The
Black Colour And Woolly Hair In Particular Are Characteristics Common
To Both Nations.
The slender form of the Mallicolese is a character,
as far as I know, peculiar to them and the New Zealanders; but that
nation hath nothing in common with them in all other respects.
The
features of these people, though remarkably irregular and ugly, yet
are full of great sprightliness, and express a quick comprehension.
Their lips, and the lower part of their face, are entirely different
from those of African negroes; but the upper part, especially the
nose, is of very similar conformation, and the substance of the hair
is the same. The climate of Mallicollo, and the adjacent islands, is
very warm, but perhaps not at all times so temperate as at Otaheite,
because the extent of land is vastly greater. However, during our
short stay, we experienced no unusual degree of heat, the thermometer
being at 76 deg. and 78 deg., which is very moderate in the torrid zone." -
G.F.
SECTION IV.
An Account of the Discovery of several Islands, and an Interview and
Skirmish with the Inhabitants upon one of them. The Arrival of the Ship at
Tanna, and the Reception we met with there.
Soon after we got to sea, we had a breeze at E.S.E. with which we stood
over for Ambrym till three o'clock in the afternoon, when the wind veering
to the E.N.E. we tacked and stretched to the S.E. and weathered the S.E.
end of Mallicolo, off which we discovered three or four small islands, that
before appeared to be connected. At sun-set the point bore S. 77 deg. W.,
distant three leagues, from which the coast seemed to trend away west. At
this time, the isle of Ambrym extended from N. 3 deg. E. to N. 65 deg. E. The isle
of Paoon from N. 76 deg. E. to S. 88 deg. E.; and the isle of Apee from S. 83 deg. E.
to S. 43 deg. E. We stood for this last isle, which we reached by midnight, and
then brought-to till day-break on the 24th, when we made sail to the S.E.,
with a view of plying up to the eastward on the south side of Apee. At sun-
rise we discovered several more islands, extending from the S.E. point of
Apee to the south as far as S.E. by S. The nearest to us we reached by ten
o'clock, and not being able to weather it, we tacked a mile from its shore
in fourteen fathoms water. This island is about four leagues in circuit, is
remarkable by having three high peaked hills upon it, by which it has
obtained that name. In the p.m. the wind veering more to the north, we
resumed our course to the east; and having weathered Threehills, stood for
the group of small isles which lie off the S.E. point of Apee. These I
called Shepherd's Isles, in honour of my worthy friend Dr Shepherd, Plumian
professor of astronomy at Cambridge. Having a fine breeze, I had thoughts
of going through between them; but the channels being narrow, and seeing
broken water in the one we were steering for, I gave up the design, and
bore up, in order to go without, or to the south of them. Before this could
be accomplished, it fell calm, and we were left to the mercy of the
current, close to the isles, where we could find no soundings with a line
of an hundred and eighty fathoms. We had now land or islands in every
direction, and were not able to count the number which lay round us. The
mountain on Paoon was seen over the east end of Apee, bearing N.N.W. at
eight o'clock. A breeze at S.E. relieved us from the anxiety the calm had
occasioned; and we spent the night in making short boards.
The night before we came out of Port Sandwich, two reddish fish, about the
size of large bream, and not unlike them, were caught with hook and line.
On these fish most of the officers, and some of the petty officers, dined
the next day. The night following, every one who had eaten of them was
seized with violent pains in the head and bones, attended with a scorching
heat all over the skin, and numbness in the joints. There remained no doubt
that this was occasioned by the fish being of a poisonous nature, and
having communicated its bad effects to all who partook of them, even to the
hogs and dogs. One of the former died about sixteen hours after; it was not
long before one of the latter shared the same fate; and it was a week or
ten days before all the gentlemen recovered. These must have been the same
sort of fish mentioned by Quiros,[1] under the name of pargos, which
poisoned the crews of his ships, so that it was some time before they
recovered; and we should, doubtless, have been in the same situation, had
more of them been eaten.
At day break on the 25th, we made a short stretch to the east of Shepherd's
Isles till after sun-rise, when seeing no more land in that direction, we
tacked and stood for the island we had seen in the south, having a gentle
breeze at S.E. We passed to the east of Threehills, and likewise of a low
isle, which lies on the S.E. side of it, between a remarkable peaked rock
which obtained the name of Monument, and a small island named Twohills, on
account of two peaked hills upon it, disjoined by a low and narrow isthmus.
The channel between this island and the Monument is near a mile broad, and
twenty-four fathoms deep. Except this rock, which is only accessible to
birds, we did not find an island on which people were not seen.
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