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NEW VOYAGE

ROUND

• *>s.
THE WORLD,^

IN THE YEARS 1823, 24, 25, AND 26.

BY OTTO VON KOTZEBUE,

POST CAPTAIN IN THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL NAVY.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

LONDON:

HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY,

NEW BURLINGTON STREET.

1830.

LOXDON :
PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTI.EY.

i'oisev Street, Fleet Street.

CONTENTS

OF

THE SECOND VOLUME.

KAMTSCHATKA . 1

NEW-ARCHANGEL . . . . . 27

CALIFORNIA, AND THE NEW RUSSIAN SETTLE
MENT, ROSS . . . . .69
THE SANDWICH ISLANDS .... 151
THE PESCADORES, RIMSKI-KORSAKOFF, ESCH-

SCHOLTZ, AND BRONUS ISLANDS . . 267

THE LADRONES AND PHILIPPINES . . 279

ST. HELENA . .... 305

ZOOLOGICAL APPENDIX BY PROFESSOR ESCH-

SCHOLTZ . . . 323

KAMTSCHATKA

VOL. 11.

KAMTSCHATKA.

THE wind, which continued favourable to us
as far as the Northern Tropic, was succeeded
by a calm that lasted twelve days. The ocean,
as far as the eye could reach, was as smooth as
a mirror, and the heat almost insupportable.
Sailors only can fully understand the disagree-
ableness of this situation. The activity usual
on shipboard gave place to the most wearisome
idleness. Every one was impatient; some of the
men felt assured that we should never have a
wind again, and wished for the most violent
storm as a change.

One morning we had the amusement of
watching two great sword-fish sunning them
selves on the surface of the water. I sent out a
boat, in the hope that the powerful creatures
would, in complaisance, allow us the sport of
B 2

ROUGH WEATHER.

harpooning them, but they would not wait ;
they plunged again into the depths of the sea,
and we had disturbed their enjoyments in vain.
Our water-machine was several times let
down, even to the depth of a thousand fathoms :
on the surface, the temperature was 24°, and at
this depth, only 2° of Reaumur.

On the 22nd of May, the anniversary of our
frigate's leaving Stopel, we got a fresh easterly
wind, which carried us forward pretty quickly
on the still smooth surface of the sea.

On the 1st of June, when in latitude 42° and
longitude 201°, and consequently opposite the
coast of Japan, we descried a red stripe in the
water, about a mile long and a fathom broad.
Tn passing over it we drew up a pail-full, and
found that its colour was occasioned by an infi
nite number of crabs, so small as to be scarcely
distinguishable by the naked eye.

We now began daily to experience increasing
inconveniences from the Northern climate. The
sky, hitherto so serene, became gloomy and cover
ed with storm-clouds, which seldom threatened
in vain ; we were, besides, enveloped in almost
perpetual mists, bounding our prospect to a

PENINSULA OF KAMTSCHATKA. 5

few fathoms. In a short time, the temperature
of the air had fallen from 24° to 3°. So sud
den a change is always disagreeable, and often
dangerous. We had to thank the skill and
attention of our physician, Dr. Siegwald, that
it did not prove so to us. Such rough weather
is not common to the latitude we were in at
that season ; but it is peculiar to the Japanese
coast even in summer. Whales and storm-
birds showed themselves in great numbers, re
minding us that we were hastening to the
North, and were already far from the luxuriant
groves of the South-Sea islands.

The wind continued so favourable, that on
the 7th of June we could already see the high
mountains of Kamtschatka in their winter
clothing. Their jagged summits reaching to
the heavens, crested with everlasting snow, which
glitters in the sunbeams, while their declivities
are begirt with clouds, give a magnificent aspect
to this coast. On the following day, we reached
Awatscha Bay, and in the evening anchored in
the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul.

The great peninsula of Kamtschatka, stretch
ing to the river Anadir on the North, and South

G CLIMATE AND VEGETATION.

to the Kurilian Islands, bathed on the east by the
ocean, and on the west by the sea of Ochotsk,
is, like many men, better than its reputation.
It is supposed to be the roughest and most
desolate corner of the world, and yet it lies
under the same latitude as England and Scot
land, and is equal in size to both. The sum
mer is indeed much shorter, but it is also much
finer ; and the vegetation is more luxuriant
than in Great Britain. The winter lasts long,
and its discomforts are increased by the quan
tity of snow that falls ; but in the southern
parts the cold is moderate ; and experience has
repeatedly refuted the erroneous opinion, that
on account of its long duration, and the conse
quent curtailment of the summer season, corn
cannot be efficaciously cultivated here.

Although the snow lies in some of the valleys
till the end of May, because the high, over
shadowing mountains intercept the warm sun
beams, yet garden-plants prosper. Potatoes
generally yield a triple crop, and would per
fectly supply the want of bread, if the inhabi
tants cultivated them more diligently : but the
easier mode of providing fish in superabundance

MODE OF TRAVELLING. 7

as winter food, has induced them to neglect the
labour of raising potatoes, although they have
known years when the fishery has barely pro
tected them from famine.

The winter, as I have already said, is very
unpleasant, from the heavy snows, which, drift
ing from the mountains, often bury the houses,
so that the inhabitants are compelled to dig a
passage out, while the cattle walk on its frozen
surface over their roofs.

Travelling in this season is very rapid and
convenient. The usual mode is in sledges
drawn by six or more dogs. The only dan
ger is from snow-storms. The traveller, sur
prised by this sudden visitation, has no chance
for safety except in quietly allowing himself
and his dogs to be buried in the snow, and
relieving himself from his covering when the
storm is past. This, however, is not always
practicable ; should the storm, or, as it is called
here, " purga,v' overtake him in the ravine of a
mountain, such an immense quantity of snow-
becomes heaped upon him, that he has no power
to extricate himself from his tomb. These acci
dents, however, seldom occur ; for the Kamts-

8 PANORAMA OF KAMTSCHATKA.

chatkans have acquired of necessity great fore
sight in meteorology, and of course never un
dertake a journey when they do not consider
themselves sure of the weather.

The principal reason why the climate of
Kamtschatka is inferior to that of other places
under the same latitude, is to be found in the
configuration of the country. The mountains
of England, for instance, are of a very mode
rate height, and broken by extensive plains ;
here, on the contrary, intersected only by a few
valleys of small extent, a single chain of moun
tains, its broken snow-crowned summits reach
ing to the clouds, and in many parts far beyond
them, stretches the whole length of the Penin
sula, and is based upon its breadth,

The panorama of Kamtschatka is a confused
heap of granite blocks of various heights, thickly
piled together, whose pointed, jagged forms
bear testimony to the tremendous war of ele
ments amidst which they must have burst from
the bowels of the earth. The struggle is even
now scarcely ended, as the smoking and burning
of volcanoes, and frequent shocks of earth
quake, sufficiently intimate. One of the moun-

AN INTERESTING COUNTRY. 9

tains, called Kamtschatka Mountain, rivalling
in height the loftiest in the world, often vomits
forth streams of lava on the surrounding coun
try. These mountains with their glaciers, and
volcanoes emitting columns of fire and smoke
from amidst fields of ice, afford a picturesque
contrast with the beautiful green of the valleys.
The most singular and indescribably-splendid
effect is produced by the crystal rocks on the
western coast, when illuminated by the sun ;
their whole refulgent surface reflecting his rays
in every various tint of the most brilliant co
lours, resembles the diamond mountains of
fairy-land, while the neighbouring rocks of
quartz shine like masses of solid gold.

Kamtschatka is a most interesting country to
the professor of the natural sciences. Great
mineral treasures will certainly be one day dis
covered here ; the number and diversity of its
stones is striking even to the most uninitiated.
It abounds in hot and salutary springs. To
the botanist it offers great varieties of plants,
little if at all known ; and the zoologist would
find here, amongst the animal tribes deserving
his attention, besides several kinds of bears,
B 5

10 THE WILD SHEEP.

wolves and foxes, the celebrated sable whose
skin is sold for so great a price, and the native
wild sheep, which inhabits the tops of the high
est mountains. It attains the size of a large
goat ; the head resembles that of an ordinary
sheep, but is furnished with strong, crooked
horns : the skin and form of the body are like
the reindeer, and it feeds chiefly on moss. It
is fleet and active, achieving, like the chamois,
prodigious springs among the rocks and preci
pices, and is, consequently, with difficulty killed
or taken. In preparing for these leaps, its eye
measures the distance with surprising accuracy ;
the animal then contracts its legs, and darts
forward head-foremost to the destined spot,
where it alights upon its feet, nor is it ever
known to miss, although the point may be so
small as to admit its four feet only by their
being closely pressed together. The manner in
which it balances itself after such leaps is also
admirable : our ballet-dancers would consider it
a model of a perfect a plomb. The monster of
the antediluvian world, the mammoth, must
have been an inhabitant of this country, since
many of its bones have been found here.

DISCOVERY OF KAMTSCHATKA. 11

The forests of Kamtschatka are not enliven
ed by singing-birds ; indeed land-birds are all
scarce ; but there are infinite numbers of water
fowl of many species. Immense flocks of them
are to be seen upon the lakes, rivers, morasses,
and even the sea itself, in the vicinity of the
shore. Fish is abundant, especially in the
months of June and July. A single draught
of the net provided us with as many as the whole
crew could consume in several days. A sort
of salmon, ling, and herrings, are preferred for
winter stock ; the latter, dried in the air, sup
ply food for the dogs.

Kamtschatka was discovered in the year
1696, by a Cossack of Yakutsh, by name Luca
Semenoff, who, on a report being spread of
the existence of this country, set out with six
teen companions to make a journey hither. In
the following years, similar expeditions were
repeated in greater force, till Kamtschatka was
subjected and made tributary to the Russian
crown. The conquest of this country cost many
Russian lives ; and from the ferocity of the con
querors, and the difficulty of maintaining dis
cipline amongst troops so scattered, ended

12 ORIGIN OF ITS NAME.

in nearly exterminating the Kamtschatkans.
Although subsequent regulations restrained the
disorders of the wild Cossacks, the population
is still very thin ; but under a wise and careful
government it will certainly increase.

The name of Kamtschatka, pronounced
Kantschatka, conferred by the Russians, was
adopted from the native appellation of the great
river flowing through the country. This river
derived its name, according to tradition, from
Kontschat, a warrior of former times, who had
a stronghold on its banks. It is. strange that
the Kamtschatkans had no designation either
for themselves or their country. They called
themselves simply men, as considering them
selves either the only inhabitants of the earth, or
so far surpassing all others, as to be alone worthy
of this title. On the southern side of the pe
ninsula, the aborigines are believed to have
been distinguished by the name of Itelmen ; but
the signification of this word remains uncertain.

The Kamtschatkans acknowledged an Al
mighty Creator of the world, whom they called
Kutka. They supposed that he inhabited the
heavens; but had at one time dwelt in human

DEITIES OF THE KAMTSCHATK ANS. 13

form in Kamtschatka, and was the original
parent of their race. Even here the tradition
of a universal deluge prevails, and a spot is
still shown, on the top of a mountain where
Kutka landed from a boat, in order to reple
nish the world with men. The proverbial
phrase current in Kamtschatka, to express a pe
riod long past, is, " that was in Kutka' s days."

Before the expeditions of the Russians to
Kamtschatka, the inhabitants were acquainted
only with the neighbouring Koriacks and
Tchuktchi.

They had also acquired some knowledge of
Japan, from a Japanese ship wrecked on their
coast. They acknowledged no chief, but lived
in perfect independence, which they considered
as their highest good.

Besides the supreme God Kutka, they had a
host of inferior deities, installed by their ima
ginations in the forests, the mountains, and the
floods. They adored them when their wishes
were fulfilled, and insulted them when their
affairs went amiss ; like the lower class of Ita
lians, who, when any disaster befalls them, take
off their cap, enumerate into it as many saints'

14 NOTIONS OF A FUTURE STATE.

names as they can call to mind, and then tram
ple it under foot. Two wooden household dei
ties, Aschuschok and Hontai, were held in par
ticular estimation. The former, in the figure
of a man, officiated in scaring away the forest
spirits from the house ; for which service he
was remunerated in food, his head being daily
anointed with fish-soup. Hontai was half man,
half fish, and on every anniversary of the puri
fication from sin, a new one was introduced and
placed beside his predecessors, so that the ac
cumulated number of Hontais showed how
many years the inhabitants had occupied their
house.

The Kamtschatkans believed in their own
immortality, and in that of the brute creation ;
but they expected in a future state to depend
upon their labour for subsistence, as in the pre
sent life ; they only hoped that the toil would
be lightened, and its reward more abundant,
that they might never suffer hunger. This idea
of itself sufficiently proves, that the fisheries
sometimes fail in their produce.

The several races of Kamtschatkans fre
quently waged war with each other; caused

MODE OF TREATING A GUEST. 15

either by the forcible abduction of the women,
or a deficiency in hospitality on their occasional
interchange of visits, which was considered an in
sult to the guest, demanding a bloody revenge.

Their wars were seldom carried on openly ;
they preferred stratagem and artifice ; and the
conquerors practised the greatest cruelties on
the conquered. If a party was so beleaguered
as to lose all hope of effectual resistance, or of
securing their safety by flight, knowing that no
mercy would await a surrender, their warlike
spirit did not desert them; they first mur
dered their women and children, and then
rushed furiously on the enemy, to sell their
lives as dearly as possible. Their weapons were
lances, and bows and poisoned arrows.

To treat a guest with the utmost politeness,
and leave no cause for hostility, the host was
expected to heat his subterranean dwelling till
it became almost insupportable : both parties
then cast of all their attire, an enormous quan
tity of food was placed before the guest, and
the fire was continually fed. When the visitor
declared that he could no longer eat, or endure
the heat of the place, all that courtesy required

16 FILIAL AND PARENTAL DUTY.

had been done, and the host expected a present
in return for his hospitality.

At such entertainments the moucho-more, a
deleterious species of mushroom, was usually
introduced, as a mode of intoxication. Taken
in small quantities, it is said to excite an agree
able hilarity of spirits; but if immoderately
used, it will produce insanity of several days1
duration. Animated by these enjoyments, the
host and guests found mutual amusement in
the exercise of their peculiar talent of mimick
ing men and animals.

The children when grown up showed little
affection for their parents, neglected them in
old age, and did not even consider it a vio
lation of filial duty to kill them when they
became burdensome. They also murdered their
defective or weakly children, to spare them the
misery of a languishing existence. They did not
bury their dead, but dragged the corpse into
the open air, by a thong tied about the neck,
and left it a prey to dogs ; under the belief,
that those devoured by these animals, would
in another world be drawn by the best dogs.

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 17

The mode of solemnizing marriages among
the Kamtschatkans was tedious, and, on the
part of the bridegroom, attended with many
difficulties. A man who wished to marry a
girl went to the house of her parents, and with
out farther declaration took his share in the
domestic labours. He thus became the servant
of the family, and was obliged to obey all their
behests, till he succeeded in winning the favour
of the girl and her parents. This might con
tinue for years, and even in the end he was
liable to be dismissed, without any compen
sation for his trouble. If, however, the maiden
was pleased, and the parents were satisfied with
him, they gave him permission to catch his
beloved ; from this moment the girl took all
possible pains to avoid being alone \vith him,
defended herself with a fishing-net and nume
rous girdles, all which were to be cut through
with a stone knife, while all the family were
upon the watch to rescue her at the first out
cry : the unfortunate lover had probably no
sooner laid hands upon his bride than he was
seized by her relations, beaten, and dragged

18 GOVERNOR OF KAMTSCHATKA.

away by his hair ; yet was he compelled to con- .,
quer and overpower her resistance, or to con
tinue in unrewarded servitude. When, how
ever, the catching was accomplished, the fair
one herself proclaimed the victory, and the
marriage was celebrated.

The present Kamtschatkans are an extremely
good-natured, hospitable, timid people ; in co
lour and features nearly resembling the Chinese
and Japanese. They all profess the Christian
religion ; but secretly retain many of their hea
then customs, particularly that of killing their
deformed children.

The town, or rather village, adjoining the
harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, where the
present Governor of Kamtschatka, Captain
Stanizky, resides, though the principal place
in the peninsula, contains but few convenient
houses. The rest, about fifty in number, are
mere huts, irregularly scattered up the side of
a mountain. The inhabitants of this place,
which bears the same name as the harbour, are
all Russians, officers of the crown, sailors, dis
banded soldiers, and some insignificant traders.

The Kamtschatkans live inland in little vil-

THE TSCHUKTSCHI. 19

lages on the banks of the rivers, but seldom on
the sea-coast.

From KrusensteriVs representation, Kamt-
schatka appears very little altered in five-and-
twenty years. The only advance made in that
period, consists in the cultivation of potatoes
by the inhabitants of St. Peter and St. Paul,
and the entire water-carriage of various goods
and necessaries of life, which were formerly
needlessly enhanced in price by being brought
overland, through Siberia to Ochotsk.

The northern part of the peninsula and the
adjoining country, even to the icy sea, is inha
bited by the Tschuktschi, a warlike nomade
tribe, removing with celerity from place to
place by means of their reindeer. They were
not so easily conquered as the Kamtschatkans,
and for five-and-thirty years incessantly an
noyed the Russians, to whom they now only
pay a small tribute in skins. Our cannon at.
length forced a peace upon them, which had
not been long concluded, before there was rea
son to apprehend a breach of its conditions on
their part, and an ambassador was sent to their
Tajon, or chief, to discover their intentions.

20 AMOUNT OF POPULATION.

The chief drew a long knife from a sheath
at his side, presented it to the ambassador,
making him observe that it had a broken point,
and addressed him as follows : " When my
father died he gave me this knife, saying, ' My
son, I received this broken knife from my
uncle, whom I succeeded in the dignity of Ta-
jon, and I promised him never to sharpen it
against the Russians, because we never prosper
in our combats with them ; I therefore enjoin
thee also to enter into no strife with them till
this knife shall of itself renew its point.1 You
see that the knife is still edgeless, and my fa
ther's last will is sacred to me."

According to an accurate census taken of the
population of Kamtschatka in the year 1822, it
amounts, with the exception of the Tschuktschi,
who cannot be computed, to two thousand four
hundred and fifty-seven persons of the male, and
one thousand nine hundred and forty-one of
the female sex. Of these, the native Kamt-
schatkans were only one thousand four hundred
and twenty-eight males, and one thousand three
hundred and thirty females ; the rest were Ko-
riaks and Russians. They possessed ninety-

BEAR-HUNTING. 21

one horses, seven hundred and eighteen head of
cattle, three thousand eight hundred and forty-
one dogs, and twelve thousand reindeer, the
latter belonging exclusively to the Koriaks.

Unimportant as was the place where we now
landed, a change is always agreeable after a
long voyage ; and the kind and hospitable re
ception we met with from the commander as
well as the inhabitants, contributed greatly to
our enjoyments.

We were gratified with a bear-hunt, which
produced much sport, and gave us the satisfac
tion of killing a large and powerful bear. This
animal is very numerous here, and is conse
quently easily met with by a hunting-party.
The usually timid Kamtschatkan attacks them
with the greatest courage. Often armed only
with a lance and a knife, he endeavours to pro
voke the bear to the combat ; and when it rises
on its hind legs for defence or attack, the hunter
rushes forward, and, resting one end of the
lance on the ground, plunges the other into its
breast, finally dispatching it with his knife.
Sometimes, however, he fails in the attempt,
and pays for his temerity with his life.

22 AN ANECDOTE.

The following anecdote evinces the hardi
hood of the bears. Fish, which forms their
chief nourishment, and which they procure for
themselves from the rivers, was last year exces
sively scarce. A great famine consequently ex
isted among them, and instead of retiring to
their dens, they wandered about the whole
winter through, even in the streets of St. Peter
and St. Paul. One of them finding the outer
gate of a house open, entered, and the gate
accidentally closed after him. The woman of
the house had just placed a large tea-machine,*
full of boiling water, in the court, the bear
smelt to it and burned his nose ; provoked at
the pain, he vented all his fury upon the kettle,
folded his fore-paws round it, pressed it with
his whole strength against his breast to crush
it, and burnt himself, of course, still more and
more. The horrible growl which rage and
pain forced from him, brought all the inha
bitants of the house and neighbourhood to the

* A kind of urn in use throughout all Russia, called a
Samovvar, or self-boiler. It generally stands in the middle
of the-tea-table, and is furnished with a large kettle for wa
ter, and a space filled with fire to keep it boiling.

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 23

spot, and poor bruin was soon dispatched by
shots from the windows. He has, however,
immortalized his memory, and become a pro
verb amongst the towirs people, for when any
one injures himself by his own violence, they
call him " the bear with the tea-kettle."

On the 14th of July, M. Preuss observed an
eclipse of the sun, from which he determined
the geographical longitude of St. Peter and St.
Paul to be 201° 10' 31". On the same day Dr.
Siegwald and Messrs. Lenz and Hoffman hap
pily achieved the Herculean task of climbing
the Owatscha Mountain, which lies near the har
bour. Its height, according to barometrical
measurement, is seven thousand two hundred
feet. An intermittent smoke arose from its
crater, and a cap let down a few feet within it
was drawn up burnt. The gentlemen brought
back with them some pieces of crystallized sul
phur, as evidence of their having really pursued
their examination quite into the mouth of the
crater.

After having delivered all the articles which
we had taken in for Kamtschatka, we left the
harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul on the morn-

24 THE SWALLOW'S NEST.

ing of the 20th of July, and with favouring
breezes sailed for the Russian settlement of
New Archangel, on the north-west coast of
America.

At sunset the majestic mountains of Kamt-
schatka appeared for the last time within our
horizon, and at a vast distance. This despised
and desolate country may perhaps one day
become a Russian Mexico. The only treasure
of which we robbed it was, a swallow's nest !
I mention it, because it long supplied the whole
ship^s company with amusement.

In the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul,
there is sufficient depth of water close to the
shore to admit of landing by means of a plank
only. This proximity led a pair of swallows to
mistake our frigate for a building upon terra-
firma, and to the infinite delight of the sailors,
who regarded it as a lucky omen, they delibe
rately built themselves a nest close to my cabin.
Undisturbed by the noise in the ship, the loving
pair hatched their brood in safety, fed their
young ones with the tenderest care, and cheered
them with joyous songs. But when on a sudden

THE DESERTED ORPHANS. 25

they saw their peaceful dwelling removing from
the land, they seemed astonished, and hovered
anxiously about the ship, yet still fetched food
for their young from the shore, till the distance
became too great.

The struggle between the instincts of self-pre
servation and parental love then became per
ceptible. They flew round the vessel, then va
nished for awhile, then suddenly returned to
their hungry family, and stretching their open
beaks towards them, seemed to lament that no
food was to be found. This alternate disap
pearing and returning continued some time, and
terminated in the parents returning no more ; the
sailors then took on themselves the care of the
deserted orphans. They removed them from
the nest where the parent's warmth was neces
sary, to another lined with cotton, and fixed in
a warm place, and fed them with flies, which
seemed to please their palates very well. The
system at first appeared to have perfectly suc
ceeded, and we were in hopes of carrying them
safely to America ; when, in spite of the most
careful attention, they fell sick, and on the eighth

VOL. n. c

26 DISAPPOINTED HOPES.

day, to the general sorrow, not one of our nurs
lings remained alive.

They however afforded an additional proof
how kindly the common people of Russia are
interested in all that is helpless.

NEW ARCHANGEL.

c 2

NEW ARCHANGEL.

THE swallows brought us no good fortune.
The very day after we left Kamtschatka, one of
our best sailors fell from the mast-head into the
scuttle, and immediately expired. He had
climbed thither in safety in the most violent
storms, and executed the most difficult tasks with
ease ; now, in fine weather, on a tranquil sea, he
met this fate.

These accidents happen most frequently to
the best and cleverest sailors : they confide too
much in their own ability, and consider too little
the risks they run. It is impossible to warn
them sufficiently.

This fatal accident produced a general me
lancholy among us, which the cloudy, wet,

30 DIRECTION OF THE CURRENT.

cold weather we soon encountered perpetually
increased, till we reached the coast of America.
Fortunately, we had all the time a strong west
wind ; by its help we passed the southern coasts
of the Aleutian Islands, and on the 7th of Au
gust already approached the American coast.
On this day the sun once more smiled on us ;
the sky afterwards continued clear, and the air
became milder and pleasanter as we neared the
land.

From our noon observation we were in lati
tude 55° 36', and longitude 140° 56'. In this
region, some navigators have imagined they ob
served a regular current to the north ; but
our experience does not confirm the remark.
A current carried us from twenty to thirty
miles in twenty-four hours, setting sometimes
north, and sometimes south, according to the
impulse of the wind; close to shore only the
current is regularly to the north. The inha
bitants concurred in this observation.

We now steered direct for the bay called by
the English Norfolk Sound, and by the Russians
Sitka Bay, and the island at its back, which the
natives call Sitchachan, whence the Russian

S1TKA BAY. 31

Sitka. This island, called by the Russians
New Archangel, is at present the principal set
tlement of the Russian- American company.

On the morning of the 9th of August, we
were, according to my calculation, near land ;
but a thick fog concealed us from every object
so much as fifty fathoms distant. At length
the mid-day sun burst forth, and rapidly dis
pelling the curtain of cloud and fog, surprised
us with a view of the American coast. We
were standing right for the mouth of the above-
mentioned bay, at a small distance from the
Edgecumbe promontory ; a table-land so ele
vated, that in clear weather it serves for a safe
landmark at a distance of fifty miles.

We were all day prevented by a calm from
making the bay, and were obliged to content
ourselves with admiring the wild high rocky
coast, with its fir forests. Though now in a
much higher latitude than in Kamtschatka, we
yet saw no snow, even on the summits of the
highest mountains ; a proof of the superior
mildness of the climate on the American, com
pared with the Asiatic coast.

The next day we took advantage of a

32 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.

light wind blowing towards the bay ; but so
gloomy was the weather, that we could scarcely
see land, and not one of our crew had ever
been in the bay before. It stretches from the
entrance to New Archangel twenty-five miles in
length, and is full of small islands and shal
lows; a pilot was not to be thought of; but
we happily overcame all our difficulties. We
tacked through all the intricacies of this navi
gation amidst heavy rain and a thick gloom,
till we dropped the anchor within musket-shot
of the fortress.

We here found the frigate Kreissac, under
the command of Captain Lasaref, sent here by
Government for the protection of trade, and
whom we were destined to succeed.

The appearance of a vessel of our native
country, in so distant and desolate a corner of
the earth, naturally produced much joy amongst
our people. I immediately paid a visit to Cap
tain Lasaref, and then to the Governor of the
Colony, Captain Murawief, an old acquaint
ance, whom I had not seen for many years. At
so great a distance from home, friendships are
quickly formed between compatriots, even if

MILDNESS OF THE CLIMATE. 33

previously unknown to each other, — how much
then must their interest increase, when long-
ago cemented in the native land ! My inter
course with this gentleman, equally distin
guished for his noble character and cultivated
mind, conduced much to the comfort of a te
dious residence in this desert.

To my enquiry, whether my vessel must now
remain stationary at the colony, he replied, that
until the first of March of the following year
(1825), my time was at my own disposal, but
that after that period my presence could not be
dispensed with. I therefore proceeded to visit
California and the Sandwich Islands, and re
turned to New Archangel on the 23rd of Fe
bruary 1825.

The nearer we drew to the land the milder
the weather became, and we were astonished,
in so northern a country, to see the mountains
at this season of the year entirely free from
snow to a considerable height. Throughout
this winter, however, which had been parti
cularly mild, the snow in many of the vallies
had never lain above a few hours together.
Here, under fifty-seven degrees north latitude,
c5

34 AT ANCHOR.

the climate is much milder than in European
countries similarly situated; as again the north
east coast of Asia is much colder than countries
of an equal latitude in Europe.

On the morning of the 24th, after passing a
stormy night on this dangerous coast, we hap
pily succeeded in reaching the harbour, and
anchoring before the fortress, just before an
other and most violent tempest set in.

We were received with great rejoicing ; and
on the following day placed the frigate in such
a position, and at such a distance from the for
tress, as was most convenient to accomplish the
purpose of our mission. To explain this, we
must take a short review of the Russian settle
ment here, and of the affairs of the original
inhabitants.

From the highest antiquity to the present
day, examples are not wanting of men trusting
themselves in small and frail vessels to the
perils of the ocean, and performing astonishing
voyages, without any of those aids which the
improvements in science and mechanical art
place within our reach. The children of the
Sun in Peru, and the founders of the regular

RUSSIAN ADVENTURERS. 35

political constitution which existed in Mexico
before its invasion by the Spaniards, probably
floated in little canoes over the trackless surface
of the ocean, as the inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands do to this day.

The voyages of the Phoenicians and Romans
are sufficiently known; as are those of the Nor-
^ man heroes who discovered Greenland, Iceland,
and even North America.

In vessels just as defective, destitute of the
instruments requisite for observing their course,
and of any fixed notion concerning the con
formation or extent of the earth, often even
without a compass, ignorant Russian adven
turers have embarked from Ochotsk, and round
ing Kamtschatka, have discovered the Aleutian
Islands, and attained to the north-west coast of
America. Year after year, in more numerous
parties, they repeated these expeditions, tempt
ed by the beautiful furs which were procured
in the newly-discovered countries. Many of
their vessels were lost, — many of those who
ventured in them were attacked and murdered
by savages ; yet still new adventurers were
found yearly encountering all these risks, for

36 TREATMENT OF THE NATIVES.

the sake of the profitable traffic in these furs,
especially that of the sea-otter. By degrees
they formed themselves into commercial so
cieties, which obtained a firmer footing on the
Aleutian Islands, and even on the northern
parts of the western coast of America, carried
on a regular trade to Siberia, but lived in a
state of continual violence and dissensions.

Superior to the natives by the possession of
fire-arms, they became overbearing, treated the
timid Aleutians in the most cruel manner, and
would perhaps have quite exterminated them,
had not the Emperor Paul interposed. By his
order, in 1797, a Russian-American mercantile
company was established, which was to supersede
the trading societies hitherto existing, and possess
the exclusive privilege of carrying on trade and
founding settlements in these regions. The di
rectors, in whose hands was vested the admi
nistration of the affairs and appointment of the
governor of these settlements, were to reside in
Petersburg, under the control of the govern
ment, to which they were responsible.

At first the sea- otters were plentiful, even on
the coast of Kamtschatka; but the unlimited

FORMATION OP A COLONY. 37

pursuit of them diminished their numbers so
rapidly, that the Company was obliged to ex
tend their search for them over the Aleutian
Islands, and even to the island of Kodiack,
lying on the American coast, where they had
fixed, their chief settlement.

From thence the chase was continued to the
bay of Tschugatsk and Cook^s river. The poor
otters were severe sufferers, for the beauty of
the skin nature had bestowed on them. They
were pursued in every possible direction, and
such numbers annually killed, that at length
they became scarce, even in these quarters,
having already almost wholly disappeared from
Kamtschatka and the Aleutian Islands.

The Company therefore resolved to extend
their settlements farther south ; and thus, in the
year 1804, arose the colony on the island of
Sitka, whose natives call themselves after their
island, but are styled by the Russians Ka-
lushes.

The island is only separated from the main
land by a narrow inlet of the sea. It extends
over three degrees and a half of latitude ; and,
in fact, consists of three islands, as I ascer-

38 BARONOF.

tained by personal examination in boats. The
channels, however, which separate them are so
narrrow, that the three might easily pass for
one. The coast of Sitka Bay is intersected by
many deep creeks, and the neighbouring waters
thickly sprinkled with little rocky islands over
grown with wood, which are a protection against
storms, and present a strong wall of defence
against the waves.

The harbour of New Archangel is equally
well defended by nature, and needs no assist
ance from art.

A bold enterprising man of the name of
Baronof, long superintended the Company"^
establishments. Peculiarly adapted by nature
for the task of contending with a wild people,
he seemed to find a pleasure in the occupation.
Although the conquest of the Sitkaens, or Ka-
lushes, was not so easily achieved as that of the
more timid Aleutians and Kodiacks, he finally
accomplished it. A warlike, courageous, and
cruel race, provided with fire-arms by the ships
of the North American United States, in ex
change for otters' skins, maintained an obstinate
struggle against the invaders. But Baronof at

CANOES OF THE NATIVES. 39

length obtained a decisive superiority over them.
What he could not obtain by presents, he took
by force, and, in spite of all opposition, suc
ceeded in founding the settlement on this island.
He built some dwelling-houses, made an en
trenchment, and having, in his own opinion,
appeased the Kalushes by profuse presents,
confided the new conquest to a small number
of Russians and Aleutians. For a short time
matters went on prosperously, when suddenly,
the garrison left by Baronof, believing itself in
perfect safety, was attacked one night by great
numbers of Kalushes, who entered the en
trenchments without opposition, and murdered
all they met there with circumstances of atro
cious cruelty. A few Aleutians only, who hap
pened to be out in their little baidars,* escaped

* The baidars, or canoes of the Aleutians, are generally
twelve feet long and twenty inches deep, the same breadth
in the middle, and pointed at each end. The smaller are
suited only for one man, the larger for two or three. The
skeleton and the keel are made of very thin deal planks, fas
tened together with the sinews of the whale, and covered
with the skin of the sea-horse cleared of the hair. It has a
kind of deck made of this skin, but leaving an aperture for
each person the canoe is intended to carry. These sit in
the bottom with their legs stretched out, and their bodies

40 BARONOF^S REVENGE.

by standing out to sea, and brought to Kodiack
the news of the annihilation of the settlement
at Sitka.

This occurrence took place in the year 1804,
when the present Admiral Krusenstern made
his voyage round the world, and his second
ship, the Neva, was bound for this colony-
Baronof immediately seized so excellent an
opportunity for revenging himself on the Ka-
lushes. He armed three vessels, and sailed in
company with the Neva to Sitka. When the
Kalushes heard that the warrior Nonok, as they
called Baronof, had returned, terror prevented
their attempting to oppose his landing ; and
they retired in great haste to their fortification,
consisting of a great quadrangle closely set
round with thick, high beams, broken only by
one very small and strong door. The pallisa-
does were furnished with loop-holes, for the
firing of muskets and falconets, with which the

rising through the apertures, which are but just large enough
to allow them to move and row conveniently. The space
between their bodies and the deck being so well fitted with
bladders, that no drop of water can enter.

These baidars are moved very rapidly by oars, and the
Aleutians put to sea with them in all weathers.

CRUELTY OF THE SAVAGES. 41

besieged were amply supplied. This wooden
fortress, enclosing about three hundred fighting
men with their families, held out several days ;
but no sooner had the heavy guns of the Rus
sians effected a breach, than the besieged, find
ing their position no longer tenable, surrendered
at discretion, and delivered over the sons of
their chiefs as hostages for their submission.

Though peace was now established, and they
were allowed to retire unmolested, yet, mistrust
ing the Russians, they stole away secretly in a
dark night, having first murdered all who,
whether from age or infancy, might be burden
some to them in their flight. Morning disco
vered the cruelty perpetrated by these barba
rians, who, in their fears, judged the Russians
by themselves. From this time Baronof re
mained nominally in possession of the island,
and actually of a hill upon it forming a natural
fortification, and formerly inhabited by a chief
of the Kalushes called Katelan.

The savages thirsted for revenge ; and, not
withstanding the treaties concluded with them,
unceasingly sought to gratify it by secret arts
and ambushes ; so that the Russians, unless well

42 NKW ARCHANGEL.

armed, and in considerable numbers, could not
venture beyond the shelter of their fortress
without the most imminent danger of being
murdered.

Baronof re-founded the settlement, and hav
ing strengthened by scientific defences the high
hill, which falls on every side in abrupt preci
pices, has rendered it perfectly safe from every
attack. The necessary dwelling-houses were
soon erected; and this place, under the name of
New Archangel, became the capital of the Rus
sian possessions in America, stretching from
52° of latitude to the Icy Sea, and including
also two settlements lying farther south, of
which I shall hereafter have occasion to speak.

Baronof himself resided from this time in
New Achangel, and the chase of the sea-otters
proved very advantageous to the Company; but
so scarce are these animals now become, even
here, that the numbers caught only suffice to
cover the expenses of maintaining a force suffi
cient for protection against the savages. For
this reason, the Company have contemplated
the necessity of entirely abandoning the settle
ment at New Archangel, and making Kodiack

CLIMATE OF SITKA. 43

once more their capital. It were, however, a
pity this plan should be adopted, as it would
afford facilities to other nations, by settling in
these regions, to disturb the trade of the Com
pany. But the Company may possibly be com
pelled to give up New Archangel, by their
resources not permitting them to retain it,
unless they should receive some assistance from
Government.

The climate of Sitka is not so severe as might
have been expected from its latitude. In the
middle of winter the cold is not excessive, and
never lasts long. Agriculture notwithstanding
does not appear to be successful here. There
is not perhaps a spot in the world where so
much rain falls ; a dry day is a perfect rarity,
and this would itself account for the failure
of corn ; the nature of the ground is however
equally inimical to it.

There are no plains of any extent ; the small
valleys being every where surrounded by high
steep rocks of granite, and consequently over-
. shadowed the greater part of the day. Some
vegetables, such as cabbages, turnips, and
potatoes, prosper very well : the latter are

44 FORESTS OF SITKA.

raised even by the Kalushes, who have learned
from the Russians the manner of cultivating
them, and consider them as a great delicacy.
Upon the continent of America, the climate,
under the same latitude, is said to be incom
parably better than on this island, although the
cold is rather more severe. Great plains are
there to be met with, where wheat could pro
bably be successfully cultivated.

The forests of Sitka, consisting principally of
fir and beech, are lofty and thick. Some of
their trees are a hundred and sixty feet in
height, and from six to seven feet in diameter.
From these noble trunks the Kalushes form
their large canoes, which sometimes carry from
twenty-five to thirty men. They are laboriously
and skilfully constructed ; but the credit their
builders may claim for this one branch of in
dustry is nearly all that belongs to a barbarous
and worthless race of men.

Wild and unfruitful as this country appears,
the soil is rich, so that its indigenous plants, of
which there are no great variety, attain a very
large growth. Several kinds of berries, parti
cularly raspberries and black currants, of an

QUADRUPEDS. 45

enormous size but watery taste, are met with in
considerable quantities.

The sea, near the coast and in the bays,
abounds in fish and in mammalia. Whales,
sea-hogs, seals, sea lions, &c. are very numerous;
but of the fish, which chiefly afford subsistence
both to the natives and the Russians, the best
are herrings, salmon, and cod, of which there is
a superfluity. There is no great variety of
birds native to this coast ; but the beautiful
white-headed eagle, and several sorts of pretty
humming-birds, migrate from warmer climates
to build their nests in Sitka. It is extraordi
nary that these tender little creatures, always
inhabiting hot countries, should venture thus
far northwards.

Among the quadrupeds frequenting the
forests is the black bear, whose skin fetches
so high a price in Russia, and a species of
wild sheep known to us only by the de
scriptions of the Kalushes, and in which our
natural histories are still deficient. It differs
greatly from that of Kamtschatka : its wool
rivals silk in the delicacy and softness of its
texture. The most remarkable animal, how-

46 THE OTTER.

ever, is the sea-otter, that which has allured
merchants hither from distant countries, and
which, if such intercourse should improve the
morals and intellects of the natives, may be
considered as, their benefactor. This animal
inhabits only the north-west coast of America,
between the latitudes of 30° and 60°, in smaller
numbers the Aleutian islands, and formerly the
coast of Kamtschatka and the Kurile islands.
Its skin makes the finest fur in the world, and
is as highly prized by the Chinese as by the
Europeans. Its value advances yearly, with
the increasing scarceness of the animal; it will
soon entirely disappear, and exist only in de
scription to decorate our zoological works.

Attempts have been made to identify the sea
and river otter, because there is a considerable
resemblance in their form ; but the skin of the
former is without comparison finer than the lat
ter, which inhabits only lakes and rivers, where
the sea-otter is never found.

They are often seen on the surface of the
water, many miles from land, lying asleep on
their backs, with their young, of which only two
are produced at a birth, lying over them sucking.

CHASE OF THE OTTER. 47

The young cannot swim till they are some months
old ; but the mother, when she goes out to sea
in search of food, carries them on her back
and brings them back to her hole in the rocks,
when she has satisfied her hunger. If seen
by the hunter during these excursions, she is a
certain prey, for she never forsakes her offspring
however they embarrass her swimming, but, in
common with the male, defends them coura
geously against every attack.

The lungs of these animals are so constructed
that they cannot subsist for more than a few mi
nutes under water, but are necessitated to re-
ascend to the surface for breath. These oppor
tunities are seized by the hunters, who would
seldom succeed, if the otter could remain long
under water, where it swims with great rapidity
and skill. Even with the above advantage, the
chase is very toilsome, and sometimes dangerous.
It is carried on in the following manner.

The hunters row in the little Aleutian bai-
dars round the coast, and for some miles out to
sea, provided with bows, arrows, and short jave
lins. As soon as they see an otter they throw
their javelins, or shoot their arrows. The ani-

48 THE KALUSHES,

mal is seldom struck ; it immediately dives, and
as it swims very rapidly, the skill of the hunter
is displayed in giving the baidar the same di
rection as that taken by the animal. As soon
as the otter re-appears on the water, it is again
fired at, when it dives again ; and the pursuit is
continued in the same way till the creature
becomes so weary that it is easily struck.

They tear out with their teeth the arrows
which wound them ; and often, especially if their
young are with them, boldly fall upon the ca
noes and attack their persecutors with teeth and
claws ; these conflicts however uniformly end in
the defeat and death of the otter. The more
baidars are in company, the safer is the hunt,
but with experienced hunters two are enough.
They often encounter great perils by venturing
out too far to sea, and being overtaken by
storms.

I now proceed, though with some reluctance,
to the description of the natives, the Kalushes.
They are, as I have already said, the most
worthless people on the face of the earth, and
disgusting to such a degree that I must beg fas
tidious readers to pass over a few pages. The

OR SITKA ISLANDERS, 49

truth of my narrative makes it necessary for me
to submit to the revolting task of showing to
what point of degradation human nature may
sink.

The Sitka Islanders, as well as their neigh
bours on the continent, are large and strongly
built, but have their limbs so ill-proportioned,
that they all appear deformed. Their black,
straight hair hangs dishevelled over their broad
faces, their cheek-bones stand out, their noses
are wide and flat, their mouths large, their lips
thick, their eyes small, black, and fiery, and their
teeth strikingly white.

Their natural colour is not very dark ; but
they appear much more so than is natural to
them, from the custom of smearing themselves
daily over the face and body with ochre and a
sort of black earth. Immediately after the birth,
the head of the child is compressed, to give it
what they consider a fine form, in which the eye
brows are drawn up, and the nostrils stretched
asunder. In common with many other nations,
they tear the beard out by the roots as soon as
it appears. This is the business of the women.
Their usual clothing consists of a little apron ;

VOL. II. D

50 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

but the rich wear blankets, purchased from the
Russians, or from the American ships, and tied
by two corners round the neck, so that they
hang down and cover the back. Some of them
wear bear-skins in a similar manner. The most
opulent possess some European garments, which
they wear on great occasions, and which would
have an absurd effect were they not so disgust
ing as to extinguish all inclination to laugh.
They never cover the head but in heavy rain,
and then protect it by round caps of grass, so
ingeniously and closely plaited as to exclude
every drop of water.

Whatever the degree of heat or cold, they
never vary their costume ; and I believe there is
not a people in the world so hardened against
the weather. In the winter, during a cold of 10°
of Reaumur, the Kalushes walk about naked,
and jump into the water as the best method of
warming themselves. At night they lie without
any covering, under the open sky, near a great
fire, so near indeed as to be sometimes covered
by the hot ashes. The women whom I have
seen were either dressed in linen shifts reaching
to their feet, or in plaited mats.

OF BOTH SEXES. 51

The custom common to both sexes, of paint
ing their faces in broad, black, white, and red
stripes crossed in all directions, gives them a pe
culiarly wild and savage appearance. Although
this painting is quite arbitrary, and subject to
no exact rules, the different races distinguish
each other by it. To give the face a yet more
insane cast, their long, hanging, tangled hair is
mixed with the feathers of the white eagle.
When powdered and painted in this way, the
repulsiveness of the Kalush women, by nature
excessively ugly, may be imagined; but they
have a method of still farther disfiguring them
selves. As soon as they are nearly marriageable,
an incision is made in the under-lip, and a bone
passed through it, which is exchanged from
time to time for a thicker one, that the open
ing may be continually widened. At length
a sort of double button, of an oval form, called
a kaluga, which, among the people of rank, is
often four inches long, and three broad, is forced
in so as to make the under lip stand forward
thus much in a horizontal direction, and leave
the lower teeth quite bare. The outer rim of
the lip surrounding the wooden button becomes
D 2

52 IDEAS OF BEAUTY.

by the violent stretching as thin as a packthread,
and of a dark blue colour.

In running, the lip flaps up and down so as
to knock sometimes against the chin and some
times against the nose. Upon the continent, the
kaluga is worn still larger ; and the female who
can cover her whole face with her under-lip
passes for the most perfect beauty. Men and
women pierce the gristle of the nose, and stick
quills, iron rings, and all kinds of ornaments,
through it. In their ears, which are also pierced
in many places, they wear strings of bones,
muscle-shells, and beads.

It would be difficult to convey an adequate
idea of the hideousness of these people when
their costume is thus complete ; but the lips of
the women, held out like a trough, and always
filled with saliva stained with tobacco-juice, of
which they are immoderately fond, is the most
abominably revolting part of the spectacle.

The Kalushes have no fixed residence, but
hover round the coast in their large canoes, which
they call the women's, carrying all their pro
perty with them. When they fix upon any
spot for their temporary establishment, they

DISGUSTING PROPENSITIES. 53

build a hut with great celerity, having all the
materials at hand. They drive a number of
stakes into the ground in a quadrangular form,
fill the interstices with thin planks, and roof in
the whole with the bark of trees. With such a
dwelling they are satisfied ; in the severest winter
the family sit in a circle, carrying on their seve
ral employments round a fire in the centre. The
interior displays as much filthiness as if the in
habitants belonged to the dirtiest class of the
brute creation. The smoke ; the stench of bad
fish, and blubber ; the repulsive figures of the
women, disgustingly occupied in seeking for ver
min on the heads or skins of the men, and actu
ally eating them when found ; the great utensil
for the service of the whole family, which is also
the only vessel capable of containing water to
wash with ; all this soon drives the most inqui
sitive European out of so detestable a den.

Their food, sufficiently disgusting in itself, is
rendered still more so by their manner of eating.
It consists almost exclusively of fish, of which
the whale is the chief favourite, and its blubber
an especial dainty. This is sometimes cooked
upon red-hot stones, but more commonly eaten

54 TREATMENT OF SLAVES.

raw. The skins of the sea-otters form their
principal wealth, and are a substitute for
money ; these they barter with the ships which
trade with them, to the prejudice of the Rus
sian Company, for muskets, powder, and lead.
No Kalush is without one musket at least, of
which he perfectly understands the use. The
richer a Kalush is, the more powerful he be
comes ; he has a multitude of wives who bring
him a numerous family, and he purchases male
and female slaves who must labour and fish for
him, and strengthen his force when engaged in
warfare. These slaves are prisoners of war, and
their descendants; the master's power over them
is unlimited, and he even puts them to death
without scruple. When the master dies, two
of his slaves are murdered on his grave, that he
may not want attendance in the other world ;
these are chosen long before the event occurs,
but meet the destiny that awaits them, very
philosophically. The continual wars which
the different races carry on against each other,
with a ferocious cruelty uncommon even among
savages, may account for the scanty population
of this district ; the fire-arms with which, to

DOMESTIC OCCUPATIONS. #5

their own misfortune, they have been furnished
by the American ships, have contributed to
render their combats more bloody, and con
sequently to cause renewed and increased irri
tation. Bows and arrows were formerly their
only weapons ; now, besides their muskets, they
have daggers, and knives half a yard long;
they never attack their enemies openly, but fall
suddenly upon them in moments of the utmost
fancied security. The hope of booty, or of
taking a prisoner, is a sufficient motive for one
of these treacherous attacks, in which they
practise the greatest barbarities ; hence the
Kalushes, even in time of peace, are always on
their guard. They establish their temporary
abodes on spots in some measure fortified by
nature, and commanding an extensive view on
all sides. During the night, the watch is con
fided to women, who, assembled round a fire
outside the hut, amuse themselves by recounting
the warlike deeds of their husbands and sons.

Domestic occupations, even the most la
borious, are also left to females; the men
employing themselves only in hunting, and
building their canoes. The slaves are required

56 A SECOND TROY.

to assist the women, who often treat them in a
most merciless manner. The females take an
active part in the wars ; they not only stimu
late the valour of the men, but even support
them in the battle.

Besides the desire of booty, the most fre
quent occasion of warfare is revenge. One
murder can only be atoned by another ; but it
is indifferent whether the murderer or one of
his relations fall, — the custom merely requires a
man for a man ; should the murdered person
be a female, a female is required in return. A
case which would appear inconceivable has
actually occurred, — that one of these most dis
gusting creatures has occasioned a struggle
similar to that of Troy for the fair Helen, and
an advantageous peace has been obtained by
the cession of one of these monsters. The
Kalush, who would probably look coldly on
our most lovely females, finds his filthy coun
trywomen, with their lip-troughs, so charming,
that they often awaken in him the most vehe
ment passion. In proof of this, I remember an
occurrence which took place during our resi
dence in Sitka, among a horde of Kalushes

FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 57

who had encamped in the vicinity of the for-
tfess. A girl had four lovers, whose jealousy
produced the most violent quarrels: after fight
ing a long time without any result, they deter
mined to end the strife by murdering the object
of their love, and the resolution was immediate
ly executed with their lances. The whole horde
assembled round the funeral pile, and chanted
a song, a part of which was interpreted by one
of our countrymen, who had been long resident
here. "Thou wast too beautiful — thou couldst
not live — men looked on thee,.and madness fired
their hearts !"

Savage as this action was, another exceeded
it in ferocity. A father, irritated by the cries of
his child, an infant in the cradle, snatched it
up, and threw it into a vessel full of boiling
whale-oil. These examples are sufficient to
characterise this hateful people, who appear to
be in every respect the very refuse of human
nature.

Their weddings are celebrated merely by a

feast given to the relatives of the bride. The

dead are burned, and their ashes preserved in

small wooden boxes, in buildings appropriated

D 5

58 SORCERY AND WITCHCRAFT.

to that purpose. They have a confused notion
of immortality, and this is the only trace of
religion which appears amongst them. They
have neither priests, idols, nor any description
of worship, but they place great faith in witch
craft ; and the sorcerers, who are also their
physicians, are held in high estimation, though
more feared than loved. These sorcerers pro
fess to heal the sick by conjurations of the
Wicked Spirit ; they are, however, acquainted
with the medicinal properties of many herbs,
but carefully conceal their knowledge as a pro
fitable mystery.

We often received visits on board from chiefs
of the Kalushes, generally with their whole
family and attendants, who came to examine
the ship, receive presents, and eat their fill, ex
pressing their gratitude for these civilities by
attempting to entertain us with their horrid
national dance. Before coming on board, they
usually rowed several times round the ship,
howling a song to the following effect : " We
come to you as friends, and have really no evil
intention. Our fathers lived in strife with
you, but let peace be between us. Receive us

CEREMONIAL OF VISITING. 59

with hospitality, and expect the same from us."
This song was accompanied by a sort of tam
bourine, which did not improve its harmony.
They would not climb the ship's side till we
had several times repeated our invitation, as it
is not their custom to accept the first offer of
hospitality, probably from a feeling of distrust.
On these visits, the Kalushes were more than
usually particular in the decoration of their
persons. Their faces were so thickly smeared
with stripes of red, black, and white paint, that
their natural colour could not be known. Their
bodies were painted with black stripes, and their
hair covered with a quantity of white down and
feathers, which were scattered around with
every motion of their heads. Ermine- skins are
also frequently fastened into the hair. A wolf
or bear-skin, or a blanket, tied round the neck,
covers their bodies, and they use an eagle's
wing or tail as a fan. Their feet are always
bare.

When on such occasions they had seen all
they wished of the ship, except the cabins, (for
these I would not suffer them to enter, on ac
count of the abominable stench left behind by

60 SONGS AND DANCES.

the rancid oil and blubber, which they used as
perfumes,) they assembled upon deck to dance.
The women did not dance, but assisted as mu
sicians. Their song, accompanied by the dull
music of the tambourine, consisted of a few
hollow and unconnected tones, sent forth at
intervals to keep time with the stamping of
their feet. The men made the most extraordi
nary motions with their arms and bodies, vary
ing them by high leaps into the air, while
showers of feathers fell from their heads. Every
dancer retained his own place, but turning con
tinually round and round, gave the spectators
an opportunity of admiring him on all sides. One
only stood a little apart ; he was particularly de
corated with ermine-skins and feathers, and beat
time for the dancing with a staff ornamented
with the teeth of the sea-otter. He appeared
to be the director of all the movements.

At every pause we offered tobacco-leaves to
the dancers and musical ladies: both sexes eager
ly seized the favourite refreshment, and cram
med their mouths with it, then recommencing
the music and dancing with renewed alacrity.
When at length downright exhaustion put an

LOVE OF GAMBLING. 61

end to the spectacle, the Kalushes were enter
tained with a favourite mess of rice boiled with
treacle. They lay down round the wooden
dishes, and helped themselves greedily with
their dirty hands. During the meal, the

were much inconvenienced by their lip-troughs'^^ 0^
the weight of the rice made them hang over the
whole chin, and the mouth could not contain
all that was intended for it.

During one of these repasts, the Kalushes
were much terrified by a young bear which we
had brought from Kamtschatka : breaking loose
from his chain, he sprang over their heads, and
seizing on the wooden vessel that contained the
rice, carried it off in triumph. At parting we
always gave them a dram of brandy, which
they are very fond of, and can drink in consi
derable quantities without injury.

That no vice may be wanting to complete
their characters, the Kalushes are great gam
blers. Their common game is played with little
wooden sticks painted of various colours, and
called by several names, such as, crab, whale,
duck, &c., which are mingled promiscuously
together, and placed in heaps covered with moss ;

62 A SKIRMISH AVOIDED.

the players being then required to tell in which
heap the crab, the whale, &c. lies. They lose at
this game all their possessions, and even their
wives and children, who then become the pro
perty of the winner.

During the whole of our residence at Sitka,
we maintained peace with the Kalushes, which
may be entirely attributed to the moderation
and intrepidity of our sailors.

Opposite our frigate, on the shore, the ship's
cooper had settled under a tent, almost all our
casks being in want of repair ; and I allowed
him three armed sailors as assistants and pro
tectors against the Kalushes.

One day ten of these savages armed with long
knives came into the tent ; having sat for some
time contemplating the work, they became very
troublesome, and, on being forbidden to pass
the bounds previously prescribed, drew their
knives and attacked the cooper, who would have
been severely wounded had he not by good for
tune parried a dangerous thrust. The three
sailors now sprang forward with their loaded
muskets ; but as they had received the strictest
injunctions not to shed blood, except in the most

INFLUENCE OF THE GOVERNOR. 63

extreme necessity, they contented themselves
with standing before the Kalushes and keeping
them off with their bayonets. The savages at
first continued to threaten the sailors, but on
finding they were not to be intimidated, thought
proper to retire to the forest. Had a skirmish
really ensued, the consequences might have been
serious. The Kalushes would all have united
against us, and by rushing upon us from their
hiding-places, whenever we left the protection of
the ship or the fortress, might have done us
much mischief. For this reason, Captain Mura-
wieff, the governor of the settlement, had always
exerted himself to the utmost to prevent any
disputes. By his judicious regulations, he had
acquired great influence over the natives, and
had effected considerable improvement in their
behaviour. In every respect, indeed, the admi
nistration of this excellent man has been such
as to promote the true welfare of the colonies ;
and if the plans laid down by him for the future
be adhered to, the trade of the Company will
be materially benefited, and new sources of
profit opened to them.

I have already mentioned that no people in

64 CAPTAIN BLANCHARD.

the world surpass the citizens of the United
States in the boldness, activity, and persever
ance of their mercantile speculations. This ob
servation was confirmed by an instance we met
with here.

On the 16th of April 1825, a two-masted
ship ran into this harbour from Boston. It had
performed the voyage by Cape Horn in a hun
dred and sixty-six days, without having put into
any intermediate port. Captain Blanchard, pro
prietor both of the ship, and of the whole cargo,
had, upon the strength of a mere report, ex
pended his whole capital upon certain articles
of which he had heard that New Archangel was
in need ; and now, at the close of his immense
voyage, found with dismay that not only was
the colony well provided for the present, but
that a ship was also daily expected from St. Pe-
tersburgh laden with every thing it could desire.
As, however, his offers were very reasonable, the
ship and cargo were subsequently purchased of
him for twenty-one thousand skins of sea-cats,
(not otters) with the stipulation on his part,
that he, his crew, and his skins, should be trans
ported to the Sandwich Islands, whence he

ARRIVAL OF THE HELENA. 65

hoped to procure a passage for Canton, and there
to dispose of his merchandise to advantage.
These skins are usually sold in China for two
Spanish dollars each.

On the arrival of Captain Blanchard's ship in
port, the whole crew, he himself not excepted,
were in a state of intoxication ; and it appeared
to be mere good luck that they had escaped
the dangers of so many rocks and shallows ; but
the North Americans are such clever sailors,
that even when drunk they are capable of
managing a ship. It is also probable, that
these had lived more soberly during the voyage,
and had been tempted by the joy of completing
it, to extraordinary indulgence. On my visit to
the ship, I could not help remarking the great
economy of all its arrangements : no such thing,
for instance, as a looking-glass was to be seen,
except the one kept for measuring the angle of
the sextant, and that, small as it was, assisted
the whole crew in the operation of shaving.

On the 30th of July, the ship Helena, belong
ing to the Company, arrived in New Archangel
from Petersburgh, bringing an ample provision
of necessaries for the colony. To us this ship

66 QUIT NEW ARCHANGEL.

was particularly welcome, as the bearer of per
mission to leave our station and return to Russia.
We immediately set to work to get our vessel
in sailing order; and the llth of August was
the long wished-for day, when, favoured by a
fresh north wind, we bade adieu to New Arch
angel, where we had passed five months and
a-half surrounded by a people calculated only
to inspire aversion, and without relief to the
wearisomeness of our mode of life, except in
the society of Captain Murawieff and the few
Russian inhabitants of the fortress.

I determined to return to Kronstadt by the
Chinese Sea and the Cape of Good Hope. But
having no intention of following Captain Blanch-
ard's example, in wearing out my crew by a
voyage of unreasonable length without any
relaxation, I appointed Manilla, in the Philip
pine island of Lu9on, for their resting-place,
after having made another attempt to find the
Ralik chain of islands.

The medium of the astronomical observations
made during these five months, gave, as the
geographical longitude of New Archangel,
135° 33' 18", and the latitude as 57° 2' 57" ;

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS. 67

the declination of the needle as 27° 30' east.
According to this, the promontory of Mount
Edgecumbe is in the longitude 136° 1' 49" ; con
sequently about 207 more westerly than appears
on Vancouver's map.

We found a similar difference between our
observation of St. Francisco and his; I there
fore believe that his whole survey of the north
west coast of America represents it more east
erly than it really is. Our longitudes have
the greater claim to confidence, as they were
the results of repeated observations on land,
while his were merely taken on shipboard en
passant.

The medium of our observations at New
Archangel upon the difference in high tides at
the new and full moon, gave thirty minutes for
the time, and sixteen feet for the greatest dif
ference in the height of the water.

CALIFORNIA,

AND THE RUSSIAN SETTLEMENT OF

ROSS.

CALIFORNIA, AND THE RUSSIAN
SETTLEMENT OF ROSS.

I HAVE already mentioned, in the foregoing
chapter, that I was allowed to pass the winter
of 1824 in California and the Sandwich Islands.
Captain Lasaref also, whom I relieved on the sta
tion, proposed to run into St. Francisco on the
coast of California, on his return, in order there
to lay in fresh provisions for his passage round
Cape Horn. He first awaited, however, the
arrival of the post from St. Petersburgh, which
passes between these distant points of our far-
spreading monarchy only once in the year,
arriving in the spring at Ochotsk by the way of
Siberia, and reaching New Archangel in the
autumn by sea.

72 A STRIFE OF ELEMENTS.

It was on the 10th of September 1824, that
after having made the necessary preparations
for our subsequent residence in New Archangel,
and having properly equipped the ship, we again
put to sea, and a brisk north wind soon carried
us in a southerly direction towards the fertile
peninsula of California. Our voyage was safe,
and varied by no remarkable occurrence, except
that under forty degrees of latitude we were
indulged with the spectacle of a most extraor
dinary struggle between two opposing winds.

After a few days' pretty fresh breezes from
the south, clouds suddenly appeared in the
north, and, by the motion of the water, we
perceived that an equally strong wind was
rising in that direction. The waves from
the opposite regions foamed and raged against
each other like hostile forces; but between
them lay a path some fathoms broad, and
stretching from east to west to an immeasur
able length, which appeared perfectly neutral
ground, and enjoyed all the repose of the most
profound peace, not a single breath troubling
the glassy smoothness of its surface. After a

COAST OF CALIFORNIA. 73

time, victory declared for Boreas, and he drove
the smooth strip towards our vessel, which had
hitherto been sailing in the territory of the south
wind. We presently entered the calm region ;
and while we had not a puff to swell our sails,
the wind raged with undiminished fury on both
sides. This strange spectacle lasted for about
a quarter of an hour; when the north wind,
which had been continually advancing, reached
us, and carried us quickly forward towards the
point of our destination.

On the 25th of September we found our
selves, by observations, in the neighbourhood of
the promontory called by the Spaniards " the
King," not far from the bay of St. Francisco ;
but a thick fog, which at this season always
reigns over the coast of California, veiled the
wished-for land till the 27th. At ten o'clock
in the morning of this day, at a distance of
only three miles, we doubled his rocky majesty,
a high bold hill terminating towards the sea in
a steep wall of black rock, and having nothing
at all regal in its appearance, — and perceived in
his neighbourhood a very strong surf, occasion-

VOL. II. E

74 SAINT JOACHIM.

ed by two contrary and violent currents raging,
with the vain fury of insurrection, against the
tranquillity of his immoveable throne.

The channel leading into the beautiful basin
of St. Francisco is only half gun-shot wide,
and commanded by a fortress situated on its
left bank, on a high rock, named after St. Joa
chim. We could distinguish the republican
flag, the waving signal, that even this most
northern colony of Spain no longer acknow
ledges the authority of the mother country ; we
also remarked a few cavalry and a crowd of
people who were watching our swiftly sailing
vessel with the most eager attention. As we
drew nearer, a sentinel grasped with both hands
a long speaking trumpet, and enquired our na
tion and from whence we came. This sharp
interrogatory, the sight of the cannon pointed
upon our track, and the military, few indeed,
but ready for battle, might have induced an
opinion that the fortress had power to refuse
entrance even to a ship of war, had we not been
acquainted with the true state of affairs. St.
Joachim, on his rocky throne, is truly a very
peaceable and well-disposed saint ; no one of

APPLICATION FOR PROVISIONS. 75

his cannon is in condition to fire a single shot,
and his troops are cautious of venturing into
actual conflict : he fights with words only. I
would not therefore refuse to his fortress the ,
courtesy of a salute, but was much astonished
at not finding my guns returned. An ambas
sador from shore soon solved the mystery, by
coming to beg so much powder as would serve
to answer my civility with becoming respect.

As soon as we had dropped anchor, the whole
of the military left the fortress without a gar
rison, to mingle with the assemblage of curious
gazers on the shore, where the apparition of
our ship seemed to excite as much astonish
ment as in the South Sea Islands. I now sent
Lieutenant Pfeifer ashore, to notify our arri
val in due form to the commandant, and to
request his assistance in furnishing our vessel
with fresh provisions. The commandant him
self, Don Martinez Ignatio, lieutenant of ca
valry, had been summoned to the capital Mon
terey, to attend Congress, and was absent ; his
deputy, the second lieutenant, Don Joseph
Sanchez, received my envoy with much cor
diality, and referred in a very flattering manner
E 2

76 DESCRIPTION OF CALIFORNIA.

to my former visit to this port, in the ship
Rurik. Don Sanchez was at that time a
brave subaltern ; but had since, under repub
lican colours, risen in the service. He promised
to lend us every assistance in his power, and
proved his friendly intentions by an immediate
present of fruits, vegetables, and fresh meats.

As our accounts of California are few and
defective, a rapid glance at the history and
constitution of this unknown but beautiful
country, richly endowed by Nature with all
that an industrious population could require
to furnish the comforts and enjoyments of life,
but hitherto sadly neglected under Spanish mis-
government, will probably not be unwelcome to
the readers who have accompanied me thus far:
I will therefore, on its behalf, defer, for a short
space, the account of our residence here.

The narrow peninsula on the north-west
coast of America, beginning at St. Diego1 s
Point, under thirty-two degrees of latitude,
and ending with the promontory of St. Lucas,
under twenty-two degrees, was first exclusively
called California ; but the Spaniards extended
this appellation to their more recent discoveries

INTRODUCTION OF THE JESUITS. 77

on this coast towards the north ; since which,
the peninsula has been named Old, and the
more northern coast to the Bay of St. Francisco,
in thirty-seven degrees latitude, New Califor
nia ; from thence begins the so-called New
Albion.

Mexico did not suffice to the ambition of
its restless conqueror Cortez. To extend still
farther the dominion of Spain, he directed the
building of large vessels on the western coast
of Mexico ; and thus, in the year 1534*, was
California first seen by Spanish navigators, and
in 1537 visited by Francisco de Ulloa. When
information of the new discoveries reached the
Spanish government, they resolved, contrary to
their proceedings in the cases of Mexico and
Peru, to gain peaceable possession of the new
country by converting the inhabitants to the
Christian religion, and declared that this pious
object was all they had in view.

Only a small military force was, in fact, dis
patched with a body of Jesuits, who established
a settlement and began the trade of conversion.
Disinterested as this rather expensive expedi
tion appeared, its secret motive might pro-

78 DOMINICANS AND FRANCISCANS.

bably be found in the fear that any other
nation should establish itself in the neigh
bourhood of Mexico and the Spanish gold
mines.

The Jesuits came and made converts. These
were followed by the Dominicans, who still have
settlements, called here missions, in Old Cali
fornia ; and subsequently by the Franciscans,
who have established themselves in the New.
They all convert away at a great rate, — we shall
soon find how.

The first missions were seated on the coast
of Old California, for the convenience of com
munication by sea with Mexico, and because
the country was favourable to agriculture.
The military who accompanied the monks,
selected for their residence a situation from
whence they could overlook several missions,
and be always ready for their defence. These
military posts are here called Presidios.

As it was not possible to make the savage
natives comprehend the doctrines of Christi
anity, their inculcation was out of the question ;
and all that these religionists thought neces
sary to be done with this simple, timid race,

CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY. 79

scarcely superior to the animals by whom they
were surrounded, was to introduce the Catholic
worship, or, more properly, the dominion of
the monks, by force of arms. The missions
multiplied rapidly. In New California, where
we now were, the first of these, that of St.
Diego, was established in 1769 ; now there are
twenty-one in this country. Twenty-five thou
sand baptized Indians belong at present to
these missions, and a military force of five
hundred dragoons is found sufficient to keep
them in obedience, to prevent their escape, or,
if they should elude the vigilance of their
guards, to bring them from the midst of their
numerous tribes, improving the favourable op
portunity of making new converts by the power
of the sword.

The fate of these so called Christian Indians
is not preferable even to that of negro slaves.
Abandoned to the despotism of tyrannical
monks, Heaven itself offers no refuge from
their sufferings ; for their spiritual masters
stand as porters at the gate, and refuse en
trance to whom they please. These unfor
tunate beings pass their lives in prayer, and in

80 BLESSINGS OF CATHOLICISM.

toiling for the monks, without possessing any
property of their own. Thrice a day they are
driven to church, to hear a mass in the Latin
language ; the rest of their time is employed
in labouring in the fields and gardens with
coarse, clumsy implements, and in the evening
they are locked up in over-crowded barracks,
which, unbearded, and without windows or
beds, rather resemble cows'1 stalls than habi
tations for men. A coarse woollen shirt which
they make themselves, and then receive as a
present from the missionaries, constitutes their
only clothing. Such is the happiness which the
Catholic religion has brought to the unculti
vated Indian ; and this is the Paradise which
he must not presume to undervalue by at
tempting a return to freedom in the society of
his unconverted countrymen, under penalty of
imprisonment in fetters.

The large tract of arable land which these
pious shepherds of souls have appropriated to
themselves, and which is cultivated by their
flocks, is for the most part sown with wheat and
pulse. The harvest is laid up in store ; and what
is not necessary for immediate consumption

IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE TO ROYALTY. 81

is shipped for Mexico, and there either ex
changed for articles required by the missions,
or sold for hard piastres to fill the coffers of the
monks.

In this way were the missionaries, and the
military who depended upon them, living
quietly enough in California, when the other
Spanish colonies threw off their allegiance to
the mother country. The insurrection having
spread as far as Mexico, they were invited by
the new governments, under advantageous con
ditions, to make common cause with them, but
they remained true to their King; nor was
their fidelity shaken by the total neglect of the
Spaniards, who for many years appeared to
have forgotten their very existence, and had
not even troubled themselves to make the ordi
nary remittances for the pay of the military, or
the support of the monks. Still their loyalty
remained unshaken; they implicitly obeyed
even that command of the King which closed
their ports against all foreign vessels ; and as
the republicans were considered as foreigners,
and no ships arrived from Spain, the missions, as
well as the Presidios, soon began to suffer the
E 5

82 DISCONTENT OF THE SOLDIERY.

greatest scarcity of many necessaries which the
country did not produce. The soldiery, even
to the commander himself, were in rags, with
out pay, and deriving a mendicant subsistence
from the monks. The want which pressed most
heavily on the latter was that of the imple
ments of agriculture and other labour ; having,
with true Spanish indolence, forborne any at
tempt to manufacture them in the country.
The very source of all their acquisitions was
thus threatened with extinction ; yet still they
adhered to their King, with a fidelity truly
honourable had it been more disinterested : —
but what could they expect from a change of
government, except the limitations of their
hitherto unbounded power ?

In the discontent of the soldiers, however,
smouldered a spark, dangerous to the power of
the monks, which was suddenly blown into a
flame by a circumstance that occurred a few
years before our arrival.

The only pleasure for which the baptized
Indians had ever been indebted to the monks
was the possession of such baubles as our sai
lors use in traffic with the South Sea islanders.

DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE. 83

These things of course could no longer be
obtained, and their loss was regarded by the
new Christians as a heavy misfortune. Their
despair at length broke out into insurrection :
they burst their prisons, and attacked the dwell
ings of the monks, but retired before the fire
of musketry. The military, with very little
loss on their side, defeated great numbers of
the natives, and brought them again into their
previous subjection.

A new light dawned on the minds of the dra
goons. What would have become of the monks
without their valiant support ? Elated by vic
tory, and disregarding all the protestations of
the ghostly fathers, whose feebleness and help
lessness were now apparent, they declared them
selves the first class in the country, and inde
pendent of Spain, which for so many years had
abandoned them to their fate.

Similar causes produced similar effects in
Old California, and each country now forms a
separate republic.

Spain might with ease have retained these
fertile provinces under allegiance. Had their
fidelity received the smallest encouragement, it

84 EXPORTS OF CALIFORNIA.

would probably never have been shaken ; and
California would have proved a most convenient
support for the claims of the mother country
on the revolutionized colonies, especially on
Mexico, formerly the fertile source of Spanish
wealth. The Philippines have not rebelled,
and these rich islands could have afforded all
the assistance the missions required. The neg
lect of California by Spain would almost seem
to have been appointed by Providence, that the
prosperity of the new States might suffer no in
terruption.

One immediate result of the independence of
this colony is the opening of her ports to all na
tions, and the consequent impetus given to com
merce. The North American States have been
the first to make use of the privilege.

The exports of California now consist of corn,
ox-hides, tallow, and the costly skins of the sea-
otter. Some speculators have attempted a trade
with China, but hitherto without success. A
richly laden ship was entrusted to a North Ame
rican captain for this purpose, who disposed of
the cargo in China ; but found it more conve-

GOVERNMENT. 85

nient to retain both the money and ship for his
own use, than to return to the owners.

The government of New California was on
our present visit administered by Don Louis
Arguello, the same young man with whom I
became acquainted on my voyage in the Rurik,
when he was commandant of the Presidio of St.
Francisco. He resided at this time in Monterey,
and employed himself in devising systems of
government which should bring the heterogene
ous ingredients of the new republic, dragoons,
monks, and Indians, into order and unity.

May the destiny of the latter be ameliorated
by the change ! No Constitution has yet been
established here ; and Arguello's power, or per
haps ability, was inadequate to introducing that
which he had proposed. Many changes are still
necessary in the Californias before they can
become the happy and flourishing countries
for which Nature intended them.

On the morning after our arrival, I visited old
Sanchez in the Presidio. He received me with
unfeigned cordiality, and related to me many
things which had taken place since my visit in

86 PROCEED TO SANTA CLARA.

the Rurik eight years ago. Don Louis, he said,
had become a great man, and he himself a lieu
tenant, which here imports a considerable rank.
Nevertheless, he disapproved of all the proceed
ings, and felt assured that no good could accrue
from them. He would rather, he said, be a
petty Spanish subject, than a republican officer
of state.

The Presidio was in the same state in which I
found it eight years before ; and, except the re
publican flag, no trace of the important changes
which had taken place was perceptible. Every
thing was going on in the old, easy, careless way.

Sanchez at once promised to provide the ship
daily with fresh meat, but advised me to send a
boat to the mission of Santa Clara for a supply of
vegetables, which were there to be had in super
fluity. The Presidio had. with a negligence
which would be inconceivable in any other coun
try, omitted to cultivate even sufficient for their
own consumption.

As I had not visited the mission of Santa Clara
during my first visit to California, I now deter
mined to proceed thither on the following day, in
the long-boat. Sanchez provided agood pilot, and

DESCRIPTION OF SCENERY. 87

sent a courier overland to announce my arrival
at the mission.

The bay of St. Francisco is full ninety miles
in circuit: it is divided by islands into two
pretty equally sized basins, a northern and a
southern. On the banks of the southern, which
takes an easterly direction, lie the three mis-
s^ons, St. Francisco, Santa Clara, and St. Jose*.
Of the northern half of the bay I will speak
hereafter.

On the morning of the 28th of September,
the Barcasse was ready, and equipped with
every thing necessary for our little voyage.
Favoured both by wind and tide, we sailed
eastward past many charming islands and pro
montories, to the mission of Santa Clara, which
lay at a distance of five-and- twenty miles, in a
straight line from the ship. The country pre
sented on all sides a picture of beauty and
fertility : the shores are of a moderate elevation,
and covered with a brilliant verdure ; the hills,
towards the interior, swell gently into an am
phitheatre, and the background is formed by
high thick woods. Groves of oaks are scat
tered upon the slopes, separated by lovely

88 LUXURIANCE OF THE COUNTRY.

meadows, and forming more graceful and pic
turesque groups than I have ever seen as the
produce of art. With very little trouble, the
most luxuriant harvests might be reaped from
this soil ; but a happy and industrious popula
tion has not yet been established here, to profit
from the prodigality of Nature. The death
like stillness of these beautiful fields is broken
only by the wild animals which inhabit them ;
and as far as the eye can reach, it perceives no
trace of human existence ; not even a canoe is
to be seen upon the surrounding waters, which
are navigable for large vessels, and boast many
excellent harbours ; — the large white pelican
with the bag under his bill, is the only gainer
by the abundance of fish they produce. During
the centuries of Spanish supremacy in Califor
nia, even the exertion of procuring a net has
been deemed too great. How abundantly and
happily might thousands of families subsist
here ! and how advantageously might the emi
grants to Brazil have preferred this spot for
colonization ! There, they have to struggle with
many difficulties, are often oppressed by the
government, and always suffer under a scorch-

ST. FR. \NCISCO. 89

ing sun. Here, they would have found the
climate of the South of Germany, and a luxu
riant soil, that would have yielded an ample
recompense for the slightest pains bestowed
upon it.

After a few hours' sail, we came to a deep
creek opening to the right, and on its shores
we perceived the mission of St. Francisco
rising among wooded hills. The tide by this
time had ebbed, the wind had died away, and
we proceeded slowly by the aid of oars : this
induced us, after rowing about fifteen miles, to
land, at noon, on a pleasant little island. We
made a blazing fire ; and as every sailor under
stands something of cookery, a dinner was soon
dressed, which eaten in the open air in beauti
ful weather, under the shade of spreading oaks,
appeared excellent.

While the sailors were reposing, we exa-.
mined the island. Its northern shore was tole
rably high, and rose almost perpendicularly
from the sea. Its soil, as that of all the coun
try about the bay of St. Francisco, consists,
under the upper mould, of a variegated slate ;
probably the foot of man had never before trod-

90 ST. FRANCISCO.

den it. But a short time since, no boat was to
be found in the neighbourhood, and now each
mission possesses only one large barge in which
the reverend Fathers pass up and down the
rivers that discharge themselves into the north
ern half of the bay, to seek among the In
dians who are occasionally seen on their banks,
for proselytes to recruit the ranks of their
laborious subjects. The only canoes of the
Indians are made of plaited reeds, in which
they sit up to their hips in water. That no
one has yet attempted to build even the simplest
J canoe in a country which produces a super
abundance of the finest wood for the purpose,
is a striking proof of the indolence of the Spa
niards, and the stupidity of the Indians.

Our island was surrounded by wild ducks
and other sea-fowl ; the white-headed eagle
hovered too over the oaks, and seemed to be
pursuing a very small species of hare, and a
pretty partridge, of which there are great
numbers.

We enjoyed for a few hours the recreation
of the land, so welcome to sailors, and then
continued our voyage with a favourable wind.

ARRIVE AT SANTA CLA.RA. 91

The sun was near the horizon when we ap
proached the eastern shore of the bay. Here the
water is no longer of sufficient depth to admit
large vessels, and the face of the country assumes
a different character. The mountains retire to
a greater distance ; extensive plains slope from
the hills towards the water's edge, where they
become mere swamps, intersected however by
a variety of natural channels, by means of which,
boats may run some distance inland. It was
already growing dark as we entered these chan
nels, where, even during daylight, the assist
ance of a good pilot is requisite to thread the
intricacies of a navigation among thick reeds
that grow to such a height in the marshes on
both sides, as to exclude from view every object
but the sky. Our sailors plied their oars vi
gorously ; the channels became gradually nar
rower, and the banks drier ; at length we heard
human voices behind the reeds, and at midnight
we reached the landing-place. A large fire had
been lighted. Two dragoons and a few half-
naked Indians, sent from the mission, were
waiting our arrival, with saddle-horses intended
for our use. As the mission was at the dis-

92 CALIFORNIAN WOLVES.

tance of a good hour's ride, the night was dark,
and I was not inclined to trouble the repose
of the monks, I determined to await the dawn
of morning. Our small tents were presently
pitched, several fires lighted, and the cooks set
to work.

After our tedious row, (for, owing to the
zigzag course we had been compelled to steer,
we had passed over a distance of at least forty
miles,) the camping out, in a beautiful night,
was quite delightful. Although it was now
the latter end of September, the air was as mild
as with us during the warmest summer nights.
Round our little encampment we heard an
incessant barking, as of young dogs, proceed
ing from a species of wolf, which abounds
throughout California ; it is not larger than
the fox ; but is so daring and dexterous, that
it makes no scruple of entering human habita
tions in the night, and rarely fails to appro
priate whatever happens to suit it. This we
ourselves experienced ; for our provision of meat
had not been sufficiently secured, and we found
nothing in the morning but a gnawed and
empty bag.

MISSION OF SANTA CLARA. 93

The rising sun announced the approach of a
fine day, and gave us a view of the extensive
plains which formed the surrounding country.
The missionaries cultivated wheat upon them,
which had been already harvested, and large
flocks of cattle, horses, and sheep, were seen
pasturing among the stubble. The mission of
Santa Clara possesses fourteen thousand head
of cattle, one thousand horses, and ten thou
sand sheep. The greater part of these animals
being left to roam undisturbed about the woods,
they multiply with amazing rapidity.

I now ordered the horses to be saddled, and
we set off for the mission, the buildings and
woods of which bounded the view over these
prodigious corn-fields. Our way lay through
the stubble, amongst flocks of wild geese, ducks,
and snipes, so tame that we might have killed
great numbers with our sticks. These are all
birds of passage, spending the winter here, and
the summer farther north. We fired a few shots
among the geese, and brought down about a
dozen: they differ but little in size from our
domestic goose, and some of them are quite
white. A ride of an hour and a half brought

94 MISSION OF SANTA CLARA.

us to Santa Clara, where the monks received
us in the most friendly manner, and exerted
themselves most hospitably, to make our visit
agreeable.

The mission, which was founded in the year
1777, is situated beside a stream of the most
pure and delicious water, in a large and ex
tremely fertile plain. The buildings of Santa
Clara, overshadowed by thick groves of oaks,
and surrounded by gardens which, though
carelessly cultivated, produce an abundance of
vegetables, the finest grapes, and fruits of all
kinds, are in the same style as at all the other
missions. They consist of a large stone church,
a spacious dwelling-house for the monks, a large
magazine for the preservation of corn, and the
Rancherios, or barracks, for the Indians, of
which mention has already been made. These
are divided into long rows of houses, or rather
stalls, where each family is allowed a space
scarcely large enough to enable them to lie down
to repose. We were struck by the appearance
of a large quadrangular building, which having
no windows on the outside, and only one care
fully secured door, resembled a prison for state-

MISSION OF SANTA CLARA. 95

criminals. It proved to be the residence ap
propriated by the monks, the severe guardians
of chastity, to the young unmarried Indian
women, whom they keep under their particular
superintendence, making their time useful to
the community by spinning, weaving, and simi
lar occupations. These dungeons are ^opened
two or three times a-day, but only to allow the
prisoners to pass to and from the church. I
have occasionally seen the poor girls rushing
out eagerly to breathe the fresh air, and driven
immediately into the church like a flock of
sheep, by an old ragged Spaniard armed with
a stick. After mass, they are in the same man
ner hurried back to their prisons. Yet, not
withstanding all the care of the ghostly fathers,
the feet of some of these uninviting fair ones
were cumbered with bars of iron, the penal con
sequence, as I was informed, of detected trans
gression. Only on their marriage are these
cloistered virgins allowed to issue from their
confinement and associate with their own people
in the barracks.

Three times a-day a bell summons the Indians
to their meals, which are prepared in large

96 MISSION OF SANTA CLARA.

kettles, and served out in portions to each
family. They are seldom allowed meat ; their
ordinary, and not very wholesome food, consist
ing of wheaten flour, maize, peas and beans,
mixed together, and boiled to a thick soup.

The mission of Santa Clara contains fifteen
hundred male Indians, of whom about one-half
are married. All these men are governed by
three monks, and guarded by four soldiers and
a subaltern officer. Since this force is found
sufficient, it follows either that the Indians of
the mission are happier than their free country
men, or that, no way superior to the domestic
animals, they are chained by their instincts to
the place where their food is provided. The
first supposition can hardly be well founded.
Hard labour every day, Sundays only except-
ed, when labour is superseded by prayer ; cor
poral chastisement, imprisonment, and fetters
on the slightest demonstration of disobedience ;
unwholesome nourishment, miserable lodging,
deprivation of all property, and of all the en
joyments of life: — these are not boons which
diffuse content.* Many indeed of these unfor
tunate victims prove, by their attempts to

THE GENTE RATIONALE. 97

escape, that their submission is involuntary ;
but the soldiers, as I have before observed,
generally hunt them from their place of refuge,
and bring them back to undergo the severe
punishment their trangression has incurred. To
the most stupid apathy, then, must the patience
of these Indians be ascribed ; and in this, their
distinguishing characteristic, they exceed every
race of men I have ever known, not excepting
the degraded natives of Terra del Fuego, or
Van Piemen's Land.

The Christian religion, or what the monks
are pleased to call by that name, has given no
beneficial spur to their minds. How indeed
could it act upon their confined understandings,
when their teachers were almost wholly defi
cient in the necessary means of communicating
knowledge, — an acquaintance with their lan
guage ? I have since had opportunities of
observing the free Indians, who appear less
stupid, 'and in many respects more civilized,
than the proselytes of the gente rationale, as
the Spaniards here call themselves; and I am
convinced that the system of instruction and
discipline adopted by the monks, has certainly

VOL. II. F

98 RACES OF INDIANS.

tended to degrade even these step-children of
Nature. If to raise them to the rank of intel
lectual beings had been really the object in
view, rather than making them the mock pro
fessors of a religion they are incapable of un
derstanding, they should have been taught the
arts of agriculture and architecture, and the
method of breeding cattle ; they should have
been made proprietors of the land they culti-
v vated, and should have freely enjoyed its pro
duce. Had this been done, los barbaros might
soon have stood on a level with the gente ra
tionale.

There are in California many different races
of Indians, whose languages vary so much from
each other, as sometimes to have scarcely any
resemblance ; in the single mission of Santa
Clara more than twenty languages are spoken.
These races are all alike ugly, stupid, dirty,
and disgusting : they are of a middle size,
weak, and of a blackish colour; they have
flat faces, thick lips, broad negro-noses, scarcely
any foreheads, and black, coarse, straight hair.
The powers of their mind lie yet profoundly
dormant ; and La Perouse does not perhaps

AGRICULTURE. 99

exaggerate when he affirms, that if any one
among them can be made to comprehend that
twice two make four, he may pass, in compa
rison with his countrymen, for a Descartes or a
Newton. To most of them, this important
arithmetical proposition would certainly be
perfectly incomprehensible.

In their wild state, all these Indians lead a
wandering life. It is only recently that they
have begun to build huts of underwood, which
they burn whenever they remove from the spot.
The chase is their sole occupation and means of
subsistence. Hence their skill in shooting with
arrows has cost many Spanish lives. They lie
in wait at night, in the forests and mountains,
watching for game.

Agriculture, as I have before observed, is
the copious source of revenue to the monks,
and they farm on an extensive scale. The
yearly crop of wheat at Santa Clara alone, pro
duces three thousand fanegos, about six hun
dred and twenty English quarters, or three
thousand four hundred Berlin bushels; and
from the extraordinary fertility of the soil, the
harvest, on an average, is forty-fold, notwith-
F 2

100 A PUEBLO.

standing the roughness of their mode of culti
vation. The field is first broken up with a very
clumsy plough, then sown, and a second plough
ing completes the work. Under the hard clods
of earth thus left undisturbed, a great part of
the seed perishes of course. How unexampled
would be the harvest, if assisted by the capital
and industry of an European farmer !

The monks themselves confess that they are
not good agriculturists ; but they are content
with their harvests. Their carelessness is how
ever unpardonable, in having never yet erected
a mill. There is not one in all California ;
and the poor Indians are obliged to grind their
corn by manual labour between two large, flat
stones.

From the mission we took half an hour's
walk to a Pueblo. This word signifies, in Cali
fornia, a village, inhabited by married invalids,
disbanded soldiers from the Presidio, and their
progeny. This Pueblo lies in a beautiful spot.
The houses are pleasant, built of stone, and
stand in the midst of orchards, and hedges of
vines bearing luxuriant clusters of the richest
grapes. The inhabitants came out to meet us,

DECAY OF THE MISSIONS. 101

and with much courteousness, blended with the
ceremonious politeness of the Spaniards, invited
us to enter their simple but cleanly dwellings.
All their countenances bespoke health and con
tentment, and they have good cause to rejoice in
their lot. Unburthened by taxes of any kind,
and in possession of as much land as they choose
to cultivate, they live free from care on the rich
produce of their fields and herds.

The population of these Pueblos is every year
on the increase ; while, on the contrary, the num
bers of the Indians dependent on the missions
are continually decreasing. The mortality
amongst the latter is so great, that the esta
blishments could not continue, if their spiritual
conductors did not constantly procure fresh
recruits from amongst the free Indians, to fill
the thinning ranks of their labourers.

In Old California, many of the missions have
gone to decay on account of the total extermi
nation of the savages. The north still affords
an abundant supply to New California ; but if
the missionaries do not economize the lives of
their men more than they have hitherto done,
this source also will in time be exhausted.

102 QUIT SANTA CLARA.

Meanwhile the Pueblos will continue to mul
tiply, and will become the origins of a new
and improved population.

After passing three days with the monks of
Santa Clara, who at least possess the virtue of
hospitality, we set out on our return with a pro
vision of fruit and vegetables, purchased for very
fair prices. They were carried to the place of
embarkation on heavy and very badly con
structed cars drawn by oxen : the wheels were
made of thick planks nailed together, without
any regard to mechanical science either in their
form or poizing ; and the machine slowly ad
vanced with a difficult jolting motion very pre
judicial to our fine melons, peaches, grapes, and
figs, and to the magnificent apples, which have
no equals in Europe. On reaching our Bar-
casse, we found all in readiness to receive our
selves and cargo. The sailors had been much
disturbed in the night by the wolves.

The ebb-tide favoured our navigation, and
soon brought us within sight of an arm of the
sea, stretching eastward, at the extremity of
which the mission of St. Jose was built in the

RETURN TO THE SHIP. 103

year 1797, on a very fertile spot. It is already
one of the richest in California, and a Pueblo
has arisen in its neighbourhood; the only
Pueblo on the Bay of St. Francisco, except
that near Santa Clara. Between St. Jose and
Santa Clara a road has lately been made which
may be traversed on horseback in about two
hours.

Soon after our return to the ship, a monk was
observed riding along the shore in company
with a dragoon, and making signs with his
large hat, that he wished to come on board.
We sent the boat for him, and a little, thin,
lively, and loquacious Spaniard introduced him
self as the Padre Thomas of the mission of St.
Francisco, and offered, for a good remuneration,
to furnish us daily with fresh provisions, besides
two bottles of milk. He boasted not a little of
being the only man in the whole Bay of St.
Francisco who had succeeded* after overcoming
many difficulties and obstacles, in obtaining
milk from cows, of which he had a numerous
herd. As the Presidio could not supply our
wants, and the mission of Santa Clara lay too far

104 A FRIENDLY RECEPTION.

off, we were very willing to accede to Padre
Thomas's wish ; and he left us with an invitation
to visit him the following noon.

Accordingly, several of my officers and myself
rode the next day to the mission of St. Fran
cisco, which I have described in the account of
my former voyage, and which has remained
pretty much in the same state ever since. The
jovial Father Thomas was now the only monk
in the mission, and, consequently, at its head ;
he entertained us in a very friendly manner, and
with considerable expense.

The repast consisted of a great number of
dishes, strongly seasoned with garlic and pepper,
and plenty of very tolerable wine of the Padre's
own vintage ; it was animated by music, partly
the performance of some little naked Indian
boys, upon bad fiddles, and partly of the vene
rable father himself on a barrel organ which
stood near him. The fruits for the dessert were
procured from the mission of Santa Clara, as the
mists from the sea prevent their ripening at
St. Francisco.

Some guns from the Presidio, fired with the

JOURNEY TO ROSS. " 105

powder that remained after returning our salute,
one morning announced the arrival of Don Ig-
natio Martinez, the commandant, who, after the
breaking up of the congress at Monterey, had
returned to his post. With him came also the
commandant of the Presidio St. Diego, Don
Jose Maria Estudillo, whom I had before
known. They visited me, accompanied by
Sanchez, dined with me on board, and were so
well entertained, that they did not take leave of
us till late at night.

Indispensable business now summoned me to
the establishment of the Russian- American Com
pany called Ross, which lies about eighty miles
north of St. Francisco. I had for some time
been desirous of performing the journey by
land, but the difficulties had appeared insur
mountable. Without the assistance of the
commandant, it certainly could not have been
accomplished ; I was therefore glad to avail
myself of his friendly disposition towards me
to make the attempt. We required a number
of horses and a military escort ; the latter to
serve us at once as guides, and as a protection
F 5

106 DON ESTUDILLO.

against the savages. Both these requests were
immediately granted ; and Don Estudillo him
self offered to command our escort.

My companions on this journey were Dr.
Eschscholz, Mr. Hoffman, two of my officers, two
sailors, Don Estudillo, and four dragoons, making
altogether a party of twelve. On the evening
previous to the day for our departure, Estudil
lo came to the ship with his four dragoons, the
latter well armed, and accoutred in a panoply
of leather. He himself, in the old Spanish cos
tume, with a heavy sword, still heavier spurs,
a dagger and pistols in his belt, and a staff in
his hand, was a good personification of an adven
turer of the olden time. He assured us that
we could not be too cautious, since we should
pass through a part of the country inhabited
by " los Indianos bravos :" we therefore also
made a plentiful provision of arms, andjWere
ready, as soon as the first beams of morning
glimmered on the tops of the mountains, to set
forward in our barcasse for the mission of St.
Gabriel, lying on the northern shore of the bay,
whence our land journey was to commence.

The weather was beautiful, the wind per-

AN INDIAN PILOT. 107

fectly still, and the air enchantingly mild. An
Indian named Marco, whom Estudillo had
brought with him, served us as pilot ; for the
Spaniards here, incapable, either through indo
lence or ignorance, of discharging that office,
always employ an experienced Indian at the
helm.

Don Estudillo, although advanced in life, was
a very cheerful companion, and one of the most
enlightened Spaniards I have met with in Cali
fornia. He piqued himself a little on his lite
rary acquirements, and mentioned having read
three books besides Don Quixote and Gil Bias, '
whilst, as he assured me in confidence, the
rest of his countrymen here had hardly ever
seen any other book than the Bible. Marco
had grown grey in the mission : on account of
his usefulness, he had been in many respects
better treated than most of the Indians : he
spoke Spanish with tolerable fluency ; and when
Estudillo endeavoured to exercise his wit upon
him, often embarrassed him not a little by his
repartees. This Marco affords a proof that,
under favourable circumstances, the minds even J
of the Indians of California are susceptible of

108 METHOD OF CONVERSION.

improvement ; but these examples are rare in
the missions.

Don Estudillo spoke with much freedom of
the affairs of California, where he had resided
thirty years : like most of his comrades, he was
no friend to the clergy. He accused them of
consulting only their own interest, and of em
ploying their proselytes as a means of laying
up wealth for themselves, with which, when,
acquired, they return to Spain. He de
scribed to us their method of conversion.
The monks, he said, send dragoons into the
mountains to catch the free heathens, that
they may convert them into Christian slaves.
For this species of chase, the huntsman is pro
vided with a strong leathern noose fastened to
his saddle, long enough to throw to a great dis
tance, and acquires such dexterity in the prac
tice as seldom to miss his aim. As soon as he
perceives a troop of Indians, he throws his noose
over one of them before he has time to defend
himself, then setting spurs to his horse, rides
back to the mission with his prisoner, and is for
tunate if he bring^iim there alive. I can myself
bear witness to the skill and boldness of the

METHOD OF CONVERSION. 109

dragoons, in the management of their horses,
and in the use of the noose, with which two or
three of them in conjunction will catch even
bears and wild bulls ; a single man is sufficient
to capture an Indian.

Estudillo declared that no Indian ever pre
sents himself voluntarily at the missions, but
that they are all either hunted in the manner
above described, or tricked out of their liberty
by some artifice of the monks. For this pur
pose, some few in every mission are extremely
well treated, as for instance our pilot Marco-
These are from time to time sent into distant
parts of the country to exert their eloquence on
their countrymen, and entice them to the mis
sions. Once there, they are immediately bap
tized, and they then become for ever the pro
perty of the monks.

To my observation, that affairs would now
probably assume a different aspect, as the arbi
trary dominion of the clergy, and the dependence
of the military upon them were equally termi
nated, Estudillo replied, that California might
certainly become a powerful state, — that she was
abundantly provided by nature with all that was

110 DON LOUIS ARGUELLO.

requisite to her political aggrandizement, but
that she needed a man of ability in her councils.
" Don Louis Arguello," said he, " is not the man
to re-invigorate our radically disordered finances,
to introduce a wholesome subordination, without
which no government can flourish, and to esta
blish a constitution upon which our future tran
quillity and improvement may be founded. Our
soldiers are all of one mind ; whoever pays
them the arrears due from the Spanish govern
ment is their master ; he purchases them, and to
him they belong. Induced by a knowledge of
this disposition, Mexico has entered into nego
tiations with us ; and the question whether Cali
fornia shall exist as an independent state, or
place herself under the protection of another
power, has been particularly discussed at the late
congress at Monterey, and is still undecided."

I confess I could not help speculating upon
the benefit this country would derive from be
coming a province of our powerful empire, and
how useful it would prove to Russia. An in
exhaustible granary for Kamtschatka, Ochotsk,
and all the settlements of the American Com
pany ; these regions, so often afflicted with a

MISSION OF ST. GABRIEL. Ill

scarcity of corn, would derive new life from a
close connection with California.

The sun rose in full magnificence from behind
the mountain, at the moment when, emerging
from between the islands which divide the north
ern from the southern half of the bay, an ex
tensive mirror of water opened upon our view.
The mission of St. Gabriel, the first stage of our
journey, formed a distinguished object in the
background of the prospect, sloping up the
sides of the hills, the intervening flat land lying
so low that it was not yet within our horizon.
We had also a distant view towards the north
west of another newly founded mission, that of
St. Francisco Salona, the only one situated on
the northern shore of the bay except St. Gabriel.

The country at this side of the bay, chiefly
characterised by gently swelling hills, the park-
like grouping of the trees, and the lively ver
dure of the meadows, is as agreeable to the eye
as that of the southern coast. The water is
pure and wholesome, which that at the Presidio
is not ; we therefore laid in our ship's store here.

The whole Bay of St. Francisco, in which
thousands of ships might lie at anchor, is formed

BAY OF ST. FRANCISCO.

by nature for an excellent harbour ; but the
little creeks about the north-west coast, now
lying to our left, and which I have since fre
quently visited, are especially advantageous for
repairs, being so deep that the largest vessels
can lie conveniently close to the land ; and an
abundance of the finest wood for ship-building,
even for the tallest masts, is found in the imme
diate neighbourhood. The whole of the north
ern part of the bay, which does not properly
belong to California, but is assigned by geo
graphers to New Albion, has hitherto remained
unvisited by voyagers, and little known even to
the Spaniards residing in the country. Two
large navigable rivers, which I afterwards sur
veyed, empty themselves into it, one from the
north, the other from the east. The land is
extremely fruitful, and the climate is perhaps
the finest and most healthy in the world. It
has hitherto been the fate of these regions, like
that of modest merit or humble virtue, to re
main unnoticed ; but posterity will do them
justice; towns and cities will hereafter flourish
where all is now desert ; the waters, over which
scarcely a solitary boat is yet seen to glide, will

THE NORTHERN SHORE. 113

reflect the flags of all nations; and a happy,
prosperous people receiving with thankfulness
what prodigal Nature bestows for their use,
will disperse her treasures over every part of
the world.

A fresh and favourable wind brought us,
without much delay from the opposing ebb
tide, to the northern shore. We left the com
mon embouchure of its two principal rivers,
distinguished by the steepness of their banks to
the right, and rowing up the narrow channel
which has formed itself through the marsh
land, reached our landing-place just as the sun's
disk touched the blue summits of the mountains
in the west.

We were still distant a good nautical mile
from the mission of St. Gabriel, which peeped
from amongst the foliage of its ancient oaks.
Many horses belonging to the mission were
grazing on a beautiful meadow by the water
side, in perfect harmony with a herd of small
deer, which are very numerous in this country.
Our dragoons, who had no inclination for a
long walk, took their lassos in hand, and soon
caught us as many horses as we wanted. We

114 STRENGTH OF THE GARRISON

had brought our saddles with us, and a delight
ful gallop across the plain carried us to St.
Gabriel, where we were received in a very hos
pitable manner by the only monk in residence.

The locality of this mission, founded in 1816,
is still better chosen than that of the celebrated
Santa Clara. A mountain shelters it from the
injurious north- wind ; but the same mountain
serves also as a hiding-place and bulwark for
the Indianos bravos, who have already once
succeeded in burning the buildings of the mis
sion, and still keep the monks continually on the
watch against similar depredations. In fact,
St. Gabriel has quite the appearance of an out
post for the defence of the other missions.

The garrison, six men strong, is always ready
for service on the slightest alarm. Having been
driven from my bed at night by the vermin,
I saw two sentinels, fully armed, keeping guard
towards the mountain, each of them beside a
large fire ; every two minutes they rang a bell
which was hung between two pillars, and were
regularly answered by the howling of the little
wolf I have before spoken of, as often lurking
in the vicinity of the missions. That there is

OP ST. GABRIEL. 115

not much to fear from other enemies, is suffi
ciently proved by the small number of soldiers
kept, and the total neglect of all regular means
of defence. The courage of these bravos seems
indeed principally to consist in unwillingness
to be caught, in flying with all speed to their
hiding-places when pursued, and in setting fire
to any property of the missions when they can
find an opportunity of doing so unobserved.
We saw here several of these heroes working
patiently enough with irons on their feet, and
in no way distinguishable in manners or appear
ance from their brethren of St. Francisco or
Santa Clara.

With the first rays of the sun we mounted
our horses, and having passed the valley of
St. Gabriel, and the hill which bounds it, our
guide led us in a north-westerly direction fur
ther into the interior. The fine, light, and fertile
soil we rode upon was thickly covered with
rich herbage, and the luxuriant trees stood in
groups as picturesque as if they had been dis
posed by the hand of taste. We met with
numerous herds of small stags, so fearless, that
they suffered us to ride fairly into the midst of

116 HERDS OF STAGS.

them, but then indeed darted away with the
swiftness of an arrow. We sometimes also,
but less frequently, saw another species of stag,
as large as a horse, with branching antlers ;
these generally graze on hills, from whence
they can see round them on all sides, and ap
pear much more cautious than the small ones.
The Indians, however, have their contrivances
to take them. They fasten a pair of the stag's
antlers on their heads, and cover their bodies
with his skin ; then crawling on all-fours among
the high grass, they imitate the movements of
the creature while grazing; the herd, mistaking
them for their fellows, suffer them to approach
without suspicion, and are not aware of the
treachery till the arrows of the disguised foes
have thinned their number.

Towards noon the heat became so oppressive,
that we were obliged to halt on the summit of
a hill : we reposed under the shade of some
thick and spreading oaks, while our horses
grazed and our meal was preparing. During
our rest, we caught a glimpse of a troop of In
dians skulking; behind some bushes at a dis-
< to

tance ; our dragoons immediately seized their

PORT ROMANZOW. 117

arms, but the savages disappeared without at
tempting to approach us. In a few hours we
proceeded on our journey, through a country,
which presenting no remarkable object to direct
our course, excited my astonishment at the
local memory of our guide, who had traversed
it but once before. Two great shaggy white
wolves, hunting a herd of small deer, fled in
terror on our appearance, and we had the grati
fication of saving the pretty animals for this
time. In several places we saw little cylindri-
cally-shaped huts of underwood, which appear
ed to have been recently quitted by Indians,
and sometimes we even found the still glim
mering embers of a fire; it is therefore probable
that the savages were often close to us when
we were not aware of it ; but they always took
care to conceal themselves from the much
dreaded dragoons and their lassos.

In the evening we reached a little mountain
brook, which, after winding through a ravine,
falls into the sea at Port Roman zow, or Bonega.
It was already dark, and though but ten miles
distance from Ross, we were obliged to pass the
chill and foggy night not very agreeably on this

118 A MAGNIFICENT PROSPECT.

spot. In the morning we forded the shallow
stream, and as we proceeded, found in the
bold, wild features of the scene a striking dif
ference from the smiling valleys through which
we had travelled on the preceding day. The
nearer we drew to the coast, the more abrupt
became the precipices and the higher the rocks,
which were overgrown with larch even to their
peaked summits.

We wound round the bases of some hills,
and having with much fatigue climbed other
very steep ascents, reached towards noon a con
siderable height, which rewarded us with a
magnificent prospect. Amongst the remarkable
objects before us, the ocean stretched to the
west, with the harbour of Romanzow, which
unfortunately will only afford admission to small
vessels ; the Russian settlement here, can there
fore never be as prosperous as it might have
been, had circumstances permitted its esta
blishment on the bay of St. Francisco. To the
east, extending far inland, lay a valley, called
by the Indians the Valley of the White Men.
There is a tradition among them, that a ship
was once wrecked on this coast ; that the white

ABODE OF A CHIEF. 119

men chose this valley for their residence, and
lived there in great harmony with the Indians.
What afterwards became of them is not re
corded. On the north-east was a high mountain
thickly covered with fir trees, from amongst
which rose dark columns of smoke, giving evi
dence of Indian habitations. Our soldiers said
that it was the abode of a chief and his tribe,
whose valour had won the respect of the Spa
niards ; that they were of a distinct class from
the common race of Indians ; had fixed their
dwellings on this mountain on account of its
supposed inaccessibility ; were distinguished
for their courage, and preferred death to the
dominion of the Missionaries, into whose power
no one of them has ever yet been entrapped. Is
it not possible that they may owe their superio
rity to having mingled their race with that of
the shipwrecked whites ?

Our road now lay sometimes across hills and
meadows, and sometimes along the sands so near
the ocean that we were sprinkled by its spray.
We passed Port Romanzow, and soon after
forded the bed of another shallow river to \\hich
the Russians have given the name of Slavianka.

120 M. VON SCHMIDT.

Farther inland it is said to be deeper, and even
navigable for ships ; its banks are extremely
fertile, but peopled by numerous warlike
hordes. It flows hither from the north-east;
and the Russians have proceeded up it a distance
of a hundred wersts, or about sixty-seven Eng
lish miles.

The region we now passed through was of a
very romantic though wild character ; and the
luxuriant growth of the grass proved that the
soil was rich. From the summit of a high hill,
we at length, to our great joy, perceived beneath
us the fortress of Ross, to which we descended
by a tolerably convenient road. We spurred
our tired horses, and excited no small astonish
ment as we passed through the gate at a gallop.
M. Von Schmidt, the governor of the establish
ment, received us in the kindest manner, fired
some guns to greet our arrival on Russian-Ame
rican ground, and conducted us into his com
modious and orderly mansion, built in the Eu
ropean fashion with thick beams.

The settlement of Ross, situated on the sea
shore, in latitude 38° 33', and on an insignificant
stream, was founded in the year 1812, with the

SETTLEMENT OF ROSS. 121

free consent of the natives, who were very useful
in furnishing materials for the buildings and
even in their erection.

The intention in forming this settlement was
to pursue the chase of the sea-otter on the coast
of California, where the animal was then nume
rous, as it had become extremely scarce in the
more northern establishments. The Spaniards
who did not hunt them, willingly took a small
compensation for their acquiescence in the views
of the Russians ; and the sea-otter, though at
present scarce even here, is more frequently
caught along the Californian coast, southward
from Ross, than in any other quarter. The
fortress is a quadrangle, palisaded with tall,
thick beams, and defended by two towers which
mount fifteen cannons. The garrison consisted,
on my arrival, of a hundred and thirty men, of
whom a small number only were Russians, the
rest Aleutians.

The Spaniards lived at first on the best terms
with the new settlers, and provided them with
oxen, cows, horses, and sheep ; but when in pro
cess of time they began to remark that, notwith
standing the inferiority of soil and climate, the

VOL. II. G

122 SPANISH PRETENSIONS.

Russian establishment became more flourishing
than theirs, envy, and apprehension of future
danger, took possession of their minds : they
then required that the settlement should be
abandoned, — asserted that their rights of domi
nion extended northward quite to the Icy Sea.
and threatened to support their claims by force
of arms.

The founder and then commander of the
fortress of Ross, a man of penetration, and one
not easily frightened, gave a very decided an
swer. He had, he said, at the command of his
superiors, settled in this region, which had not
previously been in the possession of any other
power, and over which, consequently, none had
a right but the natives ; that these latter had
freely consented to his occupation of the land,
and therefore that he would yield to no such
unfounded pretension as that now advanced by
the Spaniards, but should be always ready to
resist force by force.

Perceiving that the Russians would not com
ply with their absurd requisitions, and consi
dering that they were likely to be worsted in
an appeal to arms, the Spaniards quietly gave

CONCORD WITH THE INDIANS. 123

up all farther thought of hostilities, and enter
ed again into friendly communications with our
people ; since which the greatest unity has sub
sisted between the two nations. The Spaniards
often find Ross very serviceable to them. For
instance, there is no such thing as a smith in
all California; consequently the making and
repairing of all manner of iron implements here
is a great accommodation to them, and affords
lucrative employment to the Russians. The
dragoons who accompanied us, had brought a
number of old gunlocks to be repaired.

In order that the Russians might not extend
their dominion to the northern shore of the
Bay of St. Francisco, the Spaniards immediately
founded the missions of St. Gabriel and St.
Francisco Salona. It is a great pity that we
were not beforehand with them. The advan
tages of possessing this beautiful bay are incal
culable, especially as we have no harbour but
the bad one of Bodega or Port Romanzow.

The inhabitants of Ross live in the greatest
concord with the Indians, who repair, in consi
derable numbers, to the fortress, and work as
day-labourers, for wages. At night they usu-
G 2

124 THE GREEK CHURCH.

ally remain outside the palisades. They will
ingly give their daughters in marriage to Rus
sians and Aleutians ; and from these unions
ties of relationship have arisen which strengthen
the good understanding between them. The
inhabitants of Ross have often penetrated sing
ly far into the interior, when engaged in the
pursuit of deer or other game, and have pass
ed whole nights among different Indian tribes,
without ever having experienced any inconve
nience. This the Spaniards dare not venture
upon. The more striking the contrast between
the two nations in their treatment of the sa
vages, the more ardently must every friend to
humanity rejoice on entering the Russian ter
ritory.

The Greek Church does not make converts
by force. Free from fanaticism, she preaches
only toleration and love. She does not even
admit of persuasion, but trusts wholly to con
viction for proselytes, who, when once they
enter her communion, will always find her a
loving mother. How different has been the
conduct both of Catholic priests and Protes
tant missionaries !

CLIMATE OF ROSS. 125

The climate at Ross is mild. Reaumur's
thermometer seldom falls to the freezing point ;
yet gardens cannot flourish, on account of the
frequent fogs. Some wersts farther inland, be
yond the injurious influence of the fog, plants
of the warmest climates prosper surprisingly
Cucumbers of fifty pounds' weight, gourds of
sixty-five, and other fruits in proportion, are
produced in them. Potatoes yield a hun
dred or two hundred fold, and, as they will
produce two crops in a year, are an effectual
security against famine. The fortress is sur
rounded by wheat and barley fields, which,
on account of the fogs, are less productive
than those of Santa Clara, but which still
supply sufficient corn for the inhabitants of
Ross. The Aleutians find their abode here
so agreeable, that although very unwilling to
leave their islands, they are seldom inclined to
return to them.

The Spaniards should take a lesson in hus
bandry from M. Von Schmidt, who has brought
it to an admirable degree of perfection. Im
plements, equal to the best we have in Europe,
are made here under his direction. Our Spanish

126 INDIANS OF ROSS.

companions were struck with admiration at what
he had done ; but what astonished them most,
was the effect of a windmill ; they had never
before seen a machine so ingenious, and so well
adapted to its purpose.

Ross is blest with an abundance of the finest
wood for building. The sea provides it with
the most delicious fish, the land with an inex
haustible quantity of the best kinds of game ;
and, notwithstanding the want of a good har
bour, the northern settlements might easily find
in this a plentiful magazine for the supply of
all their wants. Two ships had already run in
here from Stapel.

The Indians of Ross are so much like those
of the missions, that they may well be supposed
to belong to the same race, however different
their language. They appear indeed by no
means so stupid, and are much more cheerful
and contented than at the missions, where a
deep melancholy always clouds their faces,
and their eyes are constantly fixed upon the
ground ; but this difference is only the natural
result of the different treatment they experience.
They have no permanent residence, but wan-

INDIANS OF ROSS. 127

der about naked, and, when not employed by
the Russians as day-labourers, follow no occu
pation but the chase. They are not difficult in
the choice of their food, but consume the most
disgusting things, not excepting all kinds of
worms and insects, with good appetite, only
avoiding poisonous snakes. For the winter
they lay up a provision of acorns and wild rye :
the latter grows here very abundantly. When
it is ripe, they burn the straw away from it, and
thus roast the corn, which is then raked together,
mixed with acorns, and eaten without any far
ther preparation. The Indians here have in
vented several games of chance : they are pas
sionately fond of gaming, and often play away
every thing they possess. Should the blessing
of civilization ever be extended to the rude in
habitants of these regions, the merit will be
due to the Russian settlements, certainly not
to the Spanish missions.

After a stay of two days, we took leave of the
estimable M. Von Schmidt, and returned by
the same way that we came, without meeting
with any remarkable occurrence. Professor
Eschscholtz remained at Ross, in order to pro-

128 UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL

secute some botanical researches, intending to
rejoin us by means of an Aleutian baidar, se
veral of which were shortly to proceed to St.
Francisco in search of otters. This promised
chase was a gratifying circumstance to me, as I
had it in contemplation to examine several of
the rivers that fall into the Bay of St. Francisco,
for which purpose the small Aleutian vessels
would probably prove extremely serviceable.
The north-west wind is prevalent here during
summer, and rain is unknown in that season : it
was now, however, the latter end of October,
and southerly gales began to blow, accom
panied by frequent showers ; we had therefore
to wait some time for the baidars and Professor
Eschscholtz. Meanwhile, to our great surprise,
a boat with six oars, one day, entered the bay
from the open sea, and lay to beside our ship. It-
belonged to an English whaler, which had been
tacking about for some days, and was prevented
by the contrary \vind from getting into the bay.
The greater part of his crew being sick of the
scurvy, the captain at length resolved on send
ing his boat ashore, in hopes of being able to

OF AN ENGLISH WHALER. 129

get some fresh provisions for his patients. I
immediately furnished the boat with an ample
supply both of fresh meat and vegetables, and
having completed its little cargo, it proceeded
again to sea forthwith. The next day the
whaler succeeded in getting into the bay, and
came to anchor close alongside. It was evident,
from their manner of working the vessel, that she
had but few hands on board capable of labour.
The captain, who shortly afterwards visited me,
was himself suffering severely, and his mates
were all confined to their beds ; seven months
the vessel had been at sea off the Japanese coast,
holding no communication with the shore ; and
this without having succeeded in the capture of
a single whale, though numbers of them had
been seen on the coast. The scurvy with which
the crew was afflicted, was mainly attributable
to unwholesome food, selected on a principle
of unpardonable economy, and to the want of
cleanliness ;• a vice not usual among the Eng
lish, but which, during so long an absence
from land, is scarcely to be avoided ; not the
slightest symptom of this fearful malady, for-
G 5

130 RESIDENCE IN JAPAN.

merly so fatal to seamen, manifested itself on
board my vessel throughout the whole course
of our tedious voyage.

The captain informed me that a number of
whalers frequented the Japanese coast, and
often obtained rich cargoes in a short period :
the principal disadvantages with which they
had to contend were violent storms, and a strict
prohibition against landing. The Japanese, as
is well known, refuse to have any foreign inter
course except with the Chinese and Dutch, and
treat all other nations as if they carried con
tagion with them ; hoping thus to preserve their
ancient manners unchanged. During my first
voyage with Admiral Krusenstern, I spent seven
months in Japan, and may venture to assert,
that whoever has an opportunity of becoming
acquainted with the people, cannot but respect
them for the high degree of intellectual de
velopment to which they have attained, through
their own efforts, unassisted by foreign influ
ence. Their total isolation is probably owing
to the timid policy of a despotic government,
anxious to prevent the introduction of ideas

DISTRESS OF A WHALER. 131

that might possibly exercise a hostile influence
upon the existing institutions.

A whaler that had exceeded his appointed
stay on the coast, had completely exhausted his
stock of water and provisions. In this distress,
although fully aware of the severe prohibition,
the captain resolved to pay a visit to the Empe
ror in his capital, and accordingly, without
ceremony, sailed into the Bay of Jeddo, where
he cast anchor within gunshot of the city. The
hubbub among the inhabitants, who had never
seen an European vessel before, may be ima
gined. The shore immediately swarmed with
soldiers, and armed boats surrounded the ship.
From these martial preparations, the crew ap
prehended that it was intended to make them
pay for their temerity with their lives ; but their
fears proved unfounded. As soon as the Japa
nese had taken the necessary precautions to
prevent the vessel either from leaving the spot
where she had first anchored, or from sending a
boat on shore, a handsome barge came along
side, from which two Bonjoses, dressed in silk,
and each armed with two sabres, stepped on

132 CONDUCT OF THE JAPANESE

board : they were accompanied by an inter
preter who spoke a little broken Dutch. They
saluted the captain politely, inquiring the ob
ject of his visit, and whether he was not aware
that the coast of Japan was not accessible under
pain of death ? The captain acknowledged
himself aware of the prohibition, but stated that
the emergency of the case had left him no choice:
the Borijoses thereupon searched the vessel, and
having satisfied themselves that she was really
destitute of provisions and water, they took
leave of the captain with the same civility they
had shown him on their arrival. A multitude
of boats with persons of both sexes now issued
from the city, to feast their eyes upon the novel
spectacle, but they were not allowed to approach
within the circle marked by the watch-boats.
The same day, the interpreter returned, bring
ing water and every species of provisions, suffi
cient for several weeks, declaring that the Em
peror furnished every thing gratuitously, as
the government would deem it a disgrace to
accept payment from those whom distress had
driven to their shore; but as the captain's
necessities were now provided for, he was or-

TOWARDS STRANGERS. 133

dered immediately to put to sea, and to inform
his countrymen, that except in cases of the
most urgent necessity, they were not permitted
to approach the Japanese coast under pain of
death ; nor was it at all just to carry on a fish
ery on their coast, without the permission of the
Emperor. The interpreter had brought a num
ber of people with him, who assisted in ship
ping the provisions and water : the captain was
then immediately obliged to weigh anchor, and
the Japanese boats towed the vessel out to sea,
after she had been scarcely twelve hours in the
bay. On taking leave, the captain wished to
make a present to the interpreter, but he hast
ened out of the vessel in alarm, declaring that
his acceptance of the smallest trifle would cost
him his head. Europeans are not so scrupulous.
Soon after this, another whaler, knowing no
thing about the affair in Jeddo, sent a boat
ashore, a hundred miles farther south, to a little
village on the coast, to try and purchase some
fresh provisions. The sailors, on landing, were
immediately seized and imprisoned, and their
boat placed under arrest. The ship, having
waited a long time in vain for the return of her

134 A VIOLENT WIND

boat, was at length driven by a violent storm
to a distance from the coast. The prisoners were
well treated ; their prison was commodious, and
their food excellent. In fourteen days, sentence
was pronounced on them, probably at Jeddo,
and proved less mild than might have been ex
pected in Japan : — they were ordered to be re
placed in their boat, and immediately sent to
sea without any provisions, let the weather be
what it might. After wandering on the trackless
ocean for eight-and-forty hours, they had the
good fortune to meet with a whaler, which took
them in. These examples may serve as a
warning to all navigators who may be desirous
of effecting a landing in Japan.

The Californian winter being now fairly set
in, we had much rain and frequent storms.
On the 9th of October the south-west wind
blew with the violence of the West-Indian tor
nado, rooted up the strongest trees, tore off
the roofs of the houses, and occasioned great
devastation in the cultivated lands. One of
our thickest cables broke; and if the second
had given way, we would have been driven on

AND INUNDATION. 135

the rocky shore of the channel which unites the
bay with the sea, where a powerful current
struggling with the tempest produced a frightful
surf. Fortunately, the extreme violence of the
storm lasted only a few hours, but in that short
time it caused a destructive inundation : the
water spread so rapidly over the low lands,
that our people had scarcely time to secure the
tent, with the astronomical apparatus. On com
paring the time of day at St. Petersburg and
St. Francisco, by means of the difference of
longitude, it appears that the tremendous inun
dation at the former city took place not only
on the same day, but even began in the same
hour as that in California. Several hundred
miles westward, on the Sandwich Islands, the
wind raged with similar fury at the same time,
as it did also still farther off, upon the Philip
pine Islands, where it was accompanied by an
earthquake. So violent was the storm in the
Bay of Manilla, (usually so safe a harbour,)
that a French corvette, at anchor there, under
the command of Captain Bougainville, a son of
the celebrated navigator, was entirely dismast-

136 THE BAY HERBA BUENA.

ed, as we afterwards heard, on the Sandwich
Islands, and at Manilla itself. This hurricane,
therefore, raged at the same time over the
greatest part of the northern hemisphere ; the
causes which produced it may possibly have
originated beyond our atmosphere.

Finding that our anchorage would not be
secure during the winter, if we should be ex
posed to storms of this kind, we took advantage
of the fine weather on the following day, to sail
some miles farther eastward, into a little bay
surrounded by a romantic landscape, where
Vancouver formerly lay, and which is perfectly
*afe at all seasons : the Spaniards have named
this bay lierba buena, after a sweet-smelling
herb which grows on its shores.

The afrival of Dr. Eschscholtz and the baidars
from Ross was still delayed, and I really began
to fear that some misfortune had befallen them
in the tempest : my joy therefore was extreme,
when at last, on the 12th of October, the bai
dars, twenty in number, entered the harbour
undamaged, and we received our friend again
safe and well. The little flotilla had indeed
left Ross before the commencement of the hur-

THE ALEUTIAN FLOTILLA. 137

ricane, but had fortunately escaped any injury
from it, by taking refuge at a place called Cap
de los Reges, till its fury was expended ; but
the voyagers had been obliged to bivouack on
the naked rock, without shelter from the wea
ther, and with very scanty provisions. Dr. Esch-
scholtz, however, not in the slightest degree
disheartened by the difficulties he had under
gone, was quite ready to join the voyage I had
meditated for the examination of the adjacent
rivers.

All our preparations were now completed ;
we again took on board our pilot Marco, and a
soldier from the Presidio, who offered to accom
pany us. On the 18th of November the weather
was favourable, and we set out with a barcasse
and a shallop, both well manned and provided
with every necessary, in company with the
Aleutian flotilla. At first we took the same
course I have before described, towards the
mission of St. Gabriel ; cutting through the
waters of the southern basin, and working our
way between the islands into the northern por
tion of the bay ; then adopting an easterly
course, so that St. Gabriel remained at a con-

138 BEAUTIFUL PROSPECT.

siderable distance to the left in the north-east.
We reached towards noon, at a distance of
thirty miles from our ship, the common mouth
of the two before-mentioned rivers, which here
fall into the bay.

The breadth of this embouchure is a mile
and a half, and the banks on both sides are
high, steep, and little wooded. It is crossed by
a shallow, not above two or three feet deep ;
but on its east side the channel will admit ships
of a middling size fully laden. The current
was so strong against us, that it was with much
exertion our rowers accomplished crossing the
shallow. We landed on the left bank in order
to determine the geographical position of the
mouth, and found the latitude 38° 2' 4", and
the longitude 122° 4'. After finishing this
task, I ascended the highest hillock on the
shore, which consisted of strata of slate and
quartz, to admire the beauty of the prospect.
On the south lay the enviable and important
Bay of St. Francisco with its many islands
and creeks; to the north flowed the broad
beautiful river formed by the junction of the

A FLOCK OF PELICANS. 139

two, sometimes winding between high, steep
rocks, sometimes gliding among smiling mea
dows, where numerous herds of deer were
grazing. In every direction the landscape was
charming and luxuriant. Our Aleutians here
straggled about in their little baidars, and pur
sued the game with which land and water were
stocked : they had never seen it in such plenty ;
and being passionately fond of the chase, they
fired away without ceasing, and even brought
down some of the game with a javelin. The
Aleutians are as much at home in their little
leathern canoes, as our Cossacks on horseback.
They follow their prey with the greatest rapi
dity in all directions, and it seldom escapes
them. White and grey pelicans about twice
the size of our geese were here in great num
bers. An Aleutian followed a flock of these
birds, and killed one of them with his javelin;
the rest of the flock took this so ill, that they
attacked the murderer and beat him severely
with their wings, before other baidars could
come to his assistance. The frequent appear
ance of the pelican on this river, proves that it

140 ASPECT OF THE RIVER.

abounds in fish ; a remark that our pilot Marco
confirmed ; and we ourselves saw many large
fish leap to the surface of the water.

When the sailors had rested some hours, we
continued our voyage up the stream ; but it
was ebb-tide, and both currents united allowed
us to make but little progress. We landed
therefore at six o'clock, after working only a
few miles, and pitched our tents for the night
in a pretty meadow. The river flowing as
before, from the north, was here a mile broad,
and deep enough for the largest ships.

On the following morning we broke up our
camp at break of day, and, favoured by wind
and tide, sailed swiftly forward in a direction
almost due north. The aspect of the river now
frequently changed: its breadth varied from
one to two and three miles. We often came
into large reaches many miles in circumference,
and surrounded by magnificent scenery. We
sailed past pretty hilly islands adorned with
lofty spreading trees, and every where found a
sufficient depth of water to admit the largest
ships. The steep banks sometimes opened to
delightful plains, where the deer were grazing

VOYAGE CONTINUED. 141

under the shadow of luxuriant oaks. The
voyage was in fact, even at this time of year, a
most agreeable excursion.

When we had proceeded eighteen miles from
our night camp, and twenty-three from the
river's mouth, we reached the confluence of the
two streams. One flows from the east, and the
other from the north. The Spaniards call the
first Pescadores ; farther inland it receives two
other rivers, which, according to our 'pilot, are
equally broad and deep as itself: the mis
sionaries have given them the names of St.
Joachim, and Jesus Maria. Some way up these
rivers, whose banks are said to have been
uncommonly fertile and thickly peopled, the
pious fathers have journeyed to convert the
Indians and procure labourers for the missions.
Now that a part of the natives have yielded to
conversion, and others have fled farther into
the interior to escape it, no human being is to
be found in the tract of land which we were
surveying; no trace remains of a numerous
race called Korekines, by whom it was once in
habited. Since the river Pescadores was already
known, I chose the other, which flows from the

142 THE SIERRA NEVADA.

north, and is called Sacramento. Towards
noon, after we had ascended it some miles, a
violent contrary wind forced us ashore; latitude
38° £2.

The wind increasing every moment in strength,
we were obliged to give up for this day all
thoughts of making farther progress ; and re
solving to pass the night here, pitched our tents
in a pleasant meadow on the west side of the
river. I then climbed a hill, to enjoy a more
extensive prospect ; and observed that the
country to the west swelled into hills of a mo
derate height, besprinkled with trees growing
singly. In the east and south-east the horizon
was bounded by icy mountains, the Sierra Ne
vada, part of the immense chain which divides
America from north to south : they appeared
to be covered more than half-way down with
ice and snow. The distance of these moun
tains from my present station could not be less
than forty miles. Between them and the river
the country is low, flat, thickly wooded, and
crossed by an infinite number of streams, which
divide the whole of it into islands. We had
not yet met a single Indian ; but the columns

HINTS FOR FUTURE SETTLERS. 143

of smoke which rose from this abundantly irri
gated tract of land, showed that they had taken
refuge where the dragoons and their lassos
could not follow to convert them.

It seems certain that the river Pescadores, as
well as those of St. Joachim and Jesus Maria,
which fall into it, take their rise in the icy
mountains, since they flow from the east, and
pass through the low lands, where they receive
a multitude of smaller streams. On the con
trary, the river Sacramento flowing from the
north, from quite another region, has its source,
according to the Indians of the mission, in a
great lake. I myself conjecture, that the Sla-
vianka, which falls into the sea near Ross, is
an arm of it.

The many rivers flowing through this fruit
ful country will be of the greatest use to future
settlers. The low ground is exactly adapted to
the cultivation of rice ; and the higher, from the
extraordinary strength of the soil, would yield
the finest wheat-harvests. The vine might be
cultivated here to great advantage. All along
the banks of the river grapes grow wild, in as
much profusion as the rankest weeds: the

144 ABUNDANCE OF GAME.

clusters were large ; and the grapes, though
small, very sweet, and agreeably flavoured.
We often ate them in considerable quantities,
and sustained no inconvenience from them.
The Indians also eat them very voraciously.

The chase furnished us with ample and pro
fitable amusement. An abundance of deer,
large and small, are to be met with all over the
country, and geese, ducks, and cranes, on the
banks of the rivers. There was such a super
fluity of game, that even those among us who
had never been sportsmen before, when once
they took the gun in their hands, became as
eager as the rest. The sailors chased the deer
very successfully.

When it grew dark, we kindled a large fire,
that t)ur hunters, some of whom had lost their
way, might recover the camp. In the night
we were much disturbed by bears, which pur
sued the deer quite close to our tents ; and by
the clear moonlight we plainly saw a stag
spring into the river to escape the bear ; the lat
ter, however, jumped after him, and both swam
down the stream till they were out of sight.
At sunrise, as the wind had fallen a little,

FURTHER PROGRESS IMPEDED.

we continued our voyage. On the shore we
met with a small rattlesnake, which might have
been a dangerous neighbour. It was, however,
his destiny to become our prize, and enrich the
collection of Dr. Eschscholtz. The river now
took a north-westerly direction. Its breadth
was from two hundred and fifty to three
hundred fathoms, independently of numerous
branches on the east side, flowing between vari
ous small islands. The country on the west
bank was of a moderate height ; that on the
east was low. The power of the current im
peded our progress, though our rowers exerted
all their strength. As the sun advanced to
wards the meridian, the north wind also rose
again ; so that with our utmost efforts we
could advance but little, and at noon we were
obliged to lay-to again, having proceeded only
ten miles the whole day. The latitude on the
western shore, where we now landed, was
38° 27', and the longitude 122° 10'.

Here we had reached what proved the termi
nation of our little voyage. The unfavourable
state of the weather would not allow of our

VOL. II. H

146 WANDERING TRIBES.

making any farther progress; and our pilot
assured us that at this season the quantity of
rain that falls, so much swells the river and
strengthens the currents, as to make it impos
sible to contend with the continually increasing
force of the stream. We were therefore com
pelled to abandon the farther prosecution of
these inquiries to some future traveller, whose
fate shall lead him hither in summer time, when
these obstacles do not exist.

The neighbourhood of our landing-place
seemed to have been recently the abode of some
Indians. We found a stake driven into the earth,
to which a bunch of feathers was attached for a
weather-cock ; in several places fire had been
kindled, as some burning embers still attested.
There were also two Indian canoes made of
reeds. The pilot gave me the names of two
tribes who had formerly dwelt in this region,
and probably still wandered in its vicinity — the
Tschupukanes, and Hulpunes. We could now
see the smoke of their fires rising from the
marshy islands, the higher parts of which they
inhabit.

SOUNDINGS. 147

The majestic chain of mountains of the Sierra
Nevada looked most beautiful from this spot.
The whole eastern horizon was bounded by
these masses of ice, and before them the low land
lay spread out like a verdant sea. From the
Bay of St. Francisco, the Sierra Nevada are no
where visible; but they first come in sight after
having passed the point where the Pescadores
and the Sacramento unite.

The day was again passed in sport, and we
shot many stags, the meat of which proved ex
tremely good. During the night we were again
disturbed by the little wolves so common here :
they stole some pieces of our venison. Early
the next morning we prepared for our return,
and soon quitted these lovely and fertile plains,
where many thousand families might live in
plenty and comfort, but which now, from their
utter loneliness, leave a mournful impression on
the mind, increased by the reflection that the
native Indians have been nearly exterminated.
During our return voyage, we were very dili
gent in taking soundings, and found the water
in the middle of the river always as much as from
H 2

148 PREPARATIONS FOR SAILING.

fifteen to seventeen and twenty fathoms ; but at
its mouth not more than four or five fathoms
deep.

On the 23rd of November we again reached
our vessel, laden with venison for the whole
crew. Captain Lasaref had arrived during our
absence with his frigate; having struggled
with storms almost the whole way from New
Archangel to St. Francisco. With the in-
tention of sending letters home by him, I
had waited for his arrival to leave California.
Our vessel was therefore now immediately pre
pared for sailing, our camp on shore broken
up, and all the instruments brought on board.
During the last night our people passed on land,
they killed a polecat which had slunk into
the tent. This animal, of the size and form
of an ordinary cat, has so abominable a smell,
that its vicinity is insupportable. Dogs, when
they sometimes attack and bite these creatures,
cannot relieve themselves from the stench, but
continue to rub their noses so violently against
the ground as they run, that they leave a stream
of blood on their track. Polecats may be con-

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS. 149

sidered in the brute creation what the Kalushes
are among men.

On the morning of the 25th of November, as
soon as the tide ebbed, we towed out of the Bay
of St. Francisco with a north-west wind, whicli
here regularly brings fine weather. The sea
was still so much agitated by the recent south
west storms, that it rolled large billows into the
channel which unites it with the bay. Our ves
sel being dashed against these breakers by the
force of the current from the channel, would no
longer obey the helm, and we narrowly escaped
being cast against a rock. I would therefore
recommend others of my profession only to sail
out of this bay when the water in the channel is
tranquil, which usually happens after the wind
has blown for several days from the north-west.

According to repeated observations, we found
the latitude of the Presidio of St. Francisco to
be 37° 48' 33% and the longitude 122° 22' 30".
The declination of the needle was 16° east.

The medium of our observations in the bay
gave us the time for high water, at the new and
full moon, 11 hours and 20 minutes.

150 ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

The greatest difference in the height of the
water was seven feet. The rivers which fall into
the bay have a great influence on the times of
ebb and flow, so that the ebb lasts eight hours,
and the flood only four.

THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

ON losing sight of the Califbrnian coast, we
steered southwards, to take advantage as soon
as possible of the trade-wind, proposing by its
means to sail direct for the Sandwich Islands.
A strong and lasting north-wester favoured our
intention, and on the 3rd of December we
crossed the tropic of Cancer in the latitude
133° 5#, gained the trade-wind, and began our
run westward, supposing ourselves secure from
storms in this tropical region ; we were, how
ever, mistaken : already on the 5th a high
wind from the south-east compelled us to take
in all sail ; on the 6th it shifted to the west,
and on the 7th to the north. We experienced
from this quarter some violent gusts, after
H 5

A SEAMAN'S LUXURY.

which the heavens cleared, the storm abated,
and towards evening on the 8th, we regained
the ordinary trade-wind. I mention these
storms, only because they are almost unex
ampled at so great a distance from land, be
tween the tropics, and especially as coming
from the west ; but it appears that this year-
was quite out of the ordinary course, and pro
duced a number of strange phenomena of which
we heard complaints wherever we went.

The weather, after treating us so ill, again
became friendly, and the remainder of our voy
age proceeded swiftly and favourably under
the magnificent tropical sky : agreeable it was
sure to be ; for the peculiar charm of a sail be
tween the tropics is appreciated by all seamen.
An old English captain, with whom I became
acquainted during this voyage, assured me that
he could imagine no greater luxury for the
remainder of his life, than to possess a good
quick-sailing ship, to keep a good table, and
to sail between the tropics, without ever mak
ing land. I cannot, I confess, altogether par
ticipate in this true seaman-like taste : on my
voyages, the mere sight of land has always

ISLAND OF MUWE. 155

been my great source of pleasure. The conduct
of a vessel through distant seas, and through
its conflicts with the variable element, is not
indeed an uninteresting occupation ; but the
object which has always chiefly attracted my
inclinations, is an intimate knowledge of various
countries and their inhabitants ; and I have
always considered the time spent at sea, as a
necessary hardship submitted to with this re
ward in view. Perhaps I was not born for a
sailor : an accident, by no means calculated
upon in my previous education, made me such
in my fifteenth year.

We sailed in the night past O Wahi, the
principal of the Sandwich group, with its cele
brated giant mountain Mou-na-roa. At break
of day on the 13th, we saw in the west the
elevated island of Muwe, and continued our
course along the northern shore of this and its
neighbour Morotai, to Wahu, where we in
tended to land. The landscape of a tropical
country is always pleasing, even when, as here,
high lava hills, and masses of sometimes naked
rocks piled like towers upon each other, form
the principal features of the coast, at first in-

156 ISLAND OF WAHU.

spiring the navigator with doubts of its fertility.
But how agreeably is he surprised, on reaching
the southern shores of these islands, to meet
with the most smiling scenery, and most luxu
riant vegetation. In the middle of the chan
nel, between the islands Muwe and Moro-
tai, lie two small uninhabited islands, which,
strange to say, are not marked on Vancouver's
map. We took some pains to ascertain their
exact situation.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the high
yellow rock which forms the eastern point of
the island of Wahu, became plainly visible
above our horizon. We could not reach the
secure harbour of Hanaruro, which lies on the
southern side of this promontory, before night
fall, and therefore thought it advisable to lay-
to between the islands Wahu and Morotai. In
the morning, after doubling the conical moun
tain called the Diamond Mountain, we suddenly
came in sight of the harbour, containing a
number of ships decorated with the flags of
various nations.

I must here make a few remarks for the
benefit of such navigators as are not well ac-

TOWN OF HANARURO. 157

quainted with these waters. Whoever wishes
to sail in between the islands of Wahu and
Morotai, must remember, that throughout the
year a strong current always sets here towards
the north-west ; and that the eastern point of
Wahu should be doubled within the distance
of three miles from the coast ; as farther out to
sea, calms are very prevalent here, whilst in the
neighbourhood of the land, a fresh breeze re
gularly sets, in the morning, from the land, and
from noon till evening from the sea.

Behind its harbour, safely sheltered by the
coral reefs, lies the town of Hanaruro, consisting
of irregular rows of dwellings scattered over an
open plain. Here and there among the huts
are seen houses built of stone in the European
fashion. The former lie modestly concealed,
under the cooling shade of palm-trees ; the
latter stand boldly forward, braving the burning
sunbeams and dazzling the eye by their over
powering whiteness. Close to the shore the
fortress rears its strong turreted walls in a
quadrangular form, planted with cannon, and
bearing the striped national flag of the Sand
wich Islands. The country above the town

158 SIGNAL FOR A PILOT.

rises in an amphitheatre, planted with tarro-
root, sugar-cane, and banana, and the view to
landward is bounded by precipitous mountains
invading the clouds, and thickly overgrown
with fine trees. In this beautiful panorama we
see at once that the island of Wahu deserves
the appellation it has acquired, — of the garden
of the Sandwich Islands.

As we approached the harbour, I made the
usual signal for a pilot, and we soon after saw
a boat of European construction making to
wards us ; it was rowed by two naked Kana-
chas, as the lower class of people are here
cajled, the pilot sitting at the rudder in an
European dress. When he came on board, I
recognised him for the Englishman, Alexander
Adams, who on my former voyage in the
Rurik had commanded the ship Kahumanna,
belonging to King Tameamea ; he was now
chief pilot. The wind did not immediately
allow us to run into the harbour, but in a few
hours it became favourable, and our skilful pilot
guided us safely through the intricacies of its
narrow entrance. Our ship was the largest that

SHIPS IN THE HARBOUR. 159

had ever passed through this channel, which
would be impracticable for first-rate vessels.

Some of the ships we found in the harbour
were English and American whalers, which
had put in here for provisions ; others were
on trading voyages to the north-west coast of
America for skins, or returning thence with
their cargoes. Some were from Canton, laden
with Chinese produce, which finds a good
market in the Sandwich Islands ; and one was
a French ship from Bordeaux, which having
carried a cargo of iron wares to Chili, Peru, and
Mexico, had brought the remains of it here.
All the captains visited me in the hope of
hearing news from Europe ; but many of them
had left it later than we had, and accommodated
us with their London newspapers.

If we consider that scarcely fifty years have
elapsed since these islands were first introduced
by Captain Cook to the knowledge of the
European public, and that the inhabitants were
then completely what we call savages, that is,
that they were wholly destitute of any con
ception of the arts, sciences, or habits of civilized

160 EXTENT OF O WAHI.

life, we shall find with surprise that the harbour
of Hanaruro already bears a character almost
entirely European, reminding us only by the
somewhat scanty clothing of the natives, of
the briefness of their acquaintance with our
customs.

My readers, I think, will take some interest
in a short account of this people, whose rapid
progress in civilization would perhaps by this
time have placed them on a level with Euro
peans, if unfavourable circumstances had not
thrown obstacles in the way of their improve
ment, which it will require another such gover
nor as Tameamea to overcome.

The eleven islands named by Cook after his
patron, the Earl of Sandwich, but for which
the natives have no common appellation, lie
between the nineteenth and twenty-second de
grees of north latitude. They are all high and
volcanic. O Wahi, the most easterly, and by
much the largest, is eighty-seven miles long
and seventy-five broad: it has three moun
tains, which may well bear a comparison with
the highest in the world. The climate of these
islands is particularly beautiful and healthy.

HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS. 161

Their population is estimated by Captain King
at four hundred thousand; whose colour, form,
language, and manners, testify their relationship
with the other islanders of this great ocean,
though they have very little knowledge of them.
Their earliest history consists of traditions of
truths interwoven with fables, which ascend
to the first peopling of the islands, and are not
yet embodied in the relation of any voyage. I
have collected them carefully from the accounts
of the most distinguished and intelligent man
in Hanaruro. my friend Karemaku, a Spaniard
named Marini, who had long resided here,
assisting as interpreter.

According to a belief not long ago univer
sally prevalent, the mighty spirit Etua-Rono
reigned over these islands before they were in
habited by men. Ardently desirous of seeing
his country peopled, he was melancholy, and
shed torrents of tears on the mountain Mou-na-
roa, because he had no offspring ; and his loving
wife, the beautiful goddess Opuna, was not in
a situation to console him. At length Fate
heard his prayers. On the south-east point of
the island of O Wahi two boats were stranded,

162 TRADITIONARY TALES.

having on board some families, who brought
with them hogs, fowls, dogs, and several edible
roots. To the present day are the first foot
steps of man on this land to be seen. Hono
was at that time absent, catching fish on the
northern islands for his wife. The fire-god,
his subject, unpropitious to man, taking advan
tage of this circumstance, made an effort to
repulse the new-comers. He approached them
with terrible gestures, and asked whence they
came. They answered — " We come from a
country which abounds in hogs, dogs, cocoa-
nuts, and bread-fruit. We were overtaken by
a violent storm when on a voyage to visit some
neighbours ; and the moon changed five times
before we reached this land." They then beg
ged permission to remain, which the fire-god
cruelly refused, and continued inexorable, al
though they offered to sacrifice a hog to
him.

Rono, however, observing that a strange
smell proceeded from O Wahi, suddenly return
ed, and was greatly surprised at the sight of
the men. Encouraged by his friendly deport
ment, they made their petition to him, relating

TRADITIONARY TALES. 163

the harsh treatment they had endured from the
fire-god. Rono, enraged at this intelligence,
threw the fire-god into the crater Kairuo, on
the side of the mountain Mou-na-roa, where he
still chafes in vain. The men now lived tran
quilly on O Wahi, increased in numbers, and
sought, by great sacrifices, to prove their love
and thankfulness to their protector, Etua-Rono.
To his honour were established the solemn
yearly games called Makahiti, in which who
ever obtained the victory in running, wrestling,
and warlike evolutions, was crowned with a
verdant wreath and presided as king over the
ensuing feast.

The other islands were gradually peopled
from O Wahi; the number of the gods also
increased; but they all remained subject to
Etua-Rono.

Mankind had enjoyed a long period of peace
and content under the beneficent protection of
Rono, when their happiness was suddenly dis
turbed by a distressing occurrence. The god
dess Opuna, the beautiful consort of Rono, de
graded herself by a clandestine connexion with
a man of O Wahi. Her husband, furious on the

TRADITIONARY TALES.

discovery of his wrongs, precipitated her from
the top of a high rock, and dashed her to pieces ;
but had scarcely committed this act of violence
when, in an agony of repentance, he ran wildly
about the islands, bestowing blows and kicks
on every one he met. The people, astonished
at this frantic behaviour of the god, enquired
the reason of it ; on which, with the bitterest
expression of grief, he exclaimed, " I have mur
dered her who was dearest to me !" He bore
the remains of Opuna into the Marai on the
Bay of Karekakua, and there remained a long
time sunk in the deepest grief. At length he
determined to quit the islands, where every
thing reminded him of the happiness he had
enjoyed with his beloved wife. The people
were overwhelmed with sorrow by the commu
nication of his intention ; and he endeavoured to
console them with the promise that, he would
one day return on a floating island, furnished
with all that man could desire, and make his
favourite people happy. He then embarked
in a vessel of peculiar construction, and set sail
for a distant country.

With Rono's departure terminated the Gold-

TRADITIONARY TALES. 165

en Age of this island. Wars and tumults arose ;
the gods still increased in number ; but their
influence was no longer so friendly to man as
when they were under the superintendence of
the revered Rono. Now also commenced many
evil customs, such as human sacrifices, which
had been unknown in the good old time : can
nibalism, however, does not appear ever to have
disgraced them. A long period elapsed, of
which no record remains ; and the story is re
sumed at the landing of five white men in Kare-
kakua Bay, near to the Marai, where the body
of the goddess Opuna reposed. The inhabi
tants supposed them to be superior beings, and
offered no opposition when they proceeded to
take possession of the Marai, on which holy
place they were not only exempted from persecu
tion, but also by the offerings daily placed there
before the images of the gods, from any danger
of suffering a scarcity of food. Here, then,
they lived very comfortably ; and from their
having, immediately on their arrival, taken up
their abode in the Marai, the people, who were
all acquainted with the story of Opuna, con
cluded they were sent thither by Rono, to watch

166 TRADITIONARY TALES.

over the grave of his beloved consort. To this
opinion they were indebted for a veneration
greater than that entertained for the gods them-
• selves. The priests alone had the privilege of
providing for their wants, which they did with
the utmost care : the people were not even
allowed to approach the neighbourhood of the
Marai.

, The white men, however, soon found their
time hang heavy in this entire seclusion, and
formed a more intimate connexion with the
priests, whom they assisted in the holy rites
and ceremonies, and at length even made their
appearance among the people : the latter then
discovered them to be mortals like themselves,
differing only in colour, but still retained a high
respect for their superior knowledge and good
deportment. Maidens of the highest rank were
given to them for wives ; and each of them was
installed governor of an island. " The descend
ants of these strangers,'1'' said Karernaku, " may
still be distinguished by their whiter colour."
Here, as at Tahaiti, the Yeris differ from the
lower classes in their superior size, and some
also by a greater degree of fairness.

ABORIGINES OF O WAHI. 167

The helmets and short mantles which Cook
and King have described as worn by this people,
were introduced by these white strangers. At
first, the kings only appeared in this costume;
but in Cook^s time it was common also among
the Yeris. Now that European fashions have
quite banished those of the original inhabit
ants, it is only preserved and shown to stran
gers as a relic of the past. The helmet, of
wood covered with small red and yellow fea
thers, and adorned with a plume, perfectly re
sembles those of the chivalrous knights of yore;
and the short mantle, also most ingeniously
made with feathers to supply the want of woven
stuff, forms a complete representation of the
mantles worn by those ancient heroes : hence it
is sufficiently evident that the white men who
landed on O Wahi were Europeans; and that
we are therefore more nearly connected with, at
least, a part of the inhabitants of the Sand
wich Islands, than with the other South Sea
islanders.

With the arrival of the white men begins the
chronology of O Wahi, from the first white king
to Tameamea. making seven successive reigns.

168 CHRONOLOGY OF O WAHI.

During this period, but long before Cook's
time, two vessels are said to have been wrecked
on the north-east side of O Wahi. Tradition is
not unanimous in the account of what became
of the crews. According to some, they were
lost in the wreck, but others say they were
murdered by the natives. My informant, Ka-
remaku, mentioned only one ship, which was
seen at a distance ; and although the iron an
chors found at O Wahi and at Muwe prove that
they must have been there, he could give no
account of them. It is very probable that the
Spaniards, who often made a mystery of their
discoveries in the South Seas, already knew of
the existence of these islands before their dis
covery by Cook.

Their authentic history begins with this
event, in 1778, when, as has already been men
tioned, Cook bestowred on them the name of
the First Lord of the Admiralty at that period.
They were not then, as now, united under one
King ; but each island had its particular so
vereign, called Yeri-Rahi, who possessed full
power over the lives of his subjects, and to
whom the proprietors of land paid tribute.

SANDWICH ISLANDS. 169

The name of the monarch of O Wahi, on Cook's
arrival, was Teraiopu, or, as he writes it, Ter-
reobu.

Captain King, the companion of Cook, gives
the following description of the Sandwich Is
landers : —

" They are in general of the middle size,*
and well-proportioned. Their movements are
graceful, they run swiftly, and are able to
carry great weights. The men, however, are
inferior to the Friendly Islanders, in strength
and activity ; and the women are not so deli
cately formed as those of Tahaiti : their colour is
also a little browner, and they are not so hand
some, but the features of both sexes are open
and agreeable ; the females especially have beau
tiful eyes and teeth, and a sweet expression of
countenance. Their hair is dark-brown, not
so smooth as that of the American Indians,
nor so woolly as that of the negroes of Africa,
but between the two.

" Here, as on the other South "Sea Islands,
the Yeris are advantageously distinguished in

* Tliis applies only to the lower classes ; the Yeris are
nearly all as large as at Tahaiti.

VOL. II. I

170 THE AVA DRINK.

form from the lower classes, and are seldom
disfigured by the swellings and ulcers frequent
among the latter, which we ascribed to the
great use of salt in their preparations of meat
and fish ; the former, however, are much in
jured by immoderate indulgence in the Ava
drink. Those who suffered most from it had
their whole bodies covered with a white erup
tion : their eyes were red and inflamed, they
trembled much, and could scarcely hold up
their heads. This beverage does not shorten
the lives of all who use it too freely, as Terai-
opu, Kau, and several other chiefs addicted to
it, were old men ; but it brings on premature
and diseased old age. Fortunately, this luxury
is the exclusive privilege of the chiefs. The
son of Teraiopu, a boy of twelve years old,
often boasted of having obtained the right of
drinking Ava, and showed with much com
placency a spot on his loins where the eruption
was already visible.

" Notwithstanding the great and irreparable
loss which the sudden violence of these Sand
wich Islanders has occasioned us/1 (in the death

TREATMENT OF FEMALES. 171

of Cook,) " I must in justice declare, that they
are usually gentle and kind, and by no means
so changeable and volatile as the Tahaitians,
nor so reserved and melancholy as the Friend
ly Islanders: they live on the best possible
terms with each other, and in peace and kind
ness in their families. We have often admired
the care and tenderness with which the women
treated their children, while the men assisted
them in their domestic occupations with a rea
diness and good-will which did them great
credit.

" If however we should pronounce on the de
gree of civilization to which they have attained
by the estimation the female sex enjoys among
them, they would rank but low in the scale.
The women are not only forbidden to eat with
the men, but the best kinds of food are denied
them. They are not allowed to eat pork, turtle,
or several kinds of fish and bananas ; and we
were informed that a poor girl had been severely
beaten for having tasted of these prohibited
viands on board our ship. The females seemed
indeed almost to live in a state of separation
I 2

172 MENTAL CAPACITY OF

from their lords ; and although we never per
ceived that they were ill treated, it is certain
they are held in little respect.

" We were always received when we came
ashore with the greatest friendliness and hospi
tality. As soon as we landed, the inhabitants
vied with each other in bringing us presents,
preparing food for us, and showing us every
mark of kindness. The old people were much
pleased when they obtained permission to touch
us ; and they showed much modesty and humi
lity in the comparisons they made between us
and themselves.

" In mental capacity, the Sandwich Islanders
do not appear at all inferior to any other people.
Their progress in agriculture, and their skill in
handicrafts, is fully proportionate to their means
and situation. The earnest attention which they
paid to the work of our smiths, and the various
means they devised, even before our departure,
to give any required form to the iron they ob
tained from us, convinced us at once of their
industry and ingenuity.

" Our unfortunate friend Kancena, (he was
shot by one of the Englishmen whom he had

THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS. 173

always treated with the greatest friendship) had
a great desire for knowledge, an admirable na
tural understanding and a vivacity of mind
seldom met with amongst uncultivated nations.
He made innumerable inquiries concerning our
manners and customs, our King, our form of
government, the population and produce of our
countn', and the manner in which our ships and
houses were built. He wished to know if we
waged wars, with whom, and for what cause,
what God we worshipped, and many other things;
which showed an extensive range of thought."

This testimony of Captain King to the good
disposition of the Sandwich Islanders becomes
the more worthy of credit, when we consider that
the English always treated them with great se
verity, and that Captain Cook only fell a sacri
fice to his own error. King has also defended
them from the imputation of being cannibals,
of which Anderson and several of Cook's com
panions had accused them.

The propensity to theft was as common
among the lower classes here, as on the other
South Sea islands ; and this it was which occa
sioned the thoughtless severity of Cook, who

174 ORNAMENTS AND OCCUPATIONS

was always judge in his own cause, and suffered
himself to be hurried into unjustifiable acts of
violence. Had he been a philanthropist, as well
as a great navigator, he would not have lost his
life at O Wahi.

The custom of tattooing existed also among
the Sandwich Islanders; their faces were fre
quently marked with lines crossing each other
at right angles, and some even had their tongues
tattooed ; pretty drawings were frequently seen
on the hands and arms of the women. The or
dinary dress of both sexes was nothing more
than a piece of stuff folded round their bodies.
The females adorned themselves besides with
necklaces of muscle-shells, or little red shining
beans, and with bracelets of various ornamental
materials; they sometimes wore collars of beau
tiful feathers ingeniously blended together;
their hair was also decorated with feathers and
with garlands of flowers.

The Sandwich Islanders lived in villages or
little hamlets of from one to two hundred dwell
ings, standing irregularly, pretty near each other,
and communicating by a winding path. Some
of them were surrounded by gardens, enclosed

OF BOTH SEXES. 175

with hedges. The food of the lower classes
consisted chiefly of fish, yams, sweet potatoes,
tarro-root, bananas, sugar-canes, and bread
fruit. Those of higher rank also indulged in
pork, arid the flesh of dogs, prepared in the
same manner as on the Society Islands. The
tame poultry of Europe was also found here,
but it was scarce, and not very much prized.
These people were particularly clean, and their
cookery was preferred by Englishmen to that
of their own country.

The Yeris were chiefly employed in the
building of vessels and the manufacture of
mats; the females prepared a stuff of the paper
kind, which was so pressed and coloured as to
resemble our calico ; and fishing or agriculture
was the chief business of the servants. These
occupations, however, left leisure for various
pastimes, particularly dancing, which the young
people of both sexes delighted in. Drums of
several sorts were their only musical instru
ments, but their songs were very pleasing.
They often played at a game much resembling
our draughts ; it is played with black and
white stones on a piece of board, and from the

176 DRINKING VESSELS.

great number of pieces, seems to require much
attention. In another game, a stone was hid
den under a large piece of stuff, and the player
was to point out the precise spot in which it
lay. Running races, in which the girls took
part, and apparently dangerous exercises in
swimming amidst the surf, were also among
their amusements. In wrestling and boxing,
they did not display so much strength and skill
as the Friendly Islanders. The children often
handled their balls with great dexterity, throw
ing several at once into the air and catching
them again.

Their vessels were very well built ; the
largest, a double one, seventy feet long, twelve
broad, and three and a half deep, belonged to
Teraiopu. The most remarkable of their uten
sils were the vessels appropriated to drinking
Ava ; they were usually eight or ten inches in
diameter, perfectly round and very well polish
ed, and were supported by three or four little
images of men in various attitudes, sometimes
bearing the vessel on their heads, sometimes on
their shoulders, or on their hands raised above
their heads. These figures were very well

ARTS AND ARMS. 177

executed, the proportions correctly preserved,
and even the proper action of the muscles well
defined.

Among the arts in which the Sandwich Islan
ders excelled, was that of preparing salt : the
English obtained from them a large quantity of
the best kind. Their arms consisted of clubs,
lances, and daggers, made of hard wood. War
was of frequent occurrence amongst the inha
bitants of the several islands ; the battles were
often very bloody, and usually at sea, the ves
sels grappling. The Yeris, when they went
to battle, wore the decorated helmets already
described, and the mantles covered with black,
red, and yellow feathers : those of the Yeri-
rahis, or kings, were of yellow only. Images
of the god of war, cut in wood ; dreadful cari
catures of the human figure in a threatening
posture, the mouth open and armed with dogs"
teeth, were always carried before the kings into
battle ; and the chief aim of the enemy was to
capture them, as this achievement usually put
an end to the war. A part of the prisoners
were sacrificed to the gods ; but as the shedding
of blood in this rite was forbidden, they were
i 5

178 RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES.

strangled, and laid down before the images of
the gods in the Marai, with their faces turned
to the earth.

The burial of the dead was a very sacred
ceremony, and accompanied with many forms.
The corpse was laid in a pit till the flesh de
cayed, the bones were then cleaned, and a part
of them distributed among the relations and
friends to be preserved as relics, part laid in
consecrated ground. Dying persons sometimes
desired that their bones should be thrown into
the crater of the volcano at O Wahi, which
was inhabited by the revered god Pelai. It
has already been mentioned, that the women
were prohibited from eating many kinds of
food ; they were also forbidden, under pain of
death, to enter a house where the men were
eating, and they were entirely secluded from
the Marais ; with these exceptions, they enjoy
ed great freedom, and even had a voice in the
deliberations concerning war and peace.

The religious regulation of the Tabu, or inter
dict, existed here as well as on many other of
the South Sea islands. A person declared under
a Tabu was inviolable ; a piece of land under a

CAPTAIN COOK'S RECEPTION. 179

Tabu must not be trodden by any one; nor must
a species of animal so declared, be injured or
shot until the Tabu was again taken off. Thus
Tameamea declared the diamond mountain un
der the Tabu, because an Englishman, finding
there a piece of quartz-crystal, considered it to
be diamond ; and the King, finding these were
of great value, supposed he possessed in the
mountain an inexhaustible treasure, till he dis
covered his mistake, and the Tabu was taken off.
The vessels first seen by the Sandwich Island
ers must have been very small, for when Cook's
appeared, they took her for a swimming island,
and believed that Etua-Rono, for whom they
always retained the most profound veneration,
had at length fulfilled his promise and returned
to them. The joy was universal ; and it was
determined to receive the beneficent god, so
long absent, who was to restore the Golden
Age upon the island, with all possible honours.
Neither Cook nor his companion seemed to
have had any notion that they were saluted with
divine honours ; but they considered the cere
monies enacted by the rejoicing people as marks
of distinction commonly bestowed on persons

180 COOK'S SEVERITY.

of importance. His being called by them " O
Rono," (the Rono) did not enlighten him on
the subject, as he was unacquainted with the
tradition ; but he contented himself with the
conjecture, that the appellation was a title of
honour, signifying chief or priest. Had the
conduct of Cook made it possible for the island
ers to retain their beneficial error, the good
understanding between them and the English
would never have been interrupted; but he
himself was the first to convince them that he
could not be their divine benefactor.

Some of the populace conceived themselves
entitled to appropriate a portion of the presents
which Rono, according to his promise, had
brought them — a licence which was immediate
ly punished by Cook with great severity : the
offenders taken in the fact were whipped ; those
who fled were fired upon ; and several persons,
some of whom were innocent, lost their lives.
Rono could not be so cruel and unjust ; and
Tute, as they called Cook, immediately sunk in
their estimation to the rank of ordinary mortals.
He was henceforth feared as a mighty chief,
but venerated no longer. This change of sen-

PAREA'S KINDLY DISPOSITION. 181

timent was very evident when he returned hither
from his voyage northward. The islanders met
the ship as before, with hogs and fruits; but they
set a price upon them, instead of presenting
them, as formerly, in the character of offerings,
and accepting the returns made them as gratui
tous gifts. Finding that they obtained what
appeared to them an exorbitant price for their
provisions, they supposed the strangers to come
from a land of scarcity for the mere purpose of
satisfying their appetites ; and the common
people wholly ceasing to regard them with re
verence, became bolder in their depredations.
The King, the Priests, and many of the princi
pal Ycris, still however continued firm in their
attachment to the English. A Yeri, named
Parea, gave a striking proof of this kindly dispo
sition, which Captain King has thus related : —
Some Kanackas, having stolen certain articles3
were pursued with muskets ; and though every
thing was recovered, an English officer thought
himself justified in taking possession of a canoe
lying on the shore belonging to Parea, who,
being perfectly innocent of the theft, reclaimed
his property. The officer refused to surrender

182 THE SIGN OF AMITY.

it ; arid in the subsequent contest, Parea re
ceived so violent a blow on the head with an
oar, that he fell senseless to the ground. In
the mean time the islanders had assembled, and,
irritated at this undeserved outrage on a chief,
began to throw stones at the English, who
were obliged to swim to a neighbouring rock
for safety. The victorious people, thus left in
possession of the field of battle, fell upon the
English boat, which they would have destroyed
but for the interposition of Parea, who had now
recovered his senses. He dispersed the crowd,
made a signal to the English that they might
return, restored their boat, and sent them back
in it to their ship. Parea afterwards followed
them, taking with him a midshipman's hat, and
some other trifles which were missing; expressed
his sorrow for the dispute that had arisen, and
inquired whether O Rono desired his death, or
whether he might come again to the ship. — (It
appeared from this that he still looked upon
Cook as the deity, or at least affected this belief
to propitiate the English.) — He was assured
that he had nothing to fear, and would always
be welcome ; he then touched the nose of the

COOK'S STRATAGEM. 183

officers, in sign of amity and reconciliation, and
returned to land.

Since Parea had hindered his countrymen
from wreaking their vengeance on one boat,
they indemnified themselves by stealing an
other, and in the night cut through the rope
which fastened it to the ship. Cook, enraged
at this occurrence, determined to bring the
King himself on board his ship, and detain
him there as a hostage till the boat should be
restored; a measure which on another island
he had already successfully adopted on a
similar occasion. He therefore went ashore
with a party of soldiers well armed, having
given orders that none of the boats belonging
to the natives should be suffered to leave the
bay, as it was his determination, in case gentler
measures should prove ineffectual, to destroy
them all. All the boats of both ships, well
manned and armed, were therefore so placed as
to enforce obedience to this command.

Cook was received, according to King^s ac
count, with the greatest respect : the people
prostrated themselves before him. He pro
ceeded direct to the old King, and invited him

184

on board his ship. The King immediately con
sented ; but some of the Yeris endeavoured to
dissuade him ; and the more earnestly Cook
pressed his going, the more strenuously they
endeavoured to prevent it. Cook, at length,
seized the King by the arm, and would have
carried him off by force ; which in the highest
degree irritated the assembled multitudes. At
this moment a Yeri, who in crossing the bay
from the opposite side had been fired upon by
the English boats, rushed with blood streaming
from his wound into the presence of the King,
and cried aloud to him to remain where he
was, or he would certainly receive similar treat
ment ; this incident wound up the rage of the
people to its utmost pitch, and the conflict
commenced, in which Cook lost his life.

Karemaku, who, when a young man, had
witnessed these circumstances, related them to
me; and the accounts of Cook's companions
upon the whole agree with his. Some isolated
facts are differently stated by them ; but I
was assured by all the natives of Wahu, that
Karemaku had strictly adhered to the truth.
Even if we give entire credit to the English

HIS CHARACTER. 185

narrative, we shall find that they were the
aggressors, — that the islanders acted only on the
defensive, and that Cook's fate, however lament
able, was not entirely undeserved.

John Reinhold Forster, in his preface to a
journal of a voyage of discovery to the South
Sea, in the years 1776 to 1780, gives an
extract from a letter written to him by an
Englishman in a responsible situation, in which
he says of Cook — u The Captain's character
is not the same now as formerly : his head
seems to have been turned."" Forster gives the
same account concerning the change in Cook,
when he says —

" Cook, on his first voyage, had with him
Messrs. Banks and Solander, both lovers of art
and science. On the second, I and my son
were his companions, enjoying daily and fami
liar intercourse with him. In our presence,
respect for his own character restrained him;
our mode of thinking, our principles and man
ners influenced his, and prevented his treating
the poor harmless South Sea Islanders with
cruelty. The only instance of undue severity
we ever witnessed in his behaviour, was when

186 GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT.

on account of some petty theft he once allowed
his cannon to be fired upon the fugitive offen
ders ; fortunately, however, no one was injured
by this rash act. But having in his last voy
age no other witnesses of his actions, than such
as were entirely under his command, he forgot
what he owed to his own great name, and was
guilty in many instances of extreme cruelty.
I am therefore convinced, that if Messrs. Banks
and Solander, Dr. Spaarmann, or I and my son,
had been with him on the last voyage, his life
would not have been lost in the manner it was."
The first ships which visited the Sandwich
Islands after Cook's death were those of Meeres,
Dick son , and Coke, in the years 1786-9- They
traded in skins between China and the North
west Coast of America, and found these islands
very convenient to touch at. They were well
received ; and some of the islanders made the
voyage to America with them. Tianna, one of
the first Yeris of O Wahi, went with Meeres to
China. These voyages, and the continual in
tercourse with Europeans, which their increasing
trade in fur produced, necessarily enlarged the
ideas of these children of Nature ; and as they

KAWARAO THE TYRANT. 187

were not under the dominion of that folly which,
in common with the Greenlanders, possesses
some of the most civilized nations in Europe, of
considering themselves the first people upon
earth, they soon acquired our manners, and de
rived all the advantage that could be expected
from the opportunities of improvement thus
afforded them. Vancouver found, in 1792, that
many remarkable changes had taken place on
these islands since Cook's time.

King Teraiopu did not long survive that emi
nent navigator. His son Kawarao succeeded
to the government of the greater part of the
island of O Wahi ; the rest fell to his relation
Tameamea. Kawarao was a tyrant, and go
verned with unexampled cruelty. At certain
periods of the moon, he declared himself holy,
or under a Tabu : the priests alone had then
the privilege of seeing him so long as the sun
was above the horizon ; and an immediate death
of the severest torture was the melancholy lot
of any individual not belonging to this sacred
order, who by whatever accident should cast
but a momentary glance upon the voluntarily
secluded monarch. To this cruelty of dispo-

188 DEATH OF KAWARAO.

sition, Kawarao united an unbounded ambition,
which prompted him to make war on his kins
man Tameamea. This young and powerful
chief early distinguished himself, and soon be
came celebrated throughout these islands for
superiority of intellect and skill in arms. Ka
warao, although he had greatly the advantage
in numbers, could never obtain a victory ; fire
arms were not then in use here, and success
long vibrated between the contending rivals.
Both parties at length determined to put the
final issue of the war to the test of a single
combat, stipulating that the conqueror should
acquire the sovereignty of the whole island.
The two kings armed ; their respective priests
carried the images of their gods to the field,
and the fight commenced. Kawarao trusted to
his skill in throwing the javelin ; but Tameamea
could defend himself from several antagonists
at once, and scarcely ever missed his aim. After
some fruitless efforts of both combatants, Ta-
meamea's spear pierced the side of his blood
thirsty enemy, who fell dead on the field.

This duel, by which Tameamea became King
of O Wahi and of Muwe, which had also belong-

KING TAMEAMEA. 189

ed to Kawarao, took place in the year 1781.
To establish his dominion on a firmer basis,
Tameamea married the daughter of the van
quished monarch, and acquired the love of his
subjects by his wise and moderate government.
Himself endowed with uncommon powers of
mind, he entrusted the important offices of state
only to such as were capable of discharging
them efficiently. He made a vp,ry fortunate
choice in Karemaku, who, while quite a young
man, entered into all the enlightened and com
prehensive views of his master, forwarded
them with ability and energy, and continued
his faithful servant till the death of Tameamea.
The English called him the Pitt of the Sand
wich Islands.

Several Europeans now established them
selves at O Wahi ; among whom Davis and John
Young have been the most useful to the rising
nation. Under their direction, houses and ships
have been constructed in the European fashion ;
the island has been enriched with many useful
plants ; and their advice has been successfully
followed in the affairs of government.

With the appearance of Vancouver, arose the

190 VANCOUVER'S VISIT.

fortunate star of these islands. Among the in
numerable benefits he conferred upon them, they
are indebted to him for the possession of sheep
and cattle. Tameamea declared these animals
under a Tabu for ten years, which allowed
time for so large an increase, that they now
run wild in the forests. Had Vancouver en
joyed Cook's advantages, the islanders might
still have believed him their Rono.

Tameamea, during Vancouver's visit, swayed
the sceptre only over the islands of O Wahi and
Muwe, and was engaged in wars with his neigh
bour kings, whom he fought with the assist
ance of cannon purchased from European ships.
He commanded in every battle, both by sea and
land ; and Karemaku, as first in authority under
him, was his constant companion. The O Wa-
hians, however, could not have well understood
the use of their cannons and other fire-arms, as,
after Vancouver's departure, the war was main
tained for ten years. O Tuai, the most north
westerly island, even then held out, though the
others had submitted. In the year 1817, Ta
meamea conquered this also, after many unsuc-

TRADE IN SANDAL-WOOD. 1Q1

cessful attempts, and thus became the supreme
governor of the whole Archipelago.

From this time all his efforts were directed
to the education of his people, and the improve
ment of their trade. Salt and sandal-wood were
the chief articles of exportation. The latter,
though bought at rather a high price by the
North-American ships, which almost exclu
sively monopolized this trade, sold for a large
profit at Canton.

I have been told, that the Americans have
purchased sandal-wood here to the amount of
three hundred thousand Spanish dollars a-year.
Tameamea bartered this wood for some large
American merchant-ships, manned them, and
other ships built in the Sandwich Islands, partly
with his own subjects, and partly with Europeans,
and traded on his own account. He had even
found means to create a small fleet of ships of
war ; and his warehouses, built of stone, were
filled with European and American merchan
dise. He possessed a considerable treasure in
silver money and utensils; his fortresses were
planted with cannon of a large calibre, and he

192 PROTECTION TO STRANGERS.

maintained a force of fifteen thousand men, all
armed with muskets, in the use of which they
had been carefully exercised. He took much
pains, assisted by the Spaniard Marini, to in
troduce the cotton-tree, which answered very
well, and yielded fine cotton ; and endeavoured
to improve the native flax, already much supe
rior to that of New Zealand, and to profit by
it as an article of commerce. Nothing which
promised advantage to his country escaped his
penetrating mind ; he exerted, in short, every
faculty of his mind to place the Sandwich
Islands in a state of progressive assimilation to
the most prosperous nations. Vessels of every
nation were as secure from injustice or insult
in his ports, as in those of Europe, if not more
so. As soon as a strange ship arrived, criers
were employed to give notice that the new
comers were friends, and must be hospitably
received, and that any incivility shown them
would be severely punished.

When Tameamea first sent a ship to Canton
with sandal-wood, he was obliged to pay a con
siderable duty for anchorage ; whereupon he ar
gued, that what was exacted from himself, he

PROSPERITY OF HANARURO. 193

might with a safe conscience demand from
others ; and every ship is now required to pay
forty Spanish dollars for anchorage in the outer,
and eighty in the inner harbour of Hanaruro.

Wahu is the most fertile of all the islands,
and the only one enjoying a secure harbour ; it
therefore naturally advances the most rapidly
in civilization. Several European and American
traders have settled in Hanaruro ; shops have
been opened, and houses built in the European
style, of wood and stone; some of the former
were made in America, and brought here to be
put together. The exertions of Marini intro
duced here many European vegetables, the vine
and other fruits, which are all in a flourishing
state. He collected and tamed a herd of cows.
Goats, sheep, and poultry of all kinds are com
mon. The frequent voyages which the Sand
wich islanders now made, partly in Tameamea's
vessels, partly foreign ones, on board which they
served as sailors, gradually familiarised them
with the manners of more civilized nations.
They adopted our costume, but after the Ta-
haitian fashion ; considering a complete suit as
an unnecessary luxury. Even Tameamea him-

VOL. II. K

194 CHARACTER OF TAMEAMEA.

self, for his usual attire, wore only a shirt, trow-
sers, and red waistcoat, without a coat ; he pos
sessed, however, many richly embroidered uni
forms, but kept them for grand occasions.

These islanders had made great progress in
the English language: many of them could
speak it very tolerably. Tameamea understood,
but did not speak it. If any of my readers
should wish for a farther acquaintance with the
character of this distinguished sovereign, I must
refer them to Vancouver, and to my former voy
age ; but for the benefit of those who may not
be disposed to take this trouble, I cannot forbear
repeating from the latter some of his remarks to
myself. He presented me with a collar most
ingeniously worked with coloured feathers,
which he had sometimes worn in war, and on so
lemn occasions, saying, " I have heard that your
monarch is a great warrior, and I love him,
because I am a warrior myself; bear to him this
collar, which I send as a token of my regard."
Once as he embraced an image in his Marai, he
said, " These are our Gods whom I adore ; whe
ther in so doing I am right or wrong, I know
not, but I follow the religion of my country,

TAMEAMEA THE SECOND. 195

which cannot be a bad one, since it commands
me to be just in all my actions.""

On the 8th of May, in the year 1819, Tame-
amea terminated his meritorious career, to the
great sorrow as well of the foreign settlers as of
his native subjects. His remains were disposed
of according to the rites of the religion he pro
fessed. After they had remained some time in
the Marai, the bones were cleaned, and divided
among his relatives and the most distinguished
of his attendants. According to the custom of
this country, two persons had long before been
destined for interment with him at his death ;
but by his express desire this ceremony was dis
pensed with.

His eldest son and legitimate successor, Lio
Lio, or, as the English call it, Rio Rio, — for there
is some difficulty in distinguishing between the
L and the R of the Sandwich Islanders, — now
assumed the government, under the name of Ta-
ineamea the Second. Unhappily, the father's
talents were not hereditary ; and the son's pas
sion for liquor incapacitated him for ruling with
the same splendid reputation an infant state,
which, having already received so strong an

K2

196 INFLUENCE OF KAREMAKU.

impulse towards civilization, required a skilful
guide to preserve it from degeneracy and error.
The chiefs of some of the islands, and espe
cially of O Tuai, had, even in Tameamea's life
time, founded a hope of future independence, on
the weakness of his successor, and immediately
upon his death proceeded to attempt the accom
plishment of their desires. But Karemaku, the
faithful friend and counsellor of the deceased
King, to whom the whole nation looked up with
affection, and whose penetration easily discerned
the evil consequences that would ensue from a
political disunion of the islands, devoted to the
son all the zeal and patriotism with which he
had served the father. By the influence of his
eloquence, and the force of his arms, he quelled
the insurrection, and re-established peace and
order ; but to enthrone the new monarch in the
hearts of his people exceeded his ability ; and
their disaffection proved that the germ of future
disorders was not wholly extinct. The King
chose Wahu for his residence, because this island
was in the best state for defence ; and giving
himself up entirely to dissipation, sunk lower
and lower in the estimation of his subjects.

BAD DISPOSITION OF THE KING. 197

Karemaku was the good genius who watched
over the welfare of the country, while its mo
narch was wasting his hours and his health in
orgies, at which he was frequently known to
empty a bottle of rum at, a draught. It was not
to be supposed that a king addicted to such
habits should conceive any projects of utility
or advantage for his people ; he wished, however,
to distinguish himself by some effort in their
favour, or at least to relieve them from the
trammels of superstition. He was a freethinker
in a bad sense. He hated the religion of his
country, because it laid some restraints upon his
inclinations, and he determined to overthrow it ;
not for the purpose of introducing a better, a
task to which his feeble mind was unequal, but
for that of at once relieving himself and his sub
jects from ceremonies which he considered use
less, because he undervalued the precepts of mo
rality interwoven with them, and for the sake
of which his father had always conscientiously
observed them.

In the fifth month of his reign, he proceeded
in a violent and brutal manner, notwithstanding
all the remonstrances of Karemaku, to the exe-

198 VIOLATION OF THE TABU.

cution of his design. Having previously ar
ranged his plans with some chiefs, the compa
nions of his excesses, he invited the principal
inhabitants of the islands to a sumptuous ban
quet. After the wine and rum had produced
their wonted effects, females were introduced,
and compelled to partake of the feast. These
poor creatures, having no suspicion of the
King's intentions, shrunk with terror from a
profanation punishable with death. But their
resistance was unavailing : they were not only
constrained to sit down to the repast in com
pany with the men, but even to eat pork ; and
thus, to the great astonishment of such guests
as were not in the secret, to violate, at the royal
command, a double Tabu. A murmur arose ;
but the greater part of the company were under
the influence of liquor, and the King now open
ly proclaimed his intentions. His auditors in
quired in alarm what crime the Gods had com
mitted, that they should be thus unceremonious
ly dismissed ; and besought him not to occasion
his own destruction and that of the country,
by provoking their indignation. The King
started from his seat, and exclaimed with vio-

DESTRUCTION OF THE MARAIS. 199

lent gestures, " You see we have already vio
lated the strongest Tabus, and yet the Gods
inflict no punishment, because they have no
power ; neither have they power to do us good.
Our faith was erroneous and worthless. Come,
let us destroy the Marais, and from henceforth
acknowledge no religion !" The immediate de
pendents of the King rose to second him : the
inhabitants of Hanaruro had been depraved by
their intercourse with foreign sailors, and a
tumultuous crowd, who held nothing sacred,
soon followed the revellers. Arrived at the
royal Marai, some of them, terrified by the
aspect of their idols, would have receded ; but
when the King himself, and his friends and fol
lowers, began to maltreat them, and no divine
vengeance followed, the courage of the multi
tude revived, and the Marais were soon utterly
destroyed. This outrage to what the people
at large most venerated, introduced a scene of
confusion and violence, and would indeed have
entailed destruction both on the King and the
country, had not Karemaku again stood for
ward in their defence. Several Yeris who, dis
approving the sentiments of the King, had re-

200 TRANQUILLITY RESTORED.

tired privately from the banquet, joined the
priests in exciting the people to defend their
gods by force of arms. An army was raised,
and, animated by the presence of the war-god,
commenced hostilities against his sacrilegious
opponents. When the news of the destruction
of the Marais reached the other islands, insur
rections also broke out in each of them. Kare-
maku had condemned the sacrilege, and abstain
ed from any part in it ; but as it could not now
be prevented, and he foresaw the mischievous
consequences of civil commotions, he assembled
an army, and, victorious wherever he appeared,
succeeded in restoring tranquillity. On the
large island O Wahi, however, he encountered a
formidable resistance ; but at length, after seve
ral bloody contests, he captured the war-god :
the insurgents, who had also lost their leaders in
the last battle, believing themselves quite aban
doned by the gods, now dispersed, and Kare-
maku,on the restoration of tranquillity, returned
to Wahu.

It is a remarkable fact, that a people who
regarded their faith and their priests with so
much reverence, as I had myself witnessed

CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY. 201

previously to this occurrence, should in so short
a period, acquiescing in the decree which de
nounced their creed as error, and consigned
their sanctuaries to demolition, contentedly
submit to the total deprivation of all external
signs of religion. Karemaku had judgment
enough to perceive that this state of things
would not endure, and that a religion of some
kind was indispensable to the people ; he there
fore resolved to set his countrymen a good ex
ample, and yielding to an inclination he had
long entertained, to declare himself publicly a
convert to Christianity. In the same year, 1819,
Captain Freycinet, on his voyage round the
world, landed at Hanaruro, and a clergyman
accompanying him, Karemaku and his brother
Boki received the sacrament of baptism accord
ing to the forms of the Catholic Church.

At this time, a society of missionaries was
formed in the United States of America, for the
purpose of introducing Christianity into the
Sandwich Islands. Of the extinction of the an
cient faith, which must of course facilitate their
undertaking, they had as yet received no infor
mation. Six families of these missionaries arrived
K 5

202 EFFORTS OF THE MISSIONARIES

at Wahu in 1 820, bringing with them two young
Sandwich Islanders, who had been previously
prepared in their schools. The King, hearing of
their intention, would not allow them to land,
but commanded them immediately to depart
from his shores. Here, again, Karemaku in
terposed, and endeavoured to convince the King
that the Christian religion would be one of the
greatest benefits he could confer on his subjects.
The King then assembled the most distinguished
Yeris, and after fourteen days' deliberation, de
creed that a piece of land should be granted to
the missionaries, with permission to build a
church, and to preach their doctrines, under the
condition that they should immediately leave
the island if the experiment should be found
to have a prejudicial influence on the people.
The missionaries agreed to the terms, took
up their residence on Wahu, and from thence
extended settlements over the other islands.
Their first efforts were successfully directed to
the conversion of the King, his family, and
the most distinguished Yeris. When these
personages had openly professed the new faith,
the Missionaries considered themselves firmly

IN SPREADING CHRISTIANITY. 203

established, and proceeded with more con
fidence to the full execution of their plan.
They quickly acquired the language of the
islands, which from the largest of them they
called the O Wahi language, printed the first
book in it, (a collection of Hymns,) in the year
1822, and instructed the natives, who proved
apt scholars, in reading and writing. These
missionaries were Protestants ; but the Catholic
Karemaku, having no notion of the points of
doctrine in dispute between the Churches,
joined without hesitation in communion with
them ; and the Christian religion spreading ra
pidly among the Sandwich Islanders, without
any of the constraint or persecution which had
disgraced it at O Tahaiti, promised the happiest
effects.

Notwithstanding, however, all the efforts of
Karemaku, the people were not yet entirely pa
cified. The former faith had still many secret
adherents, and the King was unable to acquire
either the esteem or affection of his subjects.
Insurrections were continually dreaded ; and Rio
Rio, not feeling sufficiently secure even in his
entrenchments at Wahu, determined, by the ad-

204 THE KING'S DEPARTURE.

vice of some Europeans, to make a voyage to
England, in the hope that these discontents
would subside during his absence. He confided
the administration of the government to the faith
ful Karemaku, and Kahumanna, the favourite
wife of his father, and in the year 1824 sailed
for England in a North American ship, accom
panied by his consort, Karemaku's brother Boki,
and some other persons of rank ; taking with
him twenty-five thousand Spanish piastres from
the treasure amassed by his father.
. Soon after the King^s departure, a regular re
bellion broke out in the island of O Tuai. Its
former ruler, Tamari, was dead, and his son, a
young man who had been brought up in the
United States of America, and had unfortu
nately fallen into bad company, was desirous to
recover for himself the independent dominion of
the island. Karemaku and Kahumanna im
mediately hastened thither with an army, and
on our arrival at Hanaruro we found the war
still raging at O Tuai, though it was supposed
to be near its close. The government of Wahu
was entrusted, during the absence of the Re-

VISIT TO QUEEN NOMAHANNA. 205

gents, to another wife of Tameamea, named No
mahanna, conjointly with a Yeri called Chinau.

On the morning after our arrival, I rowed
ashore with some of my officers, to pay my
respects to the Queen Nomahanna, and on land
ing was met by the Spaniard Marini, who ac
companied us to her Majesty as interpreter.
On the way I was recognised by several old
friends, with whom I had become acquainted
on my former visit. They saluted me with a
friendly " Aroha" I cannot say there was much
room for compliment on any visible improver
ment in their costume ; for they still wore with
much self-complacency some ill-assorted por
tions of European attire.

The residence of Nomahanna lay near the
fortress on the sea-shore : it was a pretty little
wooden house of two stories, built in the Euro
pean style, with handsome large windows, and
a balcony very neatly painted. We were re
ceived on the stairs by Chinau, the governor of
Wahu, in a curious dishabille. He could hardly
walk from the confinement his feet suffered in
a pair of fisherman's shoes, and his red cloth

206 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN :

waistcoat would not submit to be buttoned,
because it had never been intended for so colossal
a frame. He welcomed me with repeated
" Arohas" and led me up to the second floor,
where all the arrangements had a pleasing and
even elegant appearance. The stairs were oc
cupied from the bottom to the door of the
Queen's apartments, by children, adults, and
even old people, of both sexes, who, under her
Majesty's own superintendence, were reading
from spelling-books, and writing on slates — a
spectacle very honourable to her philanthropy.
The Governor himself had a spelling-book in one
hand, and in the other a very ornamental little
instrument made of bone, which he used for
pointing to the letters. Some of the old people
appeared to have joined the assembly rather for
example's sake, than from a desire to learn, as
they were studying, with an affectation of ex
treme diligence, books held upside down.

The spectacle of these scholars and their
whimsical and scanty attire, nearly upset the
gravity with which I had prepared for my pre
sentation to the Queen. The doors were, how
ever, thrown open and I entered, Chinau intro-

HER DRESS, ATTENDANTS, &C. 207

ducing me as the captain of the newly-arrived
Russian frigate. The apartment was furnished
in the European fashion, with chairs, tables, and
looking-glasses. In one corner stood an im
mensely large bed with silk curtains ; the floor
was covered with fine mats, and on these, in the
middle of the room, lay Nomahanna, extended
on her stomach, her head turned towards the
door, and her arms supported on a silk pillow.
Two young girls lightly dressed, sat cross-legged
by the side of the Queen, flapping away the flies
with bunches of feathers. Nomahanna, who ap
peared at the utmost not more than forty years
old, was exactly six feet two inches high, and
rather more than two ells in circumference. She
wore an old-fashioned European dress of blue
silk ; her coal-black hair was neatly plaited, at
the top of a head as round as a ball ; her flat
nose and thick projecting lips were certainly
not very handsome, yet was her countenance on
the whole prepossessing and agreeable. On see
ing me, she laid down the psalm-book in which
she had been reading, and having, with the help
of her attendants, changed her lying for a sitting
posture, she held out her hand to me in a very

208 SENSIBILITY OF THE QUEEN:

friendly manner, with many " Arohas /" and in
vited me to take a seat on a chair by her side.
Her memory was better than my own ; she re
cognised me as the Russian officer who had vi
sited the deceased monarch Tameamea, on the
island of O Wahi. On that occasion I had
been presented to the Queens ; but since that
time Nomahanna had so much increased in size,
that I did not know her again. She was aware
how highly I esteemed her departed consort ; my
appearance brought him vividly to her remem
brance, and she could not restrain her tears, in
speaking of his death. " The people," said she,
" have lost in him a protector and a father.
What will now be the fate of these islands, the
God of the Christians only knows." She now
informed me with- much self-gratulation that she
was a Christian, and attended the prayer-meeting
several times every day. Desirous to know
how far she had been instructed in the religion
she professed, I inquired through Marini the
grounds of her conversion. She replied that
she could not exactly describe them, but that
the missionary Bengham, who understood read
ing and writing perfectly well, had assured her

REASONS FOR HKR CONVERSION. 209

that the Christian faith was the best ; and that,
seeing how far the Europeans and Americans,
who were all Christians, surpassed her com
patriots in knowledge, she concluded that their
belief must be the most reasonable. " If, how
ever,1' she added, " it should be found unsuited
to our people, we will reject it, and adopt
another."

Hence it appears that the Christianity of the
missionaries is not regarded with the reverence
which, in its purity, it is calculated to inspire
in the most uncultivated minds. In conclusion,
Nomahanna triumphantly informed me, that
the women might now eat as much pork as they
pleased, instead of being, as formerly, limited
to dog's flesh. At this observation, an intru
sive idea suddenly changed her tone and the
expression of her features. With a deep sigh,
she exclaimed — " What would Tameamea say
if he could behold the changes which have taken
place here? No more Gods — no more Ma-
rais : all are destroyed ! It was not so in his
time : — we shall never have such another king !"
Then, while the tears trickled down her cheeks,
she bared her right arm, and showed me, tat-

210 SIGNS OF ATTACHMENT.

tooed on it in the O Wahi language — " Our good
King Tameamea died on the 8th of May 181 9-"
This sign of mourning for the beloved monarch,
which cannot be laid aside like our pieces of
crape, but accompanies the mourner to the
grave, is very frequent on the Sandwich Islands,
and testifies the esteem in which his memory is
held : but it is a still more striking proof of
the universal grief for his loss, that on the anni
versary of his death, all his subjects struck out
one of their front teeth ; and the whole nation
have in consequence acquired a sort of whistle
in speaking. Chinau had even had the above
words tattooed on his tongue, of which he gave
me ocular demonstration ; nor was he singular
in this mode of testifying his attachment. It
is surprising that an operation so painful, and
which occasions a considerable swelling, should
not be attended with worse consequences.

Nomahanna spoke with enthusiasm on the
subject of writing. Formerly, she said, she
could only converse with persons who were
present ; now, let them be ever so far distant,
she could whisper her thoughts softly to them
alone. She promised to write me a letter, in

AN ABSURD SPECTACLE. 211

order, she said, that I might prove to every
one in Russia that Nomahanna was able to
write.

Our conversation was interrupted by the rat
tling of wheels, and the sound of many voices.
I looked from the window, and saw a little cart
to which a number of active young men had har
nessed themselves with the greatest complacency.
I inquired of Marini what this meant, and was
informed that the Queen was about to drive to
church : an attendant soon after entered, and
announced that the equipage was ready. Noma
hanna graciously proposed my accompanying
her ; and rather than risk her displeasure by a
refusal, I accepted the invitation with many
thanks, though I foresaw that I should thus be
drawn in as a party to a very absurd spectacle.

The Queen now put on a white calico hat
decorated with Chinese flowers, took a large
Chinese fan in her hand, and, having completed
her toilette by drawing on a pair of clumsy
sailor's boots, we set out. In descending the
stairs, she made a sign that the school was
over for the present ; an announcement that
seemed very agreeable to the scholars, to the

212 PROCESSION TO CHURCH.

old ones especially. At the door below, a crowd
had assembled, attracted by curiosity to see me
and their Queen drive out together. The young
men in harness shouted for joy, and patiently
waited the signal for the race. Some dejav,
however, occurred in taking our seats with suit
able dignity. The carriage was very small, and
my companion very large, so jthat I was fain to
be content with a seat upon the edge, with a
very good chance of losing my balance, had not
her Majesty, to obviate the danger, encircled my
waist with her stout and powerful arm, and thus
secured me on my seat ; our position, and the
contrast presented by our figures, had no doubt
a sufficiently comical effect. When we were at
length comfortably settled, the Governor Chi-
nau came forth, and with no other addition than
a round hat to the costume already described,
mounted a meagre unsaddled steed, and off we
all went at full gallop, the Queen taking infinite
pains to avoid losing me by the way. The
people came streaming from all sides, shouting
" Aroha maita f" — our team continually increas
ing, while a crowd behind contended for the
honour of helping to push us forward. In this

THE CONGREGATION. 213

style we drove the whole length of Hanaruro,
and in about a quarter of an hour reached the
church, which lies on an ugly flat, and exactly
resembles that at O Tahaiti both in external
and internal appearance.

The congregation was very small. Noma-
hanna and an old lady were the only individuals
of their sex ; and Chinau, myself, and a few
others, the only males present. ICven the
people who had drawn us did not enter the
church; from which I infer, that the influence of
the missionaries is by no means so considerable
as at O Tahaiti ; and certainly the converts are
not yet driven with a stick into the house of
prayer : nor would it be easy to fasten on the
minds of the people the fetters so patiently
endured on the Society Islands, where the
labours of the missionaries are seldom inter
rupted by the intervention of strangers. The
Sandwich Islanders are engaged in constant
intercourse with foreign sailors, mostly of licen
tious characters, who indeed profess the Chris
tian religion ; but brought hither by the desire
of gain, or the necessity of laying in provisions
for their ships, are generally wholly occupied

214 MR. BENGHAM'S DISCOURSE.

in driving crafty bargains, and certainly are no
way instrumental in inspiring the islanders with
ideas of religion or morality, but on the con
trary, set them examples which have a direct
tendency to deprave their minds. Such among
these crews as have been guilty of offences on
board ship, frequently run away and settle
on the islands. This was severely prohibited
in Tameamea's time, but is now permitted, from
Christian charity. Such characters as these,
reckless of every thing sacred, do not hesitate
to make a jest of the missionaries, whose ex
traordinary plans and regulations offer many
weak points to the shafts of ridicule.

When Mr. Bengham had concluded a dis
course in the O Wahi language, which might
possibly have been highly edifying, but that it
was addressed to little else than empty benches,
— for I did not understand him, and the minds of
the few other persons present were evidently oc
cupied with very different matters, — we return
ed to the palace in the same style that we had
left it. I then took my leave, having received
a promise of being amply supplied with provi
sions : the Queen also, at my request, ordered

ABSURD DESIGNS. 215

a small house near her own to be prepared for
our astronomical observations, and our astrono
mer, M. Preus, took possession of it on the
following day.

Our arrival had created a great sensation on
the island. A foreign ship of war is an uncom
mon spectacle here — one from Russia more
especially, as the attempt of the insane Dr.
Scheffer, in 1816, to raise the island of O Tuai
against Tameamea, in the hope of annexing it
to the empire of Russia, had naturally intro
duced a fear of similar projects, although the
absurd design was entirely discountenanced by
the Emperor Alexander. The English also,
even in their writings, have contributed to
spread the ridiculous idea, that Russia enter
tained views against the independence of the
Sandwich Islands ; and that Rio Rio's voyage
was only undertaken for the purpose of implor
ing the assistance of England against our go
vernment. From the air of protection which
England has for some time past assumed to
wards these islands, it is probable that she her
self secretly harbours such a design, and only
waits a favourable opportunity for its execu-

216 ALARM OF THE ISLANDERS.

tion ; although the English always profess to
acknowledge the sovereignty of the native mo
narch, and the King of England, in writing to
Tameamea, calls him, " Your Majesty.""

I am, however, far from desiring to main
tain this opinion as founded on any sufficient
grounds. The alarm of the islanders, on the
present occasion, had been in great measure
excited by a paragraph in a Mexican news
paper, recently imported, which contained a
new version of the English fiction. The mis
trust, however, did not long subsist. My as
surances of friendship, and the particularly
good behaviour of the whole crew, by which
they were advantageously distinguished from
those of the other ships lying here, soon at
tracted towards us the confidence and esteem
of the natives and their governors. During
the whole of my stay on the island, I had not
the slightest cause to be dissatified with the
conduct of my men, notwithstanding the temp
tations to which they were exposed, from the
example of other sailors. All that could be
spared from the ship were, every Sunday, al
lowed to go ashore ; this being generally known

A CASE OF ATROCITY. 217

inHanaruro, a crowd of Wahuaners were always
in waiting to welcome the arrival of our boat.
The friendly intercourse which at all times
subsisted between our people and the islanders
was truly gratifying.

I observed with regret, in my daily visits to
Hanaruro, that the Wahuaners had lost the
simplicity and innocence of character which
formerly distinguished them. The profligate
habits of the settlers of all nations among them,
and of the numerous foreign sailors with whom
they constantly associate, have most prejudi
cially affected their morals. Fraud, theft, and
burglary, never heard of in Tameamea's time,
are now frequent. Murder implies a degree of
wickedness to which they have not yet attain
ed ; but a circumstance that occurred shortly
before our arrival, may perhaps become an
example even for this worst of crimes. The
crew of an English whaler, in which much
drinking had been permitted, mutinied, and
the Captain received a blow on the head, which,
though it did not destroy life, produced in
sanity; nor could all the efforts of our phy
sician wholly restore his reason. He had in-
VOL. II. L

218 EVILS CONSEQUENT UPON

deed lucid intervals, during which he became
reconciled to his crew, and at length sailed for
England ; but I have reason to believe the ves
sel never reached its destination.

One very unpleasant consequence has attend
ed progressive civilization in Hanaruro : — paint
ed signs, that the means of intoxication might
be purchased within, hang from many of the
houses : their keepers are runaway sailors, who,
to increase their own profit, naturally have re
course to every means that may tempt the peo
ple to excess ; and these liquor-shops accordingly
enjoy a constant overflow of visitors. Others
are fitted up in a superior style, for the exclu
sive accommodation of Yeris and ships' officers,
admission being refused to Kanackas and
sailors. Carousing is here also the order of
the day, but billiards and whist form part
of the entertainments ; the latter game espe
cially is a great favourite with the Wahuaners,
who play it well. Whist parties may be seen
every where seated on the ground, in the
streets or in open fields, among whom large
sums of money and valuable goods are at stake.
The players are always surrounded by spec-

PROGRESSIVE CIVILIZATION. 219

tators, who pronounce their opinions very volu
bly at the close of every game. The parties
themselves are extremely animated, and the
affair seldom terminates without a quarrel.
Many other games are also in favour; and
through the prevalence of a custom which can
not be observed without regret, this once indus
trious and flourishing people are rapidly ac
quiring confirmed habits of idleness and dissi
pation. A great part of the well cultivated
tarro-fields, which formerly surrounded Hana-
ruro, now lie waste. On the great market
place, horse and foot races are proceeding all
day long, and give occasion to extensive gam
bling. The Wahuaners have as great a pas
sion for horse-racing, as the Malays for cock-
fighting, and without hesitation venture their
whole stock of wealth on a race. The pur
chase of a horse is, indeed, the great object of
their ambition ; and little attention having hi
therto been directed to the breeding of these
animals, they are imported from California, at
an expense of from two to three, or even five
hundred piastres ; so that many a Wahuaner is
obliged to hoard his whole earnings for years
L 2

220 SHIP-GAMES.

together, to raise the means of indulging in
this luxury. In these races the horse is not
saddled, and a string supplies the place of a
bit ; the rider is usually quite naked, but very
skilful in the management even of the wildest
horse; but, as the treatment is injudicious,
they are soon worn out.

Large sums are also staked at the ship-games,
as they are called, in which the islanders dis
play their seaman-like tastes. The players are
usually clever ship-builders. They build pretty
little vessels, in conformity with the rules of art,
and, by their good management of the keel,
make them good sailers; they rig them com
pletely, and decorate them with flags and
streamers. Then assembling on the banks of
some large pond, the owners spread the sails,
make the helm fast, and launch the little fleet.
The ship which is best built and rigged, first
gains the opposite shore, and wins the prize.
The spectators take great interest in the game,
and a loud shout announces the victory. The
children also, in imitation of their fathers, make
little ships, and have sailing-matches on the
smaller pieces of water.

THE MARCH OF LUXURY. 221

From the partiality of the Sandwich Islanders
for a sea-life, and from their geographical situa
tion, it is probable that, in time, they will be
come powerful at sea. Tameamea left to his
successor above a dozen good ships, all manned
with natives. They obtain excellent nautical
educations on board the United States' vessels
trading between America and Canton ; and the
Americans, who are equal to the English as sea
men, bear witness to the abilities of the islanders.

Luxury has made great advances in Wahu.
Even among the lowest class of the people, some
article of European clothing is universal. The
females especially set their hearts upon the
most fashionable mode of dress : whatever the
Queen wears is their model, which they imitate
to the utmost of their power. The men are
importuned to gratify this feminine vanity ; and
if their means will not enable them to do so
fairly, they will often have recourse to fraud.
The love of foreign wares, and especially of
such as serve for dress and ornament, is by far
the most fertile source of crime. The shop
keepers are emulous to make their assortment
of goods as attractive as possible, and some-

222 MESSAGE FROM KAREMAKU.

times allow their customers credit, in which
case they never fail to charge double, though
their profits are at all times enormous. I have
myself seen young girls paying two Spanish dol
lars for a string of common glass-beads which
would scarcely reach round the throat. The
tradespeople practise every species of deception
with impunity, for the laws are not yet suffi
ciently civilized to meet offences of this descrip
tion ; which therefore inflict a double injury on
their dupe, by robbing him of his property,
and affording him an example of successful
fraud, which he will generally at least endea
vour to imitate. On Sunday, the inhabitants
of Wahu make their appearance at church in
full dress to be admired ; and if the spectacle
on these occasions is not so thoroughly laughable
as at O Tahaiti, it is certainly sufficiently comic.

The domestic utensils, formerly in use here,
have entirely disappeared even from the poorest
huts ; and Chinese porcelain has superseded the
manufactures from the gourd or the cocoa-nut.

Fourteen days after our arrival, I received
a message from Karemaku, who was still at
O Tuai. He assured me that he was rejoiced at

NOMAHANNA'S ATTENTIONS. 223

my coming, stated that he had sent orders to
Chinau to supply my ship with the best provi
sions, and added, that having happily con
cluded the expedition, he should soon return
to Hanaruro.

Meanwhile, !-we had no cause to complain of
our situation : every thing was to be had for
money ; and Nomahanna overwhelmed us with
presents of fat hogs and the finest fish, put
ting all the fishermen into requisition to pro
vide abundantly for our table. We had all
reason to be grateful for her attention and kind
ness, and are all therefore ready to maintain
that she is not only the cleverest and the most
learned, but also the best woman in Wahu, as
indeed she is considered both by the natives
and settlers. But I can also bear testimony to
another qualification, of equal importance in her
estimation — she has certainly the greatest ap
petite that ever came under my observation. I
usually visited her in the morningj and was
in the habit of finding her extended at full
length upon the floor, employed in inditing her
letter to me, which appeared to occasion her
many a head-ache. Once, however, I called

224 THE QUEEN AT DINNER.

exactly at dinner-time, and was shown into the
eating-room. She was lying on fine mats before a
large looking-glass, stretched as usual on her pro
digious stomach : a number of Chinese porcelain
dishes, containing food of various kinds, were
ranged in a semicircle before her, and the attend
ants were busily employed in handing first one
and then another to her Majesty. She helped
herself with her fingers from each in its turn,
and ate most voraciously, whilst two boys flap
ped away the flies with large bunches of fea
thers. My appearance did not at all disturb
her : she greeted me with her mouth full, and
graciously nodded her desire that I should take
my seat in a chair by her side, when I witness-
ed, I think, the most extraordinary meal upon
record. How much had passed the royal mouth
before my entrance, I will not undertake to
affirm ; but it took in enough in my presence
to have satisfied six men ! Great as was my
admiration at the quantity of food thus con
sumed, the scene which followed was calcu
lated to increase it. Her appetite appear
ing satisfied at length, the Queen drew her
breath with difficulty two or three times, then

THE QUEEN'S FAVOURITE. 225

exclaimed, " I have eaten famously P These
were the first words her important business had
allowed her time to utter. By the assistance
of her attendants, she then turned upon her
back, and made a sign with her hand to a tall,
strong fellow, who seemed well practised in his
office ; he immediately sprang upon her body,
and kneaded her as unmercifully with his knees
and fists as if she had been a trough of bread.
This was done to favour digestion ; and her
Majesty, after groaning a little at this ungentle
treatment, and taking a short time to recover
herself,' ordered her royal person to be again
turned on the stomach, and recommenced her
meal. This account, whatever appearance of
exaggeration it may bear, is literally true, as
all my officers, and the other gentlemen who
accompanied me, will witness.

M. Preuss, who lived in the neighbourhood
of the lady, frequently witnessed similar meals,
and maintains that Nomahanna and her fat hog
were the greatest curiosities in Wahu. The
latter is in particular favour with the Queen,
who feeds him almost to death : he is black,
and of extraordinary size and fatness : two

226 THE QUEEN'S PORTRAIT.

Kanackas are' appointed to attend him, and he
can hardly move without their assistance.

Nomahanna is vain of her tremendous ap
petite. She considers most people too thin,
and recommends inaction as an accelerator of
her admired embonpoint — so various are the
notions of beauty. On the Sandwich Islands,
a female figure a fathom long, and of immea
surable circumference, is charming ; whilst the
European lady laces tightly, and sometimes
drinks vinegar, in order to touch our hearts by
her slender and delicate symmetry.

One of our officers obtained the Queen's per
mission to take her portrait. The limner's art
is still almost a novelty here ; and many persons
of rank solicited permission to witness the ope
ration. With the greatest attention, they watch
ed every stroke of the outline, and loudly ex
pressed their admiration as each feature ap
peared upon the paper. The nose was no
sooner traced, than they exclaimed — " Now
Nomahanna can smell f When the eyes were
finished — " Now she can see !" They expressed
especial satisfaction at the sight of the mouth,
because it would enable her to eat ; and they

ARRIVAL OF KAREMAKU. 227

seemed to have some apprehension that she
might suffer from hunger. At this point, No-
mahanna became so much interested, that she
requested to see the picture also : she thought
the mouth much too small, and begged that
it might be enlarged. The portrait, however,
when finished, did not please her ; and she re
marked rather peevishly — " I am surely much
handsomer than that !"

On the 17th of January, Karemaku arrived
with a squadron of two and three-masted ships,
and many soldiers, before the harbour of Hana-
ruro, after having terminated the war at O Tuai
quite to his satisfaction. The fleet being un
able to enter the harbour, on account of a con
trary wind, was obliged to cast anchor outside.
I immediately sent off an officer with my shal
lop, to convey to the King^s deputy my congra
tulations on his arrival; he and his young wife
(his wife, of whom I spoke in my former voy
age, was since dead,) returned in the shallop,
and came on board my ship. I fired a salute
as he approached, which pleased him much, as
he said this compliment from a Russian ship of
war would tend to remove from the minds of

228 KAREMAKU'S LAMENTATIONS.

his countrymen their injurious suspicions of the
intentions of Russia.

Karemaku seemed sincerely glad to see me
again, and, after a most cordial embrace, pre
sented his young and pretty wife to me. He
minutely examined all parts of the ship, ex
pressed his approbation of much that was new
to him, and at length exclaimed — " How wide
a difference there still is between this ship and
ours ! — would that they could be made to
resemble it ! O, Tameamea, thou wast taken
from us too soon !" In my cabin, he spoke of
the death of his royal friend in terms which
Marini declared it impossible to translate, as
no other language would express such depth of
thought united with such ardent feeling. I
rather apprehend that Marini, who is not a man
of much education, was not competent to give
effect to powerful emotion in any language :
but the missionaries also declare that there is
considerable difficulty in translating from the
O Wahi language, which is particularly adapted
to poetry.

Karemaku touched also on the change that
had taken place in the religion of the country.

THE MONARCHY IN DANGER. 229

— "Our present belief," said he, " is preferable
to that which it has supplanted ; but the inha
bitants of the mountains cannot understand its
superiority ; and strong measures are necessary
to prevent their relapsing into idolatry. The
King should not have so suddenly annihilated
all that they held sacred. As a first conse
quence, he has been obliged to seek for safety
in a foreign country. How all will end, I can
not foresee; but I look forward with fear.
The people are attached to me, a.nd I have in
fluence over them ; but my health declines, and
the Government, which I have scarcely been able
to keep together, will probably not survive me.
Blood will be spilt, and anarchy will prevail.
Already the island of O Tuai has revolted, even
during my life." These fears are not without
foundation : they are shared by the natives and
the foreign settlers ; and many of the Yeris
seem persuaded that the monarchy will be dis
membered on Karemaku's death. Some have
already fixed upon the districts they mean to
appropriate, and do not even take any pains to
conceal their intentions. Yet has the aged and
infirm Karemaku hitherto maintained order

230 LIKENESS OF TAMEAMEA.

among these turbulent spirits, permitting no
one to disturb the general tranquillity with
impunity.

During my former visit here, the painter
Choris, who made the voyage with me, and was
afterwards murdered in Mexico, took an excel
lent likeness of Tameamea. I now presented
to the venerable Karemaku a copper-plate en
graving from this picture. The joy with which
he received it was really affecting ; he gazed on
the picture with delight, and kissed it several
times, while the tears rolled down his cheeks.
On taking leave, he begged that he might have
the medical assistance from our physician, as he
had been long indisposed. He pressed my hand,
saying, " I too am a Christian, and can read and
write." That a warrior, and a statesman, should
pride himself on such advantages as these above
all others, proves the estimation in which they
are held. The Sandwich Islanders know that
these are the ties which connect them with ci
vilized nations.

Karemaku and his wife were, notwithstanding
the extreme heat, dressed entirely in the Euro
pean fashion. He wore a dark surtout, and

KAREMAKU'S RECEPTION. 231

black waistcoat, and pantaloons, both of very
fine cloth. He was still in mourning for his
beloved Tameamea, and his hat was bound with
crape. The lady's dress was of black silk. A
crowd of people of both sexes assembled to
welcome the Regent. His foot had scarcely
touched the shore, when they all began to rub
each other's noses, and at a given signal, to weep
aloud. This is the established etiquette in wel
coming a great chief. Some of the old women
of rank surrounded Karemaku, under Chinau's
direction, and rubbing each other"s noses, sang
in a plaintive tone a song to the following effect :
" Where hast thou stayed so long, beloved
ruler ? We have wept for thee every day. Hea
ven be praised that thou art here again ! Dost
thou feel how the earth rejoices under thy foot
steps ? Dost thou hear how the pigs which scent
thee, joyfully grunt their welcome ? Dost thou
smell the roasted fish that waits thy eating ?
Come, we will cherish thee, that thou mayest take
comfort among us." It must be confessed, that
if the O Wahi language be peculiarly adapted
for poetry, this composition does not do it jus
tice. Karemaku laughed at this reception, and

232 PRINCE GEORGE.

allowed himself to be conducted in grand proces
sion to Nomahanna, who had not condescended
to meet him. The excitement lasted the whole
day. Nothing was spoken of but Karemaku's
heroism, and the rebel son of Tamaris, whom
he had brought with him a prisoner. This
young man is called Prince George ; he is about
five-and-twenty, and not of a prepossessing ap
pearance. He dresses like a European ; but
although educated in the United States of
America, he scarcely equals a common sailor in
moral attainments, and is remarkable only for
his vices. Karemaku never loses sight of him.
Two Yeris are appointed for his keepers ; and
he knows that he should be strangled if he
attempted to escape.

Kahumanna still remained in O Tuai, to
maintain the newly-restored tranquillity. This
female, who had already distinguished herself in
Vancouver's time, unites a clear understanding
with a masculine spirit, and seems to have been
born for dominion.

Karemaku's arrival proved extremely useful
to us. We had made the disagreeable disco
very that a great part of the copper with which

SKILFUL DIVERS. 233

the ship was bottomed had become loose, and
the hull thereby liable to injury from worms.
To repair this damage in the ordinary way, the
laborious task of unlading and keel-hauling
must have been undertaken ; but our noble
friend, on hearing of our difficulties, put us upon
an easier method of managing the business. He
sent me three very clever divers, who worked
under the water, and fastened new plates of
copper on the hull, two of them provided with
hammers to drive in the nails, while the third
held the materials. We found that these men
could remain at work forty-eight seconds at a
time. When they emerged, their eyes were
always red and starting ; the effect of the violent
strain upon the optic nerve which the use of the
sight under water produces. We had some
skilful divers among our own sailors, who,
although they could not have attempted this
work, were able to inspect what was done by the
Wahuaners, and to report that it was properly
executed.

Some days after Karemaku^s arrival, came an
ambassador from Nomahanna, with instructions
to demand an audience of me. I received him

234 AN AMBASSADOR.

in the cabin. His only clothing, except a pocket
of plaited reeds that hung round his neck, was
a shirt, and a very broad-brimmed straw hat.
The fellow looked important and mysterious,
as if he had a mighty secret to impart ; but con
verse with each other we could not, for he un
derstood only his mother-tongue, of which I was
entirely ignorant ; he therefore informed me by
signs that his pocket contained something for
me, and drew from it a packet. One by one, a
multitude of envelopes of the paper manufac
tory of the country were removed, till at length
a letter came to light, which he handed to me
with the words, " Aroha Nomahanna !" a salu
tation from Nomahanna. He then explained
to me, in pantomime, that it was the Queen's
intention to visit me to-day, and that she
requested I would send my boat to fetch her.
After saying a great deal about " Pala pala,"
he left me, and I summoned Marini, who gave
me the following translation of the letter.

" I salute thee, Russian ! I love thee with
my whole heart, and more than myself. I feel,
therefore, on seeing thee again in my country,

LETTER FROM NOMAHANNA, 235

a joy which our poor language is unequal to
express. Thou wilt find all here much changed.
While Tameamea lived, the country flourished ;
but since his death, all has gone to ruin. The
young King is in London. Karemaku and
Kahumanna are absent ; and Chinau, who fills
their place, has too little power over the people
to receive thee as becomes thy rank. He can
not procure for thee as many hogs and sweet
potatoes, and as much tarro as thou hast need
of. How sincerely do I regret that my great
possessions lie upon the Island of Muwe, so far
away across the sea ! Were they nearer, thou
shouldst daily be surrounded by hogs. As
soon as Karemaku and Kahumanna return, all
thy wants shall be provided for. The King's
brother comes with them ; but he is yet only
an inexperienced boy, and does not know how
to distinguish good from evil.

" I beg thee to embrace thine Emperor in
my name. Tell him, that I would willingly do
so myself, but for the wide sea that lies be
tween us. Do not forget to carry my saluta
tions to thy whole nation. Since I am a Chris
tian, and that thou art also such, thou wilt

236 LETTER FROM NOMAITANNA.

excuse my indifferent writing. Hunger compels
me to close my letter. I wish that thou also
mayst eat thy hog's head with appetite and
pleasure.

I am,
With royal constancy

And endless love, thine,

NOMAHANNA."

This curious epistle is very neatly written
in a firm hand. The letters are large, well-
formed, and very intelligible. The superscrip
tion bears only the words with which the letter
begins — " Aroha Rukkini !" The composition
had taken her many weeks to complete ; she made
some progress in it every day ; but what was
once inserted she never altered ; the same clean
page that had been transmitted to me, being
the identical one on which the letter was com
menced.

It was soon known in Hanaruro that the
Queen had written to me ; and as all she did
was imitated, I was presently in a fair way for
being honoured with many similar letters. All
my intended correspondents, however, would

THE QUEEN'S DRESS. 237

require at least as much time to express their
thoughts on paper, as Nomaharma had taken ;
I must therefore have waited for their favours
much longer than would have been convenient.

According to Nomahanna's request, I sent
off an officer with the shallop to fetch her :
some hours, however, elapsed before she came,
her Majesty's toilette having, said my officer,
occupied all this time. When at length it was
completed, she desired him to give her his arm
and conduct her to the shallop. This is an
other imitation of European customs.

For a lady of the Sandwich Islands, Noma-
hanna was this day very elegantly attired. A
peach-coloured dress of good silk, trimmed at
the bottom with black lace, covered her Ma
jesty's immense figure, which a very broad
many-coloured sash, with a large bow in the
front, divided exactly into two halves. She
had a collar round her neck of native manufac
ture, made of beautiful red and yellow fea
thers ; and on her head a very fine Leghorn hat,
ornamented with artificial flowers from Canton,
and trimmed round the edge with a pendant
flounce of black lace ; her chin lying modestly

238 THE QUEEN'S DRESS.

hidden behind a whole bed of flowers that
bloomed on her mountain bosom. In some- f
what striking contrast to all this finery were
the clumsily accoutred feet, and stout, ill-
shaped, brown, unstockinged legs, which the
shortness of her Majesty's petticoats, propor
tioned originally to the stature of a European
belle, displayed to a rather unsightly extent.

As yet, the shoemaker's craft does not flourish
in the Sandwich Islands ; so that all the shoes
and boots worn there are imported from Europe
and America. But as neither of these Conti
nents can produce such a pair of feet as those
of Queen Nomahanna, the attempt to force
them into any ready-made shoes would be
hopeless ; and her Majesty is therefore obliged,
if she would not go bare-foot, which she does not
consider altogether decorous, to content herself
with a pair of men's galloshes. Such trifles as
these were, however, beneath her notice, and she
contemplated her dress with infinite complacency,
as a pattern of princely magnificence. In these
splendid habiliments, with a parasol in her
hand, slowly and with difficulty, she climbed
the ship's stairs, on which, with some of my

HER KNOWLEDGE OF RUSSIA.

officers, I was in waiting to receive her ; on the
highest step she endeavoured already to give us
a proof of her acquaintance with our customs,
by making a courtesy, which was intended to
accord with the most approved rules of the
art of dancing, though the feet, not perfectly
tutored in their parts, performed in rather a
comic style. In attempting this feat, she lost
her balance, and would have fallen into the
water, if a couple of strong sailors had not
caught her illustrious person in their arms.

She was much delighted with all that she saw
on board, especially with my cabin, where the
sofa .paid dearly for the honour of her appro
bation, — she sat upon it, and broke it down.
The portrait of the Emperor Alexander at
tracted her particular attention ; she sat down
opposite to it upon the floor, where she could
cause no farther destruction, and said, after
gazing upon it for some minutes with much
interest, " Maitai, Yeri nue Rukkini !" (the
great Governor of the Russians is beautiful !)
She told me, that she knew a great deal about
Russia. A Sandwich Islander, named Lauri.
who, in 1819, had made the voyage thither, in

240 HER KNOWLEDGE OF RUSSIA.

the Russian ship Kamtschatka, with Captain
Golowin, and had afterwards returned to his
own country, had told her many things con
cerning Petersburg and the Emperor. She
said she would have liked to make the voyage
herself, but that Lauri's fearful description
of the cold had terrified her. He had told
her, that it was necessary to envelope the body
entirely in fur, and that even this would not
obviate all danger of losing the nose and ears ;
that the cold changed the water into a solid
substance, resembling glass in appearance, but
of so much strength that it was used for a high
road, people passing over it in huge chests
drawn by horses, without breaking it ; that the
houses were as high as mountains, and so large,
that he had walked three days in one of them
without coming to the end of it. It was evi
dent that Lauri had stretched a little ; but No-
mahanna had no notion of incredulity. She ap
proved of our inventions for warming the inside
of our houses, and thought, that if she were at
Petersburg, she would not go out at all during
the cold weather, but would drive her carriage
about the house. She inquired how it could

HER CURIOUS INTERROGATORIES. 241

possibly be so warm at one season of the year,
and so cold at another. I endeavoured to ac
commodate my answer to her powers of com
prehension, and she seemed satisfied.

" Lauri was in the right," she observed ;
" there are very clever people in Russia."
Her acknowledgment of my abilities, however,
proved rather inconvenient, for she now over
whelmed me with a host of questions, some of
them very absurd, and which to have answered
with methodical precision, would have required
much time and consideration. For instance,
she desired me to tell her how much wood
must be burnt, every year, to warm all the
countries of the earth ? Whether rain enough
might not fall, at some time or other, to extin
guish all the fires? And whether, by means
of such a rain, Wahu might not become as
cold as Russia ? I endeavoured to cut the
matter as short as possible ; and, in order to
divert her thoughts to other subjects, set wine
before her; she liked it very much, and I
therefore presented her with a bottle ; but her
thirst for knowledge was not thus to be quench
ed, and during a visit of two hours, she asked

VOL. 11. M

242 ILLNESS OF KAREMAKU.

such incessant questions, that I was not a little
relieved when, at length, she proposed to de
part. In taking leave, she observed, " If I
have wine, I must have glasses, or how can I
drink it ?" So saying, she took the bottle that
had been given her, in one hand, and, with the
other, seizing without ceremony the glasses that
stood on the table, she went upon deck. There
she made a profound courtesy to all present,
and again took her seat in the shallop. Thus
ended this condescending visit, with the royal
appropriation of my wine glasses. Nomahanna
had, however, been so liberal to us, that she
had a right to suppose she would be welcome
to them.

The illness of Karemaku had very much
increased since his arrival in Wahu ; he had
every symptom of dropsy. Our physician,
however, succeeded, in a great measure, in re
storing him to health, and when I paid him a
congratulatory visit, I found him very grateful
for the benefit he had received, full of spirits,
and very facetious. I adopted his tone, and
jestingly told him, that we would certainly
complete his cure, even if we should be obliged

AN EPIDEMIC. 243

to rip open his stomach, take out the bowels,
clean them, and replace them. Karemaku
laughed, and said he would submit to the
operation, if it was necessary to his perfect
recovery. Some old women, however, who
were present, took the matter in sober serious
ness, and spread among the people a report
of the dreadful treatment their beloved Kare
maku was threatened with ; a terrible disturb
ance in Hanaruro was the consequence. The
people believed I intended to kill him, and
were excessively irritated against me. Kare
maku himself sent me this intelligence through
Marini ; adding a request, that I would not
come ashore again till he had overcome this fool
ish idea, which was accomplished in a few days.
The feeling manifested on this occasion was
certainly honourable both to the governor and
the governed.

An epidemic disease prevailed this year
throughout the Sandwich Islands. It pro
duced a great mortality, death generally fol
lowing the attack within a few days. In Ha
naruro I saw many corpses daily carried to their
burial; but nowhere is recovery from serious
M 2

242 ILLNESS OF KAREMAKU.

such incessant questions, that I was not a little
relieved when, at length, she proposed to de
part. In taking leave, she observed, " If I
have wine, I must have glasses, or how can I
drink it ?" So saying, she took the bottle that
had been given her, in one hand, and, with the
other, seizing without ceremony the glasses that
stood on the table, she went upon deck. There
she made a profound courtesy to all present,
and again took her seat in the shallop. Thus
ended this condescending visit, with the royal
appropriation of my wine glasses. Nomahanna
had, however, been so liberal to us, that she
had a right to suppose she would be welcome
to them.

The illness of Karemaku had very much
increased since his arrival in Wahu ; he had
every symptom of dropsy. Our physician,
however, succeeded, in a great measure, in re
storing him to health, and when I paid him a
congratulatory visit, I found him very grateful
for the benefit he had received, full of spirits,
and very facetious. I adopted his tone, and
jestingly told him, that we would certainly
complete his cure, even if we should be obliged

AN EPIDEMIC. 243

to rip open his stomach, take out the bowels,
clean them, and replace them. Karemaku
laughed, and said he would submit to the
operation, if it was necessary to his perfect
recovery. Some old women, however, who
were present, took the matter in sober serious
ness, and spread among the people a report
of the dreadful treatment their beloved Kare
maku was threatened with ; a terrible disturb
ance in Hanaruro was the consequence. The
people believed I intended to kill him, and
were excessively irritated against me. Kare
maku himself sent me this intelligence through
Marini ; adding a request, that I would not
come ashore again till he had overcome this fool
ish idea, which was accomplished in a few days.
The feeling manifested on this occasion was
certainly honourable both to the governor and
the governed.

An epidemic disease prevailed this year
throughout the Sandwich Islands. It pro
duced a great mortality, death generally fol
lowing the attack within a few days. In Ha
naruro I saw many corpses daily carried to their
burial; but nowhere is recovery from serious
M 2

424 TREATMENT OF THE SICK.

illness so improbable as here. As soon as the pa
tient is obliged to take to his bed, he is imme
diately surrounded by his nearest relations, es
pecially of the female sex, who, weeping, and
singing mournful songs in a most lamentable
tone, propose to themselves, by this means, to
effect his recovery, or at least to procure him
some relief from his sufferings. The worse he
grows, the larger the assembly, and the louder
the noise becomes; even his friends and ac
quaintances come flocking in : when there is no
more room within the house, they congregate
round the door, and continue mourning, crying,
and howling, inside and outside, till the sufferer
expires. This perpetual disturbance, the con
stant remembrance of death it occasions, and
the infection of the air from the number of
breaths in the crowded apartment, naturally
produce a very prejudicial effect, and no doubt
many die rather in consequence of these proofs
of sympathy than of their disease.

Kahumanna, having concluded her business
in O Tuai, arrived at length in Hanaruro with
the King's brother, a handsome boy of thirteen.
I paid her a visit, and was very graciously

QUEEN KAHUMANNA. 245

received. She is considerably older than No-
mahanna; but, though large and corpulent
enough, not by much such a prodigy of size.
Her countenance bears traces of former beauty ;
she dresses entirely like a European, and has a
more intimate knowledge of our customs and
manners than Nomahanna. Her house, built
partly of wood and partly of stone, is larger
than the one I have described as the habitation
of the other Queen ; like that, it has two stories
and a balcony, and it is similarly furnished.
Near it is the abode of the missionary Beng-
ham. Kahumanna, as well as Nomahanna,
has the date of Tameamea's death marked
upon her arm ; otherwise they are not tattoed,
which indeed few are, and those only the most
aged people.

Kahumanna honoured me several times with
visits on board, and condescended to write me
a letter, which, Marini assured me, contained
nothing but expressions so inflated and pom
pous that he could not understand, and there
fore could not translate them.

The appointed time for our return to New
Archangel now approached. Our vessel had

246 M. HOFFMAN'S JOURNEY TO MOU-NA-ROA-

been fully prepared for encountering the vio
lent and continued storms of the North, and
I waited the return of our mineralogist, M.
Hoffman, who had gone to O Wahi, for the
purpose of climbing the mountain Mou-na-roa,
in which however he did not succeed. By com
mand of Queen Nomahanna, assistance had in
deed been afforded him ; but the two Kanackas,
who accompanied him as guides, refused to pro
ceed farther than seven thousand feet above the
level of the sea, or about half-way up the moun
tain; a height to which the most courageous
O Wahian will scarcely venture, from fear partly
of the spirits which haunt the summit of the
mountain, partly of the cold, which is almost
too severe for an inhabitant of the tropics to
endure. At this point the Kanackas threw
themselves flat upon the earth, nor would they
stir another step, although certain of punish
ment for their refusal. In vain M. Hoffman
tried to shake their resolution, first by offering
them large presents, and then by threatening
them with a loaded pistol ; they were immove-
able, and he was forced to return. His expe
dition, however, was not altogether fruitless:

LEAVE HANARURO. 247

besides his mineralogical observations, he dis
covered an extraordinary cave, running at an
acute angle several hundred feet deep into the
mountain, where he found a sheet of water,
which stretched as far as the light of the
torches permitted the light to reach through
the fearful darkness. It would have been in
teresting to have traversed this subterranean
sea in a boat. It is most remarkable, that the
water of this lake is salt, and that the alternate
ebb and flow of the tide is as perceptible here
as on the coast. M. Hoffman will probably
publish other particulars respecting this natural
curiosity.

On the 31st of January 1825, we left the
harbour of Hanaruro, having the pleasure to
be accompanied by our friend Karemaku, who,
by the help of our physicians, felt himself well
enough to venture thus far. He brought with
him several double canoes, which, as there was
no wind, towed the ship quite out of the harbour,
and far enough to sea to obviate any danger
from the reefs ; Karemaku then took leave of
us with the most cordial expressions of friend
ship, wishing us a prosperous voyage and a

248 SAIL FOR NEW ARCHANGEL.

speedy return. On a signal from him, the
fortress fired five guns, which salute we imme
diately returned. Karemaku waved his hat
from his boat, and continuing his " Arohas" so
long as we were within hearing, was rowed back
to the harbour. A fresh wind at this moment
springing up, we lost sight of the beautiful is
land where we had passed our time so agreeably,
and prepared, with»far less prospect of satisfac
tion, to encounter the wintry storms of the North.
I chose the channel between the islands of Wahu
and O Tuai, as the most convenient outlet into
the open ocean, for ships going northward from
Hanaruro. We passed through it on the follow
ing day, and sailed direct for New Archangel.

The reader will willingly spare me any par
ticular description of this troublesome voyage :
I must only mention that, on the 14th of Fe
bruary, in latitude 35° and 155° longitude, we
sailed over a point where, according to the
assertion of some whale-fishers in Wahu, an
island lies ; but though the horizon was per
fectly clear, we could discover no sign of land.
Our voyage proved safer and more expeditious
than is usual at this season.

RETURN VOYAGE TO WAHU. 249

Our astronomical observations on the Sand
wich Islands gave the following results: —

Latitude of Hanaruro . . . 21° 17' 57"

Longitude . . . '*•-''. 158° 00' 30"
Longitude of the Eastern point of the

island Muwe . . . . 156° 13' 10"

Longitude of the Western point . . 156° 48' 11"
Latitude of one of the small islands

East of Maratai, which are not

given in Vancouver's map . . 21° 13' 30"

Longitude 156° 49' 12".

The account of our residence at New Arch
angel is contained in the tenth Chapter.

On our return voyage to Wahu, we had con
stantly fine weather, though but little wind,
so that it was not till the 29th of August we
found ourselves in latitude 34°, where we first,
in a clear star-light night, saw the comet which
was then visible in the neighbourhood of Alde-
baran ; it had a tail four degrees and a half
long. On the 4th of September we sailed over
a point, occupied in Arrowsmith's chart by the
island Laxara, without perceiving the smallest
trace of it ; the existence therefore of this island,
which is said to have been early discovered by
the Spanish navigators, remains doubtful.
M 5

250 PHENOMENON.

When we reached the tropic, a brisk trade-
wind carried us quickly to the Sandwich Islands,
and on the 12th of September we already saw
the Mou-na-roa quite clearly, at a distance of
a hundred and twenty-four miles, rising high
above the horizon. On the following morning,
we again dropped anchor before the harbour of
Hanaruro, after a sail of thirty-five days from
New Archangel.

As I only intended to take in a supply of
fresh provisions and water, and then continue
my voyage without farther delay, I considered
it unnecessary to run into the harbour, and re
mained in the roads, although the south-wind to
which they are exposed is sometimes dangerous
to ships riding there. This wind, however,
blows only at certain seasons, and is always an
nounced by an over-clouded sky, long enough
to afford time for taking shelter or standing out
to sea.

On the morning after our arrival, a remark
able phenomenon occurred, of which we were
witnesses throughout its duration. While the
heavens were quite clear, a thick, black cloud
formed itself over the island, resting its lower

PHENOMENON. 251

verge on the summits of the mountains, the
densest portion of the cloud hanging over the
little town of Hanaruro. The wind was per
fectly calm, till on a sudden a violent gust blew
from the north-east, and at the same time a
crashing noise proceeded from the cloud, as if
many ships were firing their guns; the resem
blance was so perfect, that we might have sup
posed we heard alternately the individual shots
of the opposing broadsides. The concussion
lasted some minutes ; and when it ceased, two
stones shot from the cloud into the street of
Hanaruro, and from the violence of the fall
broke into several pieces. The inhabitants col
lected the still warm fragments, and judging by
these, the stones must have weighed full fifteen
pounds each. They were grey inside, and were
externally surrounded by a black burnt crust.
On a chemical analysis, they appeared to re
semble the meteoric stones which have fallen in
many countries.

In the short period of our absence, some im-
portants events had taken place. My readers
will remember that the King and Queen of the
Sandwich Islands arrived safely in London, and

252 DEATH OF THE KING AND QUEEN.

were there treated with particular attention by
the English Court ; and that they both died in
that country, having previously expressed their
desire to be buried in their native land. This
wish was fulfilled by the English Government.
The bodies, having been embalmed, were laid in
magnificent coffins decorated with gold, and
Lord Byron was appointed to carry them and
the royal suite, back to Wahu. When he ar
rived there, and the news of the deaths of the
King and Queen transpired, it produced a great
but varying sensation. Some of the people la
mented the loss, but the greater number re
joiced to be relieved of a ruler in whom they
had no confidence ; our friend Karemaku seemed
much grieved, possibly from old attachment to
the royal family, or from patriotism, as he had
hoped that the King's visit to England would
have been very advantageous to him, and no
one was at the moment qualified to assume the
reins of government as his successor.

On the llth of May, both coffins were carried
in solemn procession to the church, the fortress
and the English frigate firing their guns. The
people cried and howled, as custom requires on

FUNERAL PROCESSION. 253

these occasions, but all the while greatly ad
miring the magnificence of the coffins ; some re
marked that it must be a pleasure to die in
England, where people were laid in such beau
tiful boxes. The following inscriptions in the
English language were on the coffin-lids :

"Tameamea II., King of the Sandwich Is
lands, died in London on the 24th of July
1824, in the 28th year of his age. Respected be
the memory of our beloved King Jolani."

(The King was sometimes known by this ap
pellation.)

" Tamehamelu, Queen of the Sandwich Is
lands, died in London, on the 8th of July 1824,
in the 22d year of her age."

The funeral procession was arranged in the
following order : Twelve Yeris, in the national
costume, with beautiful coloured feather man
tles and helmets, walked first ; they were fol
lowed by a band of musicians playing the dead-
march, and a company of soldiers from the fri
gate Blond. Then came the chaplain of the
frigate, and with him the missionaries, immedi
ately followed by the coffins in hearses, each
drawn by forty Yeris. Directly behind the

254 TAMEAMEA THE THIRD.

coffins came the heir to the throne, the brother
of the King, a boy about thirteen, dressed in
European uniform. Lord Byron, his officers,
and the royal family, followed, the procession
being closed by the people, who, attracted by
the novelty of the spectacle, assembled in great
multitudes. All wore crape as a sign of mourn
ing, or, if they could not procure this, Tapa. In
the church, which was entirely hung with black,
the chaplain of the English frigate read the fu
neral-service, and the procession afterwards re
paired, in the order above described, to a small
stone chapel, where the coffins were deposited,
and where they still remain.

Soon after the funeral, the new King was
proclaimed by the title of Tameamea the Third,
at the command of Karemaku, who retained
the regency during the minority, in conjunction
with the Queen Kahumanna. The regents
were thus nominally the same ; but Karemaku
was too ill to take an active share in the govern
ment, and the missionary Bengham found means
to obtain such an acendency over the imperious
Kahumanna, and, through her, over the nation,
that in the course of only seven months an en-

THE MISSIONARY BENGHAM. 255

tire change had taken place : — we might have
imagined ourselves in a different country.
Bengham had undertaken the education of the
young monarch, and was keeping him under
the strictest surveillance. He meddles in all
the affairs of government, and makes Kahu-
manna, and even sometimes Karemaku, the
instrument of his will ; pays particular atten
tion to commercial concerns, in which he ap
pears to take great interest ; and seems to have
quite forgotten his original situation and the
object of his residence in the islands, finding
the avocations of a ruler more to his taste than
those of a preacher. This would be excusable,
if his talents were of a nature to contribute to
the instruction and happiness of the people ; if
he understood the art of polishing the rough
diamond, to which the uncorrupted Sandwich
Islander may aptly be compared, so as to bring
out its intrinsic value, and to increase its ex
ternal splendour. But the fact is widely diffe
rent ; and one cannot see without deep regret
the spiritual and temporal weal of a well-dis
posed people committed to the guidance of an
unenlightened enthusiast, whose ill-directed and

256 THE MISSIONARY STEWART.

ill-arranged designs are inimical to their true r
and permanent interests.

Mr. Stewart, also a missionary, but more re
cently settled here than Bengham, is a judicious
and well-informed man, and would remedy many
of the evils incident to the present state of af
fairs; but/ Bengham, who has usurped the abso
lute control of the spiritual administration, will
have every thing accommodated to his whims.
Stewart therefore, finding himself unable to
follow the course prescribed by his active zeal
and strong understanding, for the benefit of the
islanders, proposes to leave the country.

That BenghanVs private views may not be
too easily penetrated, religion is made the cloak
of all his designs, and the greatest activity and
strictness prevail in its propagation, and in the
maintenance of church discipline. The inha
bitants of every house or hut in Hanaruro are
compelled by authority to an almost endless
routine of prayers ; and even the often dis
honest intentions of the foreign settlers must
be concealed under the veil of devotion. The
streets, formerly so full of life and animation,
are now deserted ; games of all kinds, even the

MISSIONARY DISCIPLINE. 257

most innocent, are sternly prohibited ; singing is
a punishable offence ; and the consummate pro
fligacy of attempting to dance would certainly
find no mercy. On Sundays, no cooking is per
mitted, nor must even a fire be kindled : nothing,
in short, must be done ; the whole day is devo
ted to prayer, with how much real piety may
be easily imagined. Some of the royal attend
ants, on their return from London, at first op
posed these regulations, and maintained that
the English, though good Christians, submit to
no such restraint. Kahumanna, however, in
fatuated by her counsellor, will hear of no op
position ; and as her power extends to life and
death, those who would willingly resist are
compelled to bend under the iron sceptre of this
arbitrary old woman.

A short time before our return, a command
had issued, that all persons who had attained
the age of eight years should be brought to
Hanaruro, to be taught reading and writing.
The poor country people, though much discon
tented, did not venture to disobey, but patiently
abandoning their labour in the fields, flocked to
Hanaruro, where we saw many families bivouack-

258 SCHOOLS.

ing in the streets, in little huts hastily put to-?
gether, with the spelling-books in their hands.
Such as could already read were made to learn
passages from the Bible by heart. Every street
in Hanaruro has more than one school-house :
they are long huts, built of reeds, without any
division. In each of these, about a hundred
scholars, of both sexes, are instructed by a sin
gle native teacher, who, standing on a raised
platform, names aloud every single letter, which
is repeated in a scream by the whole assembly.
These establishments, it may be supposed, are
easily recognised afar off; no other sounds are
heard in the streets ; and the human figure is
seldom to be seen amidst this melancholy still
ness, except when the scholars, conducted by
their teachers, repair to the church. Every
sort of gaiety is forbidden.

Lord Byron had brought with him from
England a variety of magic lanterns, puppet-
shows, and such like toys, and was making pre
parations to exhibit them in public, for the en
tertainment of the people, when an order arrived
from Bengham to prevent the representation,
because it did not become God-fearing Christians

REFLECTIONS. 259

to take pleasure in such vain amusements. The
nobleman, not wishing to dispute the point, gave
up his good-natured intentions.

That a people naturally so lively, should
readily submit to such gloomy restrictions at
the command of their rulers, proves how easily
a wise government might introduce among them
the blessings of rational civilization. Well
might Karemaku exclaim, " Tameamea, thou
hast died too soon !" Had this monarch doubled
the usual age of man, and accorded his protec
tion to such a reformer as Stewart, the Sandwich
Islanders might by this time have acquired the
respect of all other nations, instead of retro
grading in the arts of civilization, and assuming
under compulsion the hypocritical appearance
of an affected devotion.

In taking a walk with an American merchant
established here, I met a naked old man with a
book in his hand, whom my companion ad
dressed, and knowing him for a determined op
ponent of the new system, expressed his surprise
at his occupation, and enquired how long he had
been studying his alphabet. With a roguish
laugh which seemed intended to conceal a more

260 THE QUEEN'S SEVERITY.

bitter feeling, first looking round to make sure*
that he should not be overheard, he replied,.
4 'Don't think that I am learning to read. I
have only bought the book to look into it, that
Kahumanna may think I am following the ge
neral example ; she would not otherwise suffer
me to approach her, and what would then become
of a poor, miserable, old man like me ? What
is the use of the odious B A, Ba? Will it
make our yams and potatoes grow ? No such
thing ; our country people are obliged to neglect
their fields for it, and scarcely half the land is
tilled. What will be the consequence ? There
will be a famine by and by, and " Pala, Pala"
will not fill a hungry man."

It is doubtless praiseworthy in a government
to provide for the instruction of the people, but
to force it upon them by such unreasonable
measures as those adopted by Kahumanna and
her counsellor must have a prejudicial effect :
so far the old man was right.

A striking instance of the severity with which
the Queen sometimes prosecutes her purpose,
fell under our observation. An old man of
seventy, who rented a piece of land belonging

BENGHAM'S TYRANNY. 261

a : to her, many miles distant from Hanaruro,

; had always paid his taxes with regularity, and

I hoping that the distance, and his advanced age,

might dispense with his attendance at the

i church and the school, acted accordingly ; but
*
for this neglect, Kahumanna drove him from

his home. He sought her presence, implored
t j her compassion for his destitute condition, and
i represented the impossibility of learning to
, iread at his age. But in vain! The Queen
t replied with an angry gesture, " If you will not
learn to read, you may go and drown yourself."
To such tyranny as this, has Bengham urged
the Queen, and perhaps already esteems him
self absolute sovereign of these islands. But
he reckons without his host. He pulls the
cord so tightly, that the bow must break ; and
: I forewarn him, that his authority will, one
day, suddenly vanish : already the cloud is
gathering; much discontent exists. The inju-
! dicious summons of country people to Ha
naruro has enhanced the price of provisions,
partly on account of the increased consumption,
partly because so much time spent in study and
prayer leaves but little for the labours of agri-

264 PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE.

whole crew : the cook's mate alone remained at
the helm, and the ship lay to. The monster,
as it peaceably floated on the surface of the
water, was eagerly followed, and harpooned.
On feeling the stroke of the weapon, it lashed
its powerful tail with fury, and the boat near
est it was obliged to dart with all speed out
of the way, to avoid instant destruction. The
whale then turned its vengeance on the ship,
swam several times round her with prodigious
noise, and then struck her so violently on the
bows, that the cook's mate could compare the
effect of the blow only to the shock of an earth
quake. The fish disappeared, but the tremen
dous leak the ship had sprung sank her in five
minutes with all that she contained. Her soli
tary guardian was with difficulty saved.

The crew were now left in four open boats,
several weeks' voyage from the nearest land,
and with no provision but the little biscuit they
happened to have with them. After a long dis
cussion upon the best course to pursue, they
separated : two of the boats steered for the
Washington or Marquesas Isles ; and the other
two, with the Captain in one of them, towards

ADIEU TO THE SANDWICH ISLES. 265

the south, for the island of Juan Fernandez.
The former have not since been heard of ; but
the latter were, a fortnight afterwards, picked
up by a vessel, when the captain and four only
of his men were found alive : the other ten had
died of hunger, and their corpses had afforded
nourishment to the survivors.

On the 19th of September, when the first
rays of the sun were gilding the romantic moun
tains of Wahu, we spread our sails, and bade
adieu to the Sandwich Islands, heartily wishing
them what they so greatly want — another Tame-
amea, not in name only, but in spirit and in
deed.

VOL. II.

THE PESCADORES,

THE RIMSKI-KORSAKOFF,

THE ESCHSCHOLTZ,

AND THE

BRONUS ISLES.

N 2

THE PESCADORES, THE RIMSKI-
KORSAKOFF, THE ESCHSCHOLTZ,
AND THE BRONUS ISLES.

ON leaving the Sandwich Isles, we steered
southward, it being my intention to sail by a
track not hitherto pursued by navigators who
have left us records of their voyages, to the
Radack chain of islands. At Hanaruro, seve
ral captains had mentioned to me an island situ
ated in 17° 32' latitude, and 163° 52' longitude.
On the 23rd of September we crossed this point,
and saw indeed birds of a description that rare
ly fly to any great distance from land ; but the
reported island itself we were unable to descry
even from the mast-head, although the atmo
sphere was perfectly clear : — so little is the in
telligence of masters of trading-vessels to be
relied on.

270 THE UDIR1K GROUP.

On the 26th, we were, by observation, in
14° 32' latitude, and 169° 38' longitude. During
the whole of the day, large flights of such sea-
birds were seen as indicate the neighbourhood
of land, and even some land-birds ; so that no
doubt remained of our having sailed at no great
distance from an island hitherto unknown, the
discovery of which is reserved for "some future
voyager. During the whole of this course, we
had frequent signs of the vicinity of land, but
never to the same extent as on this day.

A captain, who had frequently made the voy
age from the Sandwich Isles to Canton, asserts
his having discovered a shoal in 14° 42' latitude,
and 170° 30' longitude. I can neither confirm
nor confute this assertion ; and my only motive
for repeating it here is, that vessels passing near
that point may be put upon their guard.

On the 5th of October we reached the Udirik
group, the most northern of the islands belong
ing to the Radack chain. We sailed past its
southern point, at a distance of only three miles,
for the purpose of rectifying our longitude,
that, in case of discovering the Ralik chain,
we might be enabled to ascertain the exact dif-

A GROUP OF CORAL ISLANDS. 271

ference between that and Radack. We there
fore continued our course due west, in the
direction of the Pescadore Islands, to obtain
ocular demonstration that these and the Udi-
rik group are not one and the same ; an opinion
which is still entertained by some persons, on
the ground that the discoverers of the former
have mistaken their longitude.

We continued our course due west through
out the day, with very fine weather, and having
a man constantly upon the look-out from the
mast-head. During the night we had the be
nefit of the full moon ; we then carried but little
sail ; but at break of day we again set all our
top-sails.

At noon, the watch called from the tops that
land was right ahead of us. It soon came in
sight, and proved to be a group of low, thickly-
wooded coral islands, forming, as usual, a
circle round a basin. At one o'clock in the
afternoon we reached within three miles of
them, and had, from the mast-head, a clear
view of their whole extent. While occupied
in surveying them, we doubled their most
southern point, at a distance of only half a

272 SITUATION OF THE PESCADORES,

mile from the reefs, and perceived that their
greatest length is from east to west, in which
direction they take in a space of ten miles.
The aspect of these green islands is pleasing to
the eye, and, according to appearance, they
would amply supply the necessities of a popu
lation not superabundant ; but though we sailed
very near them, and used our telescopes, we
could discover no trace of human habitation.

According to accurate astronomical obser
vations, the middle of this group lies under
11° 19' 21" latitude, and 192° 25' 3" longitude.
In comparing the situation of the Pescadores,
as given by Captain Wallis, their discoverer,
with this observation, it is scarcely possible to
believe in the identity of the groups. I have,
however, left them the name of Pescadores, be
cause the two observations nearly correspond.
After having sailed round the whole group,
we came, at four o'clock in the afternoon, so
close to their north-western point, that every
movement on land might have been distinctly
seen with the naked eye; yet even here there
was nothing to indicate the presence of man,
though Wallis communicated with the inhabi-

MORE CORAL ISLANDS. 273

tants, if, indeed, these islands be really the Pes
cadores. If so, these people must have become
extinct long ago, as no monument of their former
existence is now visible. When we had com
pleted our survey, we again proceeded west
ward, and, within half an hour, the watch
again announced land in sight. The evening
was now so far advanced, that we determined
to lay-to, in order to avoid the danger of too
near an approach to the coral reefs during the
night, and deferred our survey till the follow
ing morning. At break of day we saw the
islands which we have called the Pescadores,
lying six miles to the eastward ; whilst those
which had risen on our horizon the preceding
evening had wholly disappeared. We had di
verged from them in the night; but, with a
brisk trade- wind, we regained the sight of them
in an hour. At eight o'clock in the morning
we came within three miles of the nearest is
land, and running parallel with the land, began
our examination. It was another group of
coral islands connected by reefs round a basin.
Here also vegetation was luxuriant, and the
cocoa-trees rose to a towering height, but not a
N 5

274 RIMSKI-KORSAKOFF GROUP.

trace of man could be discerned ; and we there
fore concluded they were uninhabited, as we
were near enough to distinguish any object with
the naked eye. Favoured by a fresh breeze, we
sailed westward along the islands, till night
fall, without reaching the end of this long
group. During the night we had much diffi
culty in keeping our position, owing to a tole
rably smart gale, which, in these unknown
waters, would have been attended by no incon
siderable danger, but that the land lay to wind
ward of us ; and were therefore well pleased
in the morning to find that the different land
marks by which we had been guided over
night, were still visible, so that we were ena
bled to pursue our observations without in
terruption.

The greatest length of this group, which I
named, after our second lieutenant, Rimski-
Korsakoff, is from east-north-east to west-south
west, in which direction it is, fifty-four miles
long. Its greatest breadth is ten miles. As we
were sailing along the islands to windward of us,
we could plainly distinguish from the mast-head
those which lay at the other side of the basin.

NEW ISLANDS DISCOVERED. 275

After having terminated our observations, we
pursued a southerly course, in hopes of discover
ing more land, and sailed at a great rate during
the whole of the day, without seeing any thing.
At night we lay-to ; but the following morning,
the 9th of October, we had scarcely spread our
sails, before the man at the mast-head disco
vered some low islands to the north, which we
had already past, and which now lay to wind
ward of us. I immediately changed our course,
and endeavoured to approach them by dint of
tacking, but a strong easterly current, which
increased as we drew nearer to the land, almost
baffled our efforts. We succeeded with much
difficulty in getting within eleven miles and a
half of the western extremity of the group, dis
tinguished by a small round hill, which at noon
lay due east, our latitude by observation being
11° 30' 32", and our longitude 194° 34'. From
this point we could see the group, stretching to
the verge of the horizon, in a south-easterly and
north-easterly direction. We again attempted
to approach them nearer; but not succeeding,
we were obliged to continue our course to
the westward, contenting ourselves with deter-

276 NAMED THE E^CHSCHOLTZ GROUP.

mining the position of the western extremity,
11° 40' 11" latitude, and 194° 37 35" longitude,
from which point they must stretch considera
bly to the east. These, like other coral islands,
probably lie round a basin : of population we
could see no trace, though there was every ap
pearance of their being habitable. I named
them, after our worthy Doctor and Professor,
Eschscholtz, who was now making the second
voyage with me.

It is unnecessary to add any thing here re
specting the situations of these three groups of
isles, which have been laid down, with the great
est possible accuracy, in the chart accompany
ing this volume ; one thing only I beg to ob
serve, that they bear not the slightest resem
blance to the Pescadores described by Wallis.
He did not possess the facilities for ascertaining
the longitude, which have been invented since
his time. His Pescadores may be situated else
where ; but even if one of these groups should
be the Pescadores, we may justly claim the dis
covery of the other two. This discovery is of
some value, inasmuch as these groups are no
doubt the northern extremity of the Ralik

THE BRONUS ISLKS. 277

chain ; and their position and distance from Ra-
dak being now ascertained, there will hereafter
be little difficulty in discovering the remaining
groups of the chain.

From the Eschscholtz Isles we steered for the
Bronus Isles, it being my wish to try the ac
curacy of their geographical position, and to
ascertain whether the interval between the two
groups was wholly free of islands. On the llth
of October, at noon, being in latitude 11° 21'
39", and longitude 196° 35', the Bronus Isles
were descried from the mast-head, at a distance
of twenty miles. We approached within a mile
and a half of the southern extremity of the
group, from which point we were able to survey
the whole, which we found, like other coral
groups, to consist of a circle of islands connected
by a reef. The Bronus Isles, however, appeared
of more ancient formation than any we had yet
seen ; the land was somewhat more elevated, and
the trees were larger and stronger. Here also
we saw no appearance of inhabitants.

A calm which suddenly set in exposed us to
the danger of being driven by a powerful cur
rent upon the reef; but when we were already

278 A PHENOMENON.

very near the breakers, the direction of the cur
rent varied, running southward parallel with the
coast. By this means we were enabled to dou
ble the southern extremity of the group, and a
gentle breeze soon after springing up, conveyed
us to a safe distance from the land. According
to our observation, this southern extremity lies
in latitude 11° 20' 50', and longitude 197° 28'
30". It was my intention to have noted the
position of the whole group, for which pur
pose I endeavoured during the night to keep
the ship in its vicinity; but at daybreak the
current had carried us so far to leeward, that
land could scarcely be perceived from the mast
head. As it was utterly impossible to make
any way against the united force of the current
and trade-wind, I was obliged to abandon my
design, upon which we steered for the Ladrones,
or Mariana Isles, where I intended to take in
fresh provisions.

It is a striking phenomenon, and one not
easily accounted for, that in 11° north latitude,
from the Radak chain to the Bronus Isles, there
should be a current of a mile and a half per hour.

THE LA DRONES,

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

THE LADRONES, AND THE PHILIP
PINE ISLANDS.

HAVING, in my former voyage, given a de
tailed account of these islands, I need not here
add much concerning them. A fresh breeze,
and fine weather, made our voyage agreeable
and rapid. On the morning of the 25th of
October, we saw the island Sarpani, which
belongs to the Ladrones, lying before us at the
distance of twenty-five miles, and soon after
distinguished the principal island, Guaham,
whither we were bound. The longitude of the
eastern point of Sarpani was found to be 214° 38 .

The aspect of the eastern point of Guaham,
which is exposed to a constant trade-wind, does
not suggest an idea of the fertility of the island ;
but the traveller is agreeably surprised at the

282 ISLAND OF G UAH AM.

sight of its western coast, where Nature has been
most prodigal ; and cannot but remember with
sorrow the extermination of the natives by the Spa
niards, on their taking possession of the islands
and forcibly introducing the Catholic religion.

It is remarkable that the soil of Guaham,
under the first stratum of earth, consists of
coral blocks not yet quite dissolved ; from which
it may be conjectured, that a former group of
low coral islands, as well as the basin which they
enclosed, were forced upwards by the power of
subterranean fire ; and in this manner the island
of Guaham has been formed. This hypothesis is
confirmed by Mr. Hoffman's discovery of a cra
ter on the island, with a fire still burning in its
abyss.

The fortress, standing on what is called the
Devil's Point, intended for the defence of the
town of Agadna, was so peacefully disposed,
that not one of its cannons was fit for use. I
saw, to my great astonishment, in the harbour
Caldera de Apra, ships bearing the English and
North American flags. The Spaniards do not
usually permit the entrance of foreign vessels ;
but I was informed by the captains of these,

DON GANGO ERRERO. 283

that the whalers who pursue their occupations
on the coast of Japan, now frequently choose
Guaham for refitting and victualling their ships.
I also heard, with much pleasure, that they
exclusively use our Admiral Krusenstern^s
chart of the Japanese coast ; and they assured
me, that objects even of minor importance are
laid down in it with the greatest accuracy.
How much cause have seamen for thankfulness
to one who has provided them with such a chart !
their lives frequently depend on the correctness
of these guides ; and an erroneous one may be
worse than none at all.

As I only intended stopping here a few days,
and the harbour is by no means safe, I deter
mined not to enter it. but sent an officer to the
Governor, with a list of fresh provisions which
I requested his assistance in procuring. On
the following morning, I rowed with some of
my officers ashore, and we were received by the
Governor, Don Gango Errero, who had already
taken measures for supplying our wants, with
great civility, though not without some degree
of Spanish stateliness.

His government here confirms an observation

284 ARREST OF ERRERO.

repeatedly made, that a few years of a bad ad
ministration are sufficient to undo all that a
good one may have effected by a long series of
exertions. Eight years ago, when Medenilla
was governor, the most perfect content, and
prosperity to a certain extent, existed in Gua-
ham ; and now, by the fault of one man. every
thing bears a totally different aspect. So much
depends on the choice of the person to whom
power is delegated, at such a distance from the
seat of sovereignty as that the complaints of
the oppressed can seldom reach it. Errero is
even accused of the murder of some English
and American sailors ; and, on this occasion,
Spanish justice has not been in vain appealed
to by their comrades ; for, as I afterwards learn
ed, the order for Errero's arrest was already
made out at the moment when, in perfect self-
confidence and enjoyment, he was entertaining
me with lively songs, accompanied by himself
on the guitar ; and Medenilla has been again
appointed to the command, that he may endea
vour to repair the evils Errero had occasioned.
Of my earlier acquaintances, I now met only
the estimable Don Louis de Torres, the friend

DON LOUIS DE TORRES. 285

of the Carolinas, who communicated to M. De
Chamisso many interesting particulars respect
ing these amiable islanders. After our depar
ture in the Rurik, he had again made a voyage
to the Carolinas, and had persuaded several
families to come and settle at Guaham. The
yearly visits of these islanders to Guaham
are still regularly continued ; and at the time
of our stay, one of their little flotillas was in
the harbour. Being clever seamen, they are
much employed by the Spaniards, who are very
ignorant in this respect, in their voyages to the
other Marian Islands, with which, unassisted
by their friends of Carolina, these would hold
but little communication. We had an oppor
tunity of seeing two of their canoes come in
from Sarpani, when the sea ran high, and the
wind was very strong, and greatly admired the
skill with which they were managed.

The revolt of the Spanish colonies has not
extended itself to these islands. The inhabi
tants of Guaham have maintained their loyalty,
notwithstanding the tyranny of their governor,
and unseduced by an example recently given
them. A Spanish ship of the line and a frigate,

286 BASHI AND BABUYAN ISLANDS.

with fugitive loyalists from Peru, lately touched
here ; they were bound for Manilla ; but the
crews of both ships mutinied, put the officers
and passengers ashore, and returned to Peru to
make common cause with the insurgents.

After remaining four days before Agadna,
we took in our provisions, for which ten times
the price was demanded that we had paid here
eight years ago, and left Guaham on the 22nd
of October, directing our course for the Bashi
Islands, as I intended to pass through their
straits into the Chinese Sea, and then sail direct
to Manilla. On the 1st of November, our
noon observation gave 20° 15' latitude, and
236° 42' longitude, so that we were already in
the neighbourhood of the Bashi and Babuyan
Islands. We continued to sail so briskly till
sunset, that we could not be then far from land ;
but black clouds had gathered over it, conceal
ing it from our view, and presaging stormy
weather ; we did not venture therefore to ad
vance during the night, but tacked with sails
reefed, waiting the break of day. At midnight
we had some violent squalls from the north
with a ruffled sea, but not amounting to a

ISLAND OF BANTAN. 287

storm. The rising sun discovered to us the
three high Richmond rocks, rising in the mid
dle of the strait, between the Bashi and
Babuyan Islands. Soon after the island of
Bantan appeared, with heavy clouds still lin
gering behind its cliffs. The weather was,
however, at present fine, the wind blowing
strongly from the north ; we therefore set as
much sail as the gale would permit us to carry,
and pursued our course through the strait
formed by the Richmond rocks, and the south
ern Bashi Islands. In clearing these straits, we
had reason to apprehend serious damage to our
rigging, or even the loss of a mast. A heavy
squall from the north-east put the sea in great
commotion. The billows chafed and roared
as they broke over each other, and were met
in the narrow channel by a current, driving
from the Chinese Sea into the ocean. This
furious encounter of the contending waves pro
duced the appearance of breakers, through
which we were compelled to work our danger
ous way ; the ship, sometimes tossed to their
utmost summit, then, without the power of re
sistance, suddenly precipitated into the yawn-

288 LONGITUDES.

ing gulf between them, wore, however, through
all her trials, and gave me cause for exultation
in the strength of her masts, and the goodness
of her tackling. We passed two hours in this
anxious and critical condition, but at length
emerged into the Chinese Sea ; where the com
parative peacefulness of the waves allowed us to
repose after our fatigues, and even afforded us
an opportunity of ascertaining our longitudes.

We found the longitude of the most

easterly of the Richmond rocks . 237° 50' 2"

most westerly 237° 52' 00*

the eastern point

of the Island of Bantan . . 237° 55' 32'
the western point

of Babuyan .... 238° 00 56
the western point

of the Bashi Island . . . 238° 4' 47'
latitude of the eastern point 20° 15' 47'.

All these longitudes are determined accord
ing to our chronometers, which were tried im
mediately after our arrival in Manilla. They
differ from those on Horsbourg^s new chart by
three minutes and a half, ours being so much
more westerly.

With a favourable wind we now sailed south-

TOWN OF MANILLA. 280

wards, in sight of the western coast of Lucon,
till we reached the promontory of Bajador,
where we were detained some days by calms,
therefore did not come in sight of Manilla bay
till the 7th of November. Here the wind was
violent and contrary ; but as it blew from the
land, could not materially swell the waves : we
were therefore enabled, by tacking, to advance
considerably forward ; and at length contrived
to run into the bay, by the southern entrance,
between its shores and the island of Corregidor.
A Spanish brig, which was tacking at the same
time, lost both her top-masts in a sudden gust.

On the morning of the 8th of November we
anchored before the town of Manilla. I imme
diately waited on Don Mariano Ricofort, the
Governor of the Philippines. He gave me a
friendly reception, and granted the permission
I requested, to sail to Cavite, a hamlet lying
on the bay, within a few miles of the town, and
possessing the advantage of a convenient dock.
Our ship being greatly in want of repair, we
removed thither on the following day, and im
mediately commenced our labours.

We spent our time very pleasantly in this

VOL. II. O

290 TRADE OF MANILLA.

lovely tropical country. How richly has Nature
endowed it, and how little is her bounty appre
ciated by the Spaniards ! The whole world does
not offer a more advantageous station for com
merce than the town of Manilla, situated as it is
in the neighbourhood of the richest countries of
Asia, and almost midway between Europe and
America. Spanish jealousy had formerly closed
her port ; but since the revolt of the American
colonies, it has been opened to all nations, and
the Philippines are consequently rising rapidly
to importance. As yet, their export trade has
been chiefly confined to sugar and indigo for
Europe, and the costly Indian bird's-nest, and
Trepatigs, for China. The latter is a kind of
sea-snail without a shell, which not only here,
but on the Ladrones, Carolinas, and Pelew Is
lands, even as far as New Holland, is as eagerly
sought after as the sea-otter on the north-west
coast of America. The luxurious Chinese con
sider them a powerful restorative of strength,
and purchase them as such at an exorbitant
price. But what an inexhaustible store of com
mercial articles might not these islands export!
Coffee of the best quality, cocoa, and two sorts

NATURAL PRODUCTIONS NEGLECTED. 291

of cotton, the one remarkably fine, the produce
of a shrub, the other of a tree, all grow wild
here, and with very little cultivation might be
made to yield a prodigious increase of wealth.
These productions of Nature are, however, so
much neglected, that at present no regular trade ,
is carried on in them. A great abundance of
the finest sago trees, and whole woods of cinna
mon, grow wild and unnoticed in Lu9on. Nut
megs, cloves, and all the produce of the Moluc
cas, are also indigenous on these islands, and in
dustry only (a commodity which, unfortunately,
does not flourish here,) is wanting to make them
a copious source of revenue. Pearls, amber,
and cochineal, abound in the Philippines ; and
the bosom of the earth contains gold, silver, and
other metals. For centuries past, have the Spa
niards suffered all these treasures to lie neglected,
and are even now sending out gold to maintain
their establishments.

The regular troops here, as well as the militia,
are natives. The officers are Spaniards, though
many of them are born here, and all, at least
with few exceptions, are extremely ignorant. It
is said that the soldiers are brave, especially
o 2

292 REGULAR TROOPS.

when blessed, and encouraged by the priests.
As far, however, as I have had an opportunity of
observing the military force, I cannot think it
would ever make a stand against an European
army. Not only are the troops badly armed, but
even the officers, who are in fact distinguished
from the privates only by their uniforms, have
no idea of discipline ; any sort of precision in
their manoeuvres is out of the question ; and to
find a sentinel comfortably asleep with his mus
ket on his shoulder, is by no means an uncom
mon occurrence.

I was told that Lu£on contained eight thou
sand regular troops, and that by summoning
the militia, twenty thousand could be assembled.

The field of honour where the heroes of Lucon
distinguish themselves is on the southern Phi
lippine Islands, which are not yet subdued ; they
are inhabited by Mahommedan Indians, who are
constantly at war with the Spaniards, and who,
ranging as pirates over all the coasts inhabited
by Christians, spread terror and desolation
wherever they appear. From time to time some
well manned gun-boats are sent in pursuit of

THE CHINESE OF LU^ON. 293

these robbers ; which expend plenty of ammuni
tion with very little effect.

It is said that six thousand Chinese inhabit
the suburbs of Manilla, to which they are re
stricted. The greater part of them are clever
and industrious mechanics; the rest are mer
chants, and some of them very rich : they are
the Jews of Lucon, but even more given to cheat
ing and all kinds of meanness than are the
Israelites, and with fewer, or rather with no ex
ceptions. They enjoy no privileges above the
lowest of the people, but are despised, oppress
ed, and often unjustly treated. Their covetous-
ness induces them to submit to all this ; and as
they are entirely divested of any feeling of ho
nour, a small profit will console them for a great
insult. The yearly tax paid by every Chinese
for liberty to breathe the air in Manilla, is six
piastres ; and if he wishes to carry on any sort
of trade, five more ; while the native Indian pays
no more than five reals.

The Philippines also did not follow the ex
ample of the American colonies ; for some dis
turbances among the Indians here, were not

294 AN INSURRECTION.

directed against the government, and an insur
rection soon after attempted proved unsuccessful.
The former were occasioned by a few innocent
botanists wandering through the island in search
of plants ; and an epidemic disease breaking out
among the Indians about the same time, of which
many died, a report suddenly spread among
them, that the foreign collectors of plants had
poisoned the springs in order to exterminate
them. Enraged at this idea, they assembled in
great numbers, murdered several strangers, and
even plundered and destroyed the houses of
some of the old settlers in the town of Manilla.
It has been supposed that the Spaniards them
selves really excited these riots, that they might
fish in the troubled waters.

The late governor, Fulgeros, is accused of not
having adopted measures sufficiently active for
repressing the insurrection. This judicious and
amiable man, who was perhaps too mild a go
vernor for so rude a people, was murdered in
his bed a year after by a native, of Spanish
blood, an officer in one of the regiments here,
who followed up this crime by heading a mutiny
of the troops. The insurgents assembled in the

A KING'S PORTRAIT. 295

market-place, but were soon dispersed by a regi
ment which remained faithful, and in a few
hours peace was re-established, and has not since
been disturbed. The present governor, Rico-
fort, was sent out to succeed the unfortunate
Fulgeros.

The King, affected by the loyalty displayed
by the town of Manilla, at a time when the
other colonies had thrown off their allegiance,
presented it with a portrait of himself, in token
of his especial favour. The picture was brought
out by the new governor, and received with a
degree of veneration which satisfactorily evinced
the high value set by the faithful colony on the
royal present. It was first deposited in a house
in the suburb belonging to the Crown, and then
made its entry into the town in grand proces
sion, and was carried to the station of hono in-
appointed for it in the castle. This important
ceremony took place during our residence here,
on the 6th of December ; and three days pre
viously, the King in effigy had held a court in
the suburb. The house was splendidly illumi
nated : in front of it stood a piquet of well-
dressed soldiers ; sentinels were placed at all the

296 COURT CEREMONIAL.

doors; the apartments were filled with attendants,
pages, and officers of every rank in gala uni
forms ; and the etiquette of the Spanish court
was as much as possible adhered to throughout
the proceedings. Persons whose rank entitled
them to the honour of a presentation to the
King, were conducted into the audience-chamber,
which was splendidly adorned with hangings of
Chinese silk : here the picture, concealed by a
silk curtain, was placed on a platform raised a
few steps from the floor, under a canopy of silk
overhanging two gilded pillars. The colonel on
duty acting as Lord Chamberlain, conducted
the person to be presented before the picture,
and raised the curtain. The King then appeared
in a mantle lined with ermine, and with a crown
upon his head ; the honoured individual made a
low bow ; the King looked in gracious silence
upon him ; the curtain was again lowered, and
the audience closed.

On the 6th of December, the immense multi
tudes that had assembled from the different pro
vinces, to celebrate the solemn entry of the
portrait into the capital of the islands, were in
motion at daybreak. The lower classes were

A PROCESSION. 297

seen in all kinds of singular costumes, some of
them most laughable caricatures, and some even
wearing masks. Rockets and Chinese fire
works saluted the rising sun, producing of
course, by daylight, no other effects than noise,
smoke, and confusion, while elegant equipages
rolled along the streets, scarcely able to make
their way through the crowd. At nine o'clock,
a royal salute thundered from the cannon of
the fortress ; and at twelve the procession began
to move, displaying a rather ludicrous mixture
of Spanish and Asiatic taste. I saw it from the
windows of a house on its route, which com
manded a very extensive view of the line of
march. The cortege was led by the Chinese.
First came a body of twenty-four musicians,
some striking with sticks upon large round
plates of copper, producing an effect not unlike
the jingling of bells, and others performing
most execrably upon instruments resembling
clarionets. The sound of the copper plates
was too confused to allow us to distinguish
either time or tune — points of no great conse
quence perhaps ; the choir, at least, did not
trouble much about them. The musicians
o5

298 A PROCESSION.

were followed by a troop of Chinese bearing
silken banners, upon which were represented
their idols, and dragons of all sorts and sizes,
surrounded by hieroglyphical devices. Next
followed, in a kind of litter richly ornamented,
a young Chinese girl with a pair of scales in her
hand, and intended, as I was told, to repre
sent Justice, a virtue for which her country-
people, in these parts, have not much cause to
applaud themselves. Another set of musicians
surrounded the goddess, making din enough
with their copper plates to drown every com
plaint that might endeavour to reach her ear.
Then came the rest of the Chinese, in differ
ent bands, with the symbols of their respec
tive trades represented upon banners. Four
Bacchantes, somewhat advanced in age, and
in an attire more loose than was consistent
with modesty, followed next : from their long,
black, dishevelled hair, they might have been
taken for Furies ; and it was only their crowns
of vine-leaves, and the goblets in their hands,
that enabled us to guess what they were intend
ed to represent. Bacchus, very much resem
bling a Harlequin, folio wed with his tambourine;

A PROCESSION. 299

and after him, a body of very immodest dan
cers : these, as the procession moved but slowly,
halting frequently, had abundant opportunities
of displaying their shameless talent, for the be
nefit of the shouting rabble. Why the proces
sion should be disgraced by such an exhibition,
it was not easy to conceive ; but there were
many other inconceivable matters connected with
it. A troop of Indians followed, in motley and
grotesque attire, intended to represent savages :
they were armed with spears and shields, and
kept up a continual skirmish as they marched.
Next in procession was a battalion of infantry,
composed of boys armed with wooden muskets
and pasteboard cartridge-boxes, and followed
by a squadron of hussars, also boys, with drawn
sabres of wood, not riding, but carrying paste
board horses : each of these had a hole cut in
its saddle, through which the hussar thrust his
feet, relieving the charger from any actual ne
cessity of making use of his own — though, to
show its high blood and mettlesome quality,
each emulated his fellow in prancing, rearing,
and kicking with front and hind-legs, to the
no small danger of discomfiting the parade order

300 A PROCESSION.

of the squadron. To this redoubtable army
succeeded a party of giants two fathoms high,
dressed in the very extremity of fashion, the
upper part of their bodies being represented in
pasteboard, accompanied by ladies elegantly
attired, and of nearly equal dimensions, and by
some very small dwarfs : the business of this
whole group was to entertain the populace with
pantomimic gestures, and comic dances. Next
came all sorts of animals, lions, bears, oxen, &c.
of a size sufficiently gigantic to conceal a man
in each leg. Then, with grave and dignified
deportment, marched Don Quixote and his
faithful Sancho. To the question, what the
honourable Knight of the Rueful Countenance
was doing there, somebody replied that he repre
sented the inhabitants of Manilla, who were just
then mistaking a windmill for a giant. The hero
of Cervantes was followed by a body of military,
seemingly marching under his command ; and
after them came two hundred young girls from
the different provinces of the Philippine Islands,
richly and tastefully attired in their various
local costumes. Fifty of these young graces
drew the triumphal car, richly gilt, and hung

A PROCESSION. 301

with scarlet velvet, which contained the picture
of Ferdinand. Not content with the mantle
the painter had given him, they had hung round
him a real mantle of purple velvet embroi
dered with gold. By his side, and seated on a
globe, was a tall female form dressed in white,
with an open book in one hand, and in the
other a wand, pointing towards the portrait.
This figure was to represent the Muse of His
tory ; — may she one day cast a glance of friendly
retrospection on the prototype of her pictured
companion ! A body of cavalry followed the
car, and the carriages of the most distinguished
inhabitants of the place closed the procession.
Several Chinese triumphal arches crossed the
streets, through which the retinue passed ; they
were temporary erections of wood, occupying
the whole breadth of the street, and were deco
rated in the gayest and most showy manner by
the Chinese, who, on this occasion, seemed to
have spared no expense in order to flatter the
vanity of the Spaniards.

When the royal effigy entered the town, it
was received by the Governor and the whole
clergy of Manilla, and the young girls were

302 REJOJCINGS.

superseded by the townspeople, who had now
the honour to draw the car amidst the inces
sant cry of " Viva el Rey Fernando /" The
cannon thundered from the ramparts ; the mili
tary bands played airs of triumph ; and the
troops, which were ranged in two files from
the gate of the town to the church, presented
arms, and joined their " Vivas" to those of the
populace. The procession halted at the church :
and the picture being carried in, the bishop
performed the service ; after which, the King
was replaced on his car, and conducted to the
residence of the Governor, where, at length, he
was installed in peace.

Three days longer the rejoicings continued :
bells were rung, guns were fired, and each even
ing the town and suburbs were magnificently
illuminated: many houses exhibiting allegori
cal transparencies which occupied their whole
front. But the illumination of the Chinese
triumphal arches in the suburbs surpassed all
the showT : the dragons which ornamented
them spat fire ; flames of various colours play
ed around them ; and large fire-balls dis
charged from them emulated the moon in the

REJOICINGS. 303

heavens, till, from their increasing height, they
secerned to disappear among the stars. Each
of these edifices was of three stories, surround
ed by galleries, on which, during the day, the
Chinese performed various feats for the amuse
ment of the people : there were conjurors, rope-
dancers, magic lanterns, and even dramatic repre
sentations, the multitude eagerly flocking to the
sight, and expressing their satisfaction in loud
huzzas! I saw a tragedy performed on one of
these galleries, in which a fat Mandarin, exhibit
ing a comic variety of grimaces and strange
capers which would have done credit to Punch
inello, submitted to strangulation at the com
mand of his sovereign. At night, the people
went about the streets masked, and letting off
sky-rockets and Chinese fireworks. In several
parts of the town, various kinds of spectacles
were exhibited for the popular amusement : the
air resounded with music, and public balls were
gratuitously given.

This unexampled rejoicing for the recep
tion of a testimonial of royal approbation,
seems sufficiently to prove the loyalty of the
Philippines, and the little probability of their

304 LEAVE MANILLA.

revolting, especially if the mother-country does
not show herself wholly a stepmother to her
dutiful children.

On the 10th of January our frigate was
ready to sail, and we left Manilla, the whole
crew being in perfect health.

ST. HELENA.

ST. HELENA.

A FRESH north-east monsoon expedited our
voyage, and we cut the equator on the 21st of
January, in the longitude 253° 38' ; then pass
ing between the islands of Sumatra and Java,
we reached the ocean, after having safely tra
versed the Chinese Sea from its northern to its
southern boundary, and directed our course
towards the Cape of Good Hope, where we in
tended staying to refresh. When we had
reached to longitude 256°, 12° south latitude,
the east wind, contrary to all rules at this sea
son, changed for a westerly one, and blew a
strong gale; the sky was covered with black
clouds, and the rain fell in torrents. At mid
night, while the storm was still raging, and the

308 CASTOR AND POLLUX.

darkness complete, we witnessed the phenome
non known by the name of Castor and Pollux,
and which originates in the electricity of the
atmosphere ; these were two bright balls of the
size which the planet Venus appears to us, and
of the same clear light ; we saw them at two
distinct periods, which followed quickly upon
each other in the same place, that is, some
inches below the extreme point of our main-
yard, and at about half a foot distance asunder.
Their appearance lasted some minutes, and
made a great impression on the crew, who did
not understand its cause. I must confess, that
in the utter darkness, amidst the howling of the
storm and the roaring of the water, there was
something awful in the sight.

Our passage was rendered tedious by con
trary winds. On the 22nd of February, we
crossed the meridian of the Isle of France,
three hundred and forty miles off the island, in
very stormy weather, and heard afterwards at
St. Helena, that a hurricane raged at this time
near the Isle of France, causing great damage
to many vessels, and to some of them the loss
of their masts. We should have probably

DOUBLE THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 309

shared in this danger had we been a hundred
miles nearer the coast. I must here recommend
every navigator, if possible, to keep clear of the
two isles of France and Bourbon, from the mid
dle of January till the middle of March, as,
during that season, violent hurricanes continu
ally rage there, which are very destructive even
on shore.

On the following day we passed the large
frigate Bombay, belonging to the English East
India Company, having on board, as passengers,
the Governorof Batavia, Baron vander Kapellen,
and his lady, with whom we afterwards had the
pleasure of forming an acquaintance in St.
Helena. On the 15th of March we doubled the
Cape of Good Hope. It had been my intention
to anchor in Table Bay, but a storm from
the north-west came just in time to remind us
how dangerous the bay is at this season, and we
prosecuted our voyage to St. Helena. On the
25th of the same month, having traversed 360
degrees of longitude from east to west, we
had lost a day, and were therefore compelled to
change our Friday into a Saturday.

On the 29th we anchored at St. Helena, be-

310 ST. HELENA. — ST. JAMES TOWN.

fore the little town of St. James, the whole crew
being cheerful and healthy ; but our spirits were
soon damped by the news of the death of the
Emperor Alexander, which we now received.
I must here not omit to express my most cor
dial thanks to the Governor of St. Helena, for
his very kind reception of myself and com
panions, and for his constant endeavours to make
our stay on the island agreeable ; he gave din
ners and balls for our entertainment, and was
always ready to comply with our wishes; hence
he granted us what it is usually difficult to ob
tain — permission to visit the celebrated estate
of Longwood, where Napoleon closed his splen
did career, in powerless and desolate loneliness.
We rode thither one fine morning, on horse
back. The little town of St. James lies in a
ravine between two high, steep, barren lava-
rocks ; its pleasant situation and cheerful as
pect presenting a striking contrast with the
gloom of its immediate environs. By a ser
pentine road cut through the rock, we climbed
an ascent, by nature inaccessible ; this path, in
some parts not three fathoms in breadth, is
bounded on one side by the perpendicular rock,

ST. HELENA. 311

and on the other overlooks an abrupt precipice,
from which however it is defended by a strong
stone balustrade, so that however fearful in
appearance, its only real danger lies in an acci
dent which sometimes happens, that large frag
ments detach themselves from the superincum
bent rock, and roll down the precipice, carrying
before them every thing that might obstruct
their passage to the bottom.

Having with some difficulty reached the
highest ground on the island, we found the
tropical heat changed into a refreshing cool
ness, and enjoyed an extensive prospect over
the island, which presented a totally different
aspect from that under which it is viewed by
passing vessels. The sailor sees only high,
black, jagged, and desolate rocks, rising per
pendicularly from the sea, and every where
washed by a tremendous surf, prohibiting all
attempts to land except at the single point of
St. James : his eye vainly seeks round the ada
mant wall, the relief of one sprig of green ; not
a trace of vegetation appears, and Nature herself
seems to have destined the spot for a gloomy
and infrangible prison. From these heights,

312 EFFECTS OF THE TRADE-WIND.

on the contrary, the picturesque and smiling
landscape of the interior forms the most strik
ing contrast to its external sternness, and sug
gests the idea of a gifted mind, compelled by
painful experience to shroud its charms under
a forbidding veil of coldness and reserve.

This remark only, however, applies to the
western part of the island, which is protected
from the trade-wind. The higher eastern part,
where Napoleon lived, is as dead and barren as
its rocky boundary. The trade-wind to which
this district is constantly exposed, brings a
perpetual fog, and drives the clouds in con
gregated heaps to the summits of the moun
tain, where they frequently burst in sudden and
violent showers, often producing inundations,
and rendering the air damp and unwholesome
for the greater part of the year. The ground
is for this reason incapable of cultivation ; and
a species of gum-tree, the only one to oe seen
in the neighbourhood of Longwood, by its
stunted growth of hardly six feet, and its
universal bend in one direction, proves how de
structive is the effect of the trade-wind to all
vegetable life. The nearer we approached the

GRAVE OF NAPOLEON. 313

boundaries of the circle within which alone the
renowned prisoner was permitted to move, the
less pleasant became the country and the more
raw the climate, till about a German mile from
the town we found ourselves on the barren spot
I have already described. Here a narrow path
leads down an abrupt descent into a small
valley, or basin, surrounded by hills, sheltered
from the wind, and offering in its verdant
foliage and cheerful vegetation, a refreshing
and agreeable retreat. " There rest the remains
of .Napoleon," said the guide given us by the
governor. We dismounted, and proceeded to
the grave on foot. An old invalid who watches
it, and lives in a lonely hut in its vicinity, now
came towards us, and conducted us to a flat,
tasteless grave-stone surrounded by an iron
railing, and shaded by fine willows, planted
probably by the last dependents of the unfor
tunate prisoner. It is a melancholy thing to
tread this simple grave of him who once shook
all Europe with his name, and here at last
closed his too eventful life on a lonely rock in a
distant ocean. The stone bears no inscription,
but all who behold it may imagine one. Poste-

VOL. II. P

314 RESIDENCE OF NAPOLEON-

rity alone can pronounce a correct judgment
on the man who so powerfully influenced the
destinies of nations. Honesty may perhaps
have been the only quality wanting to have
made him the greatest man of his age.

The invalid filled a common earthen jug
with clear delicious water from a neighbouring
spring, and handed it to us with the remark,
that Napoleon, in his walks hither, was ac
customed to refresh himself with cold water
from the same vessel. This little valley being
the only spot where he could breathe a whole
some air, and enjoy the country, he often
visited it, and once expressed a wish that he
might be buried there. Little as his wishes
were usually attended to, this \vas fulfilled.

After spending some time in contemplating
this remarkable memorial of the vicissitudes of
tortune, we inscribed our names in a book kept
for the purpose, and again mounting our horses,
rode to what had formerly been the abode of
the deceased ; where, deprived of all power, the
deposed Emperor to the last permitted the
voluntary companions of his exile to address
him by the titles of " Sire/' and " Your Ma-

RESIDENCE OF NAPOLEON. 315

jesty." On quitting the garden scenery of the
pretty little valley, the country resumed its
dreary and sterile character. A ride of about
a German mile through this inhospitable re
gion, uncheered either by the fragrance of
flowers or the melody of birds, brought us
within sight of an inconsiderable level, or table
land, perfectly barren, crowning the summit of
one of the highest hillocks into which this huge
rock is divided. In the centre of the plain, and
enveloped in so thick a fog that it was scarcely
perceptible, stood a small unpretending man
sion. " That," said our guide, (< is Longwood,
late the residence of Napoleon." We soon
reached the house, expecting to find it as left
at the death of its illustrious occupant ; with
how much interest should we not have visited
it, if nothing had been changed or removed !
But the English authorities had not taken our
gratification into their consideration. The
house is divided into two distinct portions ;
the smaller half, or Napoleon's sleeping apart
ment, has been converted into a stable, and the
larger into a warehouse for sheep-skins, fat, and
other produce of the island,
p 2

316 NAPOLEON'S GARDEN.

We had been informed that Napoleon had
laid out a little garden near his dwelling, in
which he often worked, assisted by Madame
Bertrand ; and, after many fruitless attempts,
had been at length rewarded by the blossoming
of a few hardy flowers, and the successful plan
tation of some young oaks ; that one of the
latter was set by the hand of Napoleon him
self, another by that of Madame Bertrand.

As we could see nothing resembling a garden,
I enquired of our guide where it lay ; he point
ed, with a sarcastic smile, to a spot which had
been routed up by hogs, saying, " Here Napo
leon was as successful in rearing flowers as he
had once been in founding empires, and both
have equally vanished.'" Some oaks are still
standing beside a broken hedge, but whether
planted by Napoleon or not, no one can tell.
We were also shown a pretty house, which had
been built for Napoleon by the King's com
mand, but which was not complete till a very
short time before his death. Though much
better and more convenient than the one he
inhabited, he never could be induced to re
move to it ; perhaps already conscious of the

PLANTATION-HOUSE. 317

approach of death, he felt no farther concern
for the accommodations of life.

Strongly contrasted with the gloom and ste
rility of Longwood, is the summer residence of
the Governor of St. Helena, lying on Sandy
Bay, on the western shore of the island, and
about half a German mile from the town. In
this beautiful and healthful climate, every tro
pical plant flourishes in the greatest luxuriance.
We were hospitably received at Plantation-
house, a handsome, spacious, and convenient
building, surrounded by an extensive park. In
this delightful spot nature and art have combin
ed at once to charm and to surprise ; yet while
breathing its pure and fragrant air, would
our thoughts unconsciously revert with sym
pathy to the melancholy fate of the exile of
Longwood.

The environs of Sandy Bay would be a per
fect little Switzerland, but that the glaciers are
wanting to complete the resemblance. Scat
tered amongst the enormous masses of rock
which lie confusedly heaped upon each other, a
frightful wilderness and most smilingly pic
turesque landscape alternately present their

318 HOSPITALITY.

contrasted images to the eye. Such are the
traits which the hand of Nature has impressed
upon the scenery in this fortunate portion of
the island ; while that of man, busily engaged
in adding to her charms, and in correcting her
ruggedness, throws an appearance of life, com
fort, and civilization over the picture. Conve
nient roads wind up the steep ascents, and
frequent openings in the cliff, present vistas
of fruitful fields, tastefully built mansions sur
rounded by parks and plantations, and snug
farm-houses embosomed in their pretty gardens.
Every thing bespeaks industry and comfort.
The inhabitants are all well-dressed, healthy,
and contented.

Of their hospitality we had the most agree
able evidences. Invited with friendly cordiality
into their houses, we were entertained with the
best they had, and with the kindest expres
sions of pleasure in welcoming the first Russians
who had ever visited their country.

We were invited to dinner by one of the
richest land proprietors of the island, who, al
though considerably more than seventy years
old, still retained the animation and vigour of

A WEALTHY LANDED PROPRIETOR. 319

youth. This intelligent and well-educated man
had never, till his sixty-ninth year, left his
beautiful home, except for an occasional and
short visit to the town. Through the medium
of books, and conversation with the strangers
visiting St. Helena, he was well versed in the
customs and localities of Europe, and felt the
highest respect for the perfection to which the
arts and sciences of civilized life had been car
ried in that quarter of the world, but without
experiencing any desire to see it ; suddenly,
however, at this advanced period of his life,
curiosity got the better of his love of ease ; his
wish to become personally and more accurately
acquainted with the much-praised institutions,
and the wonderful capital of England, was no
longer to be repressed, and he determined to
undertake the voyage. On landing in London,
he was, as he expressed himself, astonished and
dazzled by the extent and magnificence of the
city. The throng in the streets, which he
compared to ant-hills, far exceeded the ideas
he had formed ; he visited the manufactories,
and observed with wonder the perfection of
their machinery ; the theatres enchanted him,

320 LEAVE ST. HELENA.

and the succession of new sights and impres
sions produced an effect resembling a perpetual
intoxication. After a time, however, he expe
rienced the fatigue incident to an extreme ten
sion of mind, and began to sigh for the calm re
tirement of Sandy Bay, to which he took the
first opportunity of returning, never to leave
it more.

We passed nine very agreeable days at St.
Helena, and shall always retain the liveliest
remembrance of the kindness shown us by its
amiable inhabitants. My crew, though healthy,
had in some degree suffered from the effects of
a nearly three years' voyage, and I was anxious
during our stay here to strengthen them by a
regimen of fresh provisions, (which, however,
are very dear upon the island,) particularly as
we had again to cross the line, and that in a
region often considered unhealthy.

On the 7th of April we sailed from St.
Helena, and cut the equator on the 16th in
the long 22° 37'. Here, delayed by calms,
and oppressed by the heat and damps, not
withstanding all my percautions, a nervous
fever broke out among the men ; and, after

A SICK CREW. 321

having escaped so many dangers, we began to
apprehend a melancholy conclusion to our
voyage.

This misfortune had probably been commu
nicated to us by contagion. The homeward-
bound ships of the English East India Com
pany, which almost all touch at St. Helena,
having nothing in view but a quick passage, and
the profit resulting from it, do not generally, as
I have myself had opportunities of observing,
pay that proper attention to cleanliness and
wholesome diet which is absolutely necessary
to health. During our residence at St. Helena,
several of these ships were lying in the roads
with sick on board. It is true that, according
to a standing order, no vessel is allowed anchor
age there till a surgeon has examined into the
state of health of her crew; but the captains
find means to evade the investigation, and
thus are the healthy liable to become infected
by association with the diseased.

Half our crew lay sick, and our skilful and
active surgeon was unfortunately of the num
ber. A favouring gale, however, sprang up,
which carried us into a cooler and drier climate,
p 5

322 ROADS OF CRONSTADT,

our invalids quickly recovered, and we escaped
with the loss of one sailor only. By the 12th
of March, when we passed the Azore Islands,
the crew was again in perfect health. On the
3rd of June we reached Portsmouth, where we
stopped some days. On the 29th we touched
at Copenhagen, and on the 10th of July joy
fully dropped our anchor in the roads of
Cronstadt, from whence we had sailed nearly
three years before.

If my readers have by this time become
sufficiently acquainted with me to interest them
selves in my affairs, they will not learn with
indifference, that my most gracious Sovereign
the Emperor has honoured me by the most
condescending testimonials of his satisfaction,
and that after our long separation, I had the
gratification of finding my wife and children
well and happy.

APPENDIX.

REVIEW

OF

THE ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTION

OF

FR. ESCHSCHOLTZ,

PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DORPAT.

IT may easily be conceived, that in a sea-voyage
a naturalist has fewer opportunities of enriching
his collection, than when travelling by land ; par
ticularly if the vessel is obliged to pass hastily
from one place to another, with a view to her arriv
ing at her destination within a limited period.
During our three years' voyage, little more than the
third of our time was spent on shore. It is true,
that curious animals are occasionally found in the
open sea, and that a day may be pleasantly passed
in examining them ; but it is also true, that certain
parts of the ocean appear, near the surface, to be
almost wholly untenanted ; and accordingly a pas
sage of eleven weeks produced only ten species of
animals: these, however, being met with only at
sea, are still but partially known to the naturalist,
and were the more interesting to me, as, during

326 APPENDIX.

the preceding voyage, I had become acquainted
with many remarkable productions of the ocean
My best plan will be, to arrange in a chronological
order all the zoological observations which offered
in the course of this voyage. The first, then, was
the result of a contrary wind, by which we were
detained much longer than we intended in the Bal
tic, and thus enabled to use our deep fishing-nets
upon the great banks : these brought to light a
considerable number of marine animals. Upon the
branches of the spongia dichotoma, some of which
were twelve inches in length, sat swarms of Ophiura
fragilis, Asterias rubens, Inachiis araneus, I. Phalan-
giu?n, I. Scorpio, Galathea strigosa, and Caprtlla
scolopendroidfs Lam. We obtained, at the same
time, large pieces of Labularia digit at a, Scrtularia
abieiina, upon which nothing of the animal kind
was to be seen, but attached to which, was fre
quently found Flustra dentuta\ also Pagurus Bernhar-
dus, Fusus antiquus, Rostellaria pes pelccani, Car-
dium echinatum, Ascidia Prunum, Ealanus sulcatus,
Echinus saxatilis, and Spatangus flavesccns. Two
different species of Actiniae, seated on stones, were
brought up, which were not to be found either in
Pennant* British Zoology, or in the Fauna danica.

During a calm, by which we were detained two
days on the Portuguese coast, Janthina fragilis and
exigua, Rhizophysa Jiliformis, and another species,
were brought up. Many specimens of the Janthina
exigua were found, the bladder-like mass of which

APPENDIX. 327

was stretched out to a great length, and bent into
the form of a hook at the end. On the outer side
was observed a fleshy streak, bordered by a close
row of small paunches : these paunches, which were
externally open, contained a great quantity of brown
atoms, apparently spawn, and evidently in motion.
With respect to the Rhizophysce, it has been disco
vered that they are of the same genus as the
Physsophora, the hard part being torn away in the
act of catching them ; upon this occasion also, seve
ral of these separated parts, still in motion, and
bearing some resemblance to salpas, were brought
up, and accurately examined.

Off the Cape de Verd Islands, in addition to the
Exoccetus rolitans, which abounds there, various
specimens of the much larger Exoccetus exsiliens of
Cuvier alighted on board our vessel. The latter
species is distinguished by the long black fins of
the belly, and by its remarkably large eyes, differing
greatly from the species described by Gmelin under
the same denomination.

The calms near the Equator afford an abundant
harvest to the zoologist, the tranquil water pre
senting an immense variety of marine animals to
his view, and allowing him to take them with little
trouble in a net. The open woollen stuff used for
flags offers the most convenient material for making
these nets, as it allows the water to run through
very quickly, and does not stick together. A short,
wide bag should be made of this stuff, which may

328 APPENDIX.

be stretched upon the hoop of a cask, and the whole
fastened to a long, light pole. From the height on
which we stand above the water, it is impossible to
perceive the smaller animals ; the best way there
fore to catch these is, to hold the net half in the
water, as if to skim off the bubbles of foam from
the surface ; then, after a few minutes, if the net is
drawn out, and the interior rinced in a glass of fresh
sea-water, one may frequently have the pleasure of
seeing little animals of strange forms swimming in
the glass. In the course of ten days, I obtained,
in this way, thirty-one different species of animals,
among which was a small Diodon, eight small crus-
tacea of forms almost wholly unknown ; a sea-bug
(Halobates micans) ; three species of Pteropodes,
closely allied to the Cliodora ; a small and remark
able Hyalcea; two new Janthince ; Firola hyalina,
Pyrosoma atlanticum, Salpa ccsrulescens, and another
unknown ; Porpita glandifera, and a new species of
globular form; a Velella; two new species of Aca-
lephes, of the same family as the Diphyes ; and
further Pelagia panopyra, and two other very small
species. When the sea was a little agitated on the
Brazilian coast, we frequently saw the large sea-
bladder floating on the surface ; here we also caught
with our net a new species of small Hyalcea, and of
the fin-footed Steira, which approaches the nearest
to the Limacina.

Brazil has lately been visited by eminent natu-

APPENDIX. 329

ralists, who have spent years in the country, and
have travelled through it in every direction ; we are
therefore bound to suppress the few detached obser
vations we were able to make during the short
space of four weeks.

Captain Von Kotzebue having frequently sent
his people to fish in the Bay of Boto Fogo, we en
riched our collection by thirty-two kinds of fish,
the greater part of which were very similar to thos.e
already described as tenants of the Atlantic, but
still differing from them in some respects.

How abundant the insects of Brazil are is gene-
nerally known, particularly in the warm and moist
lands along the coast, in the vicinity of Rio Janeiro.
Few of them crawl on the ground ; the greater part
of them live on the leaves and fruits, or under the
bark of trees, in flowers, and in the spongy excres
cences of the trees. Among the coleoptera, the
Stachylinus is a rarity : the white-wmged Cicindela
ntiea of Kirby is to be found in great abundance on
the sand of the beach, which is of the same colour
as itself; the Cic. nodicornis and angusticollis Dej-
on the other hand, frequent the paths in the fo
rests. Cosnania, which supplies the place of our
Elaphrus, is found among the grass by the side of
brooks. The little animals of the Plochiunus and
Coptodera species climb, by means of their indented
claws, along the moss on the trunks of the trees :
their numbers, in these extensive forests, must be

330 APPENDIX.

immense. Of the Cantliaris, the number is small ;
the strongest of which is the Cantharis jlavipes F.
the descriptions of which vary, so that it may still
be doubted whether we have a correct account of it.
To show the proportion of the numerous subdivi
sions which we observed in the different genera,
it will be sufficient to give the numbers of those
which we were able to collect during the short
period of our stay :— these were, Elater, 37 ; Lam-
puris, 17; Ateuchus, 14 (including the Ddtaclulum
and Euryst ernua) ; Passalus, 13; Anoplognatkidce,
14; Helops, (including Stenochia and Statira) 17 ;
Curculionidce, 108; Cerambycidce , 101 j Cassida, 24-;
Haltica, 26; Doryphora, 12; Colaspis, 15; and
Erotylus, 12. The Phanceus, according to Mac Leay,
distinguished by the total absence of claws from
the feet, is peculiar to the warmer parts of Ame
rica : Onthophagus is not met with along the shore,
but is found in the interior. Such large Copri* as
are seen in the old world, (Isidis, Hamadrias, Buce
phalus,') have not been discovered here : their place
is supplied by the large Phancei, Faunus, bellicosus,
lancifer, &c. A golden-green Copris is a great
rarity. Onitis seems to be quite wanting in Ame
rica : all the specimens, in this part of the world,
that have been placed in that class, belong partly
to the Phan&us, and partly to the EtirystermisDalm.
a remarkable species of the genus Ateuchus.

The Ateuchi are not less numerous in South

APPENDIX. 331

America than in Africa; and here is found what
may be looked upon as the intermediate link be
tween Copris and Onitis. No part of the world is
so rich in Rittdides as trophical America ; and
according to the narrow limits within which Mac
Leay confines this family, it would seem to be
exclusively restricted to this continent. The greater
part have not the head divided from the head-
shield by a line, and the breast is lengthened in front
into a spine : this extensive division is peculiar to
America. In the second division, the head-shield of
which is bounded by a strongly marked line, those
which are provided with a breast-bone are Ameri
can. South America possesses also the interme
diate genus between the Rut elides and Scarabcei,
in the genus Ci/clocephala. Anoplognathidis were
hitherto known to us from New Holland, Asia,
South Africa, and South America, and are charac
terised by the drooping form of the upper-lip,
falling lowest in the middle, and by the inequality
of their claws ; the under-lip, at the same time,
has either a projection in the centre, or consists
of two parts lapping over one another. In the same
way that the Anoplognathidoe of New Holland
have the appearance of Rut elides proper, are the
South American Anoplognatkidce distinguished by
their resemblance to Melolonthidce ; those of Brazil
have no breast-bone, and at least one claw to each
foot is cloven, which distinguishes them from those of

332 APPENDIX.

Asia. C/ielonarium and Atractocerus fly about in
the evening, and are attracted by a light. The
Brazilian jumping beetles differ, almost all of
them, in their form, from those of Europe. Among
the Heteromerides, in the neighbourhood of Rio
Janeiro, owing to the dampness of the soil, no
unwinged beetle is to be met with ; a few varieties
of the species Scofinus have been found upon the
Organ mountains only.

Owing to the excessive roughness of the weather,
our passage from Rio Janeiro to the Bay of Con
ception afforded us but few opportunities to add
to our collections. A snipe blown out to sea from
the Rio de la Plata, a specimen of Diomedca
Albatros at Terra del Fuego, a large Salpa, and a
Lepas, were all we were able to obtain. The Bay
of Conception presents a rich field to the ornitho
logist. A kind of parrot, with a long tail, and
naked round the eyes, flies about in swarms ; and a
smaller kind from the interior, is to be found tame
in the houses ; our guns frequently brought down
two small kinds of doves. Of Ambulatores we met
some, of the genera Cassicus, Motacilla, Muscicapa,
Pyrgita, Saxicola, Cotile ; of birds of prey, Percnop-
terus Jota Mot., and two buzzards ; of Grallatores,
two kinds of Hcernatopvs, both with white legs,
the one with a black body, as H. niger is de
scribed by Quoy and Gaimard, the other more
similar to the European ; a Vanellus with spurs

APPENDIX. 333

to the wings, Numenius, Scolopax, Phalaropus,
Ardea Nycticorax ; and lastly a small bird with
remarkably short legs, digitated, and with a short
thick bill, frequenting the sea-shore, and feeding on
seeds of Ritmex and Polygonum, and constituting a
new species, which may be called Thinocorus. Of
aquatic birds, there were two kinds of Sterna and La-
rus ; many thousands of Rynchqps nigra, which were
so numerous as to appear like clouds when they rose
into the air; a Procellaria of the variety Nectris;
two kinds of Podiceps, and an Aptenodytcs of the
variety Spheniscus. The upper part of the lat
ter was of a lead colour, and the lower part
white, with a line of dullish grey running from the
bill to the belly, and forming a boundary between
the two colours; the bill and legs quite black.
The animal was alive when brought to us. When
resting, it lay upon its belly and stretched out
its head. In the water it appeared unable to main
tain itself afloat except by incessant paddling, the
whole of the body being meanwhile under water.

Of amphibia, only five kinds can be distinctly
named ; a brown Coluber, two small lizards of the
family of Scincoidea, a small Rana, with a spot like
an eye on the belly, and a small Biifo. Of fishes,
the most remarkable was a Torpedo, with the back
of a reddish brown, and smooth ; and a Callorhyn-
chus antarcticus : the latter may very well remain
in the class of Chimcera. Of crustacere, we collected

334 APPENDIX.

three Cancere.s, a Portunus, a PorceUaiia, a Sphceroma,
and a Ligia.

The dry land along the coast is extremely poor in
insects. The number of beetles collected in 1816,
together with those taken on the present occasion,
amounted only to sixty seven, but they are altoge
ther peculiar to the country. The most remarkable
are a Carabus of the beautiful colours of the hispa-
mis, but with narrow striped cases to the wings, and
a large Prionus: the joints of the feet, in this lat
ter, are short and cylindrical, constituting a dis
tinction from the whole family of the Cerambyci-
jice ; in every other respect it is unquestionably a
Prionus, and may be called Pr. Mercurius, on ac
count of two wing-shaped appendages, attached to
the neck-corselet. Sixteen Carabicides were found
belonging to the Calosoma, Pcecilus, Harpalus, Tre-
chus, Dromius, and Peryphtis. We were surprised
at finding so few dung-beetles. We met with
only two large ones, namely, the Megathopa villosa
of Esch. En tomography, forming a species of the
Atettchus, and a Copris torulosa, described in the
same work ; this, however, is owing to the very
little moisture in the atmosphere, which dries the
dung almost immediately. It is curious, that all
the seventeen kinds of Copris of South America
known to us, have but seven stripes upon each
wing-case ; whereas those of the Old World have
eight : the larger kinds, Hamadnas, Bucephalus, and

APPENDIX. 335

alone agree with the South American in the
Dumber of stripes. Of the Americans, the C. Hes
perus Oliv. is the only one with a border to the
seventh stripe, and the C. Actason Klug of Mexico
is the only one that has eight stripes.

Various kinds of beetles in Chili seek a shelter
from the rays of the sun in the dry cow-dung ;
almost all the Heteromerides with wings grown to
gether, the greater part of the beetles armed with
trunks, and several Carabides, were found there.
The ten kinds of Heteromerides, with distorted
wings, found here, belong to five new classes : the
other Heteromerides consist of a Helops and a black
Lytta with red thighs. Of beetles furnished with a
proboscis, we met with four kinds of Lhtroderes, two
remarkable Cryptorhynchi, and a few others of the
shape of a P\.higus. Lastly are to be noticed, a Lu-
canus of the form of the femoratus, a large Stenop-
terus, and a large black Psoa. We found very few
other species of insects, but several kinds of Pom-
/>z7«.v, one two inches long, and a curious Castnia,
were the most remarkable.

Of marine animals there remain to be noticed — a
small Octopus, a Loligo, two Chiton, Patella, C/epidula,
PileopstSf Fissurella, Catyptrcea ; of Concholepas, only

* This kind was known to Fabricius, for Copra Midas
is a variety of the male, and Gigas is the female. The
former has erroneously been deemed a native of America.

336 APPENDIX.

empty shells ; a large Myiilus, a small Modiola,
Turritella, Turbo, Balanus ; and a Holothuria of the
variety Psolus.

In the vast sea between the coast of Chili and the
Low Islands or the dangerous Archipelago, very few
animals appear to live near the surface, at least we
saw none ; a quantity of flying-fish were seen, resem
bling the Exoccetus Tolitans, but having the rays of
the breast-fins parted towards the end. During the
short space of ten days that we stayed at O Tahaiti,
the inhabitants, who for a trifling remuneration
brought us all sorts of marine animals, enabled us
to make acquaintance with all the natural produc
tions of this much praised country. Birds are scarce
in the lowlands along the coast. The little blue
Psittacus Taitianiis frequents the top of the cocoa-
palm ; the Ardea sacra walks along the coral reefs ;
but it is seldom that a tropical bird is seen on the
wing. A Gecko of the species Hemidactylus lives
about old houses ; a small lizard of the family of Scin-
coidea, with a copper-coloured body and a blue tail,
and a striped Ablepharus, are met with frequently
among the rocks. Of fishes, the variety is great,
many of them of splendid colours, particularly the
small ones, which feed upon the coral, and seek
shelter among its branches. The same place of re
fuge is chosen by numbers of variegated crabs, more
particularly the Graptus, Portunus, and Galathea.
Three kinds of Canceres already known were brought
us, the maculatus, corallinus, and Jtoridus ; the two

APPENDIX. 337

former move but little, and their shells are as hard as
stones. A small Gtlasimus burrows under the
ground, and makes himself a subterranean, passage
from the water to the dry land. The female has
very small claws, but the male has always one very
large pink claw, which is sometimes the right and
sometimes the left.

A large brownish Gccarcinus lives entirely on the
land, in holes of his own making; his gills accord
ingly are not open combs, but consist of rows of
bags closely pressed together, and somewhat re
sembling bladders. Hippa adactyla F. is very frequent
here, and keeps itself concealed under the sands on
the sea- shore. It was from these that Fabricius, who
has given a wrong description of their legs, formed
his species Hippa ; Latreille mentions them by the
name of Remipes testudinarius. Six kinds of Pagu-
rus. Of Crustacea already described, Palcemon Ion-
gimanus, Alphceus marmoratus, and Squilla chiragra ;
the legs of the last are red, and formed like a club ;
it uses them as weapons of offence or defence, and
inflicts wounds in striking them out by a mechanism
peculiar to itself. The number of insects collected
on the low land was very small ; among them the
Staphylinus erytrocephalus, also a native of New
Holland ; an Aphodius, scarcely to be distinguished
from the limbatus Wiedem. of the Cape of Good
Hope ; an Eluter of the species Monocrepis ; of Oede-
mera, three varieties of the species Dytilus, to which
belong the Dryops livida and limata F. ; two small
VOL. II. Q

338 APPENDIX.

varieties of Apate ; Anthribust Cossonus, Lamia,
Sp/iinx pungens, and a large Phasma.

No place could be more convenient for the ob
servation of the Mollusca and Radiata than Cape
Venus. At a few hundred paces from the shore is
a coral reef, which at low water is completely dry.
In the shoal water, between the reef and the shore,
is found the greatest variety of the more brittle
kinds of coral, and among their sometimes thick
bushes, mollusca and echinodermes lie concealed.
The rapid movements of a small S trombus, which,
when taken, beat about it with its shell, formed like
a thin plate of horn, and armed with sharp teeth,
were very curious. On breaking the stone which is
formed by fragments of coral, a Sternaspu was found
burrowing in the interior. Seven classes of Holothu-
ria were examined ; three belonged to the species of
Holothuria, called by Lamarck Fistularia, but which
name had already been given by Linnaeus to the
tobacco-pipe fish ; the fourth was a species newly
discovered, and to which we appropriated the name
of Odontopyga, because the fundament is armed
with five calcareous teeth ; the belly is furnished
with small tubes, and the back covered with
bumps. Two more belong to the species Thyone ;
and the seventh kind of Holothuria ought, pro
perly speaking, to form a class apart, not having
tubular feet, but adhering, by means of their sharp
skin, to extraneous objects, on which account they
might be called Sinapta; their feelers are fringed

APPENDIX. 339

and they live concealed among stones. We found
five small kinds of sea-leeches ; and among three
kinds of star-fish, the A-sterias Echinitet, the large
radii of which easily inflict a severe wound ; an
other had the form of the Asterias Lima, was eight
inches in diameter, without radii, and had more
the appearance of a round loaf of bread somewhat
flattened. Of corals, the variety was very great,
as may be judged from the circumstance of our
having collected twenty-four kinds within so short
a space of time. Fungia is quite at home here ;
for, independently of F. agariciformis, scut aria, and
limacitw, a long kind was also found, having, like
the two former, only one central cavity ; they are
found in shallow water among other corals. Of
tabular corals already known, there remain to be
mentioned, Paronia boletiformis, Madrepora prolifera
abrotanoides, corymbosa, plantaginea, and podllifera.

The inhabitants of the Navigator Isles brought us
the little Psittacus australis, Columba australi-s, and
another very prettily marked dove, having green
plumage, ornamented with a dark violet line across
the breast, and the feet and head of a reddish purple.
It climbed about the sides and roof of its cage, did
not leave its perch when it wanted to drink, but
stooped down so low as merely to hang by its legs ;
it would not eat seed, but lived principally on fruit,
particularly bananas, all which closely agreed with
the habits of parrots.

During our passage to the equator, Sterna soHda

Q 2

340 APPENDIX.

and Dysporua Sitla alighted frequently on our vessel,
,and allowed themselves to be taken. The latter,
when old, has a blue beak and red feet; when
young, a red bill and flesh-coloured legs. The ex
terior nostrils are entirely wanting; but in every
part are air-cells between the skin and the muscles.

Besides these animals, six varieties of Pteropodes
were caught ; also a Gluucus, differing from that of
the Atlantic Janthiwa penicephala Per., a Planaria,
Salpa vivipara Per., a Pyrosoma, resembling that of
the Atlantic, and a Lepas, attached to the shell oT
the Janthina. Our collection of Acalephi was
extremely rich ; of fourteen kinds taken, only one,
Phy&alia Lamartitiieri, was known to us?.

Our eight days' stay at the coral island Otdia,
afforded us an opportunity to observe or collect
about one hundred different kinds of marine ani
mals. It has already been mentioned elsewhere,
that the only kind of mammalia found upon this
island is a middling-sized cat, which feeds on the
fruit of the pandanus tree, and makes its nest in
the dead branches, which it easily hollows out.
Several lizards have also been found in these is
lands, such as the striped Abkpharus of O Tahaiti,
and a small Gecko ; a large coal-black lizard was
several times seen, but always escaped among the
dry pandanus leaves. The fishes are remarkable
for the singularity of their form, and the beauty of
their colours ; those brought to us by the inhabitants
belonged to the Holucentnis, Scarus, Miillus, Chce-

APPKNDIX. 341

todon, Heniochus, Amphacanthus, Theutis, and Fin-
tularia*

Of Crustacea we saw twenty different kinds ;
among them a Gonoplax of the middling size, and
as white as the coral-sand, among which it lives,
on the shore. The Hippopus found here differs
from the maculatus already known by the much
greater elevation of its shell. The large Tridachna
is the Tr. squamosa Lam. It is very unusual to
meet with an animal belonging to the family of
Lepades in tubular holes made in the coral rocks,
as is the case with the Lithonaetta N. Among
the twenty kinds of tabular coral here observed,
there was not one of those collected at O Tahaiti ;
there were three new Distichoporct, Scriatipora, six
kinds of Madrepora, two Forties, four Astrea, Pocil-
lopora ccerulea, and another kind, forming broad,
yellow, leafy masses, the slime of which stings like
a nettle ; Cariophyllcea glabrescens Cham., and Tubi-
pora, with red animalculae.

A calm of several days, between eighteen and
twenty degrees of north latitude, during our pas
sage to Kamtschatka, afforded opportunities for the
observation of several remarkable animals. A small
animal of Lamarck's family of Heteropodes, with two
rows of separate fins, received the name Tomopteris.
Secondly, a Salpa, of the class which Jives apart
and has fine long fibres projecting from the hinder
part of the body. Thirdly, a small animal, nearly
allied to the Diphyes, the soft part of the body,

342 APPENDIX.

which contains the tube for receiving nourishment,
having no air-bladder. Fourthly, a small Beroe,
having the power of drawing in its fins. Fifthly, a
very small Porpita. The sixth animal was a very
remarkable crab, the triangular shell on the back,
only two lines in length, provided with a spike from
eight to ten lines long, ( Lonchophorus anceps,} pro
jecting both before and behind. Professor Ger-
mar has given to a species of beetle the name
Lonchophorus, but the same had already been de
scribed by Mac Leay, under the name of Phanaus.
Seventhly, an animal belonging to the class Arthro-
dice, (Arthronema N.) the exterior consisting of stiff
tubes, in the interior of which is afterwards found a
skin, which eventually divides into separate parts.
Eighthly, a Clio, about a lino in length, with a
projection from the globular part of the body.
Ninthly, a second variety of Appendicularia, described
by my friend and companion, on board the Rurik,
A. von Chamisso, in the tenth volume of the N.
ActaAcad. Leop. Car., which proved to be a species
of Mollusca belonging to the Heteropodes of Lam
arck. Tenthly, a Pelagia, scarcely, if at all, to be
distinguished from the Panopyra Per. Lastly, a
new kind of Cesium, C. Najadis N.

In the thirty-fourth degree of latitude, renewed
calms again enabled us to add to our collection,
firstly, a new species of Physsophorides (Agalma
N.} ; secondly, a new Diphyes ; thirdly, a new. Pe-
htgia, with a yellow skin on the belly, attached to

APPENDIX. 343

which was a small Cirrhipede of the class Cineras ;
fourthly, a Medusa, with broad belly-bags, and
four strong fins ; fifthly, a Medusa of the same
species, with five and six fins ; sixthly, a very small
Entomostracea of a flat form, and distinguished by
its blue glossy colour, similar to that of the Hoplia
farinosa ; seventhly, a Loligo, probably cardioptera
Per., remarkable on account of the largeness of its
eyes ; eighthly, a second species of Phyllirhoe, placed
by Lamarck among the Heteropodes, to which class
it does not, however, belong. The species found in
the South Sea has no eyes, and plain feelers; on which
account it was formerly considered by us as form
ing a distinct class, and called Eurydice. But, al
though the Phyllirhoe is found to vary so remarkably
in its formation, owing to the want of feet, still I
consider it as nearly allied to the Eolidia. Ninth
ly, a new Glaucus, of a remarkably slim body, with
short fins, and of a blackish-blue colour. Tenthly,
a Eucharis N. In addition to these, no less than
eight Crustacea were taken in the net. In the vici
nity of Kamtschatka, the vessel sailed daily through
red masses floating on the surface ; on drawing up
some of the water, the pail was found full of red
Calanus, a line and a half long, with rough feelers
of the same length as the body.

In Kamtschatka we found the Bay of Awatscha
poor in Mollusca and radiated animals, owing proba
bly to the inconsiderable ebb and flood. The objects
most frequently met with, were an ugly little Turbo,

344- APPKNDIX.

the empty shell of which was tenanted by a black
Pagurus, and a Balanus. A large Cyanea differs
from the European C. ciliata, in the form of the
stomach. Another Medusa, constituting a new
kind of Sthenonia N., was observed ; its digestive
organs resemble those of the Aurelia ; and about
the edge, eight bunches of very long fibres project,
provided, like those of the Physaliee, with two rows
of suckers.

The environs of St. Peter and St. Paul, lying
under fifty-three degrees of north latitude, possess
an insect Fauna, such as is in Europe only found in
sixty and seventy degrees of latitude ; as for instance,
in Lapland and Finland. A great number of species
are exactly similar in both regions; others of the
Kamtschatkan insects have been met with nowhere
else, except in Siberia, and a small number is quite
peculiar to the former country. All have not yet
been subjected to a diligent examination, and only
the following can be with certainty mentioned.

Firstly, in the North of Europe also, are found :
Pteruloma Forstroemii Gyllh., Nebria arctica Dej. (hy-
perborea Schoenh.}, Elethisa midtipunctata, Pelophila
borcaliSj Elaphrus lapponicus and riparius, Notiophilus
aquaticus, Loricera pilicornis, P ocellus Icpidus, Dyticus
circumcinctus, Staphylinus maxillosus, Buprestis appen-
diculata, Elater /lolosericeus, Ptilinus pectinicornis,
Necrophorus mortuorum ; Silpha thoracica, lapponica,
opnca, anda^rata; Strongylus colon, Byrrhus albo-punc-
tatus, dorsalis, Tarius and aeneus ; Hydrophilus scnra-

APPENDIX. 345

bceoides and melanocephalus ; Cercyon aquaticum, His-
ter carbonarius, Psammodius sabuleti, Trichus fascia-
tus, Ocdemera rirescens, Apoderus Coryli, Leptura tri-
fasciata, alra and satiguinosa, Lema brunnea^ Cassida
rubiginosa, Chrysomela staphyhea, fapponica, cenea, TI-
tninalis, armoracea and vitellince ; Eumolpus obscunis,
Cryptocephalus variegatus, Cuccinella 7 punctata, 13
punctuta, mvtabilis, and 16 guttata. Secondly, such
as have been hitherto found only in Siberia, though
their number is but small : Cantharis annulata Fisch.,
Dermestes domesticus Gebl., Aphodius ursinns N.9 and
A. maurus GebL, and Leptura sibirica.

Among the beetles which have as yet been met
with nowhere else, and are therefore considered pe
culiar to the country, maybe named: a Cicindela,
between hybrida and maritima ', a Carabus of the form
of the cancellatus Illig., with black feelers and legs ;
C. Clerkii N., and another, green, with gold border,
of the form of the catenulatus, caught near the line
of perpetual snow on the volcano Awatscha: C.
Hoffmanni N., Nebria nitidula, which is the same as
the Carabus nitidulus Fabr., as appears by that pre
served in Banks's Museum, hitherto the only speci
men in Europe ; great numbers of these are found
in the valleys : a second black sort was caught on
the volcano. Further, a small bright yellow Pte-
roloma, an Elaphrus, Benibidia six kinds, Agonum
four kinds, an Omaseus, an Amara, Elater scabricoHis
Etch. Entomogr. ; an Elater, like undulatas P., three

346 APPENDIX.

kinds, which like Bructeri, live among stones ; a
wingless kind which is found buried in the sea-
sand, and a perfectly black Campylus.

Besides these, a beetle forming a peculiar species
between Atopa and Cyphon; Cantharis cembricola
Esch., and one resembling the testacea ; a Hylecoetus,
scarcely differing from dermtstoides ; Catops ; a Hefe-
rocerus, broad and covered with whitish scales ; an
Elophorus ; two Phalerice with a black ground ; two
kinds of Stenotrachelistboth larger than the European,
which has hitherto borne the name of Dry ops aenea ;
and in fact, the beetle in Banks's Museum, so called
by Fabricius, is either the same, or a species very
nearly resembling it, and it may therefore be con
jectured that some mistake has accidentally occurred
in the designation of its native country in that Mu
seum. There still remain to be mentioned a Chry-
somela, like the pyritosa, and a Coccinella with five
very large spots upon both wing-covers, found on
the line of perpetual snow on the volcano. It is
also probable that the valley of the Kamschatka
river, although lying farther north than the environs
of the Awatscha, yet possesses aricher in sect Fauna,
as the climate there is much milder, and adapted to
agriculture.

From Kamschatka our course lay mostly east
ward. At first the sea was strongly luminous every
night ; but when in the midst of this immense ocean,
it one night happened, that while the ship was as

APPENDIX. 347

usual surrounded by brilliant waves, a dark precipice
seemed to open before it. On reaching this part of
the water, it appeared that all the luminous matters,
such as Zoophytes and Mollusca with their spawn,
were entirely wanting, and from this point to the
American coast the sea remained dark.

We remarked generally of this great ocean, that
on the Asiatic coast, even at a considerable distance
from land, (as much as thirty degrees west from Ja
pan,) the water is always muddy ; it is made so,
partly by the great numbers of small Crustacea, Zoo
phytes, and Mollusca, partly by the impurities of the
whales and dolphins, which latter especially, as well
as many other kinds of fish, are very numerous here
from the abundance of food to be found. On the
contrary, the sea in. the neighbourhood of the 'north
west coast of America is clear and transparent, and
nothing is found in it except here and there a single
Medusa.

In the principal settlement of the Russian-Ame
rican Trading Company on the island of Sitcha, in
Norfolk Sound, we had better opportunities of be
coming acquainted with natural productions than
elsewhere, as, during our stay there, in the year
1825, from March to the middle of August, we had
an almost uninterrupted continuation of fine wea
ther: we were in this respect peculiarly favoured,
as in most years this island does not enjoy above
one fine day to fourteen cloudy or wet ones. "We

348 APPENDIX.

ourselves experienced this sort of weather in 1824,
when we passed the latter part of August and the
beginning of September there.

Of the Fauna of this island, about two hundred
and sixty species came under our notice : from its im
mediate vicinity to the continent, it is not wonderful
that several large mammalia are to be found. Among
these is the Ursus Americanus, of the black race ; a
fox ; a stag, which perhaps does not differ from the
Cer-nts lirginianus, and the common beaver, which
feeds on the large leaves of a Pothos, said by the in
habitants to be injurious to man. Besides these
are observed a small Vesper tilio with short ears, a
Mustela, and a Phoca.

Of birds we remarked : the Aquila kucocephala,
Astur, Corvus Corone and Sfelleri, and some varieties
of the species Turdus, Sylvia, Troglodytes, Pants,
Alcedo, Picus, Ardea, Hxmatopus, Scolopax, Chara-
drius, Anas, and Colymbus. Trochilus rufus is not only
often found here, but also under sixty degrees of la
titude. A small shoal of Procellaria furcata was
once driven into the Bay by stormy weather. Of
Amphibia, only a small kind of toad is met with.
There is no great variety in the kinds of fish, but
the individuals are numerous, especially a well-fla
voured sort of salmon, and herrings ; a Phuronec-
tes several feet long, and a reddish yellow Perca two
feet long and very thick, are extremely abundant.

The number of accurately examined Annulide*

APPENDIX. 349

amounts to sixteen, among which are found some
of very fine and unknown forms. Most of them
belong to the well-known species Cirrhatulus, Are-
nicola, Aceronereis, Nereis, Aphrodita, Serpula, Am-
phitritc. A Nereis was found swimming on the
surface of the water in the middle of the bay,
which measured two feet in length, and one inch in
thickness ; the appendages at its sides resemble
round leaves. An Aphrodite several inches long,
and very narrow, was not rare. An animal resem
bling the Amphitrite kind is found enveloped in a
transparent mass like jelly.

Of Mollusca we observed, a Limacina; two Eoli-
dice, some of which have very beautiful colours ;
a Laniogenis; a Polycera; four kinds of Doris; a
Scylluea ; an animal which deserves the name of
Planaria, it was three inches long, two broad, and
only half a line thick ; on the upper surface, half
an inch from the edge, are two projecting eyes ;
and in the same part, on the surface beneath, the
mouth may be perceived ; in the middle of this
under surface is another aperture, from which the
animal, when in a tranquil state, frequently strethes
out four small folds of skin ; this creature, like the
Planarice, crawls very nimbly. Besides these, a small
Onichidium, and a new kind of shelled snail.

In the mossy woods live a large, yellowish,
black-spotted Limax, and two Helices of middling
size. In the bay itself are found a few of the gilled

350 APPENDIX.

snails with spiral shells ; and a considerable num
ber on the outward coast, which is washed by the
ocean. Here are several species of the genera Murex,
Fusus, Buccinum, Mitra, Trochus, and Turbo. Fur
ther, there are found here a large Fissurelki, and
six species of a genus which, from its simple, un
wound shell, would be immediately taken for a
Patella ; the creature, however, closely resembles
the Fissurella, with the difference that only one gill
is visible in the fissure over the neck. It is re
markable, that on the whole north-west coast of
America down to California, no Patella, only ani
mals of the genus Acwcea, were to be met with. Of
the Chiton genus, six species were observed ; in one,
the side skin covers the edges of the shell so far as
to leave only a narrow strip of it visible down the
back ; in others, the shell is entirely concealed un
der the external skin. It is worthy of remark, that
these latter, as well as one similarly formed, found
in California, attain the considerable length of eight
inches. A third kind, to be reckoned among this
subdivision, Pallas obtained from the Kurile Islands,
and has described it as Chiton amiculatus.

Among the Acephala are to be named a large
Cardium, also found on the Californian coast ; Mo-
diolus, two species; Mytilus ; Mya, two species;
an3 Teredo palmulatns : the latter, which is brought
here by the ships, is very mischievous in the har
bour, and attains to the length of two feet. In
this species are comprehended three Asddice, of dif-

APPENDIX. 351

ferent forms ; one Anomia, one Tercbratula attached
to a Fususj two Lepas, and a Balanus. Six IIolo-
thuriat belonging to three different species, were
observed : a large Thalassema gave us a long-wish
ed for opportunity of observing, that this species
belongs to the Holothuria, and not to the Annu-
lides. Eight species of star-fish are found here,
partly on the rocks, and partly at the bottom of the
sea : among them, four are furnished with five radii,
and the rest with six, ten, eleven, and eighteen :
the latter sort, which is the largest, lives at the
bottom of the sea, and the number of its radii varies
from eighteen to twenty-one. Only one Opkiura
was seen. Several kinds of very large Actinia in
habit the rocks : all that we examined belonged to
the species which is externally provided with rows of
teats. A Velella also was caught in the open bay :
this is the first which has been observed in so high
a latitude.

Of Zoophytes, some presented themselves of the
genera Antipathes, Millepora; Cellaria, Flustra two
species, Melobesia, Retepora, Acamarchisy Lafcea,
Aglaophenia, Dynamena fives pecies, Cli/tia four
species, and Folliculina, two species. The Anti-
pathes consists of a simple stem resembling wood,
which grows to the length of ten feet : it grows at
a great depth in the open bay, and is often acci
dentally drawn up in fishing.

Although of all insects of this island the beetle
is the most numerous, yet during the whole spring

352 APPENDIX.

and summer, in almost daily excursions, with con
stant fine weather, only one hundred and six kinds
were found. On the whole, it may be observed,
that none among them belong to any of the species
which have been hitherto considered as peculiar to
America ; yet there are some of them which form en
tirely distinct classes, and must therefore be natives
of the north-west coast of America. The result of
close examination was, that none of those found
here are to be met with either in the north of Asia
or in Europe, and only seven species are to be
found even in Unalashka.

The Fauna is adapted to the climate and the
soil ; Nebria, Patrobus and other Carabides, find a
cool abode among the stones on the banks of the
ice-cold brooks which fall from the snowy summits
of the mountains ; in the fir-woods, live several
kinds of Xylophagi and some Cerambycides ; the'
old mossy trunks of fallen trees afford hiding-
places for several kinds of Carabides, as two
Cychrus, Ltistus, Platysma; and for Nitidula, Scaphi-
dium, Agyrtes, and Boras. On the skirts of the
woods, shrubs and tall plants nourish some insects
belonging to various families ; as two Homalisus,
Omalinm, and Anthophagus, Anaspis, Cantharis,
and Silis; besides Elater of eight kinds, and a ninth
living under stones.

The small standing waters, formed by single
cavities, are proportionably rich in water-beetles,
among which is found a Dyticus of the form of

APPENDIX. 353

the su/catust seven Colymbftts, Hydroporus two
species, and a Gyrinus. The Carabides are ; Cychrus
angusticollis and marginatus, Nebria metallica and
three new species, Leistus, Poecilus two, Patrobus,
Omaseus adstrictus, Platysma two, Loricera plainly
distinguished from the pilicornis, Amara, Trechm
three, Bembidium two, and Leja three species. Thir
teen species of Erachelytra have been found ; of
carrion-beetles, a Necrophorus, a Silpha, quite of the
figure of the suit err anea, and a Catops. Of Pen-
tamerides are still to be mentioned the Scydmaenus,
Cryptophagus, Byrrhus, Cercyon, Psammodius, and
Aphodius. The number of Heteromerides amounts
only to four ; namely, one Boros of the arched
form of the elungatus, a small Pfialeria, a pale
yellow Anaspis, and a small black, flat beetle
with overgrown wing-cases of a new form, which
must be reckoned among the family of the Bla-
pides. Of beetles with probosces only six were
found, of Xylophagi seven, of the species Hylurgus
two, Bostrichifs three, one Rhyzophagus, and a
larger quite red Cucujus. The three stag-beetles were
a Sphondylis, a Lamia with excrescences upon the
sharply pointed cases of its wings, and a beetle
of the flat form of a Callidivm. Of the large
class of Chrysomelides, only five varieties were to be
met with ; namely, two sorts of Donacia, a beetle of
the form of a Lema, and two varieties, of the form of
Eumoipes. Lastly, three Trimerides were discover
ed, namelv, two Latridii and a Pselaphus.

354 APPENDIX.

Our stay in the Bay of St. Francisco, in Cali
fornia, during the months of October and No
vember, was unfavourable to the observations of a
naturalist. A perfect drought prevails during those
months ; vegetation appears completely dead ; and
all birds of passage abandon the country. The
landscape along the coast is alternately formed
of naked hills, of a rocky or clayey soil, and
low sandy levels, covered with stunted bushes.
Further inland, the soil is more fertile, but still
deficient inwood. The background every where
presents lofty mountains ; we visited only those
to the rtorth, at the foot of which the Russian
settlement Ross is situated. Here a fine forest of
lofty pines, mingled with oak and horse chesnut-
trees, charms the eye. Of the mammalia of this
hitherto unexplored country, only a few can be
cited. The light grey American bear, with a small
head, abounds in unfrequented districts, but brown
bears are also occasionally killed. We nearly
ascertained the existence of two sorts of polecats,
and succeeded in getting a skin of one ; its fur
is brown below, and black above : from the fore
head a white stripe runs to the middle of the
back, and then divides into two, which extend to
the extremity of the tail. The feet of the animal
show that it treads upon its entire sole, and lives
in holes like a badger. The second sort is said
to have three white stripes : our sailors caught
one, but it got away again. The mole here is

APPENDIX, 355

larger than in Europe ; the upper part of the body
is of a greyish brown, the lower part an ash
grey ; the legs are covered with a white fur, and
the taper tail is one-fifth of the length of the body.
A shrew-mouse also was caught. Two or three
kinds of large cats are said to have been seen ; a
mustela, something of the nature of the Lutreoki,
was shot near the Rio Sacramento. The sea-otter
still abounds here, but its hair is brownish, and
not black. The Cenus Wapiti is found in great
numbers in hilly districts ; and there are deer in
all unfrequented places. The back and sides of
the latter are of a reddish brown in summer, in
winter of a blackish brown ; the belly, breast,
and inside of the legs are white ; the mouth, fore
head, and the exterior of the ears are black. The
antlers (of the male) divide into a fork, with round
smooth branches. The animal grows to the height
of two feet and a half. Near the Rio Sacramento,
and in the vicinity of the Russian settlement, we
saw herds of animals of the shape of goats, with
long hair hanging from their legs, and short
straight horns ; we were unfortunately unable to
obtain a specimen ; we saw the animal only through
a telescope, and judged it to be the Capra Colum-
biana, or Riipicapra Americana Blainiille, so often
spoken of. Lastly, we have to mention a small kind
of hare, not so large as a rabbit, found in great
abundance among the bushes, and a dormouse seen
in the southern plains.

356 APPENDIX.

In consequence of the lateness of the season,
most of the birds that breed here had already left
the neighbourhood ; we therefore saw only such
birds as pass the winter here, and also a number
of aquatic birds that were daily arriving from the
north. Of the former we met with five kinds of
Icterus; one quite black, except the shoulders,
which were red ; these were extremely numerous,
and sleep, like the Icterus phcenicius, among rushes.
The Sturnus ludovicianus and Picus auratus of the
United States, are also found in California; the
Percnopterus califurnicus, Corvus mexicanus, and
Perdix californica, are already known. A large
grey crane, probably from the north, remained here:
upon the whole, the number of birds observed,
amounted to forty.

A few Amphibia were found concealed under
stones ; namely, a large Tachydromus, a Tropydurus,
a Crotalus, a Coluber, and four Salamandrides : among
the latter was one with the body covered with warts,
and a narrow compressed tail, the glands of the ear
wholly wanting ; the others had long narrow bodies
of about the thickness of a common earth-worm,
with short legs, standing far apart, and toes scarcely
perceptible to the naked eye.

Nearly two hundred kinds of beetles were col
lected : with the exception of the Lampyris corrusca
Fabr., which, according to Banks, is found on the
Columbia river, all are as yet undescribed. Upon
the dry ground, under stones, many Heteromerides,

APPENDIX. 357

with distorted wing-cases, were found, and among
them six new species. A large Cychrus was also
found, and a species closely resembling the Manti-
cora, together with many other Carabides, of which
we collected, in all, fifty different species.

It was at the Sandwich Tsles that the greatest
number of fishes and Crustacea were collected : of
the former the greatest variety, and the most re
markable, were kept in the fish preserves of the
royal family. Of other classes of animals, but few
are to be met with. Among the dense woods that
cover the backs of the mountains, there must be a
number of land-birds, but we met only Melithreptus
vestiarius, and two sorts of the Dicceum; in the
fields laid under water were the Gallinula chloropus
and a Fulica. Of corals there is but little variety ;
these islands being situated nearly in the highest
latitude in which coral is ever found. In the vici
nity of the harbour are two sorts of Astrcea, two
Porites, a Pai'onia, and a Hornera. The number of
insects is small, as is indeed the case with all land
animals ; it is therefore creditable to our industry,
that we are able to muster twenty sorts of beetles.
A small Platynus is the only Carabide ; in the water,
two Colymbetes and a Hydrophilus were found. The
only Elater belongs to a species (Agrypnus N.) in
which we reckon various specimens found only in
the Old World, such as Elater tomentosus, fuscipes,
senegalcnsis, &c. ; beetles which have two deep fur-
/ rows in the lower part of the neck-shield, to receive

358 APPENDIX.

the feelers, and which go in search of their food at
night. They resemble many of the European spring
ing beetles covered with scales, and included by
Megerle under the name Lepidotus; such aiefasci-
atus, nwrintis, varius. Two Aphodii were found ;
one, of the size of the Psammodius porcatus, but very
flat, lives under the bark of a decayed tree, the
wood of which has become soft. Another has the
almost prickly shoulders of the Aphodius stercorator
and asper ; of these we form the species Stenocnemis,
and include therein four new varieties found in Brazil
and Lucon. It may be here observed, that Psarmno-
diussabuleti and cylmdricus N., must be classed with
JEgiafia, which, on account of the horny nature of
their jaws, and the projection of the upper lip, enter
into the same class with Trox ; the remaining kinds
of Psammodius > however, do not at all agree with
the character given them by Gyilenhal, and ought
in their turn to be classed with Aphodius. Among
the remaining beetles, all of which dwell under the
bark of trees, a Parandra was the largest.

During our two months' stay in the Bay of Ma
nilla, we could only become acquainted with a small
part of the natural productions, in which the large
island of Lufon appears extremely rich, because it
is difficult to procure them without travelling far
into the interior ; but the country round Manilla
and Cavite being cultivated to the distance of seve
ral days' journey, the woods of the mountains alone
remain in a state of nature. There dwell the

APPENDIX. 359

gigantic snakes and crocodiles, of which every one
has some tale to relate. A small Cercopitliecus is
found in great abundance ; but we were not able to
meet with a good drawing, or even a tolerable de
scription of it. Skins of Galeopithecus were brought
us ; and we were assured that the animal allowed
itself to be tamed, and would sit like a monkey,
and take its food with the fore-feet. Two kinds of
flying dogs, one of them apparently a Pteropus edu-
lis, were shot and eaten in the neighbourhood. Two
other animals, of the bat kind, belonged to the
classes Hypexodon and Nycticejus. A Chelone, three
feet long, was brought us, remarkable for seven
shields on the middle of its back. Terrapene tri-
carinata is abundant. We obtained also a Basili-
cwtf, a large Tupinambis, and two Geckos, which do
not as yet appear to have been described. Achro-
chordus fasciatus lives in the sea, and is frequently
brought up in the nets of the fishermen ; on land,
it is unable to move from the spot on which it is
placed.

In November and December, the months we
passed at Manilla, all the insects had concealed
themselves ; and it was only by the assistance of
several active Malays, who were all day long hunt
ing them, that we were able to collect upwards of
two hundred beetles. Upon the whole, the beetle
Fauna agrees with that of Java, of which island
many have already been made known. A Tricondyla
we had ourselves the pleasure of catching on the

360 APPENDIX.

trunk of a tree : the inhabitants did not bring them
to us, as they suppose them to be large ants, and
are apprehensive of being stung by them. We ob
tained three sorts of Catascopus, nineteen aquatic
Scarabams, six Hydruphilus, five Bitprestis, five
MeloJuntha, four Anomala. Scarabceus Gideon is
found in great abundance in the thick bushes, where
it climbs up the branches by means of its long legs
and large claws. Of Oryctes nasicornis, a Malay
one day brought us no less than sixty, taken out of
some decayed wood. A green Cetonia, of the size
and form of the ch'mensis, of a coppery brightness,
is rare. Three small Lucanides, of those called by
Mac Leay Nigidius and Figulus, are found in the
wood of living trees.

Of wingless Heteromerides, we found only one
Tagenia, and that under the dry bark of a tree.
For Pimeliades the soil is unfavourable, there not
being, as far as we could learn, in the country
round Manilla, either stones, or low, broad-leafed
plants, under which these animals can find shelter
from the binning rays of the sun : they are found
jDnly under dry bark, and about the root of the
Opatrum, Uloma, and similar plants. The Helopi-
des, on the other hand, must be looked for on the
dry branches in the tops of trees, but we obtained
only six varieties. Of the twenty-six stag-beetles
collected here, it is necessary to observe, that they
are all essentially different from those found in
South America.

APPENDIX. 361

Our passage through the Chinese Sea was rapid ;
and as we had constantly stormy weather in the
Indian Ocean, we had no opportunities of observing
marine animals. In the vicinity of the Cape, we
caught some Salpte, Physalise, and Velellse ; but
in the Northern Atlantic, after reaching the region
of the Sargassum natans, daily opportunities for inte
resting observations presented themselves. From
the point at which the floating sea-weed was first
noticed, (eighteen degrees north latitude, and
about thirty degrees of longitude west of Green
wich,) to the coast of England, forty-three kinds of
animals were observed, not noticed on our outward
voyage. We were able to make a very exact exa
mination of the whole system of the Beroe punctata.
Three new varieties of Medusa were discovered, and
an animal (Rat aria N.) between Vddla and Porpita :
it has the flat form of the latter, but is provided with
a sail, which it can draw in at will. We also caught
the animal which Le Sueur has called Stephanomia
ttvaformis. Lastly, we had the good fortune to procure
a specimen of an animal which appears to form a
link between the SaJpa and Pyrosoma. This species
(called Anchinia) consists of a number of animalcules
of the Salpa form, which, by means of a stalk, are
attached to a common body, all of them being turned
to the same side.

In the course of less than three years, 2iOO kinds

VOL. II. R

36-2

APPENDIX.

of animals we reeither examined, or only collected,
consisting of the following classes : —

Spe.cies.

Species

Mammalia

. 28

Cephalopodes .

20

Birds .

165

Gasteropodes .

162

Amphibia

r 33

Acephali . .

45

Fishes ._ .

. 90

Tunicati

28

Annul ides .

40

Cirrhipedes . .

21

Crustacea .

. 127

Echinodermates

60

Insects

. 1400

Acalephi

63

Arachnides .

. 28

Zoophytes

90

FR. ESCHSCHOLTZ.
Dorpat, 7th January, 1828.

THE END.

LONDON :
PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY,

DoiSf t Street, Fleet Sire el.

LIST OF PLATES.

Page
Reception of Captain Kotzebue at the Island of Otdiu,

To face Title of Vol. I.

Plan of Mataria Bay and Village . . 200

Chart of the Navigators'.Islands . 251

Chart of the Islands of Radak and Ralik . . 289

NomahumiU; Queen of the Sandwich Islands,

To face Title of Vol. II.

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