The World of Waters - Mrs. David Osborne
EMMA. "We now pass Admiralty Bay, go through Cook's Inlet, out by
the Straits of Chilogoff, round by the Aleutian Isles into Bristol
Bay."
MRS. WILTON. "The Aleutian Isles are very numerous, principally
volcanic: the three largest are Bhering's, Attoo, and Onolaska. The
natives are of a dark brown complexion, and the women disfigure
themselves by cutting an aperture in the under lip, to which various
trinkets are suspended. Their subsistence is principally obtained by
hunting and fishing. The seal is particularly valuable to them,
affording a constant supply of food and clothing. Their dwellings
are spacious excavations in the earth, roofed over with turf, as
many as 150 individuals sometimes residing in the different
divisions."
GEORGE. "Must we go through Bhering's Straits: they will take us
into such very cold regions?"
EMMA. "We must not mind the cold if we can learn anything by going;
but, as you are afraid of venturing so far, we will leave you at
Point Hope, while we make our way to Point Barrow."
CHARLES. "Appear not at Point Hope. George; for if you do, you must
never hope to see us again. Do you know that the Indians who live in
the mountains not far from the Point are cannibals, and would seize
you for a delicious morsel? They are not at all particular folks;
and when there is a scarcity of food among them, they cast lots for
victims, and eat their relations without the slightest remorse."
MR. BARRAUD. "The fierce and savage propensities of these mountain
Indians have been circumstantially described by an old man, who,
while yet a stripling, fled from the tribe, and joined himself to
another tribe called Dog Ribs, in consequence of his finding his
mother, on his return from a successful day's hunting, employed in
roasting the body of her own child, his youngest brother!"
MRS. WILTON. "Oh! horrible! Let us quit this savage Point, and see
what Point Barrow resembles."
Mr. WILTON. "It is a long spit of land composed of sand and gravel.
When Captain Simpson was on an exploring expedition in the Polar
Seas, he landed there, and one of the first objects that presented
itself was an immense cemetery. There, the miserable remnants of
humanity lay on the ground, in the seal-skin dresses worn when
alive. A few were covered with an old sledge, or some pieces of
wood, but far the greater number were exposed to the voracity of
dogs and wild animals. The inhabitants of this Point are Esquimaux."
EMMA. "Bhering's Straits divide the Old from the New Continent, and
the water to the south beyond the Gulf of Anadir is called Bhering's
or Kamtschatka Sea, and washes the shores of Kamtschatka."
MRS. WILTON. "Kamtschatka is a portion of Asia, about the same size
as Great Britain. It is a cold, foggy country, and subject to sudden
storms of snow and sleet, which the natives call '_poorgas_,' and
when overtaken by one they do not attempt to travel through it, but
suffer the snow to bury them and their dogs, and as soon as it is
over, they extricate themselves as well as they can. The natives
comprising the two tribes of the Kamtschatdales and Koriaks differ
principally in their mode of life. They are all of low stature, and
not remarkable for their beauty. They are shy, averse to strangers,
but honest, and extremely hospitable. They dwell in fixed
habitations, although hunters and fishers; but their dwellings are
low, comfortless, and filthy, sunk in the ground in the winter
months, and raised on posts during summer to facilitate the curing
of fish, which are hung up on lines to dry. In travelling, they use
dogs harnessed to a sledge instead of horses."
DORA. "We are now to leave the coasts, and sail about in search of
the islands in the Pacific Ocean; and, as we happen to be above the
equator, we can more conveniently see those of the North Pacific. We
have each selected our favorite isles for description, and Charles
is at the head of the catalogue."
MRS. WILTON. "To make our remarks better understood, we will, like
scientific geographers, class all these islands under the head of
Polynesia, for the term is applied to the numerous groups, both
above and below the equator, in the Pacific Ocean. The equator
forming a dividing line between North and South Polynesia. Sir
Francis Drake was the first English captain to whom appertained the
honor of sailing on the Pacific Ocean.
"'The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
He was the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.'"[16]
[Footnote 16: Coleridge]
CHARLES. "The Sandwich Islands appear to me one of the most
interesting groups, although the most isolated of all in North
Polynesia. They are ten in number,--eight inhabited,--and were named
by their discoverer, Captain Cook, in honor of the Earl of Sandwich,
a minister who had warmly promoted his labors. The island of Owyhee,
or more properly Hawaii, is the largest, being 415 miles in
circumference. It obtained a celebrity, as the scene of Captain
Cook's death, who was killed by the natives on the 14th of February,
1779. A celebrity of a different kind now awaits it, as the focus of
civilization in Polynesia. The inhabitants have, with the assistance
of the English and Americans, built twenty merchant-ships, with
which they perform voyages to the north-west coast of America, and
even visit Canton. They used to sacrifice human victims, but were
never cannibals; they tattoo their bodies, and the women tattoo the
tips of their tongues. Hawaii contains a tremendous volcano, the top
of which is 16,000 feet above the level of the sea. The whole
island, indeed, is one complete mass of lava. Christianity was
introduced by the American missionaries in 1820, and is now the
religion of the state. Schools have been established, and churches
built. Honoruru, in the Island of Cahu, is the capital of the group.
Some of the houses are built of stone; but the natives still prefer
living in their huts, so that the town is grotesquely irregular. The
principal public building is the English school, where children of
both sexes are taught to read and write. The place is altogether in
a flourishing condition, and so advanced in the refinements of life,
that the news-paper, lately established in the town, sets forth the
following articles for sale:--'Ladies' shoes from Paris, Ices, and
Eau de Cologne.'"
GRANDY. "It is a great cause for thankfulness, that religion is
spreading her benign influence over these volcanic isles. The women
who, truly speaking, were the most callous and obdurate, have
exhibited bright and numerous proofs of that change of heart, which
is the single end and aim of pure Christianity. Kekupuhe, who in
Cook's days was one of the wives of the king of Hawaii, evinced the
sincerity of her conversion, which took place in 1828, by learning
to read when she was more than eighty years of age, and by inditing
hymns in honor of the God of her old age."
GEORGE. "I cannot understand why they killed Captain Cook; and I
have never read the account of his first visit to the Sandwich
Islands: have you, Charles?"
CHARLES. "Yes, and a very interesting account it is. On the first
appearance of the English ships, the chiefs and priests, taking them
for floating islands, imagined that their long-expected guardian
spirit, 'Etuah Orono,' was arrived. Hence Captain Cook was received
with honor approaching to adoration, as they imagined him to be
their 'Orono.' The king was absent at the time of his arrival; but
the chief priest and his son received the captain. Scarcely were the
ships anchored, when a priest went on board, and decorating Cook
with a red cloth, such as adorned their deities, offered him a pig
in the manner of a sacrifice, and pronounced a long harangue. They
chanted hymns before him, and priests, bearing wands, preceded him
on his landing, while the in habitants prostrated themselves on the
ground, as he walked from the beach to the village."
GEORGE. "But if they held him in such reverence, how was it they
killed him?"
MR. WILTON. "His own imprudence brought about his melancholy end.
Some time after his arrival, it appears, that one of his smaller
boats was stolen by some of the natives, for the sake of the nails
in her, and was broken up the very night it was stolen. Captain
Cook, angry at losing his boat, attempted to get the king on board
his ship, to confine him there, until the boat should be restored.
This caused a tumult, and in the tumult, Captain Cook was slain.
There certainly was no malice in the case,--not the slightest
intention of injuring him; and his body was treated in the same
manner as those of their own chiefs, the bones being assigned to
different Eries (chiefs), who, either from affection, or from an
idea of good luck attending them, desired to preserve them. Long
after Captain Cook's death, the natives believed he would re-appear,
and perhaps punish them for their breach of hospitality."
MR. BARRAUD. "They are a most interesting people; and, to prove to
you how they have advanced in civilization, I will give you two
instances of their mode of living and taking their meals. Forty
years ago, the Rev. Mr. Stewart, being then on a mission, visited a
chief, and, when he entered the apartment, one of his queens was
seated on the ground _a la Turc_, with a large wooden tray in her
lap. Upon this a monstrous cuttle-fish had just been placed, fresh
from the sea, and in all its life and vigor. The queen had taken it
up with both hands, and brought its body to her mouth, and, by a
single application of her teeth, the black blood with which it was
filled gushed over her face and neck, while the long sucking arms of
the fish, in the convulsive paroxysm of the operation, were twisting
and writhing about her head, like the snaky hairs of a Medusa.
Occupied as both hands were, she could only give her visitor a nod.
Mr. Stewart remarks, 'It was the first time I had seen her Majesty,
and I soon took my departure, leaving her, as I found her, in the
full enjoyment of her luxurious luncheon.' Now,--observe the
contrast. In 1841, Sir George Simpson and friends visited a chief.
They were received in an immense apartment: several white persons
were there to meet them: all the rules of etiquette were observed on
going to table. The chiefs were all handsomely attired, their
clothes fitting to a hair's breadth, for they had imported a tailor
from England to make them. The dining-room was handsomely furnished,
and lighted with elegant lamps. The dinner was excellent, with fine
pastry and preserves from every country, and the glass and plate on
the table would have been admired even in a London mansion. The
chiefs, especially the host, were men of excellent address, and,
adds Sir George Simpson, 'we soon forgot that we were sipping our
coffee in a country which is deemed uncivilized, and among
individuals who are classed with savages. There were but few
incongruities in the course of the evening's entertainment, such as
could at all mar the effect, excepting that one of the chiefs
frequently inquired, with much solicitude, whether or not we thought
his whiskers handsome.' In conclusion, he says, 'After chatting a
good deal, and smoking a few cigars, we took our leave, highly
gratified with the hospitality and courtesy of the governor and his
friends'."
DORA. "It must have been a work of time to convert these people; for
their belief in the power of their idols was so strong, and had been
preserved through so many generations."
GRANDY. "The work was of God, my dear, and he made it to prosper.
Civilization once introduced, the way to Christianity was paved; and
the chiefs with their wives setting the example, the mission was
soon full of hopes for the future. The great women of the islands,
when converted themselves, endeavored to propagate the truths of the
Gospel; and amongst them, one of the most justly celebrated
Christians was Kapiolani. She wished to undeceive the natives
concerning their false gods; and knowing in what veneration Peli,
the goddess of the volcano, was held, she determined to climb the
mountain, descend into the crater, and by thus braving the volcanic
deities in their very homes, convince the inhabitants that God is
God alone, and that the false and subordinate deities existed only
in the fancies of their ignorant adorers. Thus determined, and
accompanied by a missionary, she, with part of her family, and a
number of followers, both of her own vassals, and those of other
chiefs, ascended Peli. At the edge of the first precipice that
bounds the sunken plain, many of her followers and companions lost
courage and turned back: at the second, the rest earnestly entreated
her to desist from her dangerous enterprise, and forbear to tempt
the powerful gods of the fires. But she proceeded; and, on the very
verge of the crater, caused a hut to be constructed for herself and
people. Here she was assailed anew by their entreaties to return
home; and their assurances, that, if she persisted in violating the
dwellings of the goddess, she would draw on herself, and those with
her, certain destruction. Her answer was noble:--'I will descend
into the crater,' said she; 'and if I do not return safe, then
continue you to worship Peli; but, if I come back unhurt, you must
learn to adore the God who created Peli.' She accordingly went down
the steep and difficult side of the crater, accompanied by a
missionary, and by some whom love or duty induced to follow her.
Arrived at the bottom, she thrust a stick into the liquid lava, and
stirred the ashes of the burning lake. The charm of superstition was
at that moment broken. Those who had expected to see the goddess,
armed with flames and sulphurous smoke, burst forth and destroy the
daring heroine who thus braved her, in her very sanctuary, were
awe-struck when they saw the fire remain innocuous, and the flames
roll harmless, as though none were present. They acknowledged the
greatness of the God of Kapiolani; and from that time few indeed
have been the offerings, and little the reverence paid to the fires
of Peli."
CHARLES. "What delightful anecdotes concerning my island! but I have
one reserved for the conclusion, which illustrates the truth of the
assertion, that the women of the Sandwich Islands are superior to
the men in many exercises requiring skill, and also in their powers
of endurance. The latter quality may, I believe, be fairly adjudged
to the women of all countries. 'A man and his wife, both Christians,
were passengers in a schooner, which foundered at a considerable
distance from the land. All the natives on board promptly took
refuge in the sea; and the man in question, who had just celebrated
divine service in the ill-fated vessel, called his fellows (some of
them being converts as well as himself) around him, to offer up
another tribute of praise and supplication from the deep; exhorting
them, with a combination of courage and humility rarely equalled, to
worship God in that universal temple, under whose restless pavement
he and most of his hearers were destined to find their graves. It
was done: they called on God from the midst of the waves, and then
each struggled to save the life they valued. The man and his wife
had each succeeded in procuring the support of a covered bucket by
way of a buoy; and away they struck with the rest for Kahoolawe,
finding themselves next morning alone in the ocean, after a whole
afternoon and night of privation and toil. To aggravate their
misfortunes, the wife's bucket went to pieces soon after daylight,
so that she had to make the best of her way without assistance or
relief; and, in the course of the second afternoon, the man became
too weak to proceed; till his wife, to a certain extent, restored
his strength by shampooning him in the water. They had now Kahoolawe
in full view after having been about four-and-twenty hours on their
dreary voyage. In spite, however, of the cheering sight, the man
again fell into such a state of exhaustion, that the woman took his
bucket for herself, giving him at the same time the hair of her head
as a towing-line; and, when even this exertion proved too much for
him, the faithful creature, after trying in vain to rouse him to
prayer, took his arms round her neck, holding them together with one
hand, and making with the other for the shore When a very trifling
distance remained to be accomplished, she discovered that he was
dead, and dropping his corpse she reached the land before night,
having swam upwards of twenty-five miles during an exposure of
thirty hours! The only means of resting from her fatigue being by
floating on the top of the water."
MR. WILTON. "Very good, Charles; but if our notes of all the other
islands in Polynesia be as extensive as those of the Sandwich Isles,
I fear we shall not cross the equator before midnight."
EMMA. "I can soon quiet your fears, dear papa; for the description
of the remaining isles in North Polynesia rests with the elder
members, and of course they are at liberty to abridge them if they
please."
MR. WILTON. "In that case I will undertake to run over the Ladrones,
sometimes called the Marianne Isles. There are twenty of them; but
only five are inhabited, and they lie in the south extremity of the
cluster. They are so close together, and so broken and irregular in
their form and position, as to appear like fragments disjointed from
each other, at remote periods, by some sudden convulsion of nature.
The coasts consist for the most part of dark brown rocks,
honey-combed in many places by the action of the waves. The islands
are fertile, abounding in hogs, cattle, horses, mules, and many
other agreeable things; while in order that, like other countries in
this sublunary world, they may lay claim to a portion of
disagreeables, they are infested with mosquitoes and endless
varieties of loathsome insects; and the fish that are found around
the coasts are not fit for food. So much for the country--now for
the natives:--They are tall, robust, and active; the men wear
scarcely any covering, and the women only a petticoat of matting.
Both sexes stain their teeth black, and many of them tattoo their
bodies. The Ladrone Islands were originally discovered by Magellan,
who called them 'las Islas de las Ladrones' or the islands of
thieves; because the Indians stole everything made of iron within
their reach. At the latter end of the seventeenth century, they
obtained the name of Marianne from the Queen of Spain, who sent
missionaries thither to propagate the Christian religion. Guajan is
the largest island of the group. Near the Ladrones lies the famous
pyramidal rock called 'Lot's wife.' A sea neither broken nor
interrupted for an immense space in all directions, here dashes with
sublime violence on the solid mass which rises almost
perpendicularly to a height of 350 feet. On the south-east side is a
deep cavern, where the waves resound with a prodigious noise."
MR. BARRAUD. "The Philippine Isles fall to my share. They are,
correctly speaking, in the Eastern Archipelago. Luzon, the most
northerly, is the largest: it is a long narrow island, and, like all
the others, abounding in volcanoes. Gold, iron, and copper have been
found in the mountains, and rock salt is so abundant in some parts
as to be an article of export. These islands are exceedingly
mountainous and fertile, but from the large swamps are very
unhealthy. There are no beasts of prey, but numerous herds of
cattle; the inhabitants, however, are too indolent to profit by
these gifts of nature; they are actually too idle to make their
cow's milk into butter, and throughout the islands use hog's lard
instead, because they will not be at the trouble of keeping and
milking the cows. Rice is the chief support of the population.
Sugar, coffee, and many other delightful things grow here, and
cotton shrubs thrive well. Manilla is the only port of trade in the
Philippines: it is a fortified city inhabited by people from all
parts of the world. This city is entered by six gates. The streets
have carriage ways and footpaths, and are lighted at night. The
houses are solidly constructed, but, on account of earthquakes,
seldom more than one story above the ground floor. Most of the
houses are furnished with balconies and verandahs; the place of
glass in the windows is supplied by thin semi transparent pieces of
shell, which though more opaque repel heat better. In the year 1762
Manilla was taken by the English; but ransomed by Spain for 1,000
000_l_. sterling. There! who can compete with my islands in value?"
MRS. WILTON. "Quantity must compensate for the loss of quality. Here
are the Caroline or New Philippines,--forty-six groups of them,
comprising several hundred islands. A few of them are high, rising
in peaks, but by far the greater number are merely volcanic
formations. They were discovered in 1686, by a Spaniard, who named
them after Charles II. of Spain. There are no hogs on these islands,
and the inhabitants subsist chiefly on fish. They are reputed to be
the most expert sailors and fishermen in Polynesia; and,
notwithstanding the tremendous sea by which they are surrounded,
they have a considerable trading intercourse with the Ladrone and
many other islands."
GEORGE. "Papa, it is your turn again.--Pelew Isles."
MR. WILTON. "They are chiefly known from the accounts of Captain
Wilson, who was wrecked on them in 1783. He describes the
inhabitants as hospitable, friendly, and humane; and they are a gay
and comparatively innocent people; but they do not appear to have
any form of religion, although they conceive that the soul survives
the body. These islands are covered with close woods. Ebony grows
in the forests. Bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees are in abundance.
Cattle, goats, poultry, &c., have been sent there and thrive well.
The Pelews have a considerable trade with China.
"Now it seems to me that we had better cross the equator with all
expedition, for there are so many islands up here, we cannot
possibly go to all, and I think we have noticed the most important."
DORA. "South Polynesia then. Papua or New Guinea is my portion, and
it happens to lie near the Pelew Isles. It is supposed to be the
first part of Australia discovered by Europeans, and is the favorite
residence of the superb and singular birds of paradise, of which
there are ten or twelve kinds. There are three kinds reckoned the
most gorgeous: viz., the King, which has two detached feathers
parallel to the tail, ending in an elegant curl with a tuft: the
Magnificent, which has also two detached feathers of the same length
with the body, very slender, and ending in a tuft: the Golden
Throat, which has three long and straight feathers proceeding from
each side of the head. These birds are considered the best, but they
are all arrayed in brilliant colors, and all superbly magnificent.
They are caught chiefly in the Aroo Isles, either by means of
bird-lime, or shot with blunted arrows. After being dried with smoke
and sulphur, they are sold for nuts or pieces of iron and carried to
Bunda."
EMMA. "The New Hebrides are in my course, but the Friendly Isles are
allotted to me."
MRS. WILTON. "Nevertheless, the New Hebrides claim a few words.
They were discovered in 1506, and so named by Captain Cook. They are
considerably hilly, and well clothed with timber. The valleys are
extremely abundant, producing figs, nutmegs, and oranges, besides
the fruits common to the rest of Polynesia. The inhabitants present
the most ugly specimen extant of the Papuan race; the men wear no
covering, and the women, who are used as mere beasts of burden; wear
only a petticoat, made from the plantain leaf. Their canoes are more
rudely constructed than in most of the other islands; and, on the
whole, these people seem to be among the most degraded of the
islanders of the Pacific."
EMMA. "I should not like to live with such people; therefore we will
pass on to my _Friendly_ Islands. They are low and encircled by
dangerous coral reefs; the soil is almost throughout exceedingly
rich, producing with very little care, the banana, bread-fruit, and
yam. The population may amount to about 90,000; but the natives,
though favorably mentioned by Captain Cook, appear to be as
treacherous, savage, and superstitious as any in the worst parts of
Polynesia. The Wesleyan Missionaries established themselves in these
islands in 1821, and are reported to have met with considerable
success. The leading island is that which is called Tongataboo, or
the 'consecrated island.' The name is properly two words 'Tonga
Taboo,' signifying 'Sacred Island,' the reason of which appellative
will appear, when I tell you that the priest of this island, whose
name was Diatonga, was reverenced and resorted to by all the
surrounding islands. Earthquakes are very frequent here; but the
islands display a spectacle of the most abundant fertility. The
foundations of this group are coral rocks, and there is scarcely any
other kind of stone to be found. Tongataboo has a large and
excellent harbor, which admits of being well fortified."