cutting it
down to the water's edge, or encounters in its trajet
some of the crew standing up, as the headsman, or
harpooner, who are destroyed and carried away by the
blow ; and this last is the most common, as well as
the most sudden and awful calamity recorded in the
fishery.

It was by a melancholy accident of this kind that an
experienced and enterprising whaler, the father of our
commander, lost his life, when in command of the ship
Perseverance, and outward bound on a voyage to the
Pacific Ocean. He was engaged in destroying a
Cachalot, on the Brazil Bank, when a rapid and in-
evitable blow from the flukes of the animal struck him
out of the boat ; his body floated on the water, and
was immediately rescued and conveyed to the ship ;
but, although no external marks of injury were any
where visible, all attempts to restore animation were of
no avail, for life was totally extinct. One of the crew,
pulling an oar in the same boat, was also killed by the
same blow. The whale, after thus dealing destruction
amongst its pursuers, effected an escape ; but there is
reason to suppose, from the clue of marked harpoons
left in its body, that it was subsequently destroyed by
an American whale-ship.

Captain T. Stavers, of the Tuscan, when cruising in
the North Pacific, during the season of 1831, had the
misfortune to lose his chief mate, Mr. Young, under
circumstances very similar to the preceding. On the
morning of the 30th of August, a small party, or " pod,"
of Sperm Whales was noticed from the ship, and the
commander and second-mate lowered their boats in
pursuit, leaving Mr. Young on board, in charge of the
vessel. While engaged in destroying a large whale,

216 ZOOLOGY.

the boat of the second-mate was so severely shattered,
that the consort boat was compelled to receive both
the wrecked crew and the harpoon-line. The chief-
mate^ on observing this dilemma, lowered his boat and
came to their assistance. The harpooned whale was
then spouting blood and much exhausted ; while a
loose Cachalot, of equal size, remained in its vicinity,
striking at the boats with his flukes, with the evident
intention of assisting his wounded comrade. The boats
were close together, and Captain Stavers had but just
remarked to his mate, that as the whale was nearly
dead he would leave him to complete its destruction
whilst he harpooned the loose Cachalot, when the tail
of the latter passed, with the rapidity of lightning, over,
and in front of his boat, and simultaneously, Mr. Young,
though a large and strong man, was seen flying through
the air at a considerable height, and to the distance
of nearly forty yards from the boat, ere he fell into the
water, where he remained floating motionless on the
surface for a few moments, then sank, and was seen no
more. There can be no doubt that his death was in-
stantaneous. A native of the Society Islands plunged
into the water immediately the accident occurred, and
endeavoured to save the body of his unfortunate
officer, but it had sunk before he could swim to the
spot where it fell. No injury was sustained by any
other person in the boat ; nor was the boat itself injured,
beyond a portion of the bow being broken off, and the
thigh-board, which was torn from its place and ac-
companied the body of the unfortunate mate, so power-
ful was the impulse it had received. As is customary
in cases of serious accident, the line was cut from the
whale, that the boats might be at liberty to render
every assistance; but when it was found that no

CETACEANS. 217

human aid could avail in this instance, the boats re-
newed their attack on the harpooned whale, which was
soon after killed and taken to the ship, whilst the mis-
chievous Cachalot made off, after he had been pierced
with many lance-wounds. The chief mate of the British
South-Seaman Lyra,* when in the cruising ground of
Japan, in 1832, was also swept from his boat and de-
stroyed by a blow from a whale ; and similar casualties
are too numerous, and uniform in their results, to
permit a more particular notice.

Some Sperm Whales appear reluctant to employ
their tail when attacked, but prove active and dangerous
with their jaws. Such individuals often rather seek
than avoid the attacking boats, and, rushing upon them
with open mouth, employ every possible art to crush
them with their teeth, and, if successful, will sometimes
continue in the neighbourhood, biting the wreck and
oars into small fragments. When thus threatening a
boat, the whale usually turns, and swims upon its back,
and will sometimes act in a very sluggish and un-
accountable manner, keeping its formidable lower jaw
suspended for some moments over the boat, in a threat-
ening attitude, but ultimately rolling to one side, and
closing its mouth harmlessly ; nor is it rare to observe
this whale, when pursued and attacked, retain its mouth
in an expanded state for some minutes together. Such
threatening demonstrations of the jaw, as well as some
others with the flukes, occasionally compel a boat's
crew to leap into the water, and support themselves
by swimming or clinging to oars until the danger has
passed.f

* Formerly a man-of-war, and consort of the Alceste.

t Upon speaking the American ship Augusta, in the South Pacific,
in 1836, we found on her deck a boat, which had shortly before been
nipped completely asunder by the jaws of a harpooned whale. Fortunately,

218 ZOOLOGY.

In the year 1835, the ship Pusie Hall encountered a
fighting whale, which after injuring and driving off her
four boats, pursued them to the ship, and withstood for
some time the lances hurled at it, by the crew, from
the bows of the vessel, before it could be induced to
retire : in this affair a youth in one of the boats was
destroyed by a blow from the whale, and one of the
officers was severely lacerated by coining in contact
with the animaPs jaw.

A highly tragical instance of the power and ferocity
occasionally displayed by the Sperm Whale, is recorded
in the fate of the American South-Seaman Essex, Cap-
tain G. Pollard. This vessel, when cruising in the
Pacific Ocean, in the year 1820, was wrecked by a
whale under the following extraordinary circumstances.
The boats had been lowered in pursuit of a school of
whales, and the ship was attending them to wind-
ward. The master and second-mate were engaged
with whales they had harpooned, in the midst of the
school, and the chief mate had returned on board to
equip a spare boat, in lieu of his own, which had been
broken and rendered unserviceable. While the crew
were thus occupied, the look-out at the mast-head re-
ported that a large whale was coming rapidly down
upon the ship, and the mate hastened his task, in the
hope that he might be ready in time to attack it.

The Cachalot, which was of the largest size, con-
sequently a male, and probably the guardian of the
school, in the meanwhile approached the ship so
closely, that although the helm was put up to avoid the
contact, he struck her a severe blow, which broke off a
portion of her keel. The enraged animal was then ob-

none of the crew were injured ; and the whale, which was spouting blood
at the time it did the mischief, was soon after dispatched by the other boats.

CETACEANS. 219

served to retire to some distance, and again rush upon
the ship with extreme velocity. His enormous head
struck the starboard bow, beating in a corresponding
portion of the planks, and the people on board had
barely time to take to their boat, before the ship filled
with water and fell over on her side. She did not sink,
however, for some hours ; and the crew in the boats
continued near the wreck until they had obtained a
small supply of provisions, when they shaped a course
for land ; but here, it is to be regretted, they made
a fatal error. At the time the accident happened they
were cruising on the Equator, in the longitude of about
118° West, with the Marquesan and Society Islands on
their lee, and might have sailed in their boats to either
of those groups in a comparatively short time. Under
an erroneous impression, however, that all those lands
were inhabited by an inhospitable race of people, they
preferred pulling to windward for the coast of Peru,
and in the attempt were exposed for a lengthened
period to extreme privations.

The few of the crew who survived their complicated
disasters first made the land at Elizabeth, or Hender-
son's Island, a small and uninhabited spot in the South
Pacific, and which until then had never been visited by
Europeans. After a short continuance here, part of
the survivors again put to sea in search of inhabited
land, and ultimately reached the coast of South America ;
when an English South-Seaman sailed from Valparaiso,
and rescued those of the sufferers who had been left to
support a precarious existence on Elizabeth Island. By
a strange fatality, Captain Pollard, who was amongst
the number of survivors, had the misfortune to lose the
ship he next commanded, by running her upon a coral
reef (then but little known) in the North Pacific. He

220 ZOOLOGY.

returned to the United States, dispirited by his ill
fortune, and, engaging in agricultural pursuits, ceased
to tempt any further the perils of the deep.

A few Cachalots have been noted individually as
animals dangerous to attack. One was thus distin-
guished on the cruising ground off the coast of New
Zealand, and was long known to whalers by the name
of u New Zealand Tom/5 He is said to have been of
great size; conspicuously distinguished by a white
hump ; and famous for the havoc he had made amongst
the boats and gear of ships attempting his destruction.
A second example, of similar celebrity, was known to
whalers in the Straits of Timor. He had so often
succeeded in repelling the attacks of his foes as to be
considered invincible, but was at length dispatched by
a whaler, who, forewarned of his combative temper,
adopted the expedient of floating a cask on the sea, to
withdraw his attention from the boats ; but notwith-
standing this ruse, the animal was not destroyed without
much hard fighting, nor until the bow of one of the
boats had been nipped off by his jaws.

By the line becoming entangled, or impacted, when
the harpooned whale is descending rapidly, the boat
may be instantaneously drawn under water, and before
any measures can be used to free it. The axe, provided
for the purpose of cutting the line, is, by some prudent
officers, held in the hand while the line is running;
and under some circumstances, nothing short of such
precaution can save the boat's crew from a watery
grave. Several distressing instances have occurred of
the sudden and total disappearance of a boat, which
had last been seen attached to a whale ; much proba-
bility existing, that its loss was attributable to this
accident.

CETACEANS. 221

Some minor mischances with the line endanger in-
dividuals, though not the entire boat's crew. A few
years ago, Mr. Wilson, the third-mate of the Melantho,
met his death in the Eastern Archipelago, by the
harpoon-line getting suddenly displaced andcarryinghim
out of the boat. The line was instantly cut from the
whale, and for some moments the unfortunate man was
seen floating, free from entanglement, at a little distance
beneath the surface of the sea, but, while endeavours
were making to reach him, he sunk. A large shark
which accompanied the boat was observed to follow
him in his descent, and he was not again seen.

The ship Seringapatam, while cruising in Timor
Straits, in the season of 1836, lost a man under the
following circumstances. A boat, occupied in killing a
whale, received a severe blow from the flukes of the
animal, which passed so close to a boy pulling the after-
oar as to graze his breast slightly ; while the man at
the tub-oar was either cast out of the boat by the same
contact or carried away by the harpoon- line. His
body was found entangled in the line, when the latter
was hauled into the boat, but life was extinct. It was
noticed at the time, that the concussion the boat re-
ceived from the whale had cast some coils of line over
the shoulders of the deceased, and it is probable that
he was hurried from the boat when the whale again
took the line ; but his disappearance was so instan-
taneous that, in the confusion of the moment, neither
his absence nor the events connected with it were
immediately noticed by his companions.

A boat may be much injured, and even destroyed, by
a Sperm Whale, as the result of pure accident. This
occurred to the South- Seaman Arabella, when cruising
off the Society Islands, in 1836. A whale " milled,"

222 ZOOLOGY.

or turned suddenly round, upon receiving the harpoons,
and, in his efforts to escape, struck the boat with his head,
broke it into two portions, and literally swam through
it. The crew escaped any serious injury, but the boat
was shattered beyond repair. In the same manner a
whale, rising suddenly to the surface of the water, may
encounter a boat with its head or hump, and do con-
siderable mischief without any vicious design.

It is a somewhat curious fact, that notwithstanding
the myriads of sharks which assemble during the pur-
suit and cutting in of a Sperm Whale, it but seldom if
ever occurs that whalers receive any personal injury
from their attacks, although their disasters so frequently
plunge them into the sea, and at times when these dan-
gerous fish are not only numerous around them, but
also display a most active and ferocious disposition. It
would almost appear that " a fellow feeling makes them
wondrous kind," and that they possess a distinct per-
ception of the object the whaler has in view, and join
with him in seeking to make a common prey of the per-
secuted Cachalot. That the prospect of a more inviting
food will lead these fish to disregard man, is evinced
in the well known fact, that the negroes of the Bahama
Islands will, when employed in cutting up a stranded
whale, enter the water and work amidst a crowd of
sharks, which, eager to obtain a share of the whale,
will pay no attention to the men, who they would other-
wise attack and devour.

CETACEANS. 223

CHAPTER VII.

COMMERCIAL, PRODUCTS OF THE SPERM
FISHERY.

Sperm -oil — Spermaceti — Ambergris — Ivory.

THE oil obtained from the Sperm Whale is the
purest of all the animal oils employed in commerce ;
and is, consequently, the one most valued for domestic
illumination, as well as for lubricating the more delicate
kinds of machinery.

It is peculiar in being almost entirely destitute of
odour; while other whale oils, as those obtained from the
True- Whale, Dolphin, Porpoise, &c., although equally
prepared from the recent blubber, and by a process pre-
cisely similar to that adopted in the preparation of Sperm-
oil, have ever a strong and disagreeable smell. In the
state in which it is received from the whaler, Sperm-oil
contains a variable proportion of Spermaceti, and other
gross matters, technically named "the foot;" it is
separated from these by being strained through woollen
bags, and is then fit for its ordinary uses.

When thus purified, this oil is not very liable to con-
crete in cold weather, although, when combined with its
natural proportion of Spermaceti, it is open to that
objection in a very high degree.

Spermaceti is a production not altogether peculiar to
the Cachalot, but is also found combined with the oil
of some other kinds of cetacea. It is, however, most
abundant in the Sperm Whale, and commerce is supplied

224 ZOOLOGY.

from this species alone. It is very generally diffused
through the blubber, but obtains in largest quantity,
and in the greatest state of purity, in the fatty structures
of the head of the whale, whence its technical name
" head-matter :" the only part of the body possessing
it in a similarly concentrated state, being the dorsal
hump.

The quantity of Spermaceti obtained from each Ca-
chalot may be estimated at one sixth of the entire pro-
duce of the whale, but is liable to variation. It is
remarked by whalers, that the Cachalots they capture
during the Japan cruise, or in the North Pacific, afford,
on an average, less of this material than those they take
in the vicinity of the Equator.

Crude Spermaceti, as newly obtained from the case
of the whale, is fluid, transparent, nearly colourless,
without odour, and has a bland and creamy taste, not
unlike that of very fresh butter. It does not concrete
at the ordinary temperature of the tropics, at sea, (or
from 77° to 80° of thermometer in the shade,) but in
low temperatures, or when cast into cold water, it
assumes a dull-white hue and the consistence of lard.

In no part of the whale do we find Spermaceti with-
out a greater or less admixture of Sperm-oil, and to
separate the one from the other is the business of the
manufacturer who prepares either commodity for the
market. The "head-matter," as received from the
whaler, is first submitted to strong pressure in hair
bags, to rid it of a principal portion of the oil it con-
tains ; and is subsequently melted, and boiled in a
weak solution of potash, and in alcohol. It is then cast
into moulds, when it assumes the crystallized, or flaky
form, and silvery lustre, which characterises the Sper-
maceti, or Cetaceum, of the shops. In this state its

CETACEANS. 225

specific gravity, according to Professor Brande, is 940,
and its point of fusion about 110°. At the temperature
of 500° it evaporates and maybe sublimed. It is named
cetine by Chevreul ; and that chemist has detected in
its composition a peculiar acid, to which he has applied
the name of Cetic.

In the therapeutics of the olden time, Spermaceti was
held in high esteem for many medicinal virtues ; we
have, indeed, the authority of Shakspeare for the an-
cient popular opinion, that

" the sovereign'st thing on earth

Was 'parmaceti, for an inward bruise."

At present its use in pharmacy is limited to the com-
position of cerates and ointments, and in medicine is
almost obsolete. Its principal commercial value is de-
rived from the extent to which it is employed as a sub-
stitute for wax, in the manufacture of candles.

Ambergris is the most rare and costly product of the
Sperm Whale, and one peculiar to this species of ceta-
cean. For many years after the civilized world became
acquainted with this drug, its origin and composition
remained involved in great obscurity. It was usually
found floating on the seas of warm climates, and was
generally considered to be of a resinous or bituminous
nature ;* and when subsequently detected in the intes-
tines of the Cachalot, a doubt was still entertained of
its true character, and whether it had not been swal-
lowed by the animal, rather than produced within its
body.f Of late years, chemical investigations, and a

* The gothic name yet retained for this commodity is derived from the
French words ambre, the bituminous substance, amber, and gris, gray.

f Pomet, a French author, who wrote on drugs about the middle of
the eighteenth century, gravely asserts that ambergris is identical with
VOL.11. Q

226 ZOOLOGY.

more extended prosecution of the Sperm Fishery, have
satisfactorily solved this problem, and determined that
Ambergris is a morbid concretion in the intestines of
the Cachalot, deriving its origin either from the stomach
or biliary ducts,* and allied in its nature to gall-stones,
or to the bezoars of herbivorous animals ; while the
masses found floating on the sea are those that have
been voided by the whale, or liberated from the dead
animal by the process of putrefaction.

It is not common for the whaler to find Ambergris in
the Cachalots he destroys ; nor does he, indeed, make a
very rigid scrutiny of the intestines in search of it,
unless a suspicion of its presence be excited by some
marked peculiarity in the whale, as a torpid and sickly
appearance, and the animal failing to void liquid excre-
ment, as is usual with healthy whales, when alarmed by
the sudden approach of the boats or struck by the har-
poon. Some years ago the whale-ship Mary, of London,
discovered a dead Cachalot floating on the ocean, and
as there were no injuries on its body to account for
death, that event was attributed to disease ; conse-
quently, the whale was strictly searched for Ambergris,
and the captors were gratified by finding a very large
quantity of that valuable drug impacted in its bowels.

Concretions of Ambergris are either black, gray, yel-
low, or ash-colour mottled with yellow and black. They
occur of various sizes, and their maximum weight would
appear to be thirty or forty pounds ; but it is recorded

bees' wax, and is formed from the honey-combs that fall into the sea
from the rocks where the bees had formed their nests. In support of
this extraordinary hypothesis he advances many very specious proofs.

* The fact, that ambergris has almost invariably the beaks of cuttle-
fish imbedded in its substance, sanctions the opinion that the chief in-
crease, if not the origin, of this concretion occurs in the alimentary
canal.

CETACEANS. 227

that a mass of prodigious size, weighing 182 Ibs., was
carried to Ireland in the year 1 694. An entire concre-
tion, which had been recently taken from a Cachalot
destroyed by the South-Seaman Hoffly, and which was
shown to me by her commander, when we spoke that
vessel in 1835, did not exceed four ounces in weight.
It was in the state as removed from the whale ; of an
oval form, and pointed at each extremity; of a dull-
black colour ; smooth on the surface -, resembled soap
in texture and consistence ; and was similarly unctuous
to the touch. Its odour was slight and peculiar ; but
not decidedly fragrant, unless heat was applied.

The analysis of Bouillon la Grange gives, as the
chemical composition of 3,820 parts of Ambergris, adi-
pocire 2,016, a resinous substance 1,167, benzoic acid
425, and coal 212. Pelletier and Caventou consider
the chief constituent of Ambergris to be a substance
analogous to cholesterine, (the basis of biliary concre-
tions in the human system,) and to which those excel-
lent chemists have given the name of Ambreine. Ac-
cording to Dr. Ure, the specific gravity of Ambergris is
from 780 to 926 ; and its point of fusion 144°. At the
temperature of 212° it volatilises, producing a white
vapour.

The only use made of Ambergris in this country is
as a perfume, and for this purpose it is chiefly pre-
pared in the form of an alcoholic solution, or essence.
It possesses a peculiar property of increasing the power
of other perfumes to which it may be added, and when
combined with musk, has a remarkable effect in soften-
ing the odour of that drug and rendering it more
agreeable. The retail price it bears in London is
about one guinea the ounce — a value which invites to
its frequent adulteration. The best tests of its purity

Q2

228 ZOOLOGY.

are the oily appearance it assumes, and the odour it
emits, upon the application of heat; and its perfect
solubility in hot alcohol.

Some medical virtues have been attributed to this
odoriferous substance, but they are all doubtful and
unimportant. It is said to be tonic, aphrodisiac, and
antispasmodic ; it is certainly an aperient.

The Ivory of which the tooth of the Sperm Whale
is composed, is hard, heavy, elegantly marked, and capa-
ble of a good polish ; but is somewhat variable in its
quality, and often deficient in purity of colour. It is
received into the English market, though deemed in-
ferior in value to the ivory of the Elephant or Hippo-
potamus.

CETACEANS. 229

CHAPTER VIII.
SOUTHERN WHALES (concluded).

The Cape-Whale — Hump-back — Black- Fish — Right Whale Porpoi
Dolphin — Grampus — Fin-backs — Cow-Fish — Killers — Bone-Sharks.

THE CAPE WHALE.

(Balcena Australia, Desmoulins. Right Whale of the
South-Sea Whalers.)

In commercial value this species is second only to
the Sperm Whale. In external appearance, habits,
and produce, it approaches so closely to the Greenland
Whale, (Balcena Mysticetus, Linn.,) that it was regarded
as the same animal, until the researches of modern
comparative anatomists, (and chiefly those of the im-
mortal Cuvier,) detected sufficient differences in the
structure of the two whales to justify the opinion that
they are distinct species,* each peculiar to the polar
region it inhabits.

The Right Whale of the South seldom exceeds fifty,
but has been known to attain seventy feet in length ;
its colour is uniformly black; and a good whale, of
average size, will produce between eighty and ninety
barrels of oil. It frequents the coasts of southern con-
tinents, as well as those parts of the neighbouring
oceans where extensive tracts of discoloured water
denote that the sea is of comparatively little depth,
and where the vast congregations of medusae and

* The Right Whale, so abundant and so little molested, in the northern-
most waters of the Pacific, (or off the N. W. coast of America,) is pro-
bably identical with the Greenland species.

230 ZOOLOGY.

molluscks that furnish its food are most abundant. It
is a species that is not known in the central parts of
the Pacific Ocean, where the depth of water is for the
most part incalculable.

The Cape Whale differs essentially from the Sperm
Whale, and most other marine cetaceans, in a habit it
has of repairing to the shallow and sheltered waters in
the vicinity of land to bring forth its young. In the
bays on the South coast of Africa, the visits of preg-
nant females for the latter purpose, occur chiefly in the
winter months, June and July ; the mothers returning
to sea with their calves in September. From this we
should infer, that the period of gestation, with this
species, does not exceed twelve months.

The British colonists at the Cape of Good Hope are
engaged to some extent in the capture of the Right
Whale. They carry on the fishery from the shore,
where an observatory is erected on a commanding
height. Upon whales being seen, the boats are launched
to attack them ; and the dead whales are brought to
the land, where the operations of flensing and boiling
the oil are also performed. Table Bay was formerly a
favourite resort of the Cape Whale: in the year 1832,
I noticed fragments of these monsters strewn profusely
on the beach at Cape Town. Latterly, however, their
visits to this spot have become rare, and whalers find
it more profitable to pursue their occupation in other
bays, on the same coast. It is to be regretted, that this
method of fishing from the shore involves almost solely
the destruction of female whales and their calves, and
must tend greatly to diminish the number of the
species, without any compensating advantage to the
whaler.

Ships engaged in the Southern Right Whale Fishery

CETACEANS. 231

are for the most part equipped from ports in the
United States of America, New Holland,* and France.
They cruise (consistently with the habits of the animal
they seek) in the vicinity of the southern coasts of
Africa and America — occasionally extending their re-
searches on the latter coast to the western side of
Cape Horn — and off the shores of New South Wales
and New Zealand. The method they adopt of capturing
the whale, and obtaining its oil " clear/' is the same as
that practised in the Sperm Whale Fishery.

BAL^NOPTERA SP.

(Balaena gibbosa, Gmel. ? The Humpback of Southern
Whalers.)

This whale (which is a Rorqual, between thirty and
forty feet in length,) derives its trivial name from an
embossed appendage, or hump, on the posterior part of
the back. It has two spiracles, or nostrils, On the
summit of the head ; and its mouth is furnished with
plates of short whalebone.

When seen on the surface of the water, it bears a
close resemblance to the Sperm Whale in colour and
the appearance of its hump, as well as in a habit it has
of casting its tail vertically in the air when about to
dive. Experienced whalers, however, readily distin-

* The British fishery for southern black-oil was formerly considerable,
but has, within the last few years, declined, almost to nonentity ; whilst,
on the part of the British colonies, the same fishery has proportionately
advanced ; thus, in the year 1820, 5,061 tuns of southern black-oil were
imported to this country by the British fishery, and none by the colonial.
In 1832, 402 tuns only of the same oil were imported by the British,
and 1,785 tuns by the colonial fisheries. In 1835, the colony of New
South Wales, alone, exported 1,477 tuns of black-oil, valued at «£J1 9,357.
In 1836, but one ship was despatched from Britain, exclusively for the
capture of the Southern Right Whale.

232 ZOOLOGY.

guish the two species by the spout, which, in the
Humpback, is less regular in its repetition; arises
farther back on the head; and, ascending more per-
pendicularly, hangs longer in the air than that of the
Cachalot. , The hump, also, of the Rorqual slopes to-
wards the tail in a more oblique manner than does the
similar appendage of the Sperm Whale.

It is a species frequently seen in the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, where it occurs in small herds, and sel-
dom at any very considerable distance from land, al-
though the vicinity\)f the most abrupt coasts would
appear to be its favourite resort. Examples are occa-
sionally seen in the neighbourhood of the islands of the
Pacific ; and very frequently in the deep waters around
the Island of St. Helena, where their visits are far from
pleasing to the fishermen, who believe that they de-
stroy the fish, or frighten them from the coast. The
highest south latitude in which we noticed the species
was 49° — the highest north latitude, 40°, on the western
side of the continent of America. In no part of the
Tuscans voyage did we find examples more abundant
than off the bold coast of Cape St. Lucas, California.

The Humpback is seldom molested by whalers, and
is never the chief object of their pursuit ; although the
oil it produces is superior to that obtained from the
Right Whale, and but little inferior to Sperm- oil. The
flesh of the infant animal is a delicate food, not to be
distinguished from veal. I am informed by Captain
Stavers, that upon the occasion of his killing a calf of
this species, whilst his ship was at anchor in St. Helena
Roads, the flesh was sought as a delicacy by every class
of residents on that island, from the governor's suite
to the slave.

CETACEANS. 233

PHOCvENA SP.

(The Black Fish of South-Sea Whalers.)

This whale was very frequently noticed during the
voyage of the Tuscan, and many examples were har-
pooned and taken on board. The largest we obtained
measured twenty feet in length ; but the average length
of other examples did not exceed sixteen. Its form is
clumsy ; the carcase being disproportionately round and
broad, the back somewhat arched, and the termination
of the trunk in the tail-fin rather abrupt. Its head is
thick, square, and short ; the snout blunt, and but little

prominent. The angles of the lips are curved upwards,
giving the physiognomy of the animal an innocent,
smiling expression. The entire surface of the body is
of an uniform black colour, and when moist has a
polished appearance, like that of japanned leather. On
the head, and chiefly around the lips, the skin is marked
with many scattered circles, each the size of a sixpence,
and composed of a single row of small depressed dots,
which would appear to mark a disposition to the for-
mation of vibrissce, or whiskers.

234 ZOOLOGY.

The swimming -paws are small, and resemble those
of the common Dolphin ; an erect triangular fin oc-
cupies the centre of the back ; the tail-fin is four feet
broad, and shaped like that of the common Dolphin.
A single spiracle, of crescentic form, opens upon the
upper and back part of the head.

The teeth are straight, conical, and set widely apart.
In the examples from which I describe they numbered
6-73 6-8. There were no teeth in front of the upper
jaw; but, in their place, sockets in the gum, to receive
the corresponding teeth of the lower jaw. The tongue
is round, thick, and fleshy.

A few Whale-lice (Larunda ceti) adhere to the skin
of this cetacean ; and the cavities of the spouting-
canal, as well as the stomach, are infested by clusters
of worms, resembling the entozoic round-worm, Lum-
bricus teres. In all the specimens I examined, the
contents of the stomach were chiefly cuttle-fish.

Black-Fish usually roam the ocean in very large
troops ; although a solitary individual of the species is
occasionally noticed. They are active and watchful
when alarmed, but often betray little concern at the
presence of a ship or boats : I have seen a school of
these whales approach the ship, dive under her keel,
and, rising to the surface on the opposite side, continue
their course without any appearance of alarm.

They appear to inhabit the greater portion of the
aqueous globe, uninfluenced by the remoteness or
vicinity of land. We observed examples in many
parallels of latitude, between the Equator and 50° N.
and 35° S., in the central parts of the ^ Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans ; as well as off the coast of California,
and in the Indian Archipelago.

Sperm-whalers often attack this species with their

CETACEANS,

235

boats, in order to obtain a supply of oil for ship
consumption. Some risk, however, attends their cap-
ture; for, when harpooned, they will sometimes leap
into a boat, and instances have occurred of whalers
losing their lives by this accident. A Black- Fish, of
average size, will produce from thirty to thirty-five
gallons of an oil which, in its most recent state, has a
dark colour and an unpleasant odour.

DELPHINUS PERONII, Lac^pede.

(The Right Whale Porpoise of Whalers.)

This rare and elegant species of Dolphin came under
my notice only in the higher south latitudes, and
during the Tuscan's passage round Cape Horn. It is
chiefly distinguished from the common Dolphin (Del-
phinus delphis) by the peculiarity of its colour, and the
total absence of any appendage, or dorsal fin, 011 the
back; from which latter circumstance it derives the
trivial name applied to it by whalers.

Judging from the examples we obtained, the average
length of this cetacean is six feet.* Its form is

* One specimen measured six feet four inches.

236 ZOOLOGY.

elongated and symmetrical; the snout is short; the
lower jaw advances a little beyond the upper ; and the
forehead rises abruptly. The lips are undulated, and
depressed at their angles. In one example, the number
of teeth was 39-39, 39-39; in a second, 40-41, 40-41 ;
they are regularly and closely disposed, much curved
inwards, and sharp-pointed. In form and situation,
the spiracle, swimming-paws, and flukes, accord with
those of the common dolphin.

The upper and hind-part of the head, the back, and
flukes, are of an uniform deep-black colour, which,
about the lower third of the body, terminates by a
straight and abrupt line, leaving the entire abdomen, and
inferior portion of the sides, of a pure and dead white.
The snout, and anterior third of the head, are entirely
white; as also are the swimming-paws, with the ex-
ception of a broad black spot on the upper surface and
posterior margin of each. The eyes are small, the
iris hazel; and the pupil derives an emerald gleam
from the reflection from a bright-green tapetum. In
every individual I examined, the stomach was distended
by a vast number of Calmars, or Flying-squid. (Loligo.)

We first noticed this Dolphin when on the green
water denoting the extent of the Brazil Bank, in lat.
40n S., long. 50° W. They were afterwards frequently
seen during our passage round the Horn, and as high
as 54 S. ; but we did not observe them in a lower
latitude than 40° S.,* on the western side of Cape

* The French naturalist, Peron, who was the first to describe this
Dolphin, did so from specimens he met with in the seas off Cape
D'Entrecasteaux, the southern point of Leeuwin's Land, during Baudin's
voyage, in 1802. The same species was also observed by M. Lesson, off
Cape Pillar, at the entrance of Magallan Straits. We might hence
conclude that the species is peculiar to high south latitudes, were we not

CETACEANS. 237

Horn, nor during any subsequent part of the voyage.
They came to us in large shoals, darting actively
through the water, and sporting around the bows of
the ship ; and were frequently accompanied by distinct
shoals of common Dolphin. Our crew never lost an
opportunity of harpooning them, as we esteemed
their flesh a delicacy.

DELPHINUS DELPHIS, Linn.

(The Common Dolphin, or Porpoise of Sailors.)

Whales, differing in no appreciable respect from the
common Dolphin of the British coasts, came around us
in the high seas of every region of the globe we visited
during this voyage. It is widely open to question
whether the Dolphin of so many distinct climates are
not also distinct species ;* but, as long as we are to be
guided by general resemblance, and are deficient in
opportunities of comparing individuals, we must be
content to regard them as identical. These small
whales came around the bows of the ship in extensive
shoals, and many were harpooned by our crew. We
held them in much esteem for the table.f When the

informed that it has been seen by MM. Quoy and Gaimard near New
Guinea, (on the Equator,) during the voyage of the Uranie.

* Some abnormal appearances in the form and situation of the fins
in many of the Dolphin which came under our notice, and which were
called " common porpoises" by the sailors, strengthen the belief that
much labour for zoologists yet remains with this family of whales.
One individual we harpooned, and which was considered by the crew to
be an aged " Porpoise," was superior in size to the common Dolphin ;
while the intervals between the teeth, both in the upper and lower jaw,
being occupied by sockets to receive the opposing teeth, sufficiently
denoted that it was a distinct species. Its skin was much mottled with
white; some onisci adhered to the body; and a cluster of the elegant
soft-barnacle, Otion Cuvieri, was pendant from the lower jaw.

f Formerly, and when animal food was less abundant in this country

238 ZOOLOGY.

external covering of lard, or blubber, is stripped off,
the flesh beneath is found entirely free from fat or oil,
and, when cooked as steaks, bears a close resemblance
to tender beef. It is certainly superior to the flesh of
the turtle, cooked in the same form. The liver is also
palatable and wholesome, and resembles in flavour the
same part of a pig.

In all the individuals we obtained, the contents of
the stomach were either fish, cuttle-fish, or shrimps.
The food contained in the first compartment of the
stomach * had seldom undergone any change ; in the
second its digestion had advanced ; while in the third
and fourth cavities it was reduced to a well-assimilated
pulp. Each chamber of the stomach (but more espe-
cially the second) had large clusters of round-worms
adhering to its interior; and where these entozoa had
been fixed, the mucous membrane was in a deeply
eroded or ulcerated state.

THE GRAMPUS.

This name is applied, by South-Sea whalers, to a
species of cetacean which we very frequently noticed in
the Pacific Ocean, from the Equator to 44° N. and 10°
S. latitude. They occur in herds ; and their appearance
is supposed to indicate the resorts of the Cachalot.

Whether this whale is identical with the Grampus

than it is now, the English were accustomed to regard the flesh of the
" Porpoise," or common Dolphin, as a voluptuous and aristocratic food.
The flesh of the same whale was also anciently employed as food by the
French, and being deemed fish, was eaten by all ranks of society on fast-
days, and at the season of Lent.

* This organ in Dolphin (as in other cetaceans) is complex, or divided
into several compartments, each communicating with the other by a
small orifice. In this respect it bears a close resemblance to the
stomach of ruminant quadrupeds.

CETACEANS. 239

(Phoccena orca) of the North Seas may be fairly ques-
tioned ; but should it prove to be so, the geographical
range of the latter species must be indeed extensive.

FIN-BACKS, COW-FISH, AND KILLERS.

These are cetaceans known to South-Sea whalers by
their respective names, and which came under our notice
frequently in the course of the Tuscan's voyage. They
are too little profitable to be made objects of pursuit ;
and are, consequently, in a great measure lost to in-
vestigation. Whalers, however, are shrewd and ac-
curate observers ; hence we must believe, that the trivial
names they employ express as many distinct, and
probably new, species of whales, the habits of which
may long remain unknown to naturalists.

The Killer is, as its name implies, the reputed
destroyer of other, and the largest kinds of whales — in
fact, the cannibal of its race. Whales thus designated
appeared to us in small bands, and chiefly in the
vicinity of the Equator. They are of moderate size,
spout much like the Cachalot, and are distinguished by
a tall and erect dorsal-fin; in this latter respect they
resemble the Grampus, (P. orca,) or Killer of the North
Seas.

I have been unable to glean any facts confirmatory
of the prevailing opinion respecting the sanguinary
habits of this species. The same traditionary records
of its ferocious disposition* are preserved in the
Southern, as in the Northern Whale-fishery ; but are
equally unsupported by personal observation.

* The strongest proof that a cannibal propensity ever exists amongst
whales, is supplied to us by the fact, that the tail of a Porpoise was
found by Mr. John Hunter in the stomach of a Grampus he examined.
But this circumstance, when duly considered, will be found to be more
mysterious than conclusive.

240 ZOOLOGY.

Whatever may be the fate of the whale-bone whales,
it is scarcely possible that the Cachalot can suffer from
the attacks of these assassins ; for our present know-
ledge of the whale tribe will not permit us to believe
that any species is better provided with strength and
weapons than the Sperm Whale, or is more disposed
to employ them when molested.

BONE-SHARKS.

While cruising in the South Pacific, we occasionally
observed large animals which bore a great resemblance
to whales, (excepting that their tail-fin was perpen-
dicular, and they did not spout,) swimming near the
surface of the sea. They appeared to be nearly twenty
feet in length, and were called by the whalers " Bone-
sharks :" — a name which implies little more than the
very vague idea entertained of their true character.
They are said to have whalebone in the mouth, yet do
not spout ; but partake of the nature of a shark, or
other fish, and, like fish, can maintain a submarine ex-
istence for an indefinite time. They have been oc-
casionally mistaken for whales, and harpooned by in-
experienced whalers, when, taking away the line with
irresistible impetuosity, they have disappeared in the
ocean's depths, and left their assailants to watch in
vain for their return to the surface.

Since whalers religiously avoid an encounter with
these troublesome creatures, it follows that their real
form and structure are but little, if at all known. If
we admit that an error exists on the subject of there
being whale-bone in its mouth, it appears probable
that the Bone-shark is allied to, or identical with, the
Basking-shark, ( Squalus maximus,) a fish, measuring
from fifteen to thirty feet in length, and which was

CETACEANS. 241

formerly regarded as a species of whale. It frequents
the western coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, where,
during the summer months, it often lies basking on the
surface of the sea, and is harpooned by fishermen for
its liver, which yields a large quantity of oil. It is,
however, a fish very troublesome to kill, and has been
known to carry away two harpoons and two hundred
fathoms of line.

VOL. ii,

242 ZOOLOGY.

BIRDS.

THE FRIGATE-BIRD.
(Pelicanus Aquila.)

THE Frigate-bird, or Sea-hawk, is one of the most re-
markable sea-birds frequenting intertropical regions. In
structure and habits it would appear to furnish a link be-
tween predaceous land birds and those equally rapacious
web-footed fowl which make the ocean their resort.

The female bird has the back, wings, and tail, of a
rich duU-black hue; the head, neck, and abdomen
white, streaked with cinnamon-colour ; the beak, legs,
and bare skin of the head, light blue. In the male the
abdomen is glossy-black, and the bare integument of
the face red ; and the chin is furnished with a small red
pouch,* which does not obtain in the female. The wings
are long and very elegantly formed : their average
measurement, when expanded, is 6£ feet — the entire
length of the bird being 2£. The tail is also long, and
very deeply forked. The beak is slender, and flattened
vertically, and both mandibles are hooked at their
extremity. The legs are very short, and feathered to
the feet. The toes are long, scarcely half- webbed, and
provided with strong talons. The claw of the longest
toe has, on its inner side, a serrated scale, while the
pollex, or innermost toe, (which is also the shortest and
least united by web,) is disposed to turn backwards,
as in perching birds.

This construction of the feet does not permit the
frigate-bird to alight on the surface of the sea ; con-

* During the breeding season, this pouch attains a considerable size :
its true function IB not known.

BIRDS. 243

sequently it can neither swim nor dive, and is seldom
seen at any very considerable distance from land ; al-
though its lightness of frame and extraordinary power
of wing enable it to hover over the ocean with un-
wearied assiduity. Neither does it alight on the rig-
ging of ships, like many other amphibious species, as
terns and boobies. It is true, that when on the Equator,
in long. 137° E., we captured one example, which
alighted on the spanker- gaff and permitted itself to be
taken by hand ; but this was regarded by our crew as
an unprecedented occurrence, and as the individual,
although of adult size, was evidently young, youthful
indiscretion was pleaded as its excuse.

Sailors believe that the sea-hawk sleeps on the wing ;
though I am not aware that there are any recorded
facts in favour of this notion. When the nearest land
is remote, they will continue fishing around a ship for
many successive days and nights, and continue un-
remittedly on the wing ; but when in the immediate
vicinity of land, they invariably return to the shore at
sunset. Their flight is exceedingly easy and graceful,
and has also the charm of variety : sometimes the bird
may be seen balanced in mid-air, its wings spread but
apparently motionless, its long forked tail expanding
and closing with a quick alternate action, and its head
turned inquisitively from side to side to inspect the
ocean beneath ; sometimes it wheels rapidly, or darts
to the surface of the water in pursuit of prey ; and at
others, soars to so great a height that it is lost to vision,
or becomes a mere speck in the sky — an elevation of
flight which is alone sufficient to distinguish this from
all other sea-birds.

They apparently take a delight in soaring over the
mast-head of a ship, from which they usually tear

R 2

244 ZOOLOGY.

away the pieces of coloured cloth fixed in the vane.
One individual, thus occupied over the Tuscan, was
taken by hand by the man at the mast-head. The look-
out at the time was kept by a landsman, remarkably tall
and slender, and his mess- mates would never believe
but that the poor bird, accustomed to the figure of a
sailor, had mistaken him for a spare spar, and thus
fallen a victim to a want of discernment.

Unable to seek their prey in the water, the sea-
hawks limit their depredations to fishes that leap, or
flying-fish, when, disturbed by the passage of a ship, or
pursued by albacore and bonita, they rise in the air to
seek that security which the water denies them. The
larger predaceous fish are in this manner of essential
service to the frigate-bird ; the latter usually taking the
prey which the former have startled but failed to secure.
When the ocean is turbulent these birds fare sump-
tuously every day. We have seen one individual take
three flying-fish in the course of a few minutes ; and more
than that number was rejected from the stomach of
another example, which we captured. When the sea is
calm their fishing is less successful, and it is then that they
resort to that peculiar system of plunder for which the
species is so remarkable, namely, attacking other sea-
fowl, as boobies or tropic-birds, (whose power of diving
enables them to obtain food at all times,) and com-
pelling them, by repeated blows, to disgorge the fish they
have swallowed, and which when ejected, the frigate-
bird seizes with great dexterity before it falls into the
sea. In the course of their own fishing, also, should the
fish they have seized be placed awkwardly in their
beak, they do not scruple to drop it, trusting to their
power of again pouncing upon it, and grasping it in
a more favourable position, before it reaches the water.

BIRDS, 245

On volcanic and other abrupt coasts, the frigate-bird
builds its nest in the crevices of high cliffs ; but where
these do not exist, as on the low coral islands of the
Pacific Ocean, it selects the loftiest trees, both for roost-
ing and nidification.

THE PINTADO PETREL.
(Procellaria Capensis.}

The Pintado, or Painted-petrel, is perhaps the hand-
somest of antarctic sea-birds ; and its ermined plumage
corresponds well with the blue ocean it frequents. Its
natural habitat is the high south latitudes, and chiefly
about the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn ; al-
though, when seduced by ships, it will occasionally
enter the heart of the tropics.

The half-mourning garment of this bird is as neat
and elegant as can well be imagined. The head and
neck are black, with a semilunar white mark beneath
the eye; the back and wings prettily mottled black
and white ; the throat and abdomen white ; the tail
black, with transverse white bars. The skin is covered
with a thick slate-coloured down, short, but of fine qua-
lity. The beak is jet black ; and the legs are uniformly
of the same hue in some individuals, whilst in others
they are variegated with white. The toes are com-
pletely webbed, and the heel is provided with the short
sessile spur that characterizes the petrel family. The
plumage of the female is browner and less vivid than
that of the male. The size of the species is about that
of a small duck — its average entire length eighteen
inches.

The size of the bird, its innocent expression of
countenance, and some peculiarities in its flight, have
induced sailors to give it the name of Cape-pigeon.

246 ZOOLOGY.

During a calm, a vast number of these birds alight
on the surface of the sea, and swim round a ship in
search of offal; or should the vessel be lying-to in a
gale, they are equally familiar, and ride composedly
over the most gigantic billows. At these times they
will readily take a hook, baited with pork ; and having
been once thus captured does not deter them from taking
the bait a second time, or even oftener, if opportu-
nities are afforded them. Many may also be taken by
allowing a slender line to tow astern of the ship : they
usually get their wings entangled in the string, as
they fly carelessly across the wake of the vessel ; and
it is remarkable, that when thus shackled they make but
few efforts to liberate themselves, and may be hauled
on board with scarce a struggle. Like most other
oceanic birds, they are unable to rise from a level
surface, as the deck of a ship, owing to the shortness
of their legs, as compared with the extreme length of
their wings. It might be supposed that the same cause
would impede their rising from the plane surface of a
calm sea ; but here they have the advantages of space
and an elastic tread, and by running on the surface of
the water for some distance, aided by a flapping motion
of the wings, they at length gain sufficient way and
elevation to be able to mount in the air.

The ordinary food of this species is small fish, sepias,
and pelagic Crustacea ; but they do not refuse any ani-
mal offal floating on the sea. They give a decided pre-
ference to fat, and the carcase of a whale often affords
them a sumptuous feast. When captured, they inva-
riably disgorge the food they have recently swallowed,
and often a large quantity of oil. It has been said that
this fluid is secreted by the petrel ; but I believe that
it is never ejected from the mouth of the bird unless

BIRDS. 247

the food previously taken has been of an unctuous na-
ture : in some instances, indeed, its odour was too iden-
tical with that of train-oil to admit of any doubt as re-
gards its origin.

I have made many attempts to accustom these birds
to captivity, but could never succeed. They were
tranquil in confinement, showed a propensity to attain
an elevated station by climbing, and uttered a low
chirping note, very unlike their natural harsh scream,
but invariably refused food, and died in a few days.

The two wings of the pintado, when cut off from the
body, expanded, and placed together at their bases, are
employed and sold by the Chinese as an ornamental
fan. It is, when completed, of semicircular form, and
the black and white markings of both wings correspond
so well, that it has a very uniform and neat appearance.

THE BRIDLED PETREL.

(Procellaria, Sp. Nov. ?)

This hitherto-undescribed member of the petrel
family was taken by hook and line, when we were ap-
proaching Cape Horn, in lat. 37° S., long. 51° W. It
was the only example of its kind noticed during the
voyage, and was a female.

The colour of its plumage is uniformly black, with
the exception of a broad white band, passing across the
summit of the head, forming a semicircle in front of
each eye, and continued, on either side of the face, to
the chin : giving, by its powerful contrast, a very re-
markable striped or bridled appearance to the head.
The beak and legs are black, and present the usual
petrel peculiarities. Entire length of the specimen
twenty-three inches, breadth of the expanded wings
four feet seven inches.

248 ZOOLOGY.

With the considerable exception of the white mark-
ings on its head, this bird approaches closely to P.
fuliginosa, of which species it may probably be a va-
riety. I am the more inclined to think that it is so, on
account of my having taking two examples of a female
petrel (the one off the Cape of Good Hope, and the
other near Cape Horn,) which were only to be distin-
guished from P. fuliginosa by the plumage of their chin
being white.

THE WHALE-BIRD.
fPrion Pachyptila.)

This is also an oceanic bird, or " great sailer." It is
rare, compared with most other southern sea-fowl, and
is only to be met with off the two principal southern
Capes. Although a distinct family has been assigned
to this species, the form of the beak, and a sessile spur
on the heel, would denote it to be one of the petrel
tribe. It is small in size, but very elegantly formed.
The head and entire upper surface of the body, as well
as the tail, are lavender-colour; the abdomen white;
the beak olive-green; the legs light-blue; the eyes
black and prominent. Its entire length is eleven
inches ; spread of the wings twenty-three. The contents
of the stomach, in the examples we obtained, were vast
numbers of small shrimps.

This bird has a quick mazy flight, and skims the
seas like the stormy-petrel. It is supposed to be an
attendant upon whales, or an indication of their places
of resort, whence its trivial name.

THE BLUE-NODDY, OR REEF-BIRD.

(Sterna Cerulea, N. Sp. ?)
Plumage light-blue or slate-colour; three quill

BIRDS. 249

feathers of each wing, and two of the tail-feathers, dull-
brown ; a narrow line of black, and a second of white
plumage on the upper eye-lid. Beak and legs black.
Entire length ten inches ; spread of wings eighteen.
Flutters in its flight, and seeks a resting-place after
sunset, usually alighting on a ship's rigging when at
sea. Feeds on crabs and small fish. The presence of
this bird is regarded by sailors as a sure indication of
land.

Habitat. Christmas Island, and other low coral for-
mations of the Pacific.

THE BOOBY.
(Pelicanus Sula, fyc.)

From observations made during this and previous
voyages, I am induced to believe that there are many
more species of the small Pelican, commonly called the
Booby, than have been accurately described by our best
ornithological authors. It would be tedious to describe
minutely the various kinds we noticed, and perhaps
presumptuous to assign them new specific names : I
shall therefore mention them briefly, and describe only
their principal distinguishing features.

The common Booby (P. suld) measures about two
feet two inches in length, and four and a half across
the expanded wings. Its plumage is light-brown,
abdomen white.* Naked integuments of the face and
chin blue. Beak pink, its extremity dark-brown. Legs
brick-red. Iris yellow. The tail is pointed, the two
central feathers being the longest. The middle claw of
the foot is serrated.

Example B.— Taken in lat. 16° N., Pacific Ocean.

* The "••rrnent of the young bird is uniformly brown.

250 ZOOLOGY.

Plumage uniformly gray-brown ; beak blue ; legs light-
yellow or lemon-colour. Stomach contained eight
flying-fish, and the beaks of cuttle-fish.

Example C. — In lat. 14° N., Pacific Ocean. Re-
sembles the preceding, with the exception that the
abdomen is white and the legs blue.

Example D. — In lat. 3<> N., Pacific Ocean. Back,
wings, and tail blue-gray or ash-colour; head, neck,
and abdomen white. Naked integuments of the head
blue. Legs red.

Example E. — In lat. 13^° N., Pacific Ocean. Back,
wings, and tail sooty- black ; head and neck gray ; ab-
domen white ; a black band across the neck, at its
junction with the shoulders. Beak and exposed skin
of the face slate-colour. Legs pea-green. Iris, a nar-
row silvery zone.

All the above correspond in size and habits with the
common Booby (P. sula). They are heavy in flight,
and seldom seen far from land. When on the wing,
watching for fish, they turn their head about in a very
ludicrous manner, and occasionally dive to the surface
of the water and seize their prey with great dexterity.
They are stupidly tame, frequently alighting on the
rigging or bulwarks of ships, and permitting themselves
to be handled ; and this when neither distance from
land, repletion, nor the approach of night, can be as-
signed as an excuse for their familiarity.

Berkenhout (Synopsis of Nat. Hist.) makes it a
part of the generic character of Pelicans, that they are
without external nostrils ; while Blumenbach (Manual
of Comparative Anatomy) asserts that all birds have
external nostrils, more or less conspicuous. Although
it is true that most of the Pelican family have small but
complete nostrils on the outer surface of the upper

BIRDS. 251

mandible, yet the Booby offers an exception, in favour
of Berkenhout's remark, and opposed to the assertion
of Blumenbach. After a most patient examination
of the beak of all the kinds of Booby enumerated above,
I am compelled to declare that there is not the slightest
appearance of an external nostril; although the pala-
tine opening of the nasal cavity, or inner nostril, is well
developed. There is a small slit, or notch, on the in-
ferior margin of the upper mandible, and which I sup-
posed might be a nasal aperture ; but upon removing the
horny sheath of the beak, it appeared confined to that
structure, and the exposed bone was impervious.

As a provision for swallowing fish entire, the mouth
and gullet are capable of great expansion, and the
upper mandible of the beak moves freely at its junc-
tion with the cranium. The tongue, though large in
many sea-fowl, is in this bird rudimental, and remark-
ably small. The skeleton of the Booby differs also
from the more normal structure of birds, in possessing
a perfect bony patella, or knee-pan, independent of the
elevated process of the tibia, which usually supplies its
place in aquatic birds. But this is not uncommon
with oceanic tribes, and equally obtains in the frigate-
bird and petrels.

NOTES ON THE ALBATROSS FAMILY.
(Diomedia.)

As the number of individuals composing the Al-
batross family is yet uncertain and involved in some
obscurity, I may be permitted to conclude my orni-
thological remarks with a brief notice of the several
species of this bird usually met with during a
southern voyage, and with the description of a kind
which appears to be new.

252 ZOOLOGY.

The Wandering Albatross, (Diomedia exulans,) so
commonly seen off the Capes Horn and Good Hope,*
has a white plumage, beautifully pencilled on the back
and scapulars, and the wings marked with black and
white.f In size and form of body it is intermediate
to the goose and the swan. The average length of the
species is five feet, and its spread of wing ten and a half :
amongst a multitude of specimens, I have seen none
in which the spread of wing measured more than eleven
feet. There are two other birds which may be re-
garded as varieties of the above. The one, and which
I have seen only in the neighbourhood of Cape Horn,
differs from the kind last mentioned, in possessing a
vertical line of rose-coloured plumage on each side the
neck. The other offers a more marked distinction ;
its plumage being light-brown speckled with white.

The principal anatomical peculiarities I have noticed
in this species are, the existence of an epiglottis, partly
closing the aperture of the larynx ; and a supplemental
bone, or spurious wing, articulating with the humerus,
at its junction with the radius and ulna. I have been
unable to detect the function of the large and peculiar
superciliary glands which are found on the cranium of
both the Albatross and Petrel tribes. They have no
very distinct deferential ducts ; but that which most re-
sembles one, passes into the nasal cavity, along the
roof of the upper mandible.

The second well-determined species is D. Chlororyn-
chus, the Molly-maux.J: It is smaller than the Wan-

* We have met with this bird in so low a latitude as 21° S.
•f The plumage of the young bird is uniformly gray.
J The lowest latitudes in which we have seen this species, are 28° N.
and 35° S.

BIRDS. 253

dering Albatross. The back is uniformly black, and a
black mark extends across each eye, the rest of the
plumage being white. The beak is yellow; the legs
white.

The third species, D. Fuliyinosa, Pio or Quaker-
bird, is as large as the preceding, but of a more slender
form. Its entire plumage is sooty-black, with the ex-
ception of a narrow zone of short white feathers en-
circling each eye. The beak is black, with a narrow
white line on the margin of the upper mandible. The
legs are white. A peculiarity in the form of the tail of
this bird, has obtained for it, amongst sailors, the
name of Cape Hen. The lowest latitudes in which
we noticed the Pio, were 42° S. and 2S<> N. The
habits and habitat of these species are for the most
part the same.

The kind I have more particularly to mention, dif-
fers from all the above ; and it will be seen how far it is
entitled to be considered a new species, or as a variety,
dependent upon youth. Its size is that of the Molly-
maux, which bird it also resembles in habits and flight.
The form of its beak and legs is that which obtains in
the Albatross family generally. The prevailing hue of
the plumage is dull-brown, shaded lighter on the crown
of the head, (which in some examples is nearly white,)
and darker across the eyes, over the neck, and on the
wing-coverts. Beak light-brown. Legs black.

The species was first seen by us on the eastern side
of Cape Horn, from lat. 40° to 49<> S. We did not
again notice any examples until in the Pacific Ocean,
in lat. 4Qo N., where they were exceedingly numerous.
During a subsequent cruise on the same ocean, in the
month of June, we had several of these birds about the
ship in lat. 27° N., but this was regarded as extraor-

254 ZOOLOGY.

dinary ; for it is evidently the habit of the species to
migrate to an extreme climate during the summer
season. Neither did those few individuals remain long
with us, as we continued to cruise on nearly the same
spot, and in July none were seen thus far to the south-
ward ; although in September they again appeared in
increasing numbers. They alighted on the sea in large
flocks, and swam round the ship, feeding greedily on
the offal of whales. When tranquil or satisfied they
uttered an agreeable low whistling note, but when
quarrelling screamed discordantly. They were very
familiar, and many were taken by hook and line, baited
with salt pork.

255
FISHES.

ORDER, CHONDROPTERYGII.

THE LUMINOUS SHARK.
(Squalus Fulgens, N. Sp.)

THERE are so few well-authenticated instances of a
phosphorescent power existing in fish, as an attribute
of life, that it is with some surprise we find this pe-
culiarity inherent in the shark, a family so generally
well known and described. The Squalus which I have
to notice, is, however, a nondescript species, and one
that certainly possesses a luminous power in a very
high degree.

Two examples of this fish were accidentally taken,
at different periods of the voyage, by a net, towing on
the surface of the sea. The first was obtained in lat.
2£° S., long. 163° W., and was ten inches in length. It
was captured in the day-time, and, consequently, al-
though its novel appearance attracted my attention,
its phosphorescent power was not then noticed. The
second specimen was taken at night, in lat. 55° N.,
long. 110° W. Its entire length was l£foot. Both fishes
were alive when taken on board. They fought fiercely
with their jaws, and had torn the net in several
places.

The form and structure of this shark is peculiar,
and would denote that it is a species of the sub-genus
Scymnus : the body is cylindrical, rather slender, and
tapers finely at the tail. Its prevailing colour is dusky-
brown ; a broad black band, or collar, passes across
the throat ; and the fins are partially margined with
white. The skin is rough, as is usual with the shark

256 ZOOLOGY.

tribe. The number of gill- apertures is five on each
side. The fins are short, and, for the most part, dis-
posed to a round form : the dorsal are two in number,
small, and placed far back; the tail-fin is unequally
divided, the upper being the longest and largest lobe.

The head is flat. The snout prominent, rather
pointed, and has two nostrils at its extremity. There
is, also, on each side of the upper and back part of the
head, a large oval orifice, like a spiracle or nostril, pro-
vided with a valve, and communicating with a cor-
responding aperture in the roof of the mouth. The
mouth is capacious, and the dark skin around it is
incised on each side, to some extent beyond the com-
missure of the lips, exposing a white elastic membrane
beneath. The upper jaw is armed with many rows of
small sharp teeth, while the lower has only a single
row of perpendicular teeth, or rather, an elevated plate
of bone, sharply toothed on its summit, and bearing a
close resemblance to a segment of the surgical circular
saw called a trephine. The eyes are much more promi-
nent and dilated than is usual with sharks ; the iris
is black; the pupil transparent, and of a greenish
colour.

The example I dissected was a female. The abdomen
contained six round membranous eggs, each the size of
a pigeon's egg, and containing a colourless glairy fluid.
The two uteri were empty and collapsed. The principal
peculiarity in the anatomy of this shark is the existence
of what must be regarded as a sternum, or breast-bone,
(which is by no means common, even in bony fishes.) It
is a small bone, shaped like a horse's hoof, and has two
processes projecting laterally, by which it is articulated
to the bones supporting the pectoral fins. The hollow
of the hoof (to pursue the comparison) is closed in-

FISHES. 257

feriorly by membrane, and the heart, invested in
pericardium, is lodged within it, as in a box or cell.

When the larger specimen, taken at night, was re-
moved into a dark apartment, it afforded a very ex-
traordinary spectacle. The entire inferior surface of
the body and head emitted a vivid and greenish phospho-
rescent gleam, imparting to the creature, by its own
light, a truly ghastly and terrific appearance. The
luminous effect was constant, and not perceptibly
increased by agitation or friction. I thought, at one
time, that it shone brighter when the fish struggled,
but I was not satisfied that such was the fact. When
the shark expired, (which was not until it had been out
of the water more than three hours,) the luminous
appearance faded entirely from the abdomen, and more
gradually from other parts ; lingering the longest around
the jaws and on the fins.

The only part of the under surface of the animal
which was free from luminosity was the black collar
around the throat ; and while the inferior surface of the
pectoral, anal, and caudal fins shone with splendour,
their superior surface (including the upper lobe of the
tail-fin) was in darkness, as also were the dorsal fins,
back, and summit of the head.

I am inclined to believe that the luminous power of
this shark resides in a peculiar secretion from the skin.
It was my first impression, that the fish had accidentally
contracted some phosphorescent matter from the sea,
or from the net in which it was captured ; but the most
rigid investigation did not confirm this suspicion ;
while the uniformity with which the luminous gleam
occupied certain portions of the body and fins, its
permanence during life, and decline and cessation upon
the approach and occurrence of death, did not leave a

VOL. II. S

258 - ZOOLOGY.

doubt in my mind but that it was a vital principle,
essential to the economy of the animal.

The small size of the fins would appear to denote
that this fish is not active in swimming ; and since it
is highly predaceous, and evidently of nocturnal habits,
we may perhaps indulge in the hypothesis, that the
phosphorescent power it possesses is of use to attract
its prey, upon the same principle as the Polynesian
Islanders, and others, employ torches in night fishing.

THE HAWAIIAN FROG-FISH.

(Lophiw Sandvicensis, N. Sp.)

Entire length 4J inches, depth of body 2 inches.
Colour, dull-orange or yellow- red, with circular black
spots on the body and fins. Eyes small and placed
high in the head ; when touched or threatened they in-
stantly retire for protection beneath the upper eye-lid.
Iris red. Jaws and palate armed with many rows of
teeth. Lower jaw protrudes beyond the upper. The
forehead is furnished with a long and rigid filament,
or barbie, which, from its use as a bait for prey, has
obtained for this family of fish the name of " anglers/'

. FISHES. 259

The fins on the upper surface of the body are peculiarly
arranged. The first, (which I dare not call a dorsal,) is
composed of one stout spinous ray, with a membrane
attached, and is placed in front of the summit of the
head — the second is similarly formed, and situated
immediately behind the head — the third occupies the
posterior two-thirds of the back, and is composed of
twelve branched rays. Rays of the anal fin 7- Caudal 9.

The pectoral fins bear a very close resemblance to
the anterior extremities of a frog or lizard, and the ten
distinct rays, at the termination of each, complete the
comparison by their resemblance to toes. A long
membranous air-tube, communicating with the gills,
passes beneath the integuments of this fin, and opens
as a circular orifice at its joint, or elbow.

The solitary example of this species, which we ob-
tained from the shores of Oahu, Sandwich Islands,*
continued alive for many hours after it had been re-
moved from the water. During this time its abdomen
and throat remained distended to a great size; but
previous to death, both air and water were evacuated
from the mouth, and the body collapsed. Dissection
proved, that the cavity of the stomach was the part thus
distended. This fish has no ribs, though it has a very
distinct sternum. Its swim-bladder is small and of
ovoid form.

THE FILE-FISH OR LEATHER-JACKET.

(Balistes, Sp.}

Length of the fish one foot. Body elongated. Colour,
dark-plum, or puce, spread with numerous circular
white spots, arranged in a quincunx form. Scabrous

* The native name for the fish is 0 obu te tai, or the Sea-belly— ^ex-
pressive of the power it has of inflating the abdomen to a large size.

S 2

260 ZOOLOGY.

bone of the belly (balista) short, but little developed.
Teeth, eight in each jaw. Rays of the first dorsal fin
2; second 24. Pectoral 14. Anal 21. Caudal 12.

This may be the B. Maculatus, (Linn, and Gmel.,) or
Spotted File-fish, although it differs from that species,
as described by authors, in its colours, as well as in
having no prickles in the place of the ventral fin. We
met with many examples of this fish in the Pacific
Ocean, in lat. 16° N., long. 106° W. They were at-
tending a log of drift-wood, and came around the ship
in large shoals. The greater number were taken by
hook and line, and eaten by our crew. Their flesh,
though of coarse quality, proved to be wholesome;
notwithstanding the assertion of ichthyologists, that fish
of this genus are mostly poisonous. When first taken
from the water, this species, in common with its con-
geners, produces a loud grinding or gnashing sound
with its teeth.

There is a remarkable peculiarity in the construction
of the anterior d orsal fin of the genus Balistes, and which
has obtained for this family the trivial name of " Trigger-
fish." When this fin is elevated, its first spinous ray,
which is exceedingly thick, remains fixed, and cannot
be depressed, with any degree of force short of that
which would fracture it, unless the second ray is de-
pressed, when the first immediately follows. The animal
mechanism which effects this is curious. A strong
trough-shaped bone, its concavity placed uppermost,
corresponds to the base of the anterior dorsal fin, and
gives it support. The inferior edge of its anterior or
broadest extremity is fixed to the head of the fish by a
bony peg, or condyle, received into a corresponding
circular orifice, and by its superior edge being con-
tinuous with the summit of the cranium; while its

FISHES. 261

posterior or narrow extremity is supported by an ef-
fective bony prop, fixed to the dorsal vertebrae. The
first spinous ray of the dorsal fin is attached to this
osseous platform by a broad hinge-like joint, which
permits motion only in the directions backward and
forward. The base of the second ray, which is also
thick, but flattened laterally, curves forward, and its
convexity, which is very rough, is opposed to a deep
groove on the back of the first. The root of the second
ray is furcated, and strides across the convexity of a
semilunar process, rising from the hollowed surface of
the bony platform, and on which it moves only in di-
rections parallel to the axis of the fin. The function
of this apparatus is as follows. When the first spinous
ray of the fin is erected, (either artificially or by the
muscular power of the fish.) the second follows, and
the rough convex process of its base is inserted within
and beneath the grooved surface of the first ; so that
the latter rests upon it, and is supported by it, with an
obstinacy proportionate to the depressing force ap-
plied ; while the direction in which the first ray presses
upon the base of the second is at the same time well
calculated to retain the second ray in its firm and erect
position. If the second ray be gradually depressed,
the first falls with it ; but both are as firmly fixed upon
ach other at every stage of their descent as when they
are erect, and upon the same principles. Some species
of Balistes have three spinous rays in the anterior
dorsal fin ; but the third ray takes no part in the
economy I have just described.

Unlike most other fish, the Balistes employ their
tail but little in swimming — a rapid lateral action of
their long dorsal and anal fins being their principal
mode of progression.

'262 ZOOLOGY.

THE LONG HEADED FILE-FISH.
(Batistes Oiri, N. Sp.)

Head elongated. Three longitudinal rows of curved
prickles on each side the tail; the two upper rows
containing ten prickles, the lowest three ; a black spot
on the skin around the base of each spine. Back
dusky, marked with longitudinal black lines ; abdomen
white. Light-blue lines on the sides of the head, and
encircling the mouth. Lips orange-colour ; broad bands
of the same hue extending from the mouth to the
pectoral fins. Iris silvery ; a yellow zone around the
pupil. Fins white. A very distinct ventral fin is
attached to the abdominal spine (balistd) of this fish.

Habitat. Coral reefs of Raiatea, Society Isles. Native
name, Oire.

ORDER, BRANCHIOSTEGI.

THE SUN FISH.

(Orthagoriscus Mola, Cuv. — Diodon Mola, Bloch.)

Two Sun Fish, referrible to the above species, were
harpooned by our crew, in lat. 39<> N., Pacific Ocean,
while swimming leisurely, as is their custom, with their
dorsal fin raised high above the surface of the sea.
They were alike in size, colour, and form, but, being
young, had not, probably, attained their full magnitude.
Their size, the body being nearly orbicular, was about
four feet in diameter;* their colour dark-gray, with
large silvery blotches. The skin is rough, destitute of

* One example of this species, which we harpooned on the Equator,
in long. 167° W., measured six feet from snout to tail, and seven feet
fiom the extremities of the dorsal and anal fins.

FISHES/ 263

scales, and composed of a very dense cartilage, which,
in some parts, is nearly two inches in depth.

The pectoral fins are short and broad, and their
position denotes that they have a vertical action.
The dorsal and anal fins are long, pyramidal, and placed
opposite to each other; while the tail-fin joins the two
last, and constitutes a large segment of the circle formed
by the entire body of the fish. A peculiar soft structure,
or hinge, intervenes between the fins and the dense
texture of the skin, and serves to facilitate their motions.
The gill-aperture has a semilunar form, and is placed
immediately in front of the pectoral fin.

The skeleton of this fish is chiefly composed of a
white cartilage, but the jaws are furnished with two
strong bony plates or teeth, each of which is continuous,
and consequently denotes that the fish is of the genus
Diodon ; although some authors have placed it amongst
the Tetrodons, which have their jaw-plates, or teeth,
divided by a fissure in their centre. The contents of the
stomach, in the examples we examined, were small red
cuttle-fish.

The eye of the Sun Fish is large, and possesses the
following remarkable peculiarity: the conjunctiva, or
outer membranous coat, of this organ is white, thick,
but loosely attached to the parts beneath, and lies in
small circular folds ; while behind it, and around the
eye-ball, there is a sack of gelatinous fluid, occupying
the back part of a capacious orbit. When the fish is
alarmed for the safety of its eye, as by the approach or
contact of a foreign body, it displays a power of re-
tracting the eye-ball within the orbit; when the ge-
latinous fluid behind it is displaced, starts forward,
distends the loose folds of conjunctiva, and covers and
protects the eye more effectually than the eye-lids of

264 ZOOLOGY.

quadrupeds. In the living examples we captured, this
mode of defending the eyes was exercised as often as
these organs were touched, or the parts in their vicinity
pressed upon. It may probably be a provision for a
state allied to sleeping, as this fish is often seen floating
on the surface of the water, apparently in a state of
perfect somnolency.

Two parasites were attached to these fish — the one
was a Lerneea, rooted in the conjunctiva of the eye ;
the other was a large Oriiscus, adhering to the gullet.

The liver of the Sun Fish has a bright-yellow colour,
and yields a large quantity of oil, which is much valued
by sailors as an external application for sprains, bruises,
and rheumatic pains. The flesh of this species is de-
licately white, and affords a wholesome and palatable
food : in flavour and texture it bears some resemblance
to skate.

THE ROUND DIODON, OR TOAD-FISH.
(Diodon wbicularis, Shaw.)

While cruising in the Pacific, we captured a solitary
example of this fish, swimming on the surface of the sea,
in lat. 4° S., long. 134« W. — a considerable distance
from any known land. The entire length of this
specimen is one foot ; the head and back broad and
flat ; the body globular when inflated, and covered with
strong bony spines, presenting obliquely backwards.
The colour of the head and upper surface of the body
is a vivid blue, spotted with black ; the abdomen and
fins white, with circular black spots ; the sides, where
the hues of the back and abdomen approximate, are
brown. Iris, silver -white.

This fish lived for several hours after it had been
removed from the water, and, as often as it was handled,

FISHES. 265

inflated its body, erected its spines, gnashed its teeth,
and produced sounds by an emission of air through its
mouth. It inflated its body by pumping air into the
gullet, by frequent gulps or gasps. The contents of
the stomach were fragments of the shells of Hyalcea
tridentata, and a sucking-fish, the head of which was
detached from the body and much mutilated. The
sailor who brought me the specimen, reported that it
had also thrown up a sucking-fish at the time it was
captured.

The spines which cover the body of this species are
curiously constructed : each spine has a bony root,
branched in this manner -< : its longest branch ex-
tending horizontally and longitudinally beneath the
skin, and the base of the spine being fixed on the angles
formed by the two shorter and transverse branches.
The long arm of one bony fulcrum invariably overlaps
the short branch of another, and thus the entire series
forms a very flexible, but at the same time a very com-
plete armour. The resemblance which these spines bear
to the similar erectile weapons of the porcupine and
hedge-hog, amongst quadrupeds, is much increased by
the existence of a thick layer of muscle, (or panniculus
carnosus,) lining the entire skin of the fish, and firmly
attached to the roots of the spines. From the extent
of surface this muscle occupies, its power is evidently
great; and its use is discovered by handling the in-
flated fish : the spines are then necessarily protruded,
and press forcibly against any object with which they
are in contact ; but their action does not cease here,
for the hand holding the inflated animal, feels a con-
stant boring motion of the spines, which is extremely
painful, and very different from that produced by the
passive contact of a thorny body.

Immediately beneath the muscular lining of the skin,

266' ZOOLOGY.

there is a thick opaque membrane, covering the belly
of the fish ; and this, when distended with air, pro-
duces the inflated appearance of the body. It can be
distended or emptied at the option of the animal, and is
evidently supplied with air through the mouth and
throat; although I was unable to detect the precise
point of communication.* I noticed, however, that by
blowing into the mouth of the dead fish, I could inflate
this membrane, and by passing a finger into the throat
could as readily empty it.

To produce the inflation of the body, (which must
be regarded as a mode of defence,) it would appear that
the fish should have access to atmospheric air. Two
nostrils, provided with broad fleshy margins, at the
extremity of the snout, may supply this want when
the fish is on the surface of the sea, and it is question-
able whether water may not be employed as a substitute
for air in the ocean's depths.

THE FIVE-SPINED TRUNK-FISH.
(Ostracion Pentacornis, N. Sp.)

Entire length one inch ; body quadrangular ; belly
broader than the back ; plates of the armour hexagonal,
tuberculated on the sides and back, smooth on the
abdomen ; mouth small and orbicular : snout promi-
nent ; one straight spine over each eye, one on each
side the tail, and a fifth, solitary and recurved, near
the centre of the back. Colour of the sides and back
deep-blue, spangled with small sapphire-coloured spots ;
abdomen white ; iris silvery.

This small Trunk- fish is very pelagic in its habits.
We obtained examples only on the surface of the
deepest waters of the Pacific, far from land, and in the
greatest abundance in lat. 27° N.

* It is usually an opening in the gullet.

FISHES. 267

THE SEA-DRAGON.

(Pegasus, N. Sp. ?)

Rays of the pectoral fin 10. Dorsal 5. Anal 5.
Ventral 1. (a long white filament.)

Length one inch ; entire fish encased in a crustaceous
armour ; ridges, armed with reflexed spines, on the
trunk and summit of the head; mouth small; jaws
retractile ; a straight beak, or rostrum, of square form,
and armed at its angles with spines, protrudes from
the upper jaw ; tail quadrangular, and furnished with
six rows of spines.

Colour brick-red, with black markings ; membrane of
the pectoral fins barred transversely with black; ab-
domen silvery white ; iris yellow.

Taken in vast numbers, swimming near the surface
of the sea, in lat. 27<> N., long. 170° W.

ORDER, APODES.
THE GLASS-EEL, or SMALL-HEAD.

(Leptocephalus, Sp.)

This is one of the most extraordinary and paradoxical
fishes the ocean affords. In its external appearance,
indeed, there is nothing but the perfect form and struc-
ture of its head that gives it any title to rank with so
high a grade of the animal kingdom as it really oc-
cupies.

The head is narrow and disproportionately small ; the
jaws long, pointed, and provided with sharp teeth ;
eyes large and conspicuously bright; iris silvery;

268 ZOOLOGY.

pupil black ; the body is long and very compressed ;
it widens abruptly immediately behind the head, and
remains nearly the same size until it approaches the
tail, when it tapers to a fine point. It is smooth,
consists of a firm gelatinous structure, enveloped in
a tough tunic, is colourless,* and in all parts so per-
fectly transparent, that when laid on the page of a book
it does not obscure the smallest letter. No traces of
viscera interrupt its uniform transparency. A white
thread-like line passes within the entire length of the
body, near its upper third, and is intersected by similar
slender lines, arranged obliquely and at equal dis-
tances. They resemble the rudiments of a skeleton;
but are, more probably, portions of a nervous system.
There are no pectoral, ventral, nor caudal fins ; the
dorsal is merely a thin narrow membrane, occupying
the entire length of the back; and the anal, which
reaches nearly to the tail, is equally insignificant.

Examples of this fish, when first taken from the
water, did not exhibit the slightest movement, or other
sign of life, and their body retained the curve which I
have given to it in the above sketch ; but when they
were put into a vessel of sea-water, immediately they
were taken from the net, they swam actively, with a
twirling or eel-like motion. All the specimens we ob-
tained were taken near the surface of the sea. They
varied much in size. The average length of the species
appeared to be from seven to ten inches ; though one
individual we captured, measured one foot three inches
in length, and an inch and a half across the broadest
part of the body ; its head was, as usual, small, and
bore no proportion to the increased size of the body.

* In some specimens, I noticed that the body had a delicate pink
hue, with a row of black dots on the margin of the dorsal fin.

FISHES. 269

In the Pacific Ocean and Indian Archipelago, the
species occurred to us from lat. 3° to 29° N., and from
the Equator to 9» S. ; and no where in such great
abundance as in the Straits of Timor. In the Atlantic
we captured one individual, in lat. 24° N.

The only species of Leptocephalus, hitherto known,
is L. Morrisii, found on the coast of Anglesea. The
description and figure given of it, leads me to think that
it accords very closely with the exotic species we ob-
tained. Size, geographical distribution, and some few
other peculiarities noticeable in the tropical specimens,
as above described, may induce us to suspect a dif-
ference, although it is difficult to detect sufficient specific
distinctions in animals of so anomalous a structure.

It is impossible to preserve specimens of this fish in
any kind of spirit ; for, when thus prepared, they in-
variably become opaque,, swell to an unnatural size,
and ultimately burst and fall into a flaccid state. I
succeeded in bringing several examples to England, in
a very complete state of preservation, by putting them
into a saturated solution of sea-salt, alum, and nitre —
a solution which answers well, also, for the preservation
of pellucid and delicate molluscs.

HEMIRAMPHUS ARGENTEUS.

This fish is chiefly remarkable for possessing a pro-
longation of the lower jaw, in the form of a slender,

270 ZOOLOGY.

black, and pointed bone, similar in form, and apparently
in office, to the beak, or rostrum, continued from the
upper jaw of the sword-fish.

Average length of the species 4 inches. Body long
and compressed. Colour, uniformly silver-white ; iris
silvery. Pectoral fins long and slender ; dorsal and
anal placed far back and opposite to each other.

Taken near the surface of the sea, in lats. 3° S. and
5°N., Pacific Ocean.

ORDER, THORACICI.
THE SUCKING-FISH.

(Echeneis Remora, Linn.,/

In its general appearance, the Sucking-fish seems
well adapted for an associate of the shark, on which it
most usually attends. Its body is black and smooth ;
its head hideous ; and its fins, though complete in
number, are, for the most part, short and broad. The
mouth is round and capacious, and the lower jaw
protrudes far beyond the upper. The lips, as well as
the jaws, are provided with numerous rows of sharp
teeth ; while the palate, tongue, and some bony plates
lining the gullet, are covered with a profusion of small
spines. The eyes are dark-coloured, of moderate size,
and planted high in the head. The buckler, or sucker,
so peculiar to this fish, occupies the top of the head,
and extends over a portion of the back. It is of oval
form, and composed of many distinct portions of bone.
Its upper surface is furnished with several rows of thin
transverse bony plates, or stria,* projecting obliquely

* The number of striae on the buckler can scarcely be regarded as a
specific character of this fish ; since, amongst many examples, all of
them evidently identical with this species, we found their number to
vary from 16 to 17, 18 and 19.

FISHES. 271

backwards, and each armed at its free border with
numerous small spines.

The average length of this species is from six to
eight inches. It has no swim-bladder, or sound. Its
skeleton is strongly and perfectly formed. The ribs
are double, the inner and stronger series being eleven
on each side, the outer and more slender, nineteen or
twenty. The female is oviparous. The contents of the
stomach, in the specimens we examined, were small
marine insects, shrimps, and fragments of delicate shells.

As this fish has no swim-bladder, and as its fins are
feeble, and possess only a horizontal action, it is not
improbable, that a power of adhering to floating bodies
is given to it as a compensation for these physical
defects, and that the sucker is only of use as a loco-
motive organ, or as an agent by which the fish reposes
after the laborious exercise of swimming. The slow
and prowling movements of the shark render it par-
ticularly eligible either as a resting-place or as a con-
veyance for the sucking fish, hence it is usually at-
tended by many of these half-parasitic companions.
Any convenient floating object is, however, also ac-
ceptable : we have seen them adhering to turtle, albacore,
whales, and the bottom of ships.

It is not true that the Remora receives any nutriment
through its sucker, or that it in any way injures the
animals to which it may adhere : its capacious and
well-armed mouth, and the food contained in its
stomnch, denote that this fish is as capable of catering
for itself as any other species, of more independent
habits. The use it makes of its sucker is, indeed, much
less than may be supposed: it often merely swims
around the body it attends, and only fixes upon it oc-
casionally, and for a very short time.

272 ZOOLOGY.

The adhesion of the buckler is chiefly effected by the
smooth membrane that margins it; and apparently
upon the same principle as that which applies to the
leather sucker with which boys amuse themselves.
After the death of the fish, and even after the head has
been severed from the body, the moist membranous
border of this organ adheres to a plane surface with
undiminished power: proving, satisfactorily, that its
adhesion is partly mechanical, and not altogether de-
pendent upon muscular action, or any vital function.
The striae on the surface of the buckler are under the
control of a complex set of muscles. One can be raised
and depressed by the fish, independent of the others, or
all can be moved simultaneously and rapidly. Their
uses are, to fix the sucker more firmly, to offer resistance
in one determinate direction, and, probably, to liberate
the sucker from its attachment, by relieving the vacuum.
Their resisting power is so strong, that it is impossible
to slide the fish off the object to which it adheres, in
the direction to which these plates are opposed, although
in the contrary direction this may be easily done ; and
it is remarkable, that the Remora usually fixes itself
with its head presenting towards the anterior extremity
of a body moving through the water; thus availing
itself of the resistance the striae offer to any impulse
directed from the head towards the tail. When swim-
ming, the sucking-fish propels itself by rapid lateral
movements of the tail, attended with an awkward twirl-
ing motion.

The species is not altogether free from enemies,
although it is evidently secure from the ferocity of the
shark. I have already noticed, that two of these fish
had been devoured by a Round-Diodon, and we took
a third dead example from the maw t of an albacore.

FISHES. 273

Some perfectly white Remorae which we noticed, both
adhering to a shark and swimming by its side, in
company with others of the normal black hue, would
sanction the belief that this species is liable to an
albino variety.

It often happened, after whales or sharks had been
destroyed, that the Tuscan was attended by Sucking-
fish for several successive weeks. Great numbers of
them were taken by hook and line, baited with flesh.
They take a fe still bait" readily ; but some tact is re-
quired to draw them out of the water, as the instant
they are hooked, they will sometimes fix themselves
by their sucker to the keel of the ship, and defy every
attempt to complete their capture.

AUSTRALASIAN REMORA.
(Echeneis Australis.J

This species exceeds the former in size. One in-
dividual we captured, and which was by no means the
largest we observed, measured one foot five inches in
length, and was proportionately broad. Of three
examples, one only had 24 strise on the buckler, the
other two had 26. Branchiostegous rays 10. Pectoral
more than 20. Dorsal 21. Ventral 5. Anal 24.
Caudal 20.

This fish has a more symmetrically-formed body
than E. Remora, and its movements in the water are
rapid and active. The sclerotic coat of the eye, both
of this and the former species, is composed of two
hemispherical bones, as perfect and much thicker than
the bony sclerotic of the shark. Some examples, which
we captured by hook and line, were cooked for the
table. In flavour and solidity they resemble the eel ;
but have not the oily richness of that fish.

VOL. II. T

ZOOLOGY.

THE SOCIAL-DORADO, OR BLUE-FISH.

(Coryphcena Socialis, N. Sp.)

This is a new species of a fish commonly called the
Dolphin. Its average length does not exceed one foot
and a half. Rays of the pectoral fin, 20. Dorsal, 53.
Anal, 24.

Its colour, when in the water, is deep-blue, with
circular black spots. When removed from the sea, it
assumes a yellow-green or olive tint, changing to a
dull-silver or lead- colour ; which last remains permanent
after death, as also do the circular spots on the body.

Large shoals of this species came about us in lat.
27° N., Pacific Ocean, and on the Equator, in long.
166° W. They accompanied the ship for several suc-
cessive days, swimming astern or on the quarter, and
many were taken by hook and line. Notwithstanding
their small and apparently youthful size, several of these
fish had large impregnated roes, which went far to
prove that they were adult specimens. They chiefly
differ from the common Dorado (Coryhcena hippuris) in
the increased number of rays in their dorsal fin — in
their diminutive size — and in the circumstance of their
associating together in large shoals.

THE PILOT-FISH.

(Gasterosteus Ductor, Linn.)

The average length of this fish is about six inches ;
though we took one example, in the Pacific, which
measured one foot two inches. The body is somewhat
cylindrical, and neatly formed. The colour of the head
and back is steel-blue ; abdomen silvery ; sides marked
with five broad black bands ; fins mottled black and
white, and mostly tipped with white; inner circle of

FISHES. 275

the iris hazle, outer gold-yellow. A single row of teeth
in each jaw. Three short spines in front of the dorsal
fin, and two in front of the anal. Lateral line is ob-
lique, and terminates posteriorly in a semi- cartilaginous
ridge, projecting from either side of the tail. The
female is oviparous.

Pilot-fish are almost invariably found in attendance
upon the shark, though the nature of their connexion
with that ferocious fish is somewhat mysterious. They
will accompany ships for a considerable time after their
patron-shark has been destroyed ; but I am not aware
that they have ever been seen, like the Remora, at-
tending upon other large fish, whales, or miscellaneous
floating bodies. The structure of their mouth and the
contents of their stomach, which are usually small fish,
denote that they are accustomed to seek their food in a
very independent manner : we captured many of them
also by hook and line, baited with flesh, nor did they
refuse the bait even when they were in company with a
shark.

The reputation this fish has obtained of being the
shark's pilot or provider (and which has sanctioned its
trivial name) would appear to be groundless, were we
guided only by the want of similar precedents in the

T 2

276 ZOOLOGY.

animal kingdom. A fact, however, which came under
my notice during a voyage from India, in the year
1832, led me to believe that there is some just founda-
tion for this popular opinion. While we were becalmed
in the Atlantic Ocean, a shark was seen close to the
ship, and attended by two Pilot-fish, which generally
swam one above and the other below him, and occa-
sionally went off to some distance, as if to explore the
surrounding sea ; although it was seldom long before
they returned, and resumed their former positions — the
shark, in the meantime, by its unwieldy form, slow
movements, and lethargic aspect, offering a strong
contrast to the sprightliness and activity of his scouts.
A baited hook was lowered from the bow of the ship ;
but the shark, when alone, passed it several times
without notice, and apparently without seeing it. One
of the foraging Pilot-fish then approached the bait, and
immediately swam off to where the Shark was headed
in a contrary direction; when the monster instantly
turned, and followed his informant, which now swam
ahead of him, in a direct line towards the suspended
bait. He did not then hesitate a moment, but seized
it, and was captured. While the Shark was being
hauled on board, the Pilot-fish expressed the greatest
concern, almost leaping out of the water in their en-
deavours to follow him, and swimming near the surface
with every demonstration of anxiety. These faithful
little fish were observed to attach themselves to the
ship, but attracted little attention until some weeks
afterwards, when we spoke the Thomas Grenville,
East-Indiaman, and lowered a boat to communicate with
her. One of the fish was then seen to accompany the
boat to and from the stranger-ship ; and so devotedly
did it attend upon what it might have believed to be its

FISHES. 277

lost shark, as to lead the officers of the Thomas Gren-
ville to remark that we had a Pilot-fish painted on
the rudder of the boat.

Their attendance upon sharks is somewhat capri-
cious : we have seen more than five associated with one
shark, while many others of the latter tribe, and as-
sembled in the water at the same time, have not been
accompanied by one of these fishes. They have evidently
nothing to dread from the voracious companion they
select, but swim around, and often a few inches ahead
of him, as either their convenience or caprice may
dictate.

THE TRANSPARENT SOLE.

(Achirus Pellucidus, N. Sp.}

The entire length of this flat-fish is two inches. Its
body is thin, circular, smooth, and colourless, (with
the exception of a slender pink streak on the margin of
the back, and a few similar lines on the sides,) and is
as transparent as the body of the Leptocephalus. It
has no pectoral fins ; and the direction of the head is
reversed, or turned to the left when the back of the fish
is presented to the observer. Both eyes are placed on
one side of the head, as is general with the Pleuronectes
family and its sub-genus Achirus. Iris silvery. The
fins are composed of innumerable small bony rays, sur-
rounding the body. A perfect skeleton obtains, but it
is very delicate, and scarcely to be detected in the re-
cent fish; and any appearance of viscera is equally
indistinct.

Two examples of this extraordinary fish were taken,
near the surface, in the Pacific Ocean : the one in lat.

ZOOLOGY.

27° N., long. 170° W; the other about a day's sail
from the Marquesas Group.

THE SMALL. SPINED DOCTOR-FISH.
(Acanthurus Subarmatus, N. Sp.)

This species may be regarded as a link between the
Chaetodon and Acanthurus genera ; since it possesses
only in a very rudimental form, the spine on the side of
the tail which distinguishes the latter from the former
family of fishes.

Rays of the dorsal fin 33, 9 spinous. Pectoral 15.
Anal 23, 3 spinous. Body compressed, covered with
small scales. A very minute spine on either side of
the tail. Entire length of the specimen, five inches ;
depth, two and a half. Colour, dull-gray ; five vertical
black bands on the sides and tail.

Taken on the coral reefs at Raiatea, Society Isles.

THE ALBACORE.
(Scomber Germo ?)

The albacore which came under our notice so fre-
quently during the voyage, bears some resemblance to

FISHES. 2?9

Scomber Thynnus, the Tunny j but has some peculiari-
ties which distinguish it from that species, and bring it
nearer to S. Germo, of Comme^on.

The average length of the examples we captured from
the ship was four feet ; though some others, which we
saw on the coasts of the Polynesian Islands, measured
nearly six feet. Their body is bulky, but, like that of
all the Mackerel family, very elegantly formed. The
colour of the back is bright-blue or azure, with a golden
tint ; the belly silvery-white and beautifully iridescent ;
the spurious fins of the tail bright-yellow, the iris
silvery. The pectoral fin is long and sickle-shaped.
The first dorsal, composed of fourteen rays, is received
and completely concealed, when depressed, within a
deep groove on the back Rays of the ventral fin,
seven. Anal, twelve. Caudal, thirty. The spurious
fins, (nine above the tail and eight below,) are triangular,
and move freely in a lateral direction. An elastic semi-
cartilaginous ridge projects from each side of the tail.
It is only on the upper and anterior parts of the body,
and chiefly around the pectoral fins, that there is any
collection of scales ; the rest of the fish being smooth,
and apparently destitute of this covering. The eyes
are very large, and provided with a bony sclerotica.

It is chiefly remarkable of this fish, that amongst the
vast numbers of them we captured for the table, or
other purposes, not one possessed a milt or roe : nor
had any of our crew, eyen the oldest voyagers in the
Pacific, ever noticed these organs in the albacore, or
any distinct traces of their mode of propagation. Dis-
section seemed to demonstrate that the species is vi-
viparous ;* but it is equally strange that no examples

* The anatomical peculiarities which lead to this inference are as

280 ZOOLOGY.

thus impregnated came at any time under our observa-
tion. The Mackerel and Bonita, congeners of the Al-
bacore, are decidedly oviparous ; and the Albacore, or
Tunny (S. Thynnus) of Europe, is well known to fre-
quent the shores of the Mediterranean to exclude its
eggs or spawn.

Ships, when cruizing slowly in the Pacific Ocean, are
usually attended by myriads of this fish, for many
successive months. A few days rapid sailing is, ne-
vertheless, sufficient to get rid of them, however nu-
merous they may be ; for they seldom pay more than
very transient visits to vessels making a quick passage.
When the ship is sailing with a fresh breeze, they swim
pertinaciously by her side and take the hook greedily ;
but should she be lying motionless or becalmed, they
go off to some distance in search of prey, and cannot
be prevailed upon to take the most tempting bait the
sailor can devise.

follow. The two organs which may be considered as uteri, in the female
fish, are situated close to the spine, one being placed on each side of
the swim- bladder. They are about four inches in length, red, and of
fleshy texture. Their anterior extremity is rounded and impervious, and
attached to a broad membrane, which in consistence and colour bears
some resemblance to the parenchyma of the lungs of amphibia ; their
posterior extremity is narrower, and terminates in a slender tube. The
interior of each uteroid body is a cavity or bag, but its sides are in
contact, and lined with longitudinal folds of the same structure as the
rest of the organ.

The terminal tubes of both uteri conjoin to form a more capacious
canal, which is separated from the vesical tube, or urethra, by a thin
membranous septum ; while the rectum opens by a distinct channel :
thus, although but one common orifice or cloaca exists, there are, im-
mediately within it, three distinct orifices. What would appear to be
sexual organs in the male fish, are narrow flattened bodies, similar in
situation, length, and colour, to those of the female ; but their structure
is glandular and solid, and they are only perforated by a minute tube or
duct, passing through the centre of their entire length.

FISHES. 281

It is, probably, as a protection from their chief
enemy, the sword-fish, that they seek the society of a
ship. I am not aware that the shark is also their
enemy ; but they seemed to have an instinctive dread of
this large fish, and when it approached the ship, would
follow it in shoals, and annoy it in the same manner
as the smaller birds may be seen to annoy those of
a larger and predaceous kind, as the hawk or owl.

They are very voracious and miscellaneous feeders.
Flying-fish, calmars, and small shoal-fish, are their more
natural food; though they do not refuse the animal
offal from a ship. Amongst the other food contained
in their maw, we have found small ostracions, file-fish,
sucking-fish, janthina shells, and pelagic crabs — in one
instance a small bonita, and in a second a dolphin,
eight inches long, and a paper-nautilus shell, contain-
ing its sepia tenant. It was often amusing to watch an
albacore pursuing a flying-fish, and to mark the pre-
cision with which it swam beneath the feeble aeronaut,
keeping him steadily in view, and preparing to seize
him at the moment of his descent. But this the flying-
fish would often elude, by instantaneously renewing
his leap, and not unfrequently escaped by extreme
agility.

THE BONITA,* OR BROAD MACKEREL.

(Scomber Pelamys.}

This species is smaller than the albacore : seldom
exceeding two feet and a half in its entire length. The
head is also more pointed ; the pectoral fins are short
and straight ; the spurious fins are only eight in num-
ber above the tail, and seven beneath ; and it is further

* A Spanish word, signifying pretty.

282 ZOOLOGY.

distinguished from its congener last described, by pos-
sessing four or five longitudinal black lines on each side
the body. In all the pelagic examples we obtained,
the sexes were very plainly denoted, by the existence of
either a milt or an impregnated roe. Their flesh has
the colour of raw beef, and is very good eating, al-
though rather inferior to albacore.

Bonita do not accompany ships with the same con-
stancy as albacore ; and, unlike the latter species, their
visits are more frequent and protracted when the vessel
is making a rapid passage. I have occasionally found in
the stomach of this fish several living examples of the
parasitic worm, Distoma clavatum.

THE RUDDER-FISH.

( Caranx Antilliarum.J

(Scomber Carangus, Bloch.)

Branchiostegous rays, six ; first dorsal, eight, all spi-
nous ; pectoral, twenty-one ; ventral, six ; anal, eighteen ;
two spines in front of the anal fin ; a single row of teeth
in each jaw ; lateral line covered, near the tail, with
broad scales arranged transversely, and supporting a
row of reflexed spines.

FISHES. 283

The natural colour of this species is silver- white and
blue ; the iris silvery, with yellow stains ; but, when
taken from the water, or soon after death, the entire
surface of the fish assumes a gilded or brassy hue.
When hooked, they make a loud chattering noise, ap-
parently produced by the passage of air through the
gills. We captured many examples on the rocky coast
of Juan Fernandez ; and also on the Equator, in long.
139° E., where they were attending a log of drift-wood.
Their flesh is wholesome but coarse. They obtain
from sailors their trivial name, Rudder-fish, from a
habit they have of swimming astern of ships.

THE YELLOW-TAIL.

(Elagatis Bipinnulatus, N. Sp.)

Branchiostegous rays seven ; first dorsal, six, all spi-
nous ; second, twenty-six ; pectoral, twenty ; ventral,
six ; anal, eighteen ; a single minute spine in front of
the anal fin ; one spurious fin above, and a second be-
neath the tail, each composed of two articulated rays ;
jaws armed with many rows of small teeth.

Body cylindrical ; colour of the back, blue with a
yellow tinge; abdomen silvery; a broad yellow line
extends from the snout to the tail ; caudal-fin yellow ;
iris silvery.

284 ZOOLOGY.

The genus Elagatis is nearly allied to Caranx, and
this species bears some resemblance to C. Chrysurus,
La Cepede. Examples came under our notice in the
Pacific Ocean and Indian Archipelago, from lat. 6° N.
to 8° S. They were very numerous around a log of
drift-wood, on the Equator, in long. 140° E., as well as
in the Straits of Timor. The average length of the
specimens we obtained was one foot and a half ; though
one individual measured in its whole length three feet.
They are shy of the hook, — but their flesh is a delicate
and delicious food.

ORDER, ABDOMINALES.

THE FLYING-FISH.

(Exoc&tus VolitanSy Linn.)

Although the Exocsetus family is so well known by
its trivial name, voyaging naturalists find some difficulty
in determining the species they meet with, by the de-
scriptions of authors. The nearest approach to the
species Volitans of Linnaeus, possesses the following
characters. Entire length, from six inches to one foot;
body nearly quadrangular ; branchiostegous rays, ten ;
dorsal, fourteen ; pectoral, fifteen ; ventral, six ; anal,
fourteen ; caudal, fifteen ; colour of the head and back,
blue ; abdomen silvery ; pectoral fins powdered with
gray; iris silver-white with blue stains; lower lobe
of the tail nearly one half longer than the upper.

Linnseus describes the genus Exocsetus as being des-
titute of teeth ; while Bloch, and some other ichthy-
ologists justly dissent from that too general opinion.
It has occurred to me to meet with many examples,
corresponding accurately with E. Volitans, of Linnseus,
which were destitute of teeth ; while others, differing

FISHES. 285

in no other evident respect from the former, had their
jaws well provided with these organs. Bloch admits
that E. Evolans, or the Spanish flying- fish,, has no teeth,
and suspects it to be the Volitans of Linnaeus ; since
it differs from that species only in the abdomen not
being carinated. The toothless species which I have
seen has, however, a carinated abdomen, according
with the description of Linnaeus.

One kind of Exoceetus which I have met with, but
have not seen described, has the ventral fins of great
length, pointed, and placed far back. The colour of
its back is inclined to green, and there is a black patch
on the posterior third of the dorsal fin, and a second on
the base of the ventral. In other respects this fish
resembles E. Volitans. Its entire length is ten inches,
and it has teeth in both jaws.

The entire family of flying-fish would appear to have
the same habits. They frequent only the warmer seas
within or on the verge of the tropics,* where they con-
gregate in large shoals. When disturbed by the
passage of a ship, or pursued by predaceous fish, they
rise from the water in dense flocks, and present a beau-
tiful spectacle as they glide through the air, their
broad silvery " wings" and blue bodies glittering beneath
the rays of a tropical sun. Their tour through the air
must be regarded rather as a leap than a flight ; their
expanded pectoral fins, or wings, being projected hori-
zontally, but having very little movement during this
evolution.

The principal external agents employed in this
mode of locomotion are, the larger lobe of the tail fin,

* We have seen none of these fish in a more extreme latitude than

36° N.

286 ZOOLOGY.

and the broad transparent pectoral fins, which, on this
occasion, serve at least as a parachute, and which, being
situated close to the back, place the centre of suspen-
sion higher than the centre of gravity. It is also
curious to notice, how well the specific gravity of the
fish can be regulated, in correspondence with the ele-
ment through which it may move : the swim-bladder,
when perfectly distended, occupies nearly the entire
cavity of the abdomen, and contains a large volume of
air ; and, in addition to this, there is a membrane in
the mouth which can be inflated through the gills;
these two reservoirs of air affording good substitutes
for the air-cells so freely distributed within the bones
of birds; and having the additional advantage of being
voluntary in their function. The pectoral fins, though
so large when expanded, can be folded into an exceed-
ingly slender, neat, and compact form; but whether
they are employed, in swimming, in the closed or ex-
panded state, I have been unable to determine.

Under some circumstances of excitement, these fish
wiU leap over the bulwarks of a ship, and be killed
by the violence with which they strike against the deck
or spars. This usually occurs at night, or early in the
morning ; and a light, displayed from the chains of a
vessel on a dark night, will bring many of them on
board in the same manner. Their flesh is the bonne
bouche of voyagers : it bears some resemblance to that
of the herring. Although the flying-fish excites so
much commiseration for its persecuted state, it is itself
predaceous, feeding chiefly on smaller fishes.

FISHES. 28?

(Exoc&tus Nigricans, N. Sp.)

Pectoral fins as long as the body ; their rays muri-
cated, or studded above and beneath with small tuber-
cles. Ventral fins placed near the middle of the belly,
very long, tapered and slender when collapsed, broad
when expanded, and very conspicuous during the flight
of the fish ; jaws provided with small teeth ; branchios-
tegous rays, eleven ; dorsal, fifteen ; pectoral, fifteen ;
ventral, six ; anal, ten.

Head and upper portion of the body black ; abdo-
men silver-white ; iris silvery with purple stains 5 pec-
toral fins black, a broad transverse white band extend-
ing across their centre ; a black mark on the posterior
third of the dorsal, and on the base of the ventral fin.
The proximal half of the caudal fin is also black. En-
tire length of the fish, fourteen inches and a half.

Taken both in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in
lat. 5o N.

A parasitic worm, Lerntea exoccBti, is sometimes at-
tached to the body of this species. It is about one
inch in length, uniformly black, and of this form :

Its head, or tubular peduncle, penetrates the abdo-
men of the fish and becomes rooted amongst the intes-
tines, while the body protrudes externally, pendant
from beneath the pectoral fin.

288 ZOOLOGY.

THE LUMINOUS SCOPELUS.
(Scopelus Stellatus, N. Sp.)

This is the luminous fish noticed in the Narrative,
as having occurred to us so abundantly in lat. 43°
S., Pacific Ocean. The average length of the species
is about three inches; the body compressed; head
large and blunt ; mouth capacious ; the lower jaw pro-
trudes beyond the upper, and both are provided
with teeth. There is no evident tongue, but in its
place, a bundle of black rigid fibres, sent off from the
bones that support the gills. Eyes large; iris silvery;
branchiostegous rays, eight; pectoral fins compara-

tively long, slender and curved; dorsal placed near
the centre of the back. All these fins have numerous
slender branched rays, and are spotted with gray. On
the back, near the tail, there is a small transparent and
elastic appendage, which may, perhaps, be considered
an adipose fin.

The scales covering the body are large, very com-
pactly placed, and of a metallic-white hue, Those on
the lateral line are larger and more prominent than the
others, and are arranged in the peculiar manner repre-
sented in the above sketch.* A row of small circular

* The scales covering the body generally, were so easily detached by
handling the fish, as well as by the net in which the specimens were
taken, that no correct idea of their normal appearance could be conveyed

PISHES. 289

depressions, resembling the marks on dice, each sil-
vered within and surrounded by a narrow black zone,
occupies the margin of the abdomen and side of the
tail ; and similar depressions are also more irregularly
scattered over other parts of the under surface of
the body. The head is covered with large scales, or
plates. These last, as well as the scales covering the
body, and more especially the depressions on the ab-
domen and tail, (and which appeared like stars,) shone
with a brilliant phosphorescent light while the fish
was alive, but lost this power immediately after death.
The examples we captured had their stomach distended
with pelagic shrimps.

As well as for much other valuable assistance, I am
indebted to that erudite naturalist, Lieutenant-Colonel
C. H. Smith, for a knowledge of the family of fishes to
which this species is allied.

by the pencil. Rays of the dorsal fin, about twenty-three ; ventral,
thirteen.

VOL. II. U

290 ZOOL.OGY.

MOLLUSC A.

THE FLYING SQUID.

(Loligo, Sp.)

Many different kinds of Loligo are called by sailors
Flying-Squid, from a habit they have of leaping from
the water, and proceeding through the air to some
distance in a horizontal direction, like the flying-fish.

The head of this Cephalopod is a plane circular disk,
surrounded by long arms, furnished on their upper
surface with many small circular suckers, which hold
with a tenacious grasp. The eyes are large, very per-
fectly formed, and lodged in capacious cartilaginous
orbits. The mouth, like that of most of the cuttle-
fish tribe, is horny, and shaped like the beak of a
parrot. A slender neck connects the head to the body,
and is received into the latter as into a capacious sheath.
The trunk is conical, tapering to a point at the tail,
smooth, and composed of a dense white semi-car-
tilaginous structure covered with a delicate membrane,
or skin, beneath which are deposited the brilliant co-
lours this mollusc often displays. Near the tail there
is a broad fin-like appendage, which can either be ex-
panded horizontally on either side or folded neatly
upon the abdomen. The interior of the back contains
an elastic horny rod, or substitute for the fe sepia-bone"
that occupies the same part in some other tribes of
cuttle-fish. It extends the entire length of the body,
and is flattened at its anterior extremity, whilst its cau-
dal end is shaped like a cup; the whole bearing some
resemblance to the instrument used for tasting wine

MOLLUSCA. 291

from casks. This elastic structure, and the membra-
nous expansion on each side the tail, are apparently
the two principal agents employed by the animal in its
protracted leaps through the air. Whether the fin-like
appendage is also employed in swimming is very ques-
tionable.

One kind of Loligo, which we captured in the Pa-
cific Ocean, in lat. 34° N., measured six inches in its
entire length. The upper surface of the body is gray,
freckled with purple, the under white ; iris silvery, pupil
jet-black and prominent. It has eight arms and two
tentacles. Each arm is furnished with a double row of
suckers on its entire length, and all, with the exception
of the first or dorsal pair, have a loose membrane float-
ing from their posterior surface. The two tentacles
are round, slender, and twice the length of the arms^
and have at their extremity a broad sickle-shaped mem-
brane, covered with two rows of yellow hooks of
different sizes.

This individual leaped from the sea over the high
bulwarks of the ship and alighted on the deck, at a time
when vast flocks of the same species were seen leaping
around and often striking with violence against the
bows of the vessel — the sea being comparatively smooth.
The creature was much injured by the violence with
which it had struck the deck, and showed little anima-
tion : it did not attempt to leap or swim when put into
a bucket of sea-water, though it emitted a quantity of
inky fluid* through a canal in the body, opening by
a large orifice immediately below the neck. The pre-
hensile power of the suckers on the arms was retained
for a considerable time after the death of the animal ;

* This secretion is contained in a narrow oblong bag, of silvery hue,
and placed immediately below the stomach.

II 2

292 ZOOLOGY.

from which I should judge that, like the buckler of the
sucking-fish, their function in a great measure depends
upon solely mechanical causes.

A second species, which we also obtained in the
Pacific, resembled the above in size and form, but its
two long tentacles were furnished at their extremities
with rows of suckers, (acetabulaj instead of horny
hooked appendages. The prevailing colours of this
species are silver-white and steel-blue, spread with red
spots and tints of violet and purple, a brilliant and
very beautiful spot of emerald-green being placed im-
mediately above each eye. We noticed examples of
this family of Cephalopods from the Equator to lats.
34<> N. and 16° S., Pacific Ocean.

ARGONAUTA RUFA, Owen.
(Ocyth'6e, Sp.J

We obtained many specimens of this remarkable
testaceous cephalopod near the surface of the sea, in
several parts of the Pacific, from the Equator to
lat. 40 S.

The shell is a small univalve, of a brown colour, and
very elegantly formed in the manner usual with the
Argonaut tribe. The contained animal has a short
round body, and is speckled with red spots. It has
eight arms, two of which are longer than the others,
and furnished at their extremities with a membranous
expansion, which has been called a (f sail ;" but, since
it also obtains in many cephalopods that have no bark
to waft, as Loligo, &c., it can have no exclusive use
which will sanction the application of that term.

The animal corresponds perfectly, in size, with the
shell it inhabits : its arms accurately filling the aper-
ture, or valve, and presenting their surface of small

MOLLUSCA. 293

suckers on a level with the margin. Most of the exam-
ples we obtained were resting upon clusters of eggs,
loosely deposited at the bottom of their shell. Each
egg is round, colourless, and about the size of a millet
seed.

I noticed that some of the animals had escaped from
their shells while the net in which they were taken was
towing through the sea, and also that there were some-
times more empty shells than corresponded with the
number of uncovered Argonauts. Those that remained
in their shells would not easily quit them ; but, when
handled, retracted their body and resisted any mode-
rate force that was employed to withdraw them. When
put into a pan of sea-water, their first action was to
eject clouds of black fluid, which were diffused but
slowly through the water. These were cast with great
force and rapidity from near the arms, and when the
inky fluid was exhausted, its place was supplied by what
appeared to be forcible currents of water. They some-
times moved in a sliding manner, and in a retrograde
direction, as they rested on the side or convex back of
their shell ; and sometimes adhered to the sides of the
pan by their suckers, and advanced by walking, bearing
their shell on their back, like a snail. None of them,
while thus circumstanced, made the slightest attempt
to quit their shell. The remarkable number of empty
shells of Hyal&a tridentata which I found adhering to
the suckers on the arms of these Argonauts, led me to
suspect that the animals they had contained were de-
voured by the cephalopod.

Modern naturalists have been anxious to ascertain
if the Ocythoe is a parasite, or whether it has the
power necessary to construct the shell it occupies.
That the cephalopod is well adapted in size to the
dwelling it inhabits is by no means an argument against

294 ZOOLOGY.

its parasitic habits, as the same remark would apply to
most Hermit-lobsters (Paguri) and the marine shells
they borrow. The absence of any muscular attach-
ment between the Ocythoe and its shell, and the ease
with which the animal can liberate itself from its tene-
ment and exist uncovered, are also in favour of its being
a parasite. Nevertheless, if we reason by analogy, and
regard the uniform resemblance in figure that obtains
amongst the shells of all the known species of the Nau-
tilus family, and how nearly the shell of Ocythoe ac-
cords in this respect with those of other testaceous
cephalopods which are admitted to be the architects of
their dwelling, we shall be better prepared to believe
that this creature is not less independent than other
testacea of its class ; and this the more readily, since
no inferior shell-fish has hitherto been recognised as
even a remote claimant for the covering of this species.
The investigations of Professor Owen, aided by the
enthusiastic researches of Madame Power, (who has
availed herself of unusually favourable opportunities for
experimenting on living specimens of Ocythoe, on the
coast of Sicily,) establish the following more material
facts, which may be considered as decisive of this in-
teresting question.

First. " The cephalopod of the Argonaut constantly
maintains the same relative position in its shell."

Second. The expanded membranes on the dorsal pair
of arms of this cephalopod resemble the mantle of other
shell-fish, and have a like power of secreting materials
for the erection or repair of its shell.

Third. Experiments upon an extensive series of spe-
cimens prove, that the weight and measurements of
the shell correspond very nearly with those of the con-
tained animal, in all stages of its growth.

Fourth. "The cephalopod inhabiting the Argonaut

MOLLUSCA. 295

repairs the fracture of its shell with a material having
the same chemical composition as the original shell,
and differing in mechanical properties only in being a
little more opake."

Fifth. " The repairing material is laid on from with-
out the shell, as it should be according to the theory
of the function of the membranous arms as calcifying
organs/'

The sixth, and perhaps the strongest fact is, that
some young Argonaut cephalopods, bred in confine-
ment, were noticed by Madame Power to have formed
their little shell in ten or twelve days after their exclu-
sion from the egg.

THE SEA SNAIL.

(Janthina Fragilis.)

The Sea- or Violet-Snail is one of the many hydro-
static univalve shells which float upon the surface of
the ocean, giving beauty to its bosom and relieving the
monotony of a calm. It varies much in size. The
largest I have obtained is equal in magnitude to the
shell of our garden snail, (Helix hortensisj to which it
bears, also, a close resemblance in form. The upper
part of the shell (including the whirls) is white ; the
entire inferior surface delicate-blue or violet. When
recently removed from the water, it is covered with a
slippery membrane, or periostracum, and has a lively
tint which cannot be artificially preserved. A delicate
white and inflated membrane projects horizontally for-
wards from the aperture of the shell. It is about one
inch in length, of oblong form, and is puckered on its
surface, so as to resemble an assemblage of air-bubbles.
It is an aeriferous float, and may in some measure serve
the purpose of an operculum : but more questionably

296 ZOOLOGY.

that of a " sail." Should this inflated membrane be
removed or materially injured, the shell sinks. In its
natural element, the shell rests upon its convex surface,
or keel, and is immersed; the aeriferous float being
alone visible above the surface.

The contained animal (a trachelipod) has a muscular
attachment to its shell only by a small portion of its
back. There is a short bifurcated tentacle on each side
the head ; and the mouth is a vertical fissure, its mar-
gins beset with a row of rigid hairs which are some-
times inverted and concealed, and at others projected
forwards, the opposite rows crossing or interlacing one
with the other. A broad membrane (a foot or branchia)
arises from the under part of the neck, and to this the
float is attached by a slender base. The stomach is a
very distinct and perfect organ ; in some examples we
examined, its contents were minute brown shells.

The body of this mollusc contains a very blue liquid,
which, when the animal is punctured, exudes to the
amount of three or four large drops. It is readily
diffused through water or colourless spirit — to the
former it communicates a faint tinge of its own peculiar
hue, and to the latter a pink colour with a purple shade.
It communicates its colour to paper, and may be con-
veniently used as a blue ink : several memoranda and
pages of my journal, written with this fluid, have, after
a lapse of more than five years, retained their original
appearance, both in colour and intenseness. For this
use, however, it must be employed from the recent
animal, as it will not keep in any quantity, but becomes
thin and discoloured. It is believed that this fluid is
analogous, in use, to the black secretion which the
cuttle-fish pours forth to obscure the water and elude
the pursuit of its enemies ; but this opinion must be

MOLLUSCA. 297

received with some qualification. The living examples
of Janthina which I have irritated when they have
been confined in a vessel containing sea-water have
not emitted any of this coloured fluid ; when taken in
the hand they would sometimes allow a little to exude ;
but the entire quantity obtained from one animal by
artificial means was never sufficient to cloud or obscure,
although it would stain, about half a pint of pure water.

The spawn of Janthina is attached to the under
surface of the float, in the form of numerous small
oval sacks, each suspended by a short slender thread.
Some of the ova have a delicate pink or flesh-colour,
while others are dark-brown — a difference that de-
pends, probably, upon their state of maturity. Over
some extensive tracts of ocean, especially in lats. 7°
and 29° N., we found vast quantities of the floats, all
all of them loaded with ova, scattered on the surface of
the water, and not attached to either animal or shell.
It is difficult to account for this fact upon the supposi-
tion that any accident could have destroyed the fish and
shell but left the floats entire ; we are therefore com-
pelled to admit, that these spawn-bearing appendages
are cast off by the Janthina as a mode of propagating
its species ; which necessarily implies that the parent
animal must, for some time, sacrifice its essential
buoyancy and sink to some depth beneath the surface
of the sea, until a second float is formed by the foot.

In common with other molluscs floating passively on
the ocean, the Sea-Snail is exposed to the caprice of
currents, on which, indeed, it must chiefly depend for
any material migration. Hence, we often find great
numbers assembled in very limited tracts of water,
where they serve to indicate the previous or present
existence of a current. The highest latitudes in which

298 ZOOLOGY.

we have detected the species in the Pacific, are 30°
N. and 32° S. Between the Equator and the parallels
of 5° N. and S. lat. they were particularly abundant.
They obtain in the Mediterranean ; and are occasionally
driven, by heavy gales, across the warmer seas, even to
the western shores of Great Britain. I have on nu-
merous occasions captured this shell-fish at night, and
am satisfied that they are not phosphoric ; although the
Rev.Wm.Kirby, in his " Seventh Bridgewater Treatise,"
asserts that they possess this quality in a very high
degree. Neither have they the power of collapsing their
float and sinking at will, as is stated by the same author.
When the mollusc is captured, and confined in a pan of
sea water, the float undergoes no change ; and the shell,
consequently, is maintained buoyantly on the surface ;
the animal frequently protrudes its head from the shell,
in an inquiring manner, and, when handled, retires, like
a snail, within the deeper recesses of its dwelling, re-
tracting at the same time its aeriferous float, which fills
the aperture of the shell. When the entire mollusc is
immersed in spirit or dried in the sun, the float remains
inflated, and attached to the body for several weeks ;
although it ultimately becomes detached, collapses, and
can be but seldom exhibited in a preparation.

Janthina Globosa occurred to us very rarely, and is,
perhaps, never found assembled in such large quantities
as the species fragilis. It differs from the latter, not
only in the shape and more delicate pink hue of its
shell, but also in the markings of its float.

In the course of the Narrative I have had occasion to
mention a yellow and very rare species of this genus ;
and for which I should propose the name Janthina
lutea.

MOLLUSCA. 299

HYALuEA TRIDENTATA.

This mollusc, both in its own structure and that of
its shell, furnishes us with a link between univalve and
bivalve shell-fish. The shell is small and inclined to a
globular shape; and, although it has a broad and
permanent aperture in front, its sides betray a disposi-
tion to form two valves. It may be compared to a
bivalve shell without a hinge ; its posterior part being
consolidated, and armed with three short spines, while
its sides present a narrow fissure, through which a
membrane protrudes. The upper surface or valve is
longer than the lower, and projects forward, as a
hollowed ledge, or beak, tipped with gelatinous matter.
The entire structure of the shell is vitreous and semi-
transparent, and has a yellow-brown tint.

The contained animal (a Pteropod) has no tentacula,
and its head is a mere rudiment ; its body is black, and
of soft consistence. A broad white membrane (branchia,
or " wing ") is attached to each side of the neck, and
protrudes through the aperture of the shell. We have
frequently seen the Hyalsea moving rapidly over the
surface of a calm sea by the aid of these wings, which
they employ as oars. Although they float passively in
their natural condition, when captured and put into a
basin of sea-water they invariably sunk to the bottom ;
and this they appeared to do by filling their shells with
water, which they could doubtless expel when they
wished to rise to the surface.

We found this species very abundant on the surface
of the Pacific, from the Equator to 40° N. and 39° S. ;
as well as in the Indian Archipelago.

300 ZOOLOGY.

CLEODORA CUSPIDATUM.

This is a vitreous shell of extreme delicacy and
beauty. It is colourless and transparent,, elegantly
grooved on the surface, and so fragile as scarcely to
bear the slightest touch. It is pyramidal and nearly
triangular in form : its anterior and broader extremity
having a broad aperture, while its apex is an acute and
slightly-curved point. A long slender spine, or vitreous
needle, projects from the margin of the aperture ; and
a similar spine is placed on each side of the shell, near
its centre. The animal it contains is furnished with
two simple branchice, or wings, like Hyalaea. On that
part of its body which is lodged in the apex of the
shell, there is a small globular pellucid body, resembling
a vesicle, and which at night emits a luminous gleam,
sufficiently vivid to be visible even when it is opposed
to the strong light of a lamp. It is the only instance
of a luminous shell-fish I have ever met with ; * nor
would the luminosity of this species be of any avail,
did not the shell possess a structure so vitreous and
transparent. Examples were chiefly captured at night
or in the evening. They were obtained in great
abundance near the surface of the Pacific, between the
Equator and lats. 16° S. and 30° N.

C. Balantium was more rarely noticed ; and I have
not observed that its animal possesses any luminous
quality. In structure and general appearance the shell
resembles that last described, but is larger and more
pyramidal. It has a short curved spine at its apex,
and its sides are toothed, or serrated ; but it has no
long spines.

* A second shell-fish, the Pholas dactylus, or Piddock, a British
species, is said to shine by night ; but I am not aware that we have any
competent authority for its luminous power being a vital attribute, or
for the precise manner in which it is displayed.

MOLLUSCA. 301

CARINARIA VITREA.

Our first acquaintance with this extraordinary Heter-
opod (which would appear to hold a station intermediate
to testaceous and naked molluscs) occurred off Pitcairn's
Island, by the capture of two living examples near the
surface of the deep blue water which surrounds that
coast. We subsequently met with specimens in other
parts of the Pacific, from lat. 3° to 391 N., and from
2 to 26° S. ; and also in the Straits of Timor.

The average length of the species is two inches. Its
structure is gelatinous, sufficiently firm, (being invested
in a stout membrane,) and semi-pellucid. The body is
smooth, cylindrical, arched, and tapers to a point at

the tail. It has, in its interior, an opaque oval viscus
of an amber-colour. The head is chiefly to be distin-
guished by a circular mouth, and a black speck, planted
on each of its sides, and which would appear to perform
the office of an eye. The mouth has projecting lips,
and contains a long, hard, and cylindrical tube, or
tongue, provided on its inner margin with short rigid
hooks, which are alternately projected and returned by
a rapid rotatory motion : the protrusion and retraction
of the hooks being attended by similar changes in the
tube itself. An erect cylindrical fin arises from the
posterior third of the back, and a broader fin occupies
the corresponding surface of the abdomen. The dorsal
fin is covered by an exceedingly delicate and beautiful

302 ZOOLOGY.

vitreous shell, of small size, perfectly transparent, and
shaped like a cornucopia. Some few examples of the
same species, which we obtained, were destitute of this
shell ; and their naked dorsal fin bore no appearance of
its having been recently present. I have also found
the shell alone, floating empty on the surface of the
sea.

When the shell is present, the portion of dorsal fin
contained within it has a black hue ; * and is covered
with a continuation of the same membrane that invests
the entire body of the animal ; while the shell is so
firmly attached to its surface that it cannot be re-
moved without injury to its structure. But it is re-
markable, that in those instances where the shell did
not exist, the dorsal fin, though perfect, was as colour-
less, and of the same consistence, as the body and anal
fin. I was at first inclined to believe that this shell
was a parasite; but its uniform shape in the same
species of Carinaria, and the circumstance of its being
invariably attached to the same part of the body, in-
duced me to fall into the opinion of naturalists, — that
it is identical with the perfect structure of this
mollusc.

Some living specimens which we obtained, and put
into a pan of sea-water, swam horizontally, with a quick
lateral motion of the dorsal and anal fins, and rose to
the surface or descended with great ease.

(Carinaria Depressa, Cuvier.)

This species is about the size of the former; but its
body is broad and flat, and tuberculated on its dorsal

* This black structure is said, by Cuvier, to consist of a nucleus,
formed by the heart, liver, and genital organs.

MOLLUSCA. 303

surface. The shell on its back is also delicate and
vitreous, but very small, procumbent, of an oval form,
and resembles a single valve of a bivalved shell. In
common with the former species, I have noticed some
examples of this to be destitute of a dorsal shell;
although the fin to which it should have been attached
was perfect.

It inhabits the same waters as C. vitrea.

(Firola, Sp.)

We obtained a solitary specimen of this Firola, (or
Carinaria without a shell,) in lat. 40° N., Pacific Ocean.

It is five inches in length, and composed of the
same gelatinous semi-pellucid structure as the Carina-
riae above described. The anterior two-thirds of the
body is somewhat cylindrical; the posterior third is
flattened, and tapers to a point at the tail. The dorsal
fin occupies the centre of the back ; while the anal is
placed very near the tail. On the posterior portion of
the abdomen there is a deep fissure, conducting, appa-
rently, to an anal orifice. The surface of the body is
covered, on some parts, with small tubercles ; and a
row of soft spines occupies the posterior part, or ridge
of the back. The oval tube, or tongue, (which is formed
like the same organ in Carinaria,) and the fins, were
the only parts of the animal that displayed any motive
power.

304 ZOOLOGY.

THE BLUE BARNACLE.
(Pentalasmis Vitrea.)

Notwithstanding its specific name, this species of
barnacle has of all others the softest covering — its shell
being little more than cartilaginous. It is uniformly
of a blue-green colour ; and the cirri of the contained
animal are brown. It adheres to floating bodies by its
long pedicle, and in large clusters, (as is usual with
this family of shell-fish,) but it is remarkable of this
particular species, that it has also the power of con-
structing a common aeriferous float, which serves for
an entire cluster of shells, and enables them to re-
main on the surface independent of any extraneous
aid.

It has been said, that this buoy, or float, is an " ex-
traneous substance, and probably of vegetable origin ;"
but facts which have come under my notice prove that
opinion to be incorrect. The exterior of the structure
is smooth, colourless, and elastic, and of about the
consistence of dense jelly ; * its interior is cellular, each
cell containing a quantity of air. When employed in-
dependently it has a globular form ; but its shape is
often influenced by the body to which it is attached, or
which may serve as its nucleus : thus, we met with
some of these barnacles attached by their aeriferous
float to the skeletons, or fulcra, of Velella Mutica, and
it was evident, that as the barnacles grew heavier, or
the fulcra of Velella decayed, the aeriferous float in-
creased in size ; until the velella, instead of being the
supporting body, became a mere shred, lodged within
the buoyant appendage of the barnacles.

* I believe it will be found, that the membrane covering the pedicles
of the clustered barnacles is extended over the surface of the aeiiferous
float.

MOLLU8CA. 305

When the floating body is large, and well capable of
supporting the clustered barnacles, the latter have no
aeriferous float ; but this organ appears to be formed
gradually, and as a precautionary measure, when the
object to which the animals are attached is small and
fragile, or when no extraneous body can be obtained.
When detached from their float, they sink in sea-
water.

Some examples we captured possessed clusters of small
round eggs, deposited between the animal and the back
of its shell. Some of the eggs had the blue-green co-
lour of the parents' shell, whilst others were orange-
colour. In other shells we found, together with the
barnacle-fish, more than six small worms, of dark co-
lour, annulose, and furnished with tufts of hair on their
sides, like aphrodites. They had numerous feet, ar-
ranged in two lateral rows on the abdomen, and with
these they moved actively, like caterpillars.

THE PYROSOME.
(Pyrosoma Atlanticum.}

The Pyrosome is, strictly speaking, an aggregate
tunicary, or body composed of an aggregation jf small
animals, perforated at both extremities, united at their
bases, and inclosed in a common membrane or tunic.
I shall, however, for the convenience of description,
speak of it as of one complete animal.

The average size of the specimens we procured,
was from four to six inches in length, and from one-and-

VOL. II. X

306 ZOOLOGY.

a-half to two inches in circumference. The body is
cylindrical, and rounded and impervious at one extre-
mity, while the opposite is flat, and perforated in its
centre by a circular orifice, conducting to a capacious
straight tube that occupies the interior of the body. It
is colourless, and its surface is studded with pearly
tubercles, perforated at their apices, and spread with
many papillous appendages. The structure of the body
is gelatinous, and contains myriads of small brown
specks, in which the phosphorescent power, for which
this mollusc is so remarkable, would appear to reside.

When assembled in the sea, and, as is usually the
case, near the surface, these creatures present a gor-
geous spectacle; their vivid phosphoric light being
sufficient to illuminate, not only the extent of ocean they
occupy, but also the air above, rendering all surround-
ing objects visible during the darkest night, and per-
mitting a book to be read on the deck, or near the stern-
cabin windows of a ship. They are occasionally col-
lected together in incredible numbers : on two occa-
sions, at midnight, in lats. 2o and 4» N., Atlantic
Ocean, (when I had the good fortune to see these
molluscs in their zenith of splendour,) the ship sailed
over many miles of water which they had illuminated,
and in which they were so densely crowded* as to be
taken to any amount by buckets or nets. When cap-
tured they exhibited no signs of animation, and emitted
a peculiar half-fishy odour. When kept in a vessel of
sea-water, and allowed to be tranquil, their light was
withheld, or only sparingly displayed ; but when they
were handled, or the water in which they were con-

* We have also seen examples of Pyrosoma, though less numerous, in
the Pacific Ocean, on the Equator, and in 3" S. A solitary specimen
was captured in so high a latitude as 28° N.

MOLLUSCA. 307

tained was agitated, their body instantly became one
blaze of phosphoric light, which, upon close examina-
tion,, could be observed to proceed from myriads of
luminous dots, occupying the situations of the small
brown specks noticeable in the fleshy structure of the
mollusc. Upon the irritating cause * being removed,
the phosphoric light gradually expired, and the Pyro-
some remained in darkness until again disturbed, when
it once more illuminated surrounding objects with its
vivid gleam; and this was repeated until after the
death of the animal, when no luminous effect could be
reproduced. When living specimens were immersed
in fresh water, they not only existed for some hours
but emitted a constant light : even after they had been
so much enfeebled as to cease to give light in sea-
water, or after they had been seriously mutilated, their
phosphorescence invariably reappeared when they were
put into fresh water, which appears to act as a peculiar
stimulus in reproducing the phosphoric light of these,
as well as of most other marine luminous animals.

The Pyrosome does not communicate its luminosity
to water, nor to any object in contact with it, (like many
luminous medusa,) its body being enveloped in a mem-
brane that has no luminous secretion. But when the
mollusc is cut open in water, some of the brown specks,
before-mentioned, will escape, and diffusing themselves
through the fluid, shine independent of the animal : in
this respect, as well as in their structure and colour,
bearing some resemblance to the luminous scale on the
abdomen of the small fire-fly of Bengal. When this
mollusc is first removed from the sea, the orifice, or
mouth, at one extremity of its body is nearly as wide

* Friction is not the only cause of the Pyrosome emitting its light ;
for the slightest touch on one part of its body is sufficient to illumi-
nate the whole.

x 2

308 ZOOLOGY.

as the tube within ; but should the body be much
handled, and kept long in water,, this orifice closes by
the contraction of a smooth membrane that surrounds
it like a sphincter — water being at the same time re-
tained within the cavity of the body. This contraction
of the sphincter membrane is the only movement I have
seen the Pyrosome effect ; although it is said that the
creature has also the power of contracting and dilating
its entire body.

THE SEA-NETTLE, OR PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR.

(Galtre of the French.)
(Phy sails Pelagica, Lamarck.)

This is one of the most interesting and beautiful of
the hydrostatic acalepha. It obtains on the surface of
tropical seas generally, but more especially on the At-
lantic and Indian Oceans. Its habitat, as its spe-
cific name implies, is the open ocean, remote from
land ; though, being exposed to the influence of cur-
rents, examples are often found in great abundance on
the embayed waters of tropical coasts.

The body of the Physalis consists of a horizontal py-
riform bladder, filled with air, semi-pellucid, about five
inches in length by three in height, and tapering to a
point at one extremity, while the opposite is rounded.
Its summit is occupied by a longitudinal ridge, or pro-
cumbent crest ; and nearly the entire length of its inferior
margin is furnished with a dense fringe of short ten-
tacles, from the midst of which there arise seven or
eight longer tentacula, or " cables." In one specimen
these cables measured more than seven feet in length.
They are each attached to the body by a bulbous base,
and have an oval plate, or sucker, at their free ex-
tremity.

The colours displayed by this mollusc, when floating

MOLLUSCA. 309

upon a calm sea and beneath the rays of a tropical sun, are
surpassingly brilliant and imposing. The pointed extre-
mity of its inflated body is dark indigo-blue at its
apex, fading to a lighter shade towards the base ; the
procumbent crest on the back is pink or flesh-colour ;
while the remainder of the vesicle exhibits a play of
iridescent colours, amongst which a pale straw-colour
and aqua-marine predominate. The colours of the ten-
tacular fringe on the lower margin of the body are vivid
and strongly contrasted : the outer layer of filaments
being crimson, the inner purple. Each long tentacle
or cable is transparent, excepting where it is coloured
by two slender longitudinal lines, passing through its
entire length, and connected by transverse equidistant
bars of the same hue, which give it a jointed ap-
pearance.

The inflated membrane of the body is composed of
more than one layer ; and, when closely examined, is
found to possess longitudinal fibres, which have proba-
bly the function of muscles. The chemical character of
the air it contains has not been determined; but,
judging by analogy, we may suppose it to resemble the
air contained in the swim-bladder of marine fishes.

When floating on the ocean, the body of the Phy-
salis has the form of an inverted crescent, both its ex-
tremities being depressed, and the back convex. The
crest can be raised or depressed at will; and is as
often seen under the one as the other condition. It is,
when erect, a tall inflated membrane, grooved verti-
cally, transparent, and of a delicate pink colour. The
animal, when removed from the water, writhes its body
into many contorted shapes, and retracts its cables, but
displays no power of moving the short tentacles.

The cables are viscid, and adhere tenaciously to any
foreign body. It is in these appendages alone that the

310 ZOOLOGY.

stinging property of the Physalis resides : every other
part of the mollusc may be touched with impunity,
but the slightest contact of the hand with the cables
produces a sensation as painful and protracted as the
stinging of nettles ; while, like the effect of that vege-
table poison, the skin of the injured part often presents
a white elevation or wheal. Nor is the inconvenience
confined to the hand : a dull aching pain usually pro-
ceeds up the arm and shoulder, and even extends to
the muscles of the chest, producing an unpleasant feel-
ing of anxiety and difficulty in respiration. Washing
the injured part with water rather aggravates than re-
lieves the pain, which is best remedied by friction with
olive oil. The cables retain their urent property long
after they have been detached from the animal; and
their viscid secretion, when received on a cloth, re-
tains the same virulent principle for many days, and
communicates it to other objects — facts which tend
to prove, that this offensive power of the Physalis re-
sides in a peculiar secretion from the cables, and does
not depend upon a vital principle in the animal, al-
lied to the pseudo-electric power of some fishes, as sug-
gested by Carus.

During a voyage to the East Indies, in 1832, and
when becalmed near the coast of Africa, between Cape
Verd and Goree, I noticed around the ship a great num-
ber of this species, of the largest size and most gaudy
colours. Two out of four of the examples we then
captured had small fishes, about the size of a minnow,
entangled in their short tentacles, and partly decom-
posed ; while several other Sea Nettles, floating buoy-
antly on the calm and transparent sea, were surrounded
by shoals of small fish, swimming and playing about
them, as around a bait. What I then witnessed left

MOLLUSCA. 311

me in doubt, whether the fishes preyed upon the Phy-
salis, and had become accidentally entangled in its
filaments, or whether the mollusc had the power of at-
tracting small fry by its brilliant colours, and of cap-
turing them as food. It is reasonable to suppose, that
the cables of Physalis are offensive as well as de-
fensive organs; and that, when spread on the water,
they serve to capture and disable prey by their viscid
and virulent secretion, and, by their retractile power,
to convey food to the fringe of short tentacles ; where
it is retained, as in a net, until it is consumed by the
animal. The short tentacles are tubular, which is not
the case with the cables ; and from appearances within
the tubes of the former appendages, I am inclined to
believe that the mollusc takes its food by absorption
through these root-like filaments, like medusa of the
genus Rhizostoma, and not altogether by an aperture in
the lower margin of the body, and which is said to be a
mouth.

In some few specimens of this species, I have de-
tected several oblong transparent vesicles, of a green or
pink colour, lodged amongst the short tentacles. These
may probably be their young, in the form of offsets or
buds (gemma) — a suspicion which would also attach to
similar appendages on the acute extremity of a species
of Physalis which I believe to be the tuberculosa of
Lamarck ; and of which we obtained many examples in
the Pacific.

No facts have come under my own observation, nor
am I aware that any have been authentically recorded,
in favour of the opinion that the Physalis can rapidly
absorb and reproduce the air contained in its vesicle,
so as to sink or rise in the water at will ; as is con-
fidently asserted by the best modern authors. On the

312 ZOOLOGY.

contrary, these molluscs, when floating on the surface
of the sea, may be approached, captured by hand,
or permitted to die on shore, without any change
in their inflated state ;* and although it is true that a
placid sea is best calculated to display the beauty of the
animal, and cause it to attract the attention of naviga-
tors, yet we have often seen them riding easily over the
most turbulent waves, without any probability that their
buoyant and elastic structure would suffer from the
exercise.

Equally common and questionable is the assertion,
that the long tentacula of this mollusc are literally
cables, and serve to moor the animal to rocks, &c.,
during violent agitations of the sea. Were not this
opinion advanced by some very high authorities, it
would be unnecessary to say, that unerring Nature has
not left the Physalis so bad a navigator, as willingly to
place itself in a condition which would require that it
should oppose such a feeble hold to a raging surf: not
to mention that the true habitat of the creature being
the deep and clear ocean, but little necessity can
exist, under natural circumstances, for any provision of
this kind.

THE S A L L Y-M A N.
(Velella Mutica.)

This is also an hydrostatic acalepha of a very
beautiful and interesting structure.

A large portion of the animal is formed by its in-

* At Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, I have seen a great extent of
rock and beach literally covered with a small species of Physalis, which,
carried towards the land by a current and cast on shore by the surf,
had all been dried in the sun with their vesicles inflated.

MOLLUSCA. 313

ternal cartilage or fulcrum. This structure is white and
semi-pellucid, and consists of a broad base,, surmounted
by a crest or sail. The base is oval, and marked with
numerous and very regular concentric striae; it is
thick, and contains between its layers, some fluid, and
a quantity of air. The crest, a thin transparent carti-
lage of an arched form, stands erect, and passes ob-
liquely across the base, in a longitudinal direction — it
is admirably adapted (or, to use a nautical term, " braced
up") to catch the wind from whatever quarter it may
blow, its position being not unlike that of a lateen
sail.

The entire fulcrum, or skeleton, is invested in soft
parts of a purple-green colour. The upper surface of
the base is covered with a smooth membrane, which also
overlaps the margin, but in a denser and more floating
form, and is continued over the entire surface of the
crest; the centre of its inferior surface, which is
concave, is occupied by a brown mass of viscera, covered
with a thick mat of colourless tubular papilla ; whilst
its circumference is furnished with slender blue ten-
tacles, or cilia, which, though short, are sufficiently
long to project beyond the loose marginal membrane.
A narrow alimentary canal, placed in the midst of the
papillous appendages, extends the entire length of the
body, and has several lateral tributary ducts. It has
an orifice in its centre, which in some specimens of
this species I have observed to be merely a small slit,
while in others it projects in the form of a membranous
tube.

When on the ocean, the Velella floats passively upon
the broad base of its fulcrum, with its crest raised above
the surface. It gives no sign of animation when
captured ; nor has it a stinging, or any luminous

314 ZOOLOGY.

property. The recent animal emits a peculiar odour,
which may be compared to that of rotten apples. I
have found small pelagic shrimps in the alimentary
canal of some examples, and many minute brown
crustaceous insects both on the papillae and in the
alimentary canal of others.

Where currents prevail, these creatures are often found
collected together in such surprising numbers as to cover
a great extent of ocean ; and it is not unusual to observe
only their bare internal cartilages, or skeletons, strewn
over other tracts of water in great abundance. Sailors
account for this latter appearance, on the supposition
that the Velellee have been destroyed by the heat of the
sun ; but some observations made by my brother, Mr.
George Bennett, and published in the " Proceedings of
the Zoological Society," prove that the Sea Lizard
(Glaucusj feeds on Velella, and that the cleaned
skeletons are the result of the depredations of that ex-
traordinary little mollusc.

We obtained specimens of V. Mutica in the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans, from lat, 40° N. to 26° S.

Another species of Velella, of which we obtained
specimens in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from the
Equator to the thirty-sixth degree of south latitude,
is smaller than that last described ; and is chiefly
remarkable for its internal cartilage possessing a
pyramidal or triangular crest, and a more conical base.
In other respects its structure is the same as that of
V. Mutica.

PORPITA, SP.

The genus Porpita is very closely allied to Velella.
The internal cartilage is flat and circular, and has no
erect crest or sail. Its upper surface is enveloped in a

MOLLUSCA. 315

smooth blue membrane, whilst its lower is provided
with a mat of blue tubular papilla and some marginal
cilia, and has a central alimentary tube.

One species we observed is about the size of a
six-pence ; the upper surface of its fulcrum is uniformly
marked with concentric circles, and has a projecting
tubercle in its centre, from which numerous raised lines
radiate to the circumference — the whole bearing some
resemblance to a fe worked" shirt-button.

A second species (P. Gigantea ?) is the size of a
half-crown, and has the upper surface of its fulcrum
muricated, or studded with rough tubercles. The
papillous appendages on the lower surface of this,
as well as of the former species, appear to possess a
strong sucking power ; for, when placed on the
finger, they adhere so firmly to it, as to separate from
the animal by the force required to detach them.
Like Velella, they do not move when captured — the
layers of their fulcrum contain fixed air — and their
bare skeletons are often found floating on the sea.

Specimens of both the above species were taken in
the Pacific, from lat. 30° N. to 9° S.

THE SEA LIZARD.
(Glaucus Hexapterygius, Cuv.)

This curious mollusc occurred to us near the Equator,
in long 22° W., and as high as the thirtieth parallel of
north and south latitude, both in the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans. Examples were captured only during
a calm, and when the sea was particularly smooth, and
their number at these times appeared to be great beyond
all reasonable conception.

The average length of the species is about an inch-
and-a-half ; and its form fully justifies the trivial name

316 ZOOLOGY.

which has been applied to it : the body is stout, broad,
oblong and flattened, (but is capable of being volun-
tarily shortened, and converted into a nearly globular
form,) and terminates in a slender caudal appendage,
which bears a very close resemblance to the tail of a
lizard. Each side of the body is furnished with three
stout branchial members, or fins, placed equidistant
from each other, palmated at their extremities, and
supplied with numerous short and tapered tentacles,
resembling toes. The head is round and conspicuous,
and provided on each side with two papillae or tuber-
cles, one superior and one inferior, which can be ex-
tended in the form of short slender tentacles, like the
horns of a snail. The mouth is small, orbicular, and
margined with a strong horny structure. An elevated
fleshy fold on the neck forms a partial hood over the
head.

The colour of the entire upper surface of the body is
dark-blue, with the exception of a broad silvery streak,
extending from the head to the extremity of the tail ;
the inferior surface of the body and fins is pearl-white.
The head also is white, but has a vertical blue line on
its centre. The entire animal is enclosed in a tough,
but smooth and delicate integument.

These creatures obtain in greatest number where
currents most prevail ; they are active and very preda-
tory in their habits, and would appear, from the obser-
vations of my brother, which I have already mentioned
and confirmed, to subsist chiefly upon the soft parts of
the defenceless genera, Velella and Porpita. The speci-
mens we captured and kept in sea-water, contorted
their bodies into many convulsive attitudes, but seldom
employed their branchial fins, and floated buoyantly
while passive. When immersed in fresh water they

MOLLUSCA. 317

contracted themselves into a very small compass, as-
sumed a globular form, cast the tentacles from off their
branchial fins, lost their colour, and expired in a very
few moments.

When handled, the white colouring matter of the
body is very easily detached, and leaves the correspond-
ing portions of the integument transparent; when a
considerable accumulation of air, in the form of small
bubbles, is visible amongst the viscera, and fully ac-
counts for the hydrostatic power the animal possesses.
Immediately behind the left most anterior branchial
fin there is a circular orifice or foramen on the side of
the body, and serving as a cloaca, through which I have
noticed, in some examples, the male organ protrude in
the form of a slender, white and contorted thread ; and
it may be questioned, whether the air contained in the
body of the mollusc be not received or expelled through
this orifice, as it is through a similar opening existing
in the water-snails.

THE SEA LEECH.

(Hirudo Muricata, Linn. Albione Muricata, Savigny.
Pentobdella Muricata, Leach .)

More than twenty specimens of this annelidan were
taken from the mouth of a Tiger-shark * which we
captured in the Pacific, in lat. 29° N., long 168° W.

In general appearance, structure, and average size,
they bear a close resemblance to our common medicinal

* This is, I believe, an undescribed species of the Squalus family.
We captured the only specimen we saw ; and it was by far the largest
shark we noticed during the voyage. It measured twelve feet in length,
and the girth of body and expanse of jaws were in proportion. The
head is very broad and flat. The prevailing colour of the fish is dark-
gray ; the sides marked with vertical and oblique yellow stripes — whence
the trivial name which sailors apply to this species.

318 ZOOLOGY.

leech ; (Hirudo medicinalis ;j but differ from that
species in having a broad circular sucker at each ex-
tremity of their body. The surface of the body is
muricated or covered with tubercles, which are arranged
in transverse rows. The prevailing colour of the worm
is black ; some of the tubercles on the skin are white,
others yellow, black, or spotted ; the summit of the
narrower extremity of the body, or head, is marked
with two spots of a red-lead colour.

These creatures adhered, by both their suckers, to
the tongue, palate, and gill-bones of the shark. When
removed they twirled actively in the hand, like fresh
water leeches, and travelled quickly over a dry surface
like the latter animals. Their bodies contained a large
quantity of red blood.

The species must be regarded as a parasite; for I
am not aware that it has been seen in any other situa-
tion than adhering to cartilaginous fishes, as the shark
or ray ; from infesting which last it has obtained the
name of " Skate-sucker."

319
MARINE PHOSPHORESCENCE

AND ITS

DEPENDENCE ON ANIMAL LIFE.

ALTHOUGH we find many curious phenomena, attri-
butable to phosphorescence, displayed in the lower
grades of the creation on land, it is only in the wider
expanse of the aqueous globe that we see this property
acting to its most surprising and mysterious extent,
and with a constancy that invites to a free investigation
of its origin and use.

Many opinions have been at different times enter-
tained upon the cause of a luminous state of the
ocean : some have supposed it to depend upon a pecu-
liar electrical condition of the atmosphere, or the pre-
sence of decomposed animal matter, which we may
reasonably suppose is plentifully diffused in sea-water ;
whilst others have attributed this effect to the luminous
power possessed by living marine animals. And of
these, the last appears the more just opinion, and
one which has been so well supported by many conclu-
sive facts, recently discovered and submitted to the
notice of British naturalists, as to be the best entitled to
general adoption. It is a belief to which I have always
been inclined, and which my researches in foreign seas
have materially tended to confirm.

It would, nevertheless, be rash to assert, that the
decomposition of animal matter is never the cause of a
luminous sea ; for, on the contrary, we have reason to
believe that it may often be so, although much more
rarely than living organized beings, or the luminous
secretion detached from them. Abortive ova or spawn
may prove an extensive source of marine phospho-

320 ZOOLOGY.

rescence ; and it is probably to the presence of either
dead animal matter, or numerous microscopical creatures
that rapidly die, we must attribute the paradoxical
tendency to putrefaction which is so remarkable in sea-
water. It might naturally be supposed that, from its
chemical composition,, this fluid would long remain un-
changed when it was removed from the ocean ; but the
reverse is the fact, and a vessel of sea- water, kept but for
a few hours in the climate of the tropics, becomes highly
offensive, while the same quantity of perfectly fresh
water, under the same circumstances, does not undergo
the slightest alteration. The same fact may also inform
us, why marshes which receive a portion of their waters
from the sea, are invariably more injurious to the
health of man than those which are supplied by fresh
water alone.

It is essential that the nautical naturalist should not
be misled by the phosphorescent appearance of a dead
marine animal, nor consider that any sea-creature is
naturally luminous, unless tokens of its vitality are in-
disputably present : for it is remarkable of the vital
phosphoric quality existing in fishes and molluscs, that
it fades and ceases as the animal becomes more feeble
and dies — a peculiarity which widely distinguishes the
true luminous property, from that cadaverous phospho-
rescent light which attends upon incipient decay.

The evident existence of a phosphoric principle in
marine animals, whether as a vital or cadaverous
attribute, would appear to commence with fishes ; for
we do not find that living seals, whales, sea-snakes and
turtle, or the decaying structures of those ocean
animals, exhibit any phosphorescent light. On one
occasion, it is true, I observed the blubber removed
from a Cachalot shine for two successive nights, with

MARINE PHOSPHORESCENCE. 321

a phosphorescent gleam, which brightly illuminated the
otherwise dark apartment in which it was deposited ;
but this was looked upon with surprise by all the
ship's company, for the oldest whalers on board had
never before witnessed such a phenomenon. And as,
on examination, we found that this property was
confined to the exposed surface of the lard, it was in
all probability owing to some luminous matter which
had been contracted by the structure in question when
dipping in the sea.

It is customary to speak of a luminous sea as being
" all on fire/' but this expression gives a very in-
adequate idea of the true appearance it presents : the
light it emits being rather the pale-yellow or greenish,
sickly, and almost supernatural gleam so peculiar to
the salts of phosphorus. The surface of the water
will often exhibit extensive and distinct patches of
luminous fluid, seen at a considerable distance from
the ship, and which the latter passes through, but does
not create by her passage; or, the luminosity being
less local and permanent, the wake of the passing
vessel presents a broad and lengthened stream of vivid
light ; while, midst the darkness of the night, a splendid
spectacle is offered by the brilliant ridges of light,
raised by the agitation of the billows whose crests they
illuminate. We often searched the surrounding waters
when the ocean has been thus luminous, but without
being enabled to detect any sufficient cause for its
appearance : the sea-water, when examined in small
quantities, was found to emit no light while quiescent,
but sparkled brightly on the slightest agitation; and
when thrown on the deck of the ship, sparkled,
and again became dark, a luminous speck reappearing
occasionally. One of these revived luminous specks

VOL. n. Y

32l? ZOOLOGY.

would adhere to the finger, but when brought to the
light and closely examined with the aid of a lens, it
betrayed no visible substance; although the same
particle, when rubbed in the dark, could be divided
into many smaller luminous portions.

In the great majority of cases, however, a phos-
phorescent sea would betray its history, by affording
to the tow-net numerous examples of luminous animals ;
sometimes fishes or shell-fish, but more commonly
molluscs or medusse. The fishes, shell-fish, and tuni-
cated molluscs have their luminous matter deposited
beneath a dense integument, and consequently do not
communicate it to the waters they infest; but this
does not apply to all the medusae, as some of them are
indebted for their phosphorescent quality to a peculiar
secretion, that covers their body in the form of a slime,
which is easily washed off, and, diffusing itself through
water, communicates to that fluid a luminous ap-
pearance, which may be entirely independent of the
actual presence of the animals from which it is derived :
and this, as I have elsewhere observed, may in a great
measure account for the occasional existence of a lu-
minous sea in which no tangible luminous bodies can
be detected.

The greater number of the luminous marine animals
we noticed during this voyage have been described in
their proper places ; but there were some others,
medusae, captured under circumstances when cause and
effect were satisfactorily displayed, which I shall now
mention. The one species, which we captured in vast
numbers in the North Pacific, is circular, gelatinous
and transparent, and about the size of a dollar; its
upper surface convex, and marked with radiating
grooved lines. The centre of its inferior aspect is
concave, while the circumference is a comparatively

MARINE PHOSPHORESCENCE. 323

broad, flat margin, which, when viewed at night, and
in the living animal, is seen to be studded with a row
of luminous dots, placed equidistant from each other,
and shining with a delicate blue light. When the
creature is allowed to be quiet, the luminous display
is confined to this series of dots ; but when irritated by
handling, (or, we will suppose, by the agitation of the
waves,) the entire body emits a powerful light ; which
is not, however, so clear and fixed as that of the
Pyrosome, but has rather a rough or powdered appear-
ance. A slimy secretion, which is easily removed from
the body of this medusa, also shines brightly when
rubbed, and appears like many twinkling stars, vanish-
ing and again lighting up, and seeming to run from
spot to spot. When these creatures are assembled in
their natural element, they present as many circular
patches of light, gleaming brightly, and the more
vividly where the sea most breaks : their lights undulat-
ing with the waves, alternately appearing and vanish-
ing, and passing as it were suddenly to different parts
of the ocean, otherwise in obscurity, giving the effect
of many torches moved quickly through the depths of
a dense and darkened forest.

A second species is a very curious medusa, (indepen-
dent of its luminous economy,) and was also commonly
captured in many parts of the North Pacific. It is
about three inches in length by two in circumference ;
of a somewhat cylindrical form, slightly tapered at one
extremity ; is perfectly transparent and colourless ;
and has the crystallized appearance of cut-glass. The
entire animal is composed of an aggregation of numerous
smaller crystal-like parts, each closely resembling the
other in its shape, which is that of the slice of an
orange, cut vertically. These individual parts are but

Y 2

324 ZOOLOGY,

slightly united to each other, but are more firmly at-
tached to a soft white cord that passes through the
centre and entire length of the perfect animal. When
removed from the water, this medusa displays spon-
taneously^ and from its whole -surface, a vivid phosphoric
light, little inferior to that of Pyrosoma; and when
agitated in fresh water, it communicates to that fluid
a multitude of scintillating particles, which emit a very
white gleam. We found many distinct varieties or
species of this medusa. They differ in size and form :
some being eight inches in circumference by three in
length, and nearly cylindrical in form ; while their
aggregate portions, all uniform in shape, are pyramidal,
and present four facets. Others are globular, and re-
semble a mulberry. But they all agree in possessing a
curious resemblance to crystals, both in their entire
form and in the shape of their component parts, and
have the same highly luminous properties.

A. third luminous medusa, which we obtained in lat.
40° N., long. 142» \y.? is about one inch in length, and
shaped like an open bag, or landing-net, its one ex-
tremity being a wide circular orifice, while the opposite
is rounded and closed; its gelatinous structure is
enveloped in a smooth membrane or tunic. The inte-
rior of the body is one capacious cavity, or sack ; its
bottom occupied by a fringed structure, of a pink colour ;
numerous short slender tentacles are attached to the
border of the circular orifice ; and the upper surface of
the same border, which is somewhat broad and thick,
is provided with a single row of small red tubercles,
which, as well as the entire body of the creature, emit
in the dark a very bright phosphorescent gleam. This
species does not communicate any luminous matter to
either fluids or solids in contact with it. Upon more

MARINE PHOSPHORESCENCE. 325

than one occasion, I have taken from the ocean a small
amorphous, transparent, and gelatinous medusa, which
when irritated, emitted a vivid rich-green light, and at
the same time a very strong odour, which resembled
that produced by the fumes of muriatic acid.

There can be no doubt that many interesting and
important facts, relative to the history of luminous ma-
rine animals, are lost to zoology, from the circumstance
of illustrative specimens being captured in broad day-
light, (when their characteristic gleam is invisible,) and
when the test of a darkened apartment has not been
employed in their examination; and this the more
particularly, as there is seldom any other external sign
than their refulgence, to denote what living creatures
possess the peculiar property of emitting phosphores-
cent light.

It is difficult to say in what manner this luminous
quality may be of use to marine animals ; or rather,
so many uses may be assigned, that it is hard to fix
upon the one which is most satisfactory. I cannot
believe with Mr. Kirby, that it serves as a mode of
defence ; because, from what we know of the nature of
fishes, this refulgence would be one of the surest
means of bringing their probable enemies upon them ;
and if we are to regard the economy in a destructive
point of view, we might rather suppose that it is in-
tended to direct the nocturnal predaceous fishes more
surely to their food ; for it is well known that they are
easily attracted by strong lights, and that there is no
better bait for capturing oceanic cuttle-fish than a cir-
cular piece of glittering tin, armed with hooks, and
lowered into the sea at midnight. But it would be
unjust to accuse Nature of thus wantonly investing her
creatures with a charm that can only tend to their

326 ZOOLOGY.

destruction. In some land insects, a nocturnal light is
supposed to be an amorous incentive; but this will
scarcely apply to the lowly organized medusa — nor is it
altogether probable that their light is given them to
attract their minute prey; although such hypothesis
will apply well to the luminous species of Shark and
Scopelus, which I have had occasion to describe. On the
whole we are compelled to admit, that no very promi-
nent or indisputable purpose can at present be attri-
buted to this wonderful display.

327
BOTANY.

A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE PLANTS COLLECTED
DURING THE TUSCAN'S VOYAGE.

MONANDB1A. MONOGYNIA.

Amomum curcuma. — Turmeric. — Attains, by its
foliage, the height of three feet. The leaves are erect
ovate- lanceolate, smooth and entire, and arise from the
root by long foot-stalks. The fructification (noticed in
April) also arises from the root, and by an erect pe-
duncle or scape ; it is six or eight inches in height, and
composed of a spike covered with imbricated bractece,
each bractea inclosing a yellow flower. The entire
plant has an aromatic odour. The root occupies a
great extent of soil, and possesses all the best qualities
of that produced in the East Indies. The Society
Islanders make no use of the plant ; but the Marque-
sans cultivate it carefully, and employ the root as a
cosmetic.

Habitat. — Pitcairn Island ; Society Isles, native name
area ; Marquesas, hena ; Sandwich group, orena.

A. zerumbet. — Wild Ginger. — In growth and height
this species resembles the preceding. Its leaves are
broad and pinnated. Flower-spike compact ; bracteae
red ; flowers pale-yellow, and without odour. The root
resembles that of the officinal ginger, and has also a
very aromatic smell ; but it is bitter, has little or no
pungency, and consequently is not applicable to the
same uses as the ginger of commerce. The compact
scales of the bractese contain a large quantity of muci-
laginous fluid, which has a bland taste and is slightly
flavoured with the aroma of the plant. When journey-
ing over the Society Islands, I have often availed my-

328 BOTANY.

self of this fluid to allay thirst ; and although my native
guides always disapproved of the practice, I have con-
sumed at one time, the liquid contents of a great num-
ber of flower-spikes, without experiencing any but the
most agreeable and wholesome effects.

Habitat. — Plains and low hills, Society Isles, native
name area; Marquesas, anavahu ; Sandwich Isles, ava
pue.

A. Obuhi. — Leaves pinnated ; rise from the soil to
the height of eight feet; petioles red. The flower-
spike, with its scape, emerges from the root at the base
of the leaves, and resembles that of A. zerumbet, but is
altogether smaller. The entire plant emits, when
crushed, a powerful odour, not unlike that of allspice,
I noticed this species only at Tahiti, where it is called
by the natives obuhi. It is extremely rare on the
coast, but forms extensive and dense thickets on the
elevated inland soil, especially on the mountain-land
of Vaihiria.

Boerhavia hirsuta. — Caroline Island, Christmas
Island, Marquesas.

Lopezia hirsuta. — California.

DIANDBIA. MONOGYNIA.

Cyrtandra Lessoniana. — This is an umbrageous tree
of respectable stature. Its flowers are white, mono-
petalous, and very fragrant ; some of the blossoms are
supported on peduncles which emerge at once from the
trunk or bare boughs of the tree. The fruit is an
oval white berry, of waxen appearance ; it is fleshy, and
contains many small seeds, lodged in two distinct cells.

Sandwich Isles, Native name dawai.

BOTANY. 329

C. cordifolia. — An under-shrub. Entire plant co-
vered with a brown pubescence. Flowers white.

Inhabits moist and sheltered plains ; Oahu, Sand-
wich Isles.

C. triftora. — Sandwich Isles.

Justicia Sp. — This is a tall and elegant herb, usually
seen entwined around the cactus. Its flowers are red,
and grow in terminal clusters.

Cape St. Lucas, California.

DIANDRIA. TRIGYNIA.

Piper methysticum. — This is the kava or ava of most
Polynesian nations. It grows in dense thickets, and
attains the height of ten or twelve feet. Its character
of growth is similar to that of the bamboo : many
naked, jointed, and rather distorted stalks arising from
a common root, and terminating in branches thickly
covered with leaves ; the joints of the stalk marking
the progressive ascent of the foliaceous branches.
The leaves are alternate, and have rather long pe-
tioles ; they are broad, heart-shaped, and smooth,
are much veined, and have a sombre-green colour.
The fructification is a cylindrical spadix, of light-
yellow colour, and placed opposite to the insertion of a
leaf.

The entire plant has, when chewed, a pungent taste,
and deadens the sensations of the tongue. It is only
the root that is employed by the South Sea Islanders
to prepare the intoxicating drink which they call ava,
and for this purpose they prefer the recent root to that
which is dried, as they believe that when in the latter
state its qualities are impaired. Drinking rather less than

330 BOTANY.

half-a-pint of an infusion of the root produces a happy
listlessness, similar to some of the narcotic effects of
the poppy or lettuce, the mind retaining a dreamy con-
sciousness, although the muscular power appears to be
no longer under the control of the will — a state which
is not preceded by any excitement either of mind or
body. The long and excessive use of this drink pro-
duces mental debility, emaciation, and a peculiar scaly
or leprous eruption on the skin; for the abuse of
natural laws, by whatever means attained, is seldom
permitted to pass unpunished. At the Society and
Sandwich groups, where the use of this drink has been
abolished or superseded by ardent spirits, the kava-plant,
is almost extinct. At the first-named group, where it
grew so abundantly in the time of Captain Cook, I
was unable to procure a single specimen ; and at the
Sandwich group I noticed but one plant, growing on
the island of Maui. The Marquesans continue the
aboriginal use of the root, and the chiefs of Santa
Christina cultivate it largely.

P. latifolium. — Bastard Kava. — This species re-
sembles the true kava, but is shorter and more bushy
in its growth. It is a dieecious plant, the male speci-
men bearing a yellow spadix, and the female a red or
purple. The Marquesan natives call the plant baka-
vatua. They are aware of the affinity it bears to the
true Jcava, though they do not apply its root to the
same use. I have more rarely noticed this species on
the lowlands of the Society Islands, where it is called
by the natives avavahai.

P. betel. — Betel Pepper. — This is a climbing plant,
or " vine," with a slender, jointed, and crooked stalk.

BOTANY; 331

The leaves (supported on long petioles) are broad,
cordo-ovate-lanceolate, smooth, bright-green, and six-
nerved. The fructification is an amentiform spadix,
about three inches in length, and resembling the " long
pepper ;" its peduncle is fixed opposite to the insertion
of a leaf. The species was noticed only at the island
of Timor, where it is cultivated for its use as a masti-
catory. The natives sometimes train the plant upon
a trellis, as is done in Bengal, though they more fre-
quently allow it to climb over the trunks of palms and
other tall trees.

TRIANDBIA. MONOGYNIA.

Kyllingia monocephala. — Society Isles.

Scirpus tacustris. — Rush Grass. — The culms or
stalks of this species grow to the height of four feet,
and are employed by the natives for the manufacture
of their finest mats.

Habitat. — Swamps and taro-patches, Oahu, Sand-
wich Islands ; native name atatai.

S. carinatus. ^

S. (near maritimus.) \ Sandwich Group.

Eleocharis capitata. 3

Cyperus Sp. — This plant grows in great abundance,
both on the sea-shore and on the banks of rivers. Its
tall slender stalk, supporting a broad umbel, is used by
the natives to secure the small fish they capture on the
reefs : the culm being passed through the gills of the
fish, they slide down it until arrested by the umbel,
and thus a great number may be strung, or, more cor-
rectly speaking, filed together with little trouble. The
fibres of the stalk, drawn out into a coarse kind of

332 BOTANY.

hemp, are used for straining arrow-root and cocoa-
nut oil, and also as an application to incised wounds.
Society Isles ; native name mou-haari.

Cenchrus, two species. — One of these two species of
Hedge-hog Grass bears a globular flower at the extre-
mity of a procumbent stalk ; the other carries its flower
on an erect spike. Both kinds are equally annoying,
from the tenacity with which the barbed spines of their
fruit adhere to the clothing and skin of travellers. —
California.

TRIANDRIA. DIGYNIA.

Arundo bambos. — Bamboo. — Society Isles, native
name hoe ; Marquesas, koe.

Saccharum officinarum. — Sugar-cane. — Society Isles,
native name to ; Marquesas ; Sandwich Group.

S. spontaneum. — This is a very wild species of Sugar-
cane, which I have seen only on the hills of Maurua,
Society Group, and at Santa Christina, Marquesas. It
grows in dense thickets, and attains the height of four
or five feet. In stalk, foliage, and flower, it resembles
the officinal cane, but is much smaller.

Panicum paradoxum. \ ~

™ •• "^ / Pasture-grasses. —

Eleusme Sp. > 0 , . °. ~

._ . ._ V Sandwich Group.

Eragrostis pilosa. )

Digitaria composita. — Marquesas,
D. ciliaris. — Sandwich Isles.

Festuca bromoides. 7 Pasture-grasses. —
Setaria viridis. 5 St. Helena.

BOTANY. 333

S. verticillata. — The aristae of the glumes of this
grass, being sharp-pointed and barbed, penetrate
clothing, and remain pertinaciously fixed ; hence the
species is very annoying to pedestrians, and is alone
sufficient to prevent the successful growth of sheep's
wool on the lands it infests.

Society Isles ; Marquesas ; native name tutai piri. —
Sandwich Group.

TRIANDRIA. TRIGYNIA.

Polycarpon tetraphyllum. — St. Helena/

TETRANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Santalum paniculatum. — Sandal-wood Tree, — It
was only at Santa Christina, Marquesas, that we
found the Sandal- wood growing in any abundance, and
here, as at most other Polynesian islands, all the trees
of mature growth had been sacrificed to the demands
of commerce. The examples that remained were young
shrubs, six or eight feet high, vigorous, and in full
bloom. The trunk of this species is smooth and
straight, and, as well as the branches, covered with a
red-brown bark. The leaves are set in pairs, opposite,
ovate-lanceolate and entire; their colour is deep-
green, and each leaf is disposed to fold inwards, longi-
tudinally. The flowers are small, and supported in
clusters upon a common peduncle, which arises either
at the insertion of a leaf or from the extremity of a
branch ; the corolla is composed of four petals, placed
in a stellate form ; they are usually white, though
some have a red exterior; the entire flower emits a
peculiar and rather fetid odour.

The Marque san name for the tree is bua ahi.

334 BOTANY.

Procris Sp. — Bears clusters of minute green flowers
in the axillae of the leaves. Is thickly spread over the
banks and rocks of rivers, and is often inundated.

Society Isles.

Spermacoce Sp. — Herbaceous. Flowers monope-
talous ; their colour a dull-purple ; emit an odour like
that of the hyacinth.

Maui, Sandwich Isles.

Plantago quelusiana. — Leaves procumbent; bear in
their centre a scape, supporting a spike of green
flowers.

Sandwich Isles.

Terminalia Sp. — This is a littoral tree of low but
umbrageous growth. The flowers (which are disposed
in double racemes) are small, yellow, and have a fetid
odour. Each double raceme of flowers is usually suc-
ceeded by two oblong drupes.

Society Isles ; native name hautera.

TETRANDRIA. DIGYNIA.

Cuscuta Americana. — This species of Dodder has
the same general appearance and parasitic habits as
its congeners of Europe ; its slender stalks (which are
destitute of roots, and consequently unconnected with
the soil) being without leaves, and entwined around
other herbs. The flowers are small, white, and have
a delicate waxen appearance.

Cape St Lucas, California.

TETRANDRIA. TRIGYNIA.

Potamogeton gramineum. — Habitat. Beds of rivers,
Sandwich Isles.

BOTANY. 335

P. (near natans.) — Inhabits taro-ponds, Sandwich
Isles.

PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Cordia Sebestena. — Sebesten Plum. — This is a lofty
and elegant tree, with foliage like that of our common
poplar. The flowers are large, monopetalous, and of
a bright-yellow colour, which, together with the pro-
fusion in which they are borne, gives the tree a very
imposing appearance. The wood is fine-grained, and
well adapted for joiners' work. The species inhabits
the lowlands, near the sea- side.

Society Isles, native name ton ; Sandwich group,
kou ; Marquesas, ko.

C. Sp. — A littoral tree. Flowers small and borne in
clusters, but not expanded in the examples obtained.
Tahiti ; native name pea-tea.

Morinda citrifolia. — Indian Mulberry. — The leaves
of this shrub are broad, entire, and of a light-green
colour. The flowers are small, white, monopetalous,
and without odour. The fruit is the size of a hen's
egg, conical, and composed of an aggregation of drupes ;
it is, when ripe, of a pale-yellow colour, the pulp is
white and juicy, and the seeds black ; notwithstanding
that it has an astringent and acrid taste, it is some-
times eaten in the raw state by the natives of the
Society Islands. The root, infused in water, yields
a bright-yellow dye, which is used by the natives to
stain their bark- cloth.

Habitat. — Plains and low hills, Society Isles; native
name nono or adri ; Sandwich Isles, noni : Marquesas.

M. umbellata. — This is a tree of respectable size.
The Malays employ the root as a yellow dye for their
cotton-yarn.

Island of Timor.

336 BOTANY.

Tournefortia Sp.— This is a littoral shrub. Leaves
ovate-lanceolate, entire, and clothed with a silvery
pubescence. The flowers are small, white, grow in
large clusters, and have an agreeable odour.

Society Isles ; native name taheinu* — Christmas
Island.— Caroline Island.

Coffea Sp.— Wild Coffee.— A tall and delicate shrub,
bearing berries of an oval form, and dark-red colour.
Society Isles.

Chiococca barbata. — Society group ; native name
torea.

Alyxia stellata. — This shrub is peculiar to the South-
Sea Islands. Its leaves are verticillate, entire, lanceo-
late, and possess a fragrant odour. The flowers are
small, white, and monopetalous. The fruit is sub-
globular, and, as Forster observes, frequently abortive,
the contained nut being often without seed.

Society Isles ; native name maidi-rehau.

A. olivceformis. — Oahu, Sandwich Isles.

Ceanothus capsularis. — Society and Marquesan Isles ;
native name tutu.

Gardenia Florida. — Cape Jessamine. — This delight-
ful shrub, so well known in our conservatories, grows
in great abundance on the coast of the Society and
Marquesan Islands. The native females are passion-
ately fond of its white and fragrant blossom, which
they usually wear as an ornament in the hair, or in
the lobe of the ear. Its Tahitian name is tiiri.

All the Polynesian examples of this flower which I

BOTANY. 337

obtained, varied in the number of stamens they pos-
sessed, from five to eight inclusive ; and it is worthy of
remark, that in every instance the number of divisions
of the petal coincided accurately with the numerical
vagaries of the stamens.

Lobelia Sp. — The only spot where we noticed this
plant was on the summit of a lofty mountain in the
interior of Raiatea, Society group. It there grew as
a low sturdy bush, with long lanceolate leaves, and
covered with a profusion of large monopetalous flowers
which are white on their upper surface, green beneath,
and without odour. In size and general appearance
they bear a close resemblance to the blossoms of the
Gardenia Florida, and the natives name the plant tiiri-
upatui. These flowers are more highly valued as orna-
ments by the native females than the scented titri ;
owing probably to their rarity, and the difficulty in
procuring them.

Solanum Sandvicense. — A tall bush. Flowers white ;
berries, when mature, black.

Sandwich group; native name pua poro.

S. Sp. — A bushy plant, bearing small white flowers,
which are followed by berries the size and shape of an
olive, and of a yellow-red colour. The natives are ac-
customed to suspend these berries over bunches of
green plantains, believing that the ripening of the latter
fruit may be thus accelerated.

Society Isles. Native name oporo, (a name which is
also applied to the exotic, capsicum, a plant which this
species of Solanum very closely resembles.)

S. sodomeum.— St. Helena.

VOL. II. Z

338 BOTANY.

S. rapandum. — The leaves of this species are large,
and undulated at their margins, and, as well as the en-
tire plant, are covered with a soft and thick wool. The
flowers are white, and mostly borne in clusters at the
insertion of the leaves. The fruit is a globular berry
which, when ripe, is soft, yellow, has the flavour of an
apricot, and is a wholesome and pleasant food.

Society Isles. — Marquesas ; native name uku.

S. nigrum — St. Helena.

Physalis edulis. — Cape Gooseberry or Winter Cherry.
— This plant, which is so often kept in the English
green-house, grows wild and in great abundance at
Oahu, Sandwich Isles, (where it is called orod,) as well
as at St. Helena ; its fruit is eaten by both European
and native residents.

P.parviftora. — This, and several other dwarf species of
the same family, (and one of which bears the native name
pomanini,} inhabit the Society arid Marquesan Isles,
but the berries they produce are small and not edible.

Convolvulus Batatus. — Sweet Potatoe. — A procum-
bent and trailing herb. Flowers pale-pink and inodo-
rous. The cultivated root of this species is red exter-
nally, and contains a viscid milky fluid ; in size and
form it resembles the common, or Irish, potatoe, is
equally wholesome as food, and can scarcely be distin-
guished from that vegetable but by its very sweet
taste. It is very tenacious of life, and may be pre-
served for a long time at sea : when taken on board a
ship as sea-stock, it casts forth many vigorous shoots,
and often adorns the cabin in which it is suspended
with elegant festoons of its trailing and verdant foliage.

BOTANY. S39

Pitcairn Island. Society Isles ; native name nmara.^-
Sandwich group, uwdra. — Marquesas. — Timor.

C. Brasiliensis. — Sands of the sea-shore, Society
Isles ; native name pohue. Island of Timor.

C. purpureus. C. tuber culatus. — Pasture-lands, Sand-
wich Islands.

C. (near sepium.) C. (near arvensis.) — Society Isles
and Timor.

C. ovalifolius. — Salt-pond, Oahu, Sandwich Isles.

Psychotria herbacea. — A very pretty repent plant,
growing in great abundance 011 moist and wooded lands.
The leaves are reniform ; the flowers white and mono-
petalous ; the fruit is a globular scarlet berry, contain-
ing two hemispherical seeds.

Raiatea, Society Isles ; native name tuatupo.

Plumbago Zeylanica. — Lead-wort. — The root of this
plant is powerfully irritating when applied to the human
skin, and is used as a vesicatory by the Society Island-
ers. I have seen it thus employed, with much judg-
ment, as a native remedy for a diseased spine; the
application producing all the good effects of the more
refined blister and issue of European surgery. It
possesses this acrid property in common with some
other species of the same family, (as P. Europeus, which
is used by continental mendicants for the purpose of
producing artificial sores to excite pity,) but has also a
remarkable power of staining the cuticle of a permanent
black colour, like lunar-caustick ; a property of which the

z 2

340 BOTANY.

Sandwich Islanders avail themselves, to stain their face
in a manner which they consider to be ornamental. I
found, by experiments upon my own person, that the
peeled root, applied to the skin for but a few minutes,
produced a burning sensation, and left a dark stain,
which was only removed by desquamation of the cuti-
cle ; when the root was allowed to remain on the skin
for six hours, it raised a blister, which was succeeded by
a deep ulcer, rather troublesome to heal. The active
or irritating principle (which is allied, probably, to that
contained in the mustard and some other siliquose
plants) would appear to reside in the inner bark ; for I
observed that neither the epidemic nor ligneous struc-
tures produced any effect when applied separately.
The dried root, when sliced and moistened, is as ener-
getic in its action as that employed in the recent state.
The Malays of Timor place a flower-spike of this plant
in the hair of their children's heads, as a remedy for
involuntary micturition.

Society Isles ; Sandwich group ; native name idihee.
— Timor.

Cerbera manghas. — A tree, growing on mountain-
land ; bears large, white, and fragrant flowers ; and oval
berries, growing in pairs. All parts of the tree yield,
by incision, a milky fluid, which, the Marquesans say, is
a deadly poison to man.

Society Isles ; native name reva ; Marquesas, €va.

C. parviflora.— Sandwich Isles; native name toko-
rau.

Achyranthes aspera. — Sandwich Isles ; native name
opitu.

BOTANY. 341

Scsevola Chamissoniana. — An under- shrub. Leaves
ovate-lanceolate, serrated. Flowers white, monopeta-
lous ; filaments of the stamens slender and tortuous ;
pistil longer than the stamens. It is a remarkable pe-
culiarity in the expanded flower of this plant, that the
tube of the corolla is always slit vertically, on one side,
permitting the protrusion of the stamens and pistil.

Sandwich Isles. ; native name naupaka.

S. K&nigii. — Timor.

Erithalis polygama. — Society Isles ; native name
aturi. — Christmas Island.

Ipomoea pubescens. — This is a delicate climbing herb,
its gyrations proceeding from left to right ; leaves and
stalk covered with long yellow hairs. Flowers white.

Sandwich group ; native name hahulu or mohihi.

Datura tatula. — California.

Zizyphus anoplia. — Jujube Tree. — A slender tree,
growing to the height of about fifteen feet. Leaves ovate ;
their upper surface green and polished, their under
covered with a brown wool. Fruit, a globular red drupe,
the size of a small cherry ; it is edible, and was used by
the Portuguese missionaries for making a domestic wine.

Timor.

Rhamnus Sp. — A shrub. Flowers small, yellow, and
in clusters. Berries orange-colour.
Cape St. Lucas, California.

Celosia virgata. — California.

342 BOTANY,

C. argentea. — Timor.

Heliotropium curassavicum. — Sandwich group, Caro-
line and Christmas Islands.

Anagallis Indica. — St. Helena.

Kadua acuminata. — This is a tall and elegant shrub.
Its leaves are light-green, polished, entire and lanceolate.
The flowers are pale-yellow, have a waxen appearance,
and are very fragrant ; they are highly prized as orna-
ments by the natives, and were formerly tabooed, or
reserved solely for the use of the royal chiefs, no indivi-
duals of inferior rank being permitted to wear them.

Oahu, Sandwich Isles ; native name kamakarala.

Cyathodes Tameiamice. — This plant, in its general
character, bears some resemblance to the common
juniper ; it bears small green flowers, and pulpy ber-
ries of a red colour, each berry inclosing a single hard
seed.

Sandwich Isles ; native name kara eva.

Cyanea Grimesiana. — This is a tall prickly herb, with
long pinnated leaves radiating from the summit of a
succulent stem. The flowers issue in clusters from the
axillae of the leaves ; they are large and monopetalous ;
their colour white, elegantly striped with lilac ; they
have no odour, but are much valued for ornamental
purposes by the natives.

Oahu, Sandwich Isles.

Triaridium Indicum. Deeringia celosioides. — Island
of Timor.

BOTANY. 343

PEXTANDRIA DIGYNIA.

Hydrocotyle Sp. — Water Navel-wort. — Inhabits the
stony embankments of taro-patches.

Maui, Sandwich Isles ; native name apoe.

A triplex portulacoides. — California.

Chenopodium ambrosioides. Caucalis infesta. — St.
Helena.

HEXANDBIA. MONOGYNIA.

Dracaena terminalis. — This plant is most commonly
seen of no greater height than four or five feet, and
bearing erect and bushy foliage on a very short stalk ;
but it sometimes attains the altitude of ten or twelve
feet, and carries its foliage on the summit of a slender
naked trunk. The leaves are long, smooth, and lan-
ceolate; they are at first of a dark-green, but soon
change to a uniform yellow colour, when they are
much admired by the natives as an ornament for the
head or waist. The flower bears some resemblance to
that of the male Pandanus. The root has the form and
colour of a parsnip, but is very large, and of a dense
woody texture ; when baked or roasted it becomes soft,
brown, and fibrous, and contains a large quantity of
saccharine fluid, which has the appearance of molasses,
and is equally sweet. This syrup concretes, by boiling,
into a coarse candy, Vikzjagery, though all attempts to
granulate it and produce a perfect sugar have failed.

The Sandwich Islanders use the baked root to pre-
pare a wash for the distillation of a kind of whisky.
Foreign residents at Oahu find the plant serviceable
as quick-set fences for their cultivated lands; and

344 BOTANY.

the recent leaves afford the most valuable sea-stock
of fodder for cattle that the South Sea Islands can
supply.

Pitcairn Island. Society, Marquesas, and Sandwich
Groups. Native name ti.

D. Sandvicensis.— leaves erect, ensiform, emerging
from the root. Flowers small, white, and borne as a
panicle on the summit of the stalk. Fruit, three-
celled berries of a dark-olive colour.

Oahu, Sandwich Isles.

D. Sp. — Herbaceous. — Leaves erect and sword-
shaped. Flowers supported by a scape. Berries large,
of a rich-purple colour.

Sandwich group ; native name uki.

Loranthus Sp. — This plant grows on the branches of
the Californian Plum Tree, and so closely does the
stem of the parasite resemble the branch to which it is
fixed, and so completely are they incorporated, that it
is almost impossible to say where the one commences or
the other terminates. The leaves are slender, cylindrical,
and succulent. The flowers are scarlet, fleshy, and
borne in superb clusters ; the filaments of the stamens
and the style of the pistil are also scarlet ; of the six
stamens four are invariably shorter than the other two.

Cape St. Lucas, California.

Achras sapota. — Timor.

Tacca pinnatifida.* — South Sea Arrow-root. — Leaves

* Forster (Characteres Generum Plantarum Mans Australia) assigns
to this plant the class and order Dodecandria Trisynia ; (giving two

BOTANY. 345

broad, pinnatifid, supported on long erect foot-stalks,
emerging from the soil. Flowers and fruit borne in
clusters on the summit of a tall fluted scape. Average
height of the plant, two feet. The flowers are small,
green, and interspersed with long filamentous appen-
dages and ovoid bractea. The fruit is a green berry,
elegantly fluted on its surface ; it contains many yellow
striated seeds, lodged in three cells. The root is large,
and in colour and form bears a close resemblance to a
" new potatoe f the Society Islanders obtain from it a
large quantity of very pure starch, or arrow-root, which
is not only one of their most valuable staple commodi-
ties for exportation, but is also their favourite food.
The same people manufacture very neat hats and bon-
nets from the straw of the scape of this plant. The
scraped root applied to the diseased skin, is a native
remedy for elephantiasis.

Society Isles ; native name pia. — Sandwich Group,
Marquesas, Timor.

Corypha umbraculifera. — Fan Palm. — This palm, so
truly oriental in its appearance, does not obtain at any
of the Polynesian islands we visited, excepting Santa
Christina, Marquesas ; where there are several topes or
groves of the species growing in the interior of the
valleys. The natives call it vahana. It resembles the
common Fan Palm, or Palmyra, of the East Indies,
and attains the height of thirty-five feet. The trunk is
slender, has a white bark, and bears at its summit a
tuft of broad fan-shaped leaves, from the base of which
hang clusters of small globular nuts. The dried leaves
have uniformly a yellow colour ; they are applied by

stamens to each petal ;) but all the examples I obtained had flowers with
only six stamens and one pistil.

346 BOTANY.

the Marquesans only to aristocratic purposes, as co-
verings for the huts or burial places of their chiefs ; al-
though they do not refuse to sell them to European
sailors, who value them, under the name of " brab,"
for the manufacture of hats. The kernel of the nuts
is eaten as a native delicacy.

At Timor, where this palm grows in great abundance,
the Malays extract from it a large quantity of sap or
toddy, whence it obtains from Europeans the some-
what indefinite name of toddy-tree. From the sac-
charine fluid thus procured, they prepare a dark syrup,
called ffulahy which they use as sugar, and with which
they often adulterate their wild honey ; with the dried
leaves they construct A:ns-sheaths, baskets that will
hold water, and ornamental cases for their betel- leaf and
areka-nut.

Bromelia ananas. — Pine Apple. — This exotic plant
has been introduced to many Polynesian islands, where
it grows plentifully, and in a half- wild state ; but, like
all the indigenous and neglected examples of the same
species, so commonly met with in the East Indies, and
often growing in extensive fields, the fruit is very in-
ferior to the pine-apples of England ; which, on ac-
count of their rarity and consequent value, are inva-
riably well-selected and carefully cultivated by our gar-
deners.

The Society Islanders are very partial to the odour
and taste of the pine- apple. They call the plant fara-
papa, or u white-man's Pandanus," from a striking re-
semblance that exists between its foliage and mature
fruit, and those of the indigenous Pandanus-tree.

BOTANY. 347

HEXANDRIA. DIGYNIA.

Gahnia Schcenoides. — Society Isles ; native name,
mau-epo.

HEXANDRIA. TRIGYNIA.

Rumex acetosella. — St. Helena.

R. Sp. — Sandwich Isles ; native name tikiri ua.

OCTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Memecylon Sp. — This is a very elegant shrub, bear-
ing edible drupes, which in size, form, and colour re-
semble a cherry.

Marquesas Group ; native name, ko fenua, (signi-
fying to dig the ground, the wood of the species being
used to make implements for that purpose.)

Melicope ternata. — Marquesas Group.

Porliera Sp. — A tree nearly twenty feet high. Leaves
pinnated, (with a terminal leaflet,) and arranged in
whirls at the extremity of short stems sent off from
the branches. The base of each whirl of leaves is sur-
rounded by globular purple berries, loaded with an
essential oil of very powerful odour. The trunk of the
tree yields, by incision, a large quantity of fragrant te-
rebinthinous fluid, which, in its sensible qualities, re-
sembles the balsam of Copaiba, and which is employed
by the residents as an application to wounds.

Cape St. Lucas, California.

OCTANDRIA. TRIGYNIA.

Cardiospermum halicacabum. Sandwich Isles; na-
tive name eoule. — Society Isles ; Timor.

348 BOTANY.

Polygonum (NEAR amphibium.) — Society Isles ;
native name tamori or titorea.- — Sandwich Isles.

Sapindus saponaria. — Soap-berry Tree. — We saw
this species only at Santa Christina, Marquesas, where
it is called koku. Its leaves are large and pinnated ;
flowers small, inconspicuous, and borne in large clusters
or panicles. The blossoms are succeeded by globular
berries, about the size of a large cherry ; brown-yellow
when ripe ; wrinkled and veined on their surface ; and
containing, within a thick pulp, a single hard, round
and black seed. The juice of the fruit is viscid, and
has a saccharine odour, but an intensely bitter taste.
It is employed by the natives as an ingredient in the
turmeric cosmetic they smear over their persons, and it
causes that dye to adhere to the skin. The timber the
tree affords is heavy but coarse-grained ; it is white
until exposed to the air, when it assumes a fine yellow
colour, which cannot be imparted to water. It is a
lofty tree, and so abundant that it is usually supplied
to ships for fire-wood.

Sapindus Sp. — An under-shrub ; leaves woolly, ab-
ruptly pinnated ; flowers white.
Island of Timor.

ENNEANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Cassyta filiformls. — This is a parasitic creeper,
thickly entwined around bushes or ferns. Its stalks
are slender, and destitute of leaves; the flowers are
small, of a green-yellow colour, and produce globular
green berries.

The economy of this plant is like that of the dodder,
(cuscuta,} the root and radical stems decaying and

BOTANY. 349

ceasing their function when the plant has established
itself upon the system of another vegetable.
Society Isles ; native name tainoa.

C. Sp. — Resembles the preceding, but has its stalks
provided with rows of cup-shaped suckers, by which
it adheres tenaciously to the boughs of the plant it
infests.

Christmas Island.

DECANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Inocarpus edulis. — South Sea Chesnut. — This tree,
which is so abundant at the Society and Marquesan
Isles, does not obtain at the Sandwich Group. Its
Tahitian names are mape, rata, and marara ; of these,
mape, (which signifies a kidney, and is derived from
the form of the fruit) is most commonly used ; the
Marquesan name for the species is ihi.

The Inocarpus forms extensive groves, and even fo-
rests, on the lands it affects, and is a prominent feature
in their woodland scenery. Its stature is lofty; its
foliage sombre-green, and umbrageous ; and its racemes
of small yellow flowers emit a mild odour, which, when
many flowering trees are assembled together, perfumes
the air for some distance around. The ripe fruit is a
yellow reniform drupe, composed of a fibrous pulp, en-
closing a flat nut, which contains a large white kernel ;
the pulp has a fragrant odour, like that of a ripe apple,
and a sweet spicy flavour ; the kernel of the nut,
(which is roasted and' eaten by the natives) has the con-
sistence and flavour of the European edible chestnut.
This fruit will keep good for a long time after it has
been gathered, and is very eligible for sea-stock, es-
pecially for small vessels manned by native crews.

350 BOTANY.

The trunk of the aged tree is large in circumference,
and is remarkable for casting forth vertical buttresses
of solid timber, which have a considerable projection —
these growths occurring with a uniformity that does
not permit us to regard them as monstrous, although
it is not easy to determine their use ; unless we may
suppose them to give additional support to the tree, on
the loose and sloping soil it usually selects. The
timber of the mape is soft, coarse-grained, and only fit
for the most temporary purposes ; which is much to be
regretted, on account of the number of fine trees of
this kind which the islands afford, and the small value
attached to their fruit.

Melastoma malabathriea. — Society Isles ; native
name motu.

Sophora tomentosa. — Society Isles.

Guilandina Bonduc. — Sandwich Isles ; native name
kakalioa. — Timor. — (The seeds of this plant are used
medicinally by the Sandwich Islanders ; they have an
emetic and aperient effect.)

Cassia Gaudichaudii. — Sandwich Group.

C. Sp. — Sandwich group ; native name hui hui.
Kleinhovia hospita. — Timor.

Gaultheria penduliflorum. — This is a species which I
have never seen on these islands at a lower elevation
than one thousand feet above the level of the sea. It
is a low rigid bush ; its leaves alternate and serrated ; its
flowers pendulous, bell-shaped, and red ; the fruit it
bears is a red juicy berry, the size and form of a whortle-

BOTANY. 351

berry ; it is edible, and possesses a slight acidity, but is
on the whole insipid.

Sandwich Isles ; native name ohelo.

Tribulus cistoides. — Herbaceous and procumbent.
Leaves pinnated and silky. The flowers are yellow,
and have an agreeable odour. The fruit is a globular
capsule, armed with long diverging spines, which prove
a great annoyance to the bare-footed natives. I have
seen this plant growing only on the plains of Oahu,
Sandwich Islands, and, from its very local situation,
should suppose it to be an exotic, were not the species
mentioned by Captain Cook, as being amongst the
indigenous vegetation he noticed at this island upon
his first discovery of the group. The native name for
the plant is nohu.

T. terrestris ? — Flowers dark-yellow ; pericarp with-
out spines. — Sands of the sea-shore, California.

Conostegia Glabi*a. — Society Isles.

Bronnia spinosa. — This is a crooked under-shrub ;
its branches armed with thorns, but scantily clothed
with leaves, and bearing at their extremities clusters of
handsome crimson flowers.

Cape St. Lucas, California.

DECANDRIA. PENTAGYNIA.

Spondias dulcis. — Brazilian- or Hog-plum. — This
tree came under our notice only at the Society Islands,
where it is called vi; but the same native name being
applied by the Marquesans to the exotic Papaw, (Carica
papaya,) would lead to the belief that they have some
knowledge of the Spondias, although we could find no
traces of its existence at the island of Santa Christina,

352 BtiTANY.

It affects low and fertile soils, and as the bread-fruit is
the most useful and ornamental, so this is decidedly the
most noble and picturesque of Polynesian trees : a full-
grown and rather aged example, with its white sturdy
bole and spreading branches, clothed with a light-green
pinnated foliage, and loaded with a profusion of golden
fruit, presenting an admirable study for the pencil of
an artist. It is one of the very few Polynesian trees
that are deciduous, or shed their foliage at a season of
the year corresponding to our winter, which is a strange
anomaly; and one that is the more remarkable, as
many of the deciduous trees of Europe obtain a peren-
nial foliage at the expense of their fruit, when they are
removed to a tropical climate. The fruit of the vi is a
large yellow drupe, resembling the " egg-plum " of
England; it has a delicious sub-acid taste, which is
sometimes impaired, however, by a turpentine flavour ;
as is often the case also with the luscious mango-fruit of
India : indeed every part of the tree has, when broken, a
terebinthinous odour. At Tahiti, the vi matures its fruit
about the month of May, when the crop is so immense,
that, notwithstanding the large quantity consumed by
the natives and their numerous herds of swine, a pro-
fusion of fine fruit remains strewn upon the ground in
every grove.

Oxalis repens. — Society Isles.
O. corniculata. — St. Helena.

DODECANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Portulaca lutea. — Inhabits rocks on the sea- shore.
Marquesas ; native name pua-kea, (pua a flower, kea a
stone.) Christmas Island.

llhizophora mangle. — Timor.

BOTANY. 353

Pemphis acidula. — Society Isles ; native name
haraniia.

ICOSANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Eugenia malacensis. — Pomey rose, or South-Sea
Apple. — This is a tall umbrageous tree, with heavy dark
green foliage; it bears, annually, elegant clusters of
scarlet blossoms, and a globular edible fruit, the size of
an orange, and of a crimson colour externally, whilst its
pulp is white, very sweet and juicy, and about the con-
sistence of an apple. The leaves of this species are
usually much blistered, apparently by the punctures of
some insect of the genus cynips.

Society Isles ; native name ahia. Sandwich Isles,
ohia ai. Marquesas.

E. Sp. — A shrub, infesting mountain-lands ; its young
and tender leaves are crimson, and present a beautiful
appearance. The bark of this species is employed as a
brown dye for native cloth.

Oahu, Sandwich Isles ; native name ohia ha.

Psidium pyriferum. — Guava or Bay Plum. — This is
a fruit-tree well known in the East and West Indies,
where a very palatable jelly is prepared from the pulp
of its berries. I have already had occasion to mention,
in my Narrative, the surprising extent to which the
species has established itself as a naturalized exotic on
the shores of Tahiti ; as well as on many other of the
well-watered islands of the Society group; and the
alteration that its presence has effected in the vegetation
of their lowlands.

VOL. n. 2 A

354 BOTANY.

It is a tree of low stature and very diffused growth.
The flower is large, white, and not unlike that of the
pear-tree. The fruit is produced while the tree is yet
very young ; it is oval, has a smooth pale-yellow ex-
terior, and often attains the size of a goose-egg ; its thin
rind invests a very dense pulp, within which there is a
cavity containing a globular mass of small hard seeds,
agglutinated together. The pulp has a pink colour, and
the odour of a strawberry ; its flavour is agreeable, and
the entire fruit may be eaten in very large quantities
without producing the slightest iD-effect on the health.
The Guava-pears produced on these islands are de-
cidedly superior, both in size and flavour, to those
grown in the vicinity of Madras and Calcutta, East In-
dies. The natives call the plant tuava, a slight corrup-
tion of its European name.

Metrosideros Sp. — Society Isles ; native name buaa
mape.

M. polymorpha. — Sandwich Isles ; native name ohia
leua.

Rubus pinnatus. — This bramble produces a profusion
of fine fruit, which is used for making an excellent
domestic wine. — St. Helena.

POLYANDRIA. MONOGYNIA.

Calophyllum inophyllum. — This tree is the tamanu or
ati of the Society Islanders. It is more sturdy than
lofty in its growth, and is rendered conspicuous by its
heavy and sombre foliage. The flowers are borne in
large clusters, and have a pleasing appearance, their
white cup-shaped corolla being prettily contrasted with

BOTANY. 355

the bright-yellow hue of their stamens ; their odour is
sweet and powerful. The fruit is a smooth globular
drupe,* containing a hard wooden nut, which encloses
an oily kernel.

The timber of the tamanu may compete with the elm
of Europe in useful qualities : it is close-grained, red,
prettily marked, and, when well selected and polished,
is little inferior to mahogany in beauty, although it
does not possess the extreme hardness of that wood.
The Society Islanders employ it in shipbuilding, and
for the erection of their more substantial dwellings or
public edifices. A peculiar resinous matter exudes
from the trunk of this tree, both spontaneously and by
incision. It is of a gray colour, and exceedingly viscid,
but possesses no sensible quality beyond a mild agree-
able odour. It is chiefly employed as an application
to the hair by Tahitian females. The Society Islanders
generally, have appreciated the sombre character of this
tree, and have made it the companion of the Casuarina
in forming their sacred groves. The fruit is employed
by the same people as a yellow dye for cloth. The Ma-
lays, at Timor, use the oily kernel of the nut for pur-
poses of illumination.

Society Isles. Marquesas. Sandwich Isles (rare).
Timor.

'Argemone Mexicans — California. St. Helena.

, Var. Resembles the last named

species, with the exception that the flower is not yellow,

* This seed-vessel floats buoyantly on the ocean, which, together with
its dense imperishable structure, accounts for the extensive geographical
distribution of the tree, its very literal habitat, and its early appearance
amongst the vegetation of low coral formations.

,2 A 2

356 BOTANY.

but white. This is one of the plants particularly noticed
by Captain Cook, upon his discovery of the Sandwich
group.

Oahu, Sandwich Isles ; native name pua kala, (or
flower of thorns.)

Corchorus olitoritts. — Timor.

Talinum reflexum. — The leaves of this herb are
fleshy ; the stalks red ; the flowers buff-colour. The
pericarp is a globular capsule, containing many small
black seeds, prettily conglomerated; on being com-
pressed it produces a sharp sound, which the natives
compare to that of crushing lice.

Society Isles ; native name a6ru papaima.

DIDYNAMIA. GYMNOSPERMIA.

Plectranthus Australia. Phyllostegia grandiflora.
P. parviflora. — Sandwich Isles.

Bystropogon Sp. — Flowers bright-blue, their calyces
covered with a white flocculent wool.
Cape St. Lucas, California.

Ocymum Sp. — Sweet Basil. — Flowers white. The
entire plant has a delightful spicy odour. — Timor.

Stachys arvensis. — St. Helena.

Verbena Sp. — This herb bears a blue flower, and in
its growth and foliage bears a close resemblance to the
common vervain (verbena officinalis) of the British
Flora. It grows luxuriantly on the pasture-lands of
Oahu, Sandwich Isles.

BOTANY. 357

DIDYNAMIA. ANGIOSPKRMIA.

Myoporum tenuifolium. — Bastard Sandal-wood. —
Sandwich Isles ; native name naiho.

Premna Sp. — Bears clusters of light-green flowers,
succeeded by globular purple berries, from which the
natives of Raiatea prepare a blue dye for their bark
cloth.

Society Isles ; native name vevdo.

Vitex trifolia.— Timor.

Besleria laurifolia. — This is a lofty tree, affecting ele-
vated lands. In the month of January, it bears flowers
which are much esteemed by the natives for their agree-
able odour.

Society Isles ; native name pua.

Buddleia Madagascariensis. — St. Helena.

Limnophila gratioloides. — This is a low and trailing
herb, inhabiting the moist soil near mountain rivulets.
The flowers are small and pale. The leaves, when
crushed, emit a powerful smell of camphor.

Society Isles ; native name buaa uru.

Herpestis Monnieria. — Herbaceous and trailing;
bears a small light-blue flower ; grows abundantly on
the sea-shore.

Marquesas. — Sandwich Isles.

TETRADYNAMIA. SILICULOSA.

Lepidium Owhyeense. — Sandwich Isles.
Senebiera pinnatifida. — Sandwich Isles.

358 BOTANY.

TETRADYNAMIA. SILIQUOSA;

- Cardamine antiscorbutica. — Scurvy Grass. — Pitcairn
Island. Society Group.

Sisymbrium nasturtium. — St. Helena.

MONADELPHIA. TRIANDRIA.

Tamirindus Indica. — Tamarind tree. — This is a very
ornamental tree, which, from its stately and umbrageous
growth, as well as from the vivid light-green colour
and elegantly pinnated character of its foliage, always
forms a refreshing feature in an Oriental landscape.
The flowers it bears are small; their colour light-
yellow, streaked with red. The fruit (which is pro-
duced in great abundance) is a long brown loment,
with a hard and brittle rind ; the pulp it contains is
firm and green, and is intensely acid when unripe, but
gradually assumes the soft, brown, and more saccharine
state in which it invests the mature seeds. The wood,
foliage, and indeed all parts of the tree have a very acid
taste. In the East Indies, the acid of the fruit is used
to preserve fish, which, under the name of "tamarind-
fish," is eaten as a condiment with boiled rice.

Island of Timor ; Malayan name keu.

MONADELPHIA. PENTANDRIA.

Waltheria Americana. — A watery infusion of the
recent root of this plant is used by the native physL
cians as a drastic purgative.

Sandwich isles ; native name weroa.

MONADELPHIA. POLYANDRIA.

Barringtonia speciosa. — This is a sturdy umbrageous
tree, often growing on the sea-shore, at the water's
edge. Its leaves are large, entire, and obovate. Its

BOTANY. 359

flowers are borne in great profusion, and have a very
imposing appearance ; their petals are uniformly white,
the filaments of the anthers pink. The fruit is a large
fibrous drupe, containing a four-seeded nut; when
bruised and mingled with an appropriate bait, and
thrown into the sea, it intoxicates fish, and thus facili-
tates their capture.

Society Isles ; native name hutu. — Timor.

Hibiscus tiliaceus. — This is a low distorted tree,
which forms a large proportion of the jungle, or " bush,"
of Polynesian islands. Its leaves are like those of the
lime-tree, (Tilia,) and its flowers resemble those of the
hollyhock. The timber it affords is soft and light, and
is employed by the natives for many useful purposes, as
house and ship-building, and for paddles and out-
riggers for canoes. The bark is employed for the ma-
nufacture of cordage, and a superior kind of mat worn
by the chiefs.

Society Isles ; native name purau or fan. — Sand-
wich Isles, hau. — Timor.

(There is, at the Society Islands, a second and rarer
species of tree-hibiscus, which the natives call purau-
teraidi; it resembles the species last-described, with
the exceptions, that its leaves are downy and deeply
incised, and its flower has the margin of the corolla
jagged.)

H. RosaSinensis. — The brilliant scarlet flowers of this
plant are the largest and most ornamental these islands
afford, and are much used by the native females to de-
corate their hair. It is not uncommon for this species to
produce a monstrous flower: a tuft of large petals

360 BOTANY.

sprouting forth from the summit of the stameniferous
column, and presenting the appearance of a second
blossom arising from the centre of the first.
Society Isles ; native name haute.

H. Sp* — Herbaceous; leaves lobed; flowers bright-
yellow and large.

Society Isles ; native name hautia.

H. Youngiensis.— This is a tall herb, very abundant
on the plains of Oahu. The stem is armed" with sharp
prickles : the flowers are large, of a delicate pink co-
lour, and have no odour.

Sandwich Isles ; native name pua nui.

H. armatus. — Rock Rose. — St. Helena.

Thespesia populnea. — In foliage and flower this tree
resembles the purau. The fruit is a globular brown
capsule, containing angular black seeds ; when unripe,
it yields by incision a yellow fluid, resembling liquid
camboge, and which is equally useful as a water-colour.
The wood is red, and possesses a mild fragrance ; it is
used by the natives to scent their cocoa-nut oil, and is
also a valuable timber.

Society Isles ; native name mairo. — Marquesas ;
Sandwich Group. (Rare.)

Bombax pentand/'um. — Silk-cotton Tree. — Timor.

Gossypium vitifolium. — Cotton Tree. — This, as
well as several other species of the same elegant and
useful shrub, is now largely disseminated over the

BOTANY. 361

Polynesian islands, and grows wild in the greatest
vigour and perfection at the Marquesan and Society
groups. In the wild state, on the stony soil of the
former, and when cultivated on the latter group, it
affords a large crop of cotton-wool, which, although of
fine staple, and consequently less valuable than some
coarser kinds, is considered by an eminent London
broker, to be of a good and useful quality, for which
there is always a steady demand in this country ; and
that its importation price in the English market would
be about eight-pence the pound.

Pitcairn Island. Society and Sandwich groups ; na-
tive name puru (soft.) — Marquesas, bako.

Sida rotundifolia. — Sandwich Isles ; native name
rima. — Christmas Island.

Malva rotundifolia. — Oahu, Sandwich Isles.

DIADELPHIA. DECANDRIA.

Erythrina corallodendrum. — Coral Tree. — This is one
of the deciduous trees of Polynesia : it casts its leaves
on the approach of the winter months, but retains on
its boughs large clusters of scarlet papilionaceous
flowers, and pods enclosing beans of a coral-red colour.
One Tree Hill, at Tahiti, obtained its name from a
solitary example of this species which formerly grew
on its summit.

Society Isles ; native name atai. — Sandwich Isles,
viri viri (CROOKED.) — Timor.

E. monosperma. — A climbing plant, affecting moun-
tain-land. It attains the height of eight feet, and bears

362

BOTANY.

splendid clusters of scarlet papilionaceous flowers. —
Oahu, Sandwich Isles (rare) ; native name, moh'ti.

Dolichos pruriens. — Marquesas.
Hedysarum strobiliferum. — Timor.

Abrus precatorius. — Marquesas. — Society Isles ; na-
tive name bidi-bidi-6.

Glycine Sp. — A trailing herb, common on pasture-
lands. Leaves and stalks rough and tenacious of their
hold ; flowers white. Legumes hirsute.

Society Isles ; native name apepe.

Tephrosia litoralis. — A low, erect, and branching
herb, common on arid and exposed plains. Leaves
pinnated ; flowers white and papilionaceous. The na-
tives regard the species as poisonous to man ; and they
cast the entire plant into the sea to intoxicate fish.

Sandwich Isles ; native name ahohu pii.

POLYADELPHIA. ICOSANDBIA.

Citrus aurantium. — Orange Tree. — This tree, so well
known in the four principal regions of the globe, was
introduced to Polynesia by the earlier European navi-
gators, and now, especially at the Society group, forms
a conspicuous feature in the wild vegetation of those
islands : its spontaneous increase being so great, that
if the species ever demanded the particular care of the
natives it now does so no longer, and is indeed scarcely
regarded as private property, so freely does it inhabit
the jungle of the coast, in common with the wildest
indigenous fruit-trees; its boughs covered with long
spines, indicative of its neglected and ungrafted state,

BOTANY. 363

but bearing at the same time a profusion of large and
delicious fruit, which is often permitted to fall and
decay on the ground, the supply is so much greater
than the demand. The orange- tree, as grown in our
conservatories,, can give but an inadequate idea of the
same species when flourishing in a soil and climate
congenial to its habits ; where, growing as a tall and
elegant tree, it adorns and perfumes the groves with its
chaste and fragrant blossoms, reproduced almost with-
out intermission ; or, loaded with golden fruit, presents,
where many trees are collected together, a very perfect
and pleasing picture of tropical luxuriance.

It may be supposed, that the yellow colour of the
fruit is an indication of its being ripe and eatable, but
this is not precisely the fact; for when of mature
growth, and in every way fit for the table, it is only the
pulp that is yellow, while the rind retains its deep-
green colour 5 unless it should be hanging on the bough
" dead-ripe," or have been gathered for but a few days,
when it assumes its true yellow or orange- colour. The
rind of the newly-plucked fruit is thick and crisp, and
is loaded with so large a quantity of acrid essential oil,
that it is necessary the peel should be entirely removed
before the orange is eaten, to avoid an unpleasant
irritation, or even excoriation of the lips.

At Tahiti and Raiatea, of the Society group, the
number of wild orange-trees is almost incredible ; and
from the report of the residents, has increased greatly
within the last twenty years. The natives of Raiatea
shewed us an aged example of this tree, which they
say was planted by Tooti, or Captain Cook, when that
celebrated navigator last visited the island. The Tahi-
tian name for both the plant and its fruit is anani.

By prudent management, the oranges these islands
afford may be rendered valuable to shipping engaged

364 BOTANY.

in long cruises ; for if carefully selected, while they are
yet green in colour, of moderate size, and dry and un-
bruised, and separately enveloped in paper, and kept in
a dry airy spot, a large proportion of the original stock
may be preserved at sea for three or four months.
This simple and effectual mode of securing a sea- stock
of fruit so valuable as the orange, cannot be too
earnestly recommended to commanders of ships touch-
ing at the above islands, where the abundance and
cheapness of this fruit offer every facility for a large
supply and very careful selection ; while the advantages
of possessing so agreeable an antiscorbutic are rendered
more important, by the general deficiency in yams that
obtains at most of the Society Islands, and the very
perishable nature of their indigenous esculent vege-
tables.

C. medica, var. — Lime Tree. — This species or variety
is usually smaller than the orange-tree, which it re-
sembles in its style of growth, as well as in its flower.
The fruit has the appearance of a small lemon, and
contains a large proportion of acid juice, which, when
applied to the purposes of shipping, is a less agreeable,
but at the same time a much less perishable antiscor-
butic than the orange, and can also be obtained at the
Society Islands in great abundance, and at a very
trifling cost.

The method pursued by Captain Stavers, to supply
the Tuscan with this essential part of her sea-stock,
scarcely admits*of any improvement. The recent fruit
was obtained in large quantities from the natives, and
the juice expressed on board the ship and by native
children, by which its purity was insured ; for if the
natives are allowed to perform this office on shore,
they invariably add a quantity of water to the expressed

BOTANY. 365

juice, in order to economise their labour and time. To
the collected juice, a small portion of chalk is added ;
when, by the effervescence thus excited, the excess of
mucilage in the fluid, entangled with the carbonic acid
gas, is thrown to the surface in the form of a thick
scum, which is carefully removed. The liquid is then
strained, and allowed to stand and deposit its sediment ;
and when racked off, and before it is set aside for use,
a proportion of spirit is added to each cask. When
thus prepared, lime-juice will keep good at sea for an
indefinite time, and proves a powerful auxiliary to the
means employed for preserving the health of a ship's
company. There is no difficulty in getting the men to
drink it ; for when added to molasses and water (the
beverage called " switchel " by the Americans) it is
their favourite drink within the Tropics.

The Tahitian name of this tree and its fruit is
taporo.

SYNGENESIA. POLYGAMIA. ^EQUALIS.

Adenostemna viscosa. Ethulia conyzoides. — Society
Isles.

Ageratum conyzoides. — Sandwich and Society
groups. — St. Helena.

Bidens Sp. — Society Isles ; native name taria opu.
B. arbor ea. — St. Helena.

Sonchus oleraceus. — Oahu, Sandwich Isles; native
n&mepua eri.

Hypochseris radicata. — St. Helena.

366 BOTANY.

SYNGENESIA. POLYGAMIA. SUPERFLUA.

Sigesbeckia orient alls. — Herbaceous ; flowers bright-
yellow. This species, on account of the fragrance of
its foliage, ranks amongst the raau noa noa, or sweet-
scented herbs of the natives.

Society Isles ; native name amea.

Erigeron Canadense. — Society Isles ; native name te-
t&nia. — Sandwich Isles.

Verbesina Sp. — A tall bushy herb. Leaves connate,
scabrous, and serrated; flowers compound, bright-
yellow. — Sandwich Isles ; native name nehe.

V. Sp. — Sandwich Isles ; native name kokohorau.

Gnaphalium luteo-album. — Sandwich Isles; native
name ilihau. — St. Helena.

Cotula coronopifolia. Senecio Jacob&a. — St. Helena.

Diplopappus ericoides. — Flowers yellow, compound.
The entire plant possesses a very powerful and dis-
agreeable odour. — Cape St. Lucas, California.

SYNGENESIA. POLYGAMIA. SEGREGATA.

Elephantopus scober. Elephant's Foot. — Timor.

GYNANDRIA. MONANDRIA.

Epidendrum umbellatum. — Grows on the branches
of trees. Its leaves are broad, oblong, and entire.
Each leaf arises from a bulbous appendage, covered
with ligneous fibres, and which may be regarded as
a reversed stem, the roots growing from one of its
sides, and the leaf emerging from the opposite, and

BOTANY. 367

standing erect. The plant is very succulent and tena-
cious of life.

Habitat. — Mountain groves, Society Isles.

E. equitans. — This is a very elegant succulent herb,
adhering, by fibrous roots, to the trunk or branches
of aged trees. The leaves are fleshy, of a vivid green
colour, and prettily arranged in an equitant form. A
profusion of minute yellow flowers, supported on a
tall slender spike, emerge from the summit of the
plant. The juice that exudes from a recent specimen
imparts a deep-yellow colour to cloth or paper.

Society Isles; native name/<?.

Isochilus graminifolius. — This is a slender reed-like
plant, usually seen rooted to the branches of trees on
elevated lands.

Society Isles ; native name hau tera.

Liparis Sp. — In growth, and the general appearance
of its flower and foliage, this plant bears a resemblance
to the genus orchis. The flowers are light purple, and
arranged as a spike at the summit of a tall scape.

Society Isles ; native name tupu-tupu.

GYNANDRIA. POLYANDBIA.

Pothos Sp. — This species of Scunk-weed is usually
seen entwined around the trunk of the Bread-fruit
Tree. Its foliage displays two distinct forms on the
same plant, the lower series of leaves being narrow,
lanceolate, and entire, whilst the upper are broad, more
or less divided or deeply incised, and have a polished
bright-green colour, presenting in the whole a very
elegant appearance.

Society Isles ; native name rima rima.

368 BOTANY.

MON.ECIA. MONANDRIA.

Artocarpus incisa. — The Bread-fruit Tree. — European
botanists recognise but one species of bread-fruit tree,
notwithstanding that the Tahitians have distinct names
for more than twenty-four different kinds or varieties. It
is, without exception, the most ornamental of Polynesian
plants, and is one which tends equally to characterize
and adorn a Tahitian landscape. Its average height is
about fifteen or twenty feet ; although some examples
are distinguished by a more stately stature, and by a
peculiar whiteness of their bark. The leaves are large,
rigid, somewhat scabrous, deeply and uniformly incised,
and of a dark- green colour, bearing a general resem-
blance to the foliage of the common fig-tree. The
male and female flowers are borne distinct on the same
tree (Monoecious). The male fructification is a long
cylindrical spadix, of bright-yellow colour, and covered
with minute sessile flowers, which have no petals ; when
its function is performed, it turns brown and falls from
the branch. The female fructification is a green ovate
spadix, covered with prominent hexagonal germens, each
of which is surmounted by a single small stigma ; the
germen and stigma constitute an entire flower, since
neither corolla nor style of the pistil are ever present.
The complete female spadix bears a miniature resem-
blance to the perfect fruit : the latter being, in fact, but
an enlargement of the former. The edible fruit hangs
to the branch by a short stalk, scattered with long
silvery hairs ; it is globular,* about the size of a melon,
and marked on its surface with raised hexagonal figures,
which give it an elegantly-reticulated appearance.

* One variety of this fruit, called by the Taliitians paea, ha§ an oval
form, and is rather larger than the ordinary kind.

BOTANY. 369

While unripe, its surface is green, its texture firm, and
a viscid milky fluid exudes from its rind, both spon-
taneously and by incision. When ripe it is soft, and
has a pale-yellow colour. The interior of the fruit is a
white farinaceous pulp, having in its centre a cellular
receptacle, or " core," from whence there radiate nu-
merous oblong abortive seeds, each crowned with a
long hair or pilus.

At all the Polynesian islands we visited, the Bread-
fruit Tree produces none but abortive seeds ; hence it
can only be propagated by solens, or " suckers,'3 sent
off from its roots — the mere act of removing the soil
from a portion of root, being sufficient to produce a
scion, or off-set, from the part thus exposed. It affects
rich, moist and sheltered soils, and avoids extreme
elevations. The islanders who depend upon its fruit
for their subsistence, plant the tree around their dwell-
ings, but obtain their chief supply from more interior
lands, where the species abounds in a wild or partly-
neglected state. The several varieties have different
seasons for bearing their fruit ; consequently there is a
greater or less supply of this valuable esculent during
the entire year : the intervals of comparative scarcity,
or a bad general crop being provided against, by the fruit
being kept in a state of acetous fermentation, or as it
is prepared by the Tahitians under the name of mahi or
tio'o.

It is only when the fruit has attained its full growth
but is yet unripe that it is generally used as food.
When it is cooked by roasting, in the Polynesian man-
ner, and the charred rind removed, the pulp within is
perfectly white, has a soft and elastic consistence, and
a bland agreeable taste. Like our bread, potatoe, and
other farinaceous foods, man can subsist upon it for an

VOL. II. 2 B

370 BOTANY.

indefinite time without loathing; for its pleasant in-
sipidity does not excite, and cannot therefore offend,
the palate. The ripe fruit, when similarly cooked, has
a very sweet taste, and on that account, perhaps, is not
much admired as a common food, either by Polynesians
or Europeans.

The bread-fruit is almost the only vegetable used by
the Society Islanders to prepare a wash for the distilla-
tion of their modern ardent spirit, or ava, resembling a
strong whisky ; the inner bark of the branches is the
most common material used for the manufacture of the
native-cloth or tapa; and a viscid fluid obtained by
tapping the trunk, is now employed as a substitute for
pitch, in calking the sides of small vessels built at
these islands. The timber it affords is applicable to
many useful purposes ; when carefully selected from
the heart of a good tree, and kept well oiled and
polished, it assumes a sombre-brown colour, and sup-
plies a neat and durable wainscotting. It is sometimes
used for making canoes ; and in the opinion of Euro-
pean navigators in these seas, is particularly eligible
for the bottoms of vessels trading between the tropics ;
since they believe that it has a power of escaping the
attacks of the " worm/' or ship-borer, (Teredo,) in a very
remarkable degree.

Pitcairn Island (RARE). Society Isles ; native name
maiore. Marquesas, mei. Sandwich group (RARE), uru.
Island of Timor, Indian Archipelago (RARE).

A. integrifolia. — Jack or Jaca Tree. — This species
ranks among the timber-trees of the Society Isles, and
is usually selected for making the keels of vessels. The
leaves are broad and entire ; the fruit is globular, and
when young, has a purple-red colour ; it is edible, but

BOTANY. 3?1

has a peculiar disagreeable smell, which may be re-
moved by soaking the cut fruit in salt and water. I am
not aware that it is ever eaten by the Society Islanders,
although it is often used at dessert by European resi-
dents in the East Indies.

Tahiti ; native name mara. — Timor.

Casuarma equisetifolia. — Iron- wood Tree. — All the
examples of this tree which came under my notice in
the islands of the Pacific, were monoecious, whilst those
I obtained in the Indian Archipelago were as invariably
dioecious. The fact, that this plant is dioecious in the
islands of the China Sea, has been noticed by Finlay-
son,* who was consequently led to believe that other
botanists, who had described the species as monoecious,
(probably from Polynesian specimens,) had given it
an incorrect class.

The foliage of the tree bears a close resemblance to
that of the fir family : it is exceedingly elegant ; and
its sombre-green colour and drooping attitude give it a
truly funereal character. The primitive Polynesian na-
tions have done ample justice to its solemn appearance,
by making it a conspicuous feature in their sacred
groves. The male fructification is a slender cylindrical
spadix, covered with minute flowers ; the female is a
catkin. The fruit is a short wooden strobile, or cone,
containing, between its scales, small black seeds, with
membranous margins.

The species chiefly affects the lowlands, near the sea-
shore, and the brow of the more arid and weathered
hills. The timber it affords is one of the numerous
" iron-woods " of Europeans ; and is, as this term de-

* " Mission to China."

2 B 2

372 BOTANY.

notes, remarkable for hardness and durability : it takes
a good polish, and may be buried for many years in a
marshy soil, without presenting the slightest token of
decay. When recent, it has a red tint ; but by wear
and exposure to the atmosphere it becomes almost as
black as ebony. Its specific gravity being greater than
that of sea- water, it offers an eligible material for making
wooden anchors, when ships are compelled to resort to
this expedient. It is the wood most prized by the
Polynesians for making implements requiring weight or
durability, as spears, clubs, cloth-mallets, and poe-
mortars.

The bark of the tree has a powerful astringent taste,
and communicates a red colour to water. It is largely
used by the Tahitians as a brown dye for their
bark- cloth ; and, in the progress of civilized improve-
ments, has been successfully employed in tanning ;
while the ashes of the burned tree have been preferred
to all others for obtaining lye for the manufacture of
soap.

Pitcairn Island. — Society Isles ; native name aito*
or toa. — Timor. — Marquesas.

Euphorbia Sp. ; native name ko-ko. — E. multiformis.
— E. hirta. — E. Sp. ; native name nahu. — Sandwich
Isles.

E. helioscopia. E. peplis. E. rosea. — St. Helena.

* This word is employed in common language by the Society Islanders,
to express strength or durability ; and is often thus applied to persons
who though aged, are active and robust. The natives of India use the
word teak in the same metaphorical sense.

BOTAXY. 373

MOXCECIA. TETRAXDRIA.

Urtica argentea, vel BOCHMERIA albida. — The leaves
of this shrub are rough with fine hairs, and dark green
on their upper surface and silvery beneath. The
flowers are of distinct sexes on the same plant, (monce-
ciow,J and are borne, in a sessile conglomerate form,
in the axillae of the leaves; the colour of the male
flower is red-brown, while the female has a white and
waxen appearance.

The bark of this plant is used by the Sandwich Is-
landers for making their primitive cloth, or kapa. The
Society Islanders do not apply it to the same purpose,
but prepare from its fibres a superior kind of cordage.

Society Isles ; native name romeha. — Sandwich group,
mamdki. — Marquesas.

U. (Bstuans. — This species resembles the sting-nettle
(U. dioicaj of Europe, but is much more delicate in its
growth ; its leaves are supported on long slender pe-
tioles. I could detect but very little stinging property
in the leaves ; although the natives considered them
unsafe to handle.

Society and Marquesan Islands.

MONCECIA. PENTANDRIA.

Musa sapientum. — Plantain or Banana. — In its geo-
graphical distribution, this plant follows the cocoa-
nut palm very closely. It grows rapidly, and attains
the height of about fifteen feet. Its stalk is smooth
and succulent, and bears at its summit a tuft of long
drooping leaves, which are very entire, and of a
polished lively-green colour. A stout wooden foot-
stalk, arising from the centre of the leaves and re-
clining over one side of the trunk, supports nu-

374 BOTANY.

merous clusters of flowers, and subsequently, a
great weight of fruit. The flowers are pale-yellow,
and arranged on short pedicles in a palmated form,
each cluster being partly concealed within a purple-
red spathe ; the corolla is composed of two petals, the
one erect and toothed, the other short, and bearing a
nectary in the shape of a membranous scale, which
contains a sweet and gelatinous nectar. Of the six
stamens, one is usually rudimental, and often deficient.
The fruit succeeds to the flowers very gradually : it is
usual to notice large fruit on the base of the spike,
while the spathes and flowers on the apex are as yet
unexpanded. The ripe fruit is six inches long by three
or four in circumference, is slightly curved, and its
sides present three angles ; its rind is smooth, tough,
of a pale-yellow colour, and has an astringent quality
which blackens steel ; the pulp within is soft and yellow,
has a sweet farinaceous taste, not unlike that of a
mellow pear, and is an exceedingly wholesome and
nutritious food. The centre of the pulp exhibits rudi-
ments of three vertical divisions, or valves, each con-
taining several small black bodies or abortive seeds.
A single bunch of the ripe fruit will weigh from thirty
to forty pounds.

I found at Raiatea, Society Isles, a species or variety
of this fruit which was new to me : it was longer, and
more slender and curved than the common banana,
and, when perfectly ripe, its rind retained a grass-green
colour, while the pulp within was yellow, crisp, and of
admirable flavour. This fruit is so rare and good, that
the natives do not often sell it to foreign shipping.

Society and Sandwich Isles ; native name meia. —
Marquesas, meika. — Timor. — St. Helena.

BOTANY. 375

M. Fei. — Mountain Plantain. — We met with this
species only at some few of the Society Islands, and at
Santa Christina, Marquesas. Its Tahitian name isfet, its
Marquesan huitu. It is never cultivated, but grows in
great abundance in the moist and sheltered ravines of
mountain-lands, forming extensive groves, that are
elegantly contrasted with the wild character of the sur-
rounding highland vegetation. In growth and size it re-
sembles the cultivated species of the lowlands. The her-
baceous stalk has, externally, a dark marbled appearance,
and its internal pithy structure is loaded with a pink
fluid, of very astringent taste. The leaves do not differ
materially from those of the common Plantain, except-
ing in the arrangement of their nervures. The most
remarkable peculiarity in this tree, is the position of its
flower-spike, which, instead of nodding over the trunk,
as in the plantain of the plains, stands erect in the
centre of the crowning tuft of leaves, and has a foot-
stalk of sufficient size and strength to support the
weighty cluster of fruit in this less convenient position.
Each tree bears but one bunch of fruit, of which the
average weight is the same as that of the cultivated
kinds, although each individual fruit is larger, more
obtuse and, when ripe, of a bright-orange colour 5 the
pulp is very yellow, and notwithstanding its uncultivated
state, contains no fertile seeds.* This fruit, when only
just ripe, is acrid and unpalatable in the raw state, and
when cooked, is not very agreeable to Europeans ; but
when " dead-ripe," it may be enjoyed even in the raw
state, and when roasted is a very wholesome and
luscious food. These differences lead European naviga-
tors in the Pacific, to entertain as many different

* The wild plantain of the eastern hemisphere has been found to
produce large and fertile seeds.

BOTANY.

opinions respecting the merits of the species, as an
esculent. It is the daily food of the natives of Raiatea,
and, together with the bread-fruit, affords their principal
vegetable sustenance. The Society Islanders distinguish
several varieties of the tree, but two only came under
my own observation : the one named potia, bearing a
very large globular fruit ; the other producing a berry
which, when ripe, has the same pale colour as the
banana.

When the Fei tree has perfected its fruit it perishes,
and is succeeded by a scion from its own roots ; its in-
crease over the land it inhabits is also effected bysolens,
or offsets.

MONCECIA. HEXANDRIA.

Cocos nucifera. — Cocoa-nut Tree. — This tall and
plumy palm, equally useful to mankind and ornamental
to the soil it covers, exists on all the inter-tropical lands
we visited : on the Society and Marquesan Islands it is
peculiarly abundant, both on the sea-shore and on the
more interior and fertile soil. The average height of
the species is between fifty and seventy feet; the
flowers are pale-yellow, and very diminutive, compared
,with the large and ponderous fruit they produce. The
nuts are gathered for eating while they are yet young?
when the dense husk that envelopes them is green and
juicy, the shell thin and soft, and when the contained
fluid is in the greatest quantity, which averages about
one pint. In this young state, the kernel affords an
agreeable spoon-meat, which may be compared to blanc-
mange ; while the fluid it surrounds, furnishes a cool,
pleasant, and wholesome beverage, whose every ex-
cellence can only be appreciated by those who have en-
joyed the refreshing draught, when suffering from

BOTANY. 377

fatigue and thirst under a tropical sun. One of the
three depressions, or /«/«, that occupy one extremity
of the nut, is always softer than the others, and can
be easily perforated, to obtain access to the fluid within.
The Society Islanders call this palm hadri ;* but have
several names for the fruit, to express its different
stages of maturity. The nut is called opaa when it is
sufficiently ripe to possess a hard oily kernel, and when
the investing husk is brown, dry, and composed of the
short rigid fibres known to commerce by the name of
koya. In this stage of growth it is cliiefly used to
make cocoa-nut oil : the scraped kernel being heaped
up in a wooden trough, and subjected to putrefactive
fermentation until the oil exudes. None of the Poly-
nesian nations we visited, have any notion of preparing
toddy, arrack, vinegar, or toddy-sugar, (jagery}> from
the sap of the tree, as is practised in the East Indies.
They use the leaves for the manufacture of shades, to
protect their face from the sun, baskets to carry
provisions, and fences for the sides of their huts, the
leaflets being platted neatly and closely while they
remain attached to the stipe. The strong fibrous sheath,
or permanent stipule, which supports each ponderous
leaf at its attachment to the trunk, is called aa by the
Society Islanders, and is used for making bags, sails
for canoes, and a kind of sea-clothing for the fisher-
men. It is a broad elastic structure, composed of tough
brown fibres, crossing, and partly interlacing each other,
presenting so much the appearance of a coarse woven
cloth, that if man were not the unaided inventor of
weaving, we might suppose him to be the imitator of
this natural fabric. A section of the young nut-shell,

* The ancient Tahitian, and present Hawaiian name for the species is
niftu.

BOTANY.

(called by the Tahitians ivi haariy or bone of the cocoa-
nut,) scraped until it is smooth and almost transparent,
serves as the natives5 drinking cup ; while the entire
shell of an old nut, highly polished, perforated at one
extremity, and bound with cinnet, is his water-bottle.
The wood of the cocoa-nut tree is hard but brittle ; it
has a red-yellow colour; and is marked with short,
irregular, and vertical black lines, of very dense texture ;
it has, when polished, a handsome appearance, and
is sometimes used in England for ornamental pur-
poses, under the name of " porcupine wood."

MONCECIA. HEPTANDRIA.

Dracontium polyphyllum. — The Society Islanders
regard this as the most poisonous of their indigenous
plants.

Society Isles ; native name teve. — Marquesas.

MONCECIA. ENNEANDBIA.

Areca catechu. — Areka-nut Palm. — This palm bears
a close resemblance to the cocoa-nut tree ; but its leaves
are shorter, of a livelier green colour, and, being more
delicately divided into leaflets, have a more plumy ap-
pearance. The trunk is straight and slender, rises to the
height of about forty feet, and is marked with rings,
denoting the former insertion of leaves. The nuts
hang in clusters from the base of the leaves, as well as
from some lower portions of the bare trunk • they are
about the size of a walnut, globular, smooth, and, when
ripe, of a yellow-red colour. Each seed-vessel retains
a calyx composed of six scaly leaves, and encloses within
its thick husk, a single solid brown seed, (the Betel-nut
of commerce,) of rounded or conical form, and its inte-
rior mottled red and white. It is the favourite masti-

BOTANY. 379

calory of the Malayan, and other Asiatic nations ; its
taste is very astringent, and it stains the saliva red.
Timor^ Malayan name pena.

MONOZCIA. POLYANDRIA.

Caladium esculentum. (Arumesculentum,¥on$TER). —
The Cocos. — This aquatic vegetable is most largely cul-
tivated at the Sandwich Islands, where the natives sub-
sist almost entirely upon its nutritious esculent root.

Society and Sandwich Isles; native name taro. —
Marquesas, (rare,) ttfo.

C. costatum. — Mountain Cocos. — This species re-
sembles the preceding in its general appearance, as well
as in the esculent qualities of its root ; but differs from
it in regard to its habitat, preferring a dry and elevated
soil. Pitcairn Island was the only spot where we ob-
served the species cultivated for food, although the
plant also obtains, in a wild state, both at the Society
and Marquesan Islands, where it is called ape.

Calla (Ethiopica.—St. Helena.

MONCECIA. MONADELPHIA.

Aleurites triloba. — Candle-nut Tree. — This is an
umbrageous tree, growing on the sea-coast, near the
water's edge, as well as on the more interior and fertile
soil ; while the profusion with which it covers the de-
clivities of mountains, gives a hoary and very marked
character to the highland scenery. The leaves are broad
and lobed ; their under surface and footstalks covered
with a brown pubescence. The floral leaves are nar-
row and entire. The flowers (which are of distinct
sexes on the same tree) are borne in erect clusters;

BOTANY.

they are white, and have an agreeable odour. The berry
is globular, and incloses two nuts, of stony hardness,
and each containing an oily kernel.

A dark gum exudes from the trunk of this tree in
large masses ; it appears to possess no active proper-
ties, and may be applied to all the uses of gum-arabic ;
when spread, in the form of mucilage, over the interior
of boxes, it protects their contents from the ravages of
insects. It was formerly a custom with the Society
Islanders, to skewer the kernels of the nuts, and burn
them for artificial illumination ; and the same practice
is still pursued by the Sandwich Islanders, with whom
cocoa-nut oil is scarce. A manufactory has been esta-
blished at Oahu for the preparation of Candle-nut oil,
which is found admirably adapted for a paint-oil ; it
has been long employed by the natives of that island as
a mordant for their vegetable dyes, and is applied to
the same purpose by the Malays of Timor. The root
of the tree affords the Pitcairn Islanders a brown dye
for their bark-cloth ; and most Polynesian nations use
the gum that exudes from the trunk, to give a gloss to
their stained tapa.

Pitcairn and Society Isles ; native name tv? tuit —
Sandwich and Marquesan Groups, ku' km. — Timor.

Ricinus mappa. — A low and crooked tree, common
on the sea-shore.

Society Isles ; native name tuinina. — Timor.

R. inermis. — Castor-oil Plant. — This species is an
under-shrub, and very abundant on the plains of Oahu.
The young branches, as well as the foot-stalks of the
leaves, are bright-red. The seeds or "nuts" are large, and
yield a good medicinal oil.

BOTANY. 381

Sandwich Isles. — Marquesas ; native name /of. —
Cape St. Lucas, California.

Croton Sp. — A shrub, bearing clusters of small green
flowers, and red berries. It is used medicinally by the
Tahitians. Its berries are said to be a poison for fish.

Society Isles ; native name avdu.

Jatropha curcas. — Physic-nut. — Although this shrub
is a denizen of a tropical climate, it is deciduous, casting
its leaves about the month of June. The trunk and
branches are distorted, succulent, and covered with a
yellow epidermis. The leaves are broad and lobed.
The fruit is a three-celled capsule, containing oily nuts,
which are used by the Malays both medicinally and for
illumination; when taken internally they are emetic
and purgative. The natives of Timor employ the shrub
as a quick-set fence for their cultivated lands.

J. urens. — The leaves of this species are variegated,
and, as well as the stalks, are armed with long silvery
hairs which, when they are lightly touched, produce a
transient stinging effect.

Cape St. Lucas, California.

Phyllanthus distichus. — Sandwich Isles ; native
name ahii.

P. Sp. — A dwarf mountain-herb, producing small
green flowers, which are succeeded by globular capsules.
Sandwich Isles ; native name pukido.

p. Sp. — Bears small green flowers, which are suc-
ceeded by purple berries containing a blue juice.
Island of Timor.

382 BOTANY.

MONCECIA. SYNGENESIA.

Cucurbita lagenaria. — Bottle Gourd. — Procumbent
and trailing. Flowers pale-yellow or white. Fruit
oval or globular, and of large size ; it has, when mature,
a yellow and very hard rind, which is used by the Sand-
wich Islanders for poe dishes and water vessels.
When applied to the latter use, the " calabash'5 retains
the form in which it is grown, (although this is often
influenced by artificial means,) and its polished surface
is ingeniously carved with black devices. — Society and
Sandwich groups.

C. multiflora. — Marquesas ; native name kateu.

Sicynos, two species. — The one species is a delicate
vine, provided with tendrils, and bearing a spinous peri-
carp ; the other is a very abundant and beautiful herb,
usually seen entwined around stronger vegetation, which
it covers and surmounts, whilst the jungle is bright
with the profusion of its scarlet blossoms. The species
sometimes grows on open plains, where, for want of
extraneous support, it trails over a great extent of soil.
The flower is destitute of odour, and is indebted for its
brilliant colour to a very ample calyx.

Coast of California.

DIOECIA. MONANDRIA.

Pandanus tectorius et odoratissimus. — Screw Pines.
— These are palms which seldom grow higher than
fifteen feet. The leaves of the one species are long,
rigid, and sword-shaped, and armed with spines on
their margins : they are sessile, and as they grow in
a spiral direction, and their bases continue attached
after the lower foliage has fallen, they give the trunk of

BOTANY. 383

the young tree a twisted appearance, whence its trivial
name.

The leaves of the second species are similar in shape
to those last described; but have a more delicate
texture, are more inclined to a drooping position, and
have no spines on their margins.

The flowers of both kinds are dioecious, each sex
being borne on a distinct tree. The male fructification
is a spadix, about one foot in length, and alternately
branched, each branch being covered with yellow
stamens, loaded with a mealy pollen, which is scattered
in the air by the slightest agitation. One stamen
forms the perfect male flower, there being no corolla.
A long membranous sheath invests each cluster of
stamens, and, as well as the latter, emits a powerful
fragrant odour. The female fructification is a globular
spadix, covered with prominent germens, each of which
bears a short pistil on its summit. The perfect fruit
has the form of the female spadix, and is composed of
an aggregation of one-seeded drupes ; it has, when
ripe, a red-yellow colour, and a faint but agreeable
odour.

It is worthy of remark, that the aged Screw Pine
sends down ligneous props, or fulcra, from the under
surface of its branches, like the Banian-tree. These
vicarious growths do not, however, issue in the form
of fibrous roots, (as they do from the Banian,) but in-
variably as solid conical stems, which descend to the
ground in this form and root themselves in the soil.
Some similar growths emerge also from the trunk of
the tree, several feet above the earth; and whether
they ultimately supersede the function of the original

384 BOTANY.

roots, or whether the latter may become peculiarly
elevated, I have been unable to determine; but it is
very usual to see this palm supported upon elevated
root-like props, as upon a pedestal of many feet, with
a vacant space of considerable height between the
ground and the base of its trunk.

O

These trees obtained in all the Polynesian islands
we visited, and also in Timor, Indian Archipelago.
Their Tahitian name is fara, their Hawaiian hala. They
are exceedingly hardy, affecting alike the low coral
formations of the Pacific, and lands raised two thousand
feet above the level of the ocean — the arid and saline
sands of the sea shore, and the most interior and
fertile soils.

Their dried leaves are used by most Polynesian
nations to thatch their huts, or for the manufacture of
mats, fans, and hats ; the yellow and polished drupes
are employed for necklaces ; and the fragrant spathes
of the male flowers as wreaths for the head ; the in-
terior and soft extremity of the drupe is chewed for
the sweet farinaceous matter it contains ; and the kernel
inclosed in the nut, and which has the flavour of a
walnut, is a favourite native food. The wood of the
mature palm is hard and ornamental, and is applied by
the Sandwich Islanders to several mechanical uses.

P. Sp. — The leaves of this species are long, flexible,
and sword-shaped, and have spines on their margins ;
they are arranged as a crown at the summit of a slender
stem, and bear in their centre a long cylindrical spadix,
covered with small odoriferous flowers. The plant
sometimes grows erect, independently of extraneous

BOTANY. 385

support, but more commonly reclines on the ground,
or twines its flexible stem around the trunk and
branches of large trees.

Oahu, Sandwich Isles ; native name ie.

DICECIA. DIANDRIA.

Vallisneria spiralis. — Grows on the branches of trees.
— Society Isles.

DICECIA. TETRANDIA.

Broussonetia papyri/era. — Paper Mulberry Tree. —
This species seldom exceeds the size of a shrub ; its
foliage is dark green, has a very handsome appearance,
and is composed of two forms of leaf ; the first or
principal series being broad and deeply incised, the
second narrow, entire, and lanceolate. The inner bark
of the tree is one of the materials used by the Sandwich
Islanders for the manufacture of their primitive cloth ;
the Japanese prepare from it a similar fabric, which
they apply to the uses of paper, whence the trivial
name of the plant. The species has been largely cul-
tivated in France, as food for the silk-worm, andj has
been found to grow with greater rapidity than the
common edible mulberry-trees, and to bear a low
temperature without injury : the experiments of M.
Loiseleur Deslonchamps prove, however, that the leaves
of this tree are prejudicial to silk-worms.

Pitcairn Island. — Society Isles; native name auti. —
Sandwich Group, wauti. — Marquesas.

DICECIA. HEXANDBIA.

Bioscorea sativa and aculeata. — The Yam. — These
plants are herbaceous and disposed to climb, but

VOL. II. 2 C

386 BOTANY.

when cultivated,, they trail on the ground as long en-
tangled vines. Their esculent roots are very large and
shapeless, have a rough brown exterior, and are white and
solid within ; they furnish a good vegetable supply for
sea-stock, and are the best substitute for the potatoe.

Pitcairn Island. — Society and Sandwich Isles ; native
name uhi. — Marquesas. — Timor. — St. Helena.

(Two other species of Dioscorea obtain at the Society
Islands : the one, called patdra, infests the thickets of
both low and elevated lands, and is usually entwined
around the trunks of trees. It has ternate leaves, and
bears bulbs- on its stalk j the root resembles a potatoe,
and is eaten by the natives when other vegetable food
is scarce. The second species is called hoi. It re-
sembles the preceding in growth and habitat, and is
alike viviparous, bearing in the axillse of its leaves,
muricated bulbs, the size and shape of an Aleppo gall-
nut, and of a fawn-colour. The root of this plant is
also eaten by the natives, in times of scarcity.)

DICECIA. DECANDRIA.

Carica papaya. — The Papaw. — This fruit-tree, al-
though a common denizen of most tropical lands, is not
indigenous to Polynesia, but has been introduced to
many of the islands by European navigators. We
noticed the species chiefly at the Marquesan and Society
groups, where it grows on the coast with indigenous
vigour.

The Papaw usually attains the height of about fifteen
feet, and has an elegant style of growth, the trunk being
slender, straight, and unbranched till near its summit.
The leaves are large but light, supported on very long
foot-stalks, and have nearly the form of the common

BOTANY. 387

fig-leaf. The flowers grow in clusters ; are pale-yellow.,
small and bell-shaped, and have a pleasant but feeble
odour. The fruit is smooth, rather more oval than
globular, and about the size of a small melon ; it also
resembles the latter fruit in its colour and structure,
and its central cavity is filled with many small oval and
gray seeds, enveloped in a slimy fluid. It has a sweet
taste ; but is not generally admired by Europeans, and
is seldom eaten by the natives.

The Marquesan name for the plant is m ; and the
Raiateans sometimes call it m papa, or white-man's viy
from a resemblance they detect between the fruit it
bears, and that of the indigenous vi-tree ; (Spondias
dulcis ;) though their more usual name for the species
is mnita ; and they recognise its dioecious character, by
calling the male tree ninita tane, and the female ninita
vahine, or husband and wife Papaw.

All parts of the tree are considered efficacious as an
external application for the cure of ring- worm.

DICECIA. OCTANDRIA.

Dodoneea viscosa. — We noticed this under-shrub only
at the Society Islands, where it is called apiri. The
leaves are lanceolate, and covered with a viscid matter
of agreeable balsamic odour. The flowers are arranged
in panicles at the extremity of the branches; they
were invariably dioecious in the examples we obtained
at these islands, although Forster remarks, that the
species is hermaphrodite in New Zealand.

This plant is the laurel of the Tahitian warriors : its
branches being selected to adorn the brows of those
who return victorious from war.

2 C2

388 BOTANY.

POLYGAMIA. MONCECIA.

Acacia falcata. (Mimosa heterophylla, Freycinet.) —
This tree was observed only at the Sandwich Islands,
where its native name is koa. It is an elegant species,
and often attains a considerable height. Its foliage
is remarkable : the leaves, when first produced, have
the pinnated form usual with the Acacia family, but
subsequently, their stipules become preternaturally de-
veloped, and, assuming the form of curved ligulate
leaves, mingle with, and ultimately supersede the place
and function of, the true pinnated foliage. In some
aged trees, these monstrous growths constitute the en-
tire foliage, with the exception of a few recent sprouts
from the root or trunk, where the normal pinnated
leaves again appear. The timber this tree affords is
much valued by the natives, for architectural purposes ;
it is also well adapted for cabinet-maker's work ; and,
when polished, has a neat appearance, not inferior to
that of the " bastard-mahogany'5 of South America.

A. glandulosa. — This is a tall littoral tree. Its foli-
age, although lightly pinnated, has a depth of green
which gives it a dark and sombre appearance. The
pods or loments it bears are long and constricted, and
none that I collected contained any fertile seeds. This
species is one of the timber trees of the natives.

Society Isles ; native name torodi.

Andropogon Sp. — Every part of this grass emits
an agreeable perfume, like the huskus grass of India. It
is used by the natives to scent their hair-oil, and is
often mingled with the thatch of their dwellings.

Society Isles ; native name aretu.

BOTANY. 389

A. aciculatwn. — Sandwich Isles.

POLYGAMIA. TRICECIA.

Ficus religiosa et Indica. — Banian Tree. — The leaf
of the Polynesian Banian Tree is small, narrow, and
lanceolate, and has a smooth or polished surface ; while
that of the common Banian Tree of Bengal is broad,
ovate, and rough, and green on the upper surface and
downy beneath ; in other respects the two kinds re-
semble each other. The fruit is globular, about the
size of a small cherry, and of a scarlet colour when ripe ;
it is wholesome to eat, and is often used as food by the
natives of the East Indies ; it is borne in great profu-
sion ; and grows in clusters, supported upon a stout
footstalk.

The tree seldom attains a very lofty stature, but
shows a great disposition to extend itself in a hori-
zontal direction. The inferior surface of its branches
sends down a vast number of fibrous roots, which some-
times become fixed in the ground, and assume the form
of stout cylindrical props, or vicarious trunks. It has
been supposed that this economy is a mode of propa-
gation, and that the roots thus sent down from the
branches produce an endless succession of trees; but
such is not the precise fact : they must rather be con-
sidered as a provision for the adequate support (both
mechanical and nutrimental,) of the otherwise too heavy
and extensive branches of the parent tree. When
the branch-roots are implanted in the soil and assume
the function they are destined to perform, they resemble
the straight and smooth trunk of a young tree, and
are incorporated above with the parent-bough they
support ; but in no instance that has come under my
observation, have they ever produced branches or foil-

390 BOTANY.

age of their own. I have seen the gigantic Banian
Tree growing in the botanick garden at Calcutta, and
have been amazed at the perfect forest formed by its
spreading branches ; but in that splendid example, I
particularly noticed, that none of the vicarious trunks
which gave support to its horizontal branches, produced
a single branch or leaf, but were merely serving as props
to the parent tree ; while the necessity for this provi-
sion was shown, by the gardener having applied the arti-
ficial support of bamboos to many of the branches which
were not sufficiently supplied with natural props.

Either as a specific distinction, or from some pe-
culiarity in their growth, some Banian Trees extend
their branches in horizontal direction, and perfect
their vicarious trunks at a very early period ; while
others, with less horizontal spread, attain a more lofty
stature, and, however aged, have never more than a
fringe of roots, pendent from their lower boughs and
ready to be perfected by necessity.

Pitcairn Island. Society Isles; native names ore,
ord, aoa. — Timor.

F. prolixa. — This is a low tree, bearing in the axillae
of its leaves numerous clusters of small globular fruit,
of a bright-red colour. The milk that exudes from the
ripe fruit is collected by the Society Island natives, and
mixed with an infusion of the leaves of the ton, (Cordia
Sebestena,} when the combined liquids, although co-
lourless in themselves, produce that beautiful crimson
dye which is used to stain bark-cloth. The fibres of
the bark of the tree are used for making a kind of
small cordage, which is highly valued for the manufac-
ture of native fishing-lines and nets.

Society Islands ; native name mate.

BOTANY. 391

POLYGAMIA. DIGECIA.

Ficus Sp. — Wild Fig-tree. — Attains the height of
twelve feet. Leaves scabrous, ovate-lanceolate and en-
tire. The fruit is borne in great abundance, and on
the trunk, as well as on the branches of the tree ; it is
globular, about the size of a billiard-ball, rough on its
exterior, and pale-yellow when ripe; it has a rich
creamy taste, but its flavour, on the whole, is not to
be admired.

The species grows abundantly on the jungled lands
near the coast, and its fruit, which is eaten by the
natives, would doubtless be much improved by culti-
vation.

Soutranha, Island of Timor.

CRYPTOGAMIA. FILICES.

Lycopodium arbuscula. — This is the most elegan
species of Club-moss with which I am acquainted. It
seldom exceeds eight inches in height, has a lively
verdure, grows erect, and branches elegantly, like a tree
in miniature, and covers a great extent of soil in the
vicinity of mountain rivers and cascades.

Sandwich Isles ; native name kupu kupu. — Society
Isles, (rare.)

L. cernuum. — Society Isles ; native name arore.

L. phlegmaria. — Society Isles ; native name Mtau.
— Sandwich Group, pamoo.

L. setaceum. — Society Isles.

L. phyllanthum. — Sandwich Isles.

392 BOTANY.

Psilotum triquetrum. — An infusion of this Club-moss
is taken medicinally by the natives, as a remedy for
visceral diseases.

Sandwich Group ; native name moa.

P. complanatum. — Society Isles.

P. Forsteri. (Tmesipteris tannensis, FORST.)

Ophioglossum Lusitanicum. — Adder's Tongue. — St.
Helena.

FERNS.

Acrostichum grandifolium — The fronds of this spe-
cies are often more than six feet high ; the posterior
surface of the upper leaflets, only, is covered with a
yellow fructification. Inhabits swamps.

Society Isles ; native name pidto.

Pteris pedata. — Society and Sandwich Isles.

P. excelsa. — This is a gigantic and ornamental spe-
cies. The tops of the fronds are eaten as a salad by
the natives.

Oahu, Sandwich Isles.

P. argula. — St. Helena.
P. alata. — Sandwich Group.

Blechnum orientals. — Society Isles; native name
momfa.

Hemionitis reticulata. — Society Isles.

BOTANY. 393

Lonchitis tenuifolia. — An elegant tree-fern. — Mar-
quesas.

Asplenium nidus. — The fronds of this fern are three
feet long, and resemble those of the common harts-
tongue (Scolopendrium vulgbre) of Europe; they grow
on moist soil and on the trunks of trees.

Society Isles.

A. falcatum. — Society Isles ; native name ane.
A. resectum. — Sandwich Isles.

Polypodium phymatodes. — Society Isles. Caroline
Island.

P. Aureum. — Society Isles ; native name atua buaa
(or god of the pigs, a frond of this fern being usually
spread before parturient sows, to aid them in bringing
forth their litter.) — Marquesas, omdho.

P. Gramitidis. — Grows on the branches of aged
trees. — Society Isles.

P. Serpens. — P. Sp. ; native name/fire rupe. — Society
Isles.

P. Grammitis. — P.Atro-punctatum. — P. Pseudo-gram-
mitis. — Sandwich Group.

P. Viscidum.—St. Helena.

P. Sp. — The tall handsome fronds of this fern have,
when faded, a fragrant odour, and are much used by

394 BOTANY.

the natives as wreaths for the head. In the days of
idolatry, a frond of the same species was offered at the
sacred morais, by females who intended to procure
abortion or murder their offspring. — Society Isles ;
native name mairi.

Schizoea dichotoma. — Society Isles ; native name diti,

Angiopteris evecta. — This is a very lofty species, its
unbranched fronds attaining the height of twelve feet.
The leaflets are smooth and light-green, and their dorsal
surface is margined with a continuous line of fructifica-
tion. The root of this fern is of gigantic size, solid,
and farinaceous ; it is roasted and eaten by the natives,
when other and more palatable food is scarce.

Society Isles ; native name enai.

Gleichenia Hermanni. — This tree-fern may be re-
garded as the common " brake" of these islands, it
covers so profusely the arid and unwooded lands.

Society Isles. — Sandwich Isles.

G. polypodiotdes. — Marquesas ; native name mono,
mono, ena.

Lygodium reticulatum. — Society Isles.

Davallia remota ; native name eremu. — D. pectinata.
— D. tubulosa ; native name atete. — Society Isles.

D. tenuifolia. — D.flaccida. — Sandwich Isles.

Cibotium Chamissonis. — This bushy and handsome
tree-fern is common at the Sandwich Islands, where it

BOTANY. 395

is called apu. A thick silken down, of bright-auburn
colour, which invests the stem and bases of the stipes,
is called pulu apu (or apu-cotton) by the natives, and
is largely employed in stuffing pillows and matrasses.

C. Sp. — Sandwich Group ; native name ohio. The
fronds of this species contain a great quantity of muci-
laginous fluid, which the native females smear over
their hair, to impart to it an agreeable moisture and
gloss.

Adiantum capillus Veneris. — The natives of Maui,
Sandwich Islands, construct curious ornamental bas-
kets from the slender, black, and polished stipes of this
fern.

Lindseea Sp. — This is a very delicate and elegant
plant : the leaflets of its fronds are pellucid, light-green,
and in form (as well as in their spangled fructification)
resemble a butterfly's wing. — Sandwich Isles.

Doodia Kunthiana. — Vittaria rigida. — Nephrodium
exaltatum. — Adenophorus tripinnatifidus. — Dicksonia
flaccida. — Hymenophyllum recurvum. — Sandwich Isles.

Aspidium microsamm. — Marquesas.
Cheilanthes tenuifolia. — St. Helena.

FINIS.

LONDON :

J. B. NICHOLS AND SON, PRINTERS, 25, PARLIAMENT STREET.

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