So That The Same Suit Might Pass Through Twenty Different Hands,
And Be As Often Sold, Bought, And Given Away.
Before I finish this account of these islands, it is necessary to mention
all I know concerning the government of Ulietea and Otaha.
Oree, so often
mentioned, is a native of Bolabola; but is possessed of Whenooas or
lands at Ulietea; which I suppose he, as well as many of his countrymen,
got at the conquest. He resides here as Opoony's lieutenant; seeming to be
vested with regal authority, and to be the supreme magistrate in the
island. Oo-oo-rou, who is the Earee by hereditary right, seems to
have little more left him than the bare title, and his own Whenooa
or district, in which I think he is sovereign. I have always seen Oree pay
him the respect due to his rank; and he was pleased when he saw me
distinguish him from others.
Otaha, so far as I can find, is upon the very same footing. Boba and Ota
are the two chiefs; the latter I have not seen; Boba is a stout, well-made
young man; and we were told is, after Opoony's death, to marry his
daughter, by which marriage he will be vested with the same regal authority
as Opoony has now; so that it should seem, though a woman may be vested
with regal dignity, she cannot have regal power. I cannot find that Opoony
has got any thing to himself by the conquest of these isles, any farther
than providing for his nobles, who have seized on best part of the lands.
He seems to have no demand on them for any of the many articles they have
had from us. Oedidee has several times enumerated to me all the axes,
nails, &c. which Opoony is possessed of, which hardly amount to as many as
he had from me when I saw him in 1769. Old as this famous man is, he seems
not to spend his last days in indolence. When we first arrived here, he was
at Maurana; soon after he returned to Bolabola; and we were now told, he
was gone to Tubi.
I shall conclude this account of these islands, with some observations on
the watch which Mr Wales hath communicated to me. At our arrival in Matavai
Bay in Otaheite, the longitude pointed out by the watch was 2 deg. 8' 38" 1/2 too
far to the west; that is, it had gained, since our leaving Queen
Charlotte's Sound, of its then rate of going, 8' 34" 1/2. This was in about
five months, or rather more, during which time it had passed through the
extremes of cold and heat. It was judged that half this error arose after
we left Easter Island; by which it appeared that it went better in the cold
than in the hot climates.
[1] "The man who acted the part of the woman in labour went through
the gestures which the Greeks were wont to admire in the groves of
Venus-Ariadne, near Amathus, where the same ceremony was acted on the
second day of the month Gorpioeus, in memory of Ariadne, who died in
child-bed. Thus it appears that there is scarcely a practice, though
ever so ridiculous, existing in any corner of the world, that has not
been hit upon by the extravagant fancy of men in some other region. A
tall, stout fellow, dressed in cloth, personated the new-born infant
in such a ludicrous style, that we could not refuse joining in the
plaudits which his countrymen bestowed on him. Anatomists and midwives
would have been surprised to observe, that this overgrown babe had
every necessary character of a child newly born; but the natives were
particularly delighted with his running about the stage, whilst the
rest of the dancers endeavoured to catch him. The ladies were much
pleased with this scene, which, according to the simplicity of their
ideas, had not the least indecency; they looked on, therefore,
unconcernedly, and were not obliged, like some European dames, to peep
through their fans." - G.F.
[2] The two Forsters, particularly the father, a man of great sagacity
and of very acute discernment, paid much attention to this interesting
subject. The information they procured is contained in their
respective works, and is, as might be expected, very similar. From
this it would have been easy to add to the contents of the text. But
this has been avoided, principally because we may perhaps present the
reader with the substance of Forster's observations, in a connected
form, on another occasion. That publication indeed is a treasure of
most curious and important matter, deserving to be more extensively
known, than there is reason to believe it now is. - E.
CHAPTER III.
FROM ULIETEA TO NEW ZEALAND.
SECTION I.
Passage from Ulietea to the Friendly Isles, with a Description of
several Islands that were discovered, and the Incidents which happened in
that Track.
On the 6th, being the day after leaving Ulietea, at eleven o'clock a.m., we
saw land bearing N.W., which, upon a nearer approach, we found to be a low
reef island about four leagues in compass, and of a circular form. It is
composed of several small patches connected together by breakers, the
largest lying on the N.E. part. This is Howe Island, discovered by Captain
Wallis, who, I think, sent his boat to examine it; and, if I have not been
misinformed, found a channel through, within the reef, near the N.W. part.
The inhabitants of Ulietea speak of an uninhabited island about this
situation, called by them Mopeha, to which they go at certain seasons for
turtle. Perhaps, this may be the same; as we saw no signs of inhabitants
upon it. Its latitude is 16 deg. 46' S. longitude 154 deg. 8' W.
From this day to the 16th, we met nothing remarkable, and our course was
west southerly; the winds variable from north round by the east to S.W.,
attended with cloudy, rainy, unsettled weather, and a southerly swell.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 165 of 235
Words from 167270 to 168293
of 239428
