On The Afternoon Of This
Day, Our Friends Importuned Us To Sing To Them Again.
We readily
complied with their request, and when they seemed to wonder at the
difference in our songs, we endeavoured to make them comprehend that
we were natives of different countries.
Hearing this, they pointed out
an elderly thin man in the circle of our hearers, and telling us that
he was a native of Irromanga, desired him to sing to us. The man
immediately stepped forward, and began a song, in the course of which
he made a variety of gesticulations, not only to our entertainment,
but to the great satisfaction of all the people about him. His song
was to the full as musical as that of the people of Tanna, but it
seemed to be of a droll or humorous nature, from his various ludicrous
postures, and from the particular tone of the whole. The language was
utterly distinct from that of Tanna, but not harsh or ill suited to
music. It seemed likewise to have a certain metre, but very different
from that slow and serious one which we heard this morning. It
appeared to us when he had done singing, that the people of Tanna
spoke to him in his own language, but that he was not acquainted with
theirs. Whether he came as a visitor, or had been taken prisoner, we
could not determine." - G.F.
According to this gentleman, these people had a musical instrument,
which consisted of eight reeds like the syrin of Tonga-Tabbo, with
this difference, that the reeds regularly decreased in size, and
comprehended an octave, though the single reeds were not perfectly in
tune. It is worth while noticing here, that one of these people having
one day blown with great violence into his hand several times, as a
signal, he was soon answered by the sounding of several conchs in
different places. - E.
SECTION VII.
The Survey of the Islands continued, and a more particular Description
of them.
As soon as the boats were hoisted in, we made sail, and stretched to the
eastward, with a fresh gale at S.E., in order to have a nearer view of
Erronan, and to see if there was any land in its neighbourhood. We stood on
till midnight, when, having passed the island, we tacked, and spent the
remainder of the night making two boards. At sun-rise on the 21st, we stood
S.W., in order to get to the south of Tanna, and nearer to Annatom, to
observe if any more land lay in that direction; for an extraordinary clear
morning had produced no discovery of any to the east. At noon, having
observed in latitude 20 deg. 33' 30", the situation of the lands around us was
as follows: Port Resolution bore north 86 deg. W., distant six and a half
leagues; the island of Tanna extended from S. 88 deg. W., to N. 64 deg. W.;
Traitor's Head N. 58 deg.
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