Some Of The Natives Had Been There Not
Long Before Us, As Their Fires Were Yet Burning; And They Had Undoubtedly
Taken Her Away.
Pedero dined with us, eat of every thing at table, and
drank more wine than any one of us, without being in the least affected by
it.
The 7th, fresh gales at N.E. with continual rain.
The 8th, fore-part rain, remainder fair weather. We put two pigs, a boar,
and a sow, on shore, in the cove next without Cannibal Cove; so that it is
hardly possible all the methods I have taken to stock this country with
these animals should fail. We had also reason to believe that some of the
cocks and hens which I left here still existed, although we had not seen
any of them; for an hen's egg was, some days before, found in the woods
almost new laid.
On the 9th, wind westerly or N.W., squally with rain. In the morning we
unmoored, and shifted our birth farther out of the cove, for the more ready
getting to sea the next morning; for at present the caulkers had not
finished the sides, and till this work was done we could not sail. Our
friends having brought us a very large and seasonable supply of fish, I
bestowed on Pedero a present of an empty oil-jar, which made him as happy
as a prince. Soon after, he and his party left the cove, and retired to
their proper place of abode, with all the treasure they had received from
us. I believe that they gave away many of the things they, at different
times, got from us, to their friends and neighbours, or else parted with
them to purchase peace of their more powerful enemies; for we never saw any
of our presents after they were once in their possession: And every time we
visited them they were as much in want of hatchets, nails, &c. to all
appearance, as if they never had had any among them.
I am satisfied that the people in this sound, who are, upon the whole,
pretty numerous, are under no regular form of government, or so united as
to form one body politic. The head of each tribe, or family, seems to be
respected; and that respect may, on some occasions, command obedience; but
I doubt if any amongst them have either a right or power to enforce it. The
day we were with Tringo-boohee, the people came from all parts to see us,
which he endeavoured to prevent. But though he went so far as to throw
stones at some, I observed that very few paid any regard either to his
words or actions; and yet this man was spoken of as a chief of some note. I
have, before, made some remarks on the evils attending these people for
want of union among themselves; and the more I was acquainted with them,
the more I found it to be so. Notwithstanding they are cannibals, they are
naturally of a good disposition, and have not a little humanity.
In the afternoon a party of us went ashore into one of the coves, where
were two families of the natives variously employed; some sleeping, some
making mats, others roasting fish and fir roots, and one girl, I observed,
was heating of stones. Curious to know what they were for, I remained near
her. As soon as the stones were made hot, she took them out of the fire,
and gave them to an old woman, who was sitting in the hut. She placed them
in a heap, laid over them a handful of green celery, and over that a coarse
mat, and then squatted herself down, on her heels, on the top of all; thus
making a kind of Dutch warming-pan, on which she sat as close as a hare on
her seat. I should hardly have mentioned this operation, if I had thought
it had no other view than to warm the old woman's backside. I rather
suppose it was intended to cure some disorder she might have on her, which
the steams arising from the green celery might be a specific for. I was led
to think so by there being hardly any celery in the place, we having
gathered it long before; and grass, of which there was great plenty, would
have kept the stones from burning the mat full as well, if that had been
all that was meant. Besides, the woman looked to me sickly, and not in a
good state of health.
Mr Wales, from time to time, communicated to me the observations he had
made in this Sound for determining the longitude, the mean results of which
give 174 deg. 25' 7" 1/2 east, for the bottom of Ship Cove, where the
observations were made; and the latitude of it is 41 deg. 5' 50" 1/2 south. In
my chart, constituted in my former voyage, this place is laid down in 184 deg.
54' 30" west, equal to 175 deg. 5' 30" east. The error of the chart is
therefore 0 deg. 40' 0", and nearly equal to what was found at Dusky Bay; by
which it appears that the whole of Tavai-poenamoo is laid down 40' too far
east in the said chart, as well as in the journal of the voyage. But the
error in Eaheino-mauwe, is not more than half a degree, or thirty minutes;
because the distance between. Queen Charlotte's Sound and Cape Palliser has
been found to be greater by 10' of longitude than it is laid down in the
chart. I mention these errors, not from a fear that they will affect either
navigation or geography, but because I have no doubt of their existence;
for, from the multitude of observations which Mr Wales took, the situation
of few parts of the world is better ascertained than Queen Charlotte's
Sound. Indeed, I might, with equal truth, say the same of all the other
places where we made any stay; for Mr Wales, whose abilities are equal to
his assiduity, lost no one observation that could possibly be obtained.
Even the situation of those islands, which we passed without touching at
them, is, by means of Kendal's watch, determined with almost equal
accuracy.
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