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Exploring the Variety of Random
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great number of persons who have been desirous of seeing him, he
always distinguished those who were obliging towards him, and his
grateful heart never forgot them. He was particularly attached to the
duchess of Choiseul, who has loaded him with favours, and
especially shewed marks of concern and friendship for him, to which
he was infinitely more sensible than to presents. Therefore, he
would, of his own accord, go to visit this generous benefactress as
often as he heard that she was come to town.
His departure He left Paris in March, 1770, and embarked at
from France. Rochelle, on board the Brisson, which was to carry
him to the Isle de France. During this voyage he has Steps taken to
been trusted to the care of a merchant, who went a send him
passenger in the same ship, which he had equipped home.
in part. The ministry have sent orders to the governor and the
intendant of the Isle of France, to send Aotourou home to his isle
from thence. I have given a very minute account of the course that
must be taken in order to go thither, and thirty-six thousand francs,
(about fifteen hundred pounds sterling) which is the third part of my
whole fortune, towards the equipment of the ship intended for this
navigation. The duchess of Choiseul has been so humane as to
consecrate a sum of money for bringing to Taiti a great number of
the most necessary tools, a quantity of seeds, and a number of
cattle; and the king of Spain has been pleased to permit that this
ship might, if necessary, touch at the Philippines. O may Aotounou
soon see his countrymen again!—I shall now give an account of
what I have learnt in my conversations with him, concerning the
customs of his country.
Farther I have already observed that the Taiti people
accounts of the acknowledge a supreme Being, who cannot be
customs of represented by any factitious image, and inferior
Taiti.
divinities of two classes, represented by wooden
figures. They pray at sun-rise and at sun-set; but they have besides
a great number of superstitious practices, in order to conciliate the
influence of the evil genii. The comet, visible at Paris in 1769, and
which Aotourou has very well taken notice of, has given me an
opportunity of learning that the people of Taiti know this kind of stars,
which do not appear again, as Aotourou said, till after a great
number of moons. They call comets evetou-eave, and do not
combine any sinister ideas with their apparition. Those meteors,
however, which are here called shooting stars, are known to the
people of Taiti by the name of epao, and are by them thought to be
evil genii eatoua toa.
The better instructed people of this nation (without being
astronomers, as our gazettes have pretended) have, however, a
name for every remarkable constellation; they know their diurnal
motion, and direct their course at sea by them, from isle to isle. In
these navigations, which sometimes extend three hundred leagues,
they lose all sight of land. Their compass is the sun’s course in day-
time, and the position of the stars during the nights, which are almost
always fair between the tropics.
Neighbouring Aotourou has mentioned several isles to me;
isles. some of which are allies of, and others at war with
Taiti. The friendly isles are Aimeo, Maoroua, Aca, Oumaitia, and
Tapouamassou. The enemies isles are Papara, Aiatea, Otaa,
Toumaraa, Oopoa. These isles are as big as Taiti.
The isle of Pare, which is very abundant in pearls, is sometimes in
alliance, and sometimes at war with Taiti. Enoua-motou, and Toupai,
are two little uninhabited isles, abounding with fruits, hogs, fowls,
fish, and turtle; but the people believe, that they are the habitation of
the genii; they are their domains; and unhappy are the boats which
chance or curiosity has conducted to these sacred isles. Almost all
those, who endeavour to land there, must lose their lives in the
attempt. These isles ly at different distances from Taiti. The greatest
distance, which Aotourou mentioned to me, was fifteen days sail. It
was, doubtless, about the same distance that he supposed our
country was at, when he resolved to go with us.
Inequality of I have mentioned above, that the inhabitants of
ranks. Taiti seemed to live in an enviable happiness. We
took them to be almost equal in rank amongst themselves; or at least
enjoying a liberty, which was only subject to the laws established for
their common happiness. I was mistaken; the distinction of ranks is
very great at Taiti, and the disproportion very tyrannical. The kings
and grandees have power of life and death over their servants and
slaves, and I am inclined to believe, they have the same barbarous
prerogative with regard to the common people, whom they call Tata-
einou, vile men; so much is certain, that the victims for human
sacrifices are taken from this class of people. Flesh and fish are
reserved for the tables of the great; the commonalty live upon mere
fruits and pulse. Even the very manner of being lighted at night,
shews the difference in the ranks; for the kind of wood, which is
burnt for people of distinction, is not the same with that which the
common people are allowed to make use of. Their kings, alone, are
allowed to plant before their houses, the tree which we call the
Weeping-willow, or Babylonian-willow[106]. It is known, that by
bending the branches of this tree, and planting them in the ground,
you can extend its shadow as far as you will, and in what direction
you please; at Taiti, their shade affords the dining-hall of their kings.
The grandees have liveries for their servants. In proportion as the
master’s rank is more or less elevated, their servants wear their
sashes more or less high. This sash is fastened close under the
arms, in the servants of the chiefs, and only covers the loins in those
belonging to the lowest class of nobility. The ordinary hours of
repast, are when the sun passes the meridian, and when he is set.
The men do not eat with the women; the latter serving up the dishes,
which the servants have prepared.
Custom of At Taiti they wear mourning regularly, and call it
going into ceva. The whole nation wear mourning for their
mourning. kings. The mourning for the fathers is very long. The
women mourn for their husbands; but the latter do not do the same
for them. The marks of mourning, are a head-dress of feathers; the
colour of which is consecrated to death, and a veil over the face.
When the people in mourning go out of their houses, they are
preceded by several slaves, who beat the castanets in a certain
cadence; their doleful sound gives everybody notice to clear the way,
whether out of respect for the grief of the persons in mourning, or
because meeting them is feared as an unlucky and ominous
accident. However at Taiti, as in every other part of the world, the
most respectable customs are abused; Aotourou told me, that this
practice of mourning was favourable to the private meetings;
doubtless, as I believe, of lovers with wives, whose husbands are not
very complaisant. The instrument, whose sound disperses every
body, and the veil which covers the face, secure to the lovers both
secrecy and impunity.
Reciprocal In all diseases, which are any way dangerous, all
assistance in the near relations assemble in the sick person’s
their diseases. house. They eat and sleep there as long as the
danger lasts; every one nurses him, and watches by him in his turn.
They have likewise the custom of letting blood; but this operation is
never performed at the foot or arm. A Taoua, i. e. a doctor, or inferior
priest, strikes with a sharp piece of wood on the cranium of the
patient; by this means he opens the sagittal vein; and when a
sufficient quantity of blood is run out, he surrounds the head with a
bandage, which shuts up the opening; the next day he washes the
wound with water.
This is all that I have learnt concerning the customs of this
interesting country, both upon the spot, and from my conversations
with Aotourou. At the end of this work I shall add a Vocabulary of as
many Taiti words as I could collect. When we arrived at this island,
we observed that some of the words pronounced by the islanders
stood in the vocabulary at the end of Le Maire’s Voyage, under the
name of Vocabulary of Cocos island. Indeed those islands,
according to Le Maire and Schouten’s reckoning, cannot be far from
Taiti, and perhaps may be some of those which Aotourou named to
me. The language of Taiti is soft, harmonious, and easy to be
pronounced; its words are composed of almost mere vowels, without
aspirates[107]. You meet with no nasal, nor no mute and half sounded
syllables, nor that quantity of consonants, and of articulations which
render some languages so difficult. Therefore our Taiti-man could
never learn to pronounce the French. The same reasons for which
our language is accused of not being very musical, rendered it
inaccessible to his organs. It would have been easier to make him
pronounce Spanish or Italian.
M. Pereire, celebrated for his art of teaching people, who are born
deaf and dumb, to speak and articulate words, has examined
Aotourou several times, and has found that he could not naturally
pronounce most of our consonants, nor any of our nasal vowels. M.
Pereire has been so obliging as to communicate to me a memoir on
this subject. Upon the whole, the language of this island is abundant
enough; I think so, because Aotourou, during the course of the
voyage, pronounced every thing that struck him in rhythmic stanzas.
It was a kind of blank verse, which he spoke extempore. These were
his annals; and it seems as if his language furnished him with
expressions sufficient to describe a number of objects unknown to
him. We further heard him pronounce every day such words as we
were not yet acquainted with; and he likewise spoke a long prayer,
which he calls the prayer of the kings, and of all the words that
compose it, I do not understand ten.
I learnt from Aotourou, that about eight months before our arrival
at his island, an English ship had touched there. It is the same which
was commanded by Mr. Wallace. The same chance by which we
have discovered this isle, has likewise conducted the English thither,
whilst we lay in Rio de la Plata. They stayed there a month; and,
excepting one attack of the islanders, who had conceived hopes of
taking the ship, every thing has passed very friendly between them.
From hence, doubtless, proceeds the knowledge of iron, which we
found among the natives of Taiti, and the name of aouri, by which
they call it, and which sounds pretty like the English word iron. I am
yet ignorant, whether the people of Taiti, as they owe the first
knowledge of iron to the English, may not likewise be indebted to
them for the venereal disease, which we found had been naturalized
amongst them, as will appear in the sequel.
 CHAP. IV.
Departure from Taiti; discovery of other islands; navigation to our clearing the
great Cyclades.

Our touching at Taiti has been productive of good, and of

disagreeable consequences; danger and alarms followed all our
steps to the very last moments of our stay; yet we considered this
country as a friend, whom we must love with all his faults. On the
16th of April, at eight o’clock in the morning, we 1768. April.
were about ten leagues N. E. by N. of the north point of the island,
and from hence I took my departure. At ten o’clock Sight of
we perceived land to leeward, seeming to form three Oumaitia.
isles, and we were still in sight of Taiti. At noon we plainly saw, that
what we had taken for three isles, was no more than a single one,
whose eminences had appeared as separate isles at a distance.
Beyond this new land, we thought we saw another at a greater
distance. This isle is of a middling height, and covered with trees; it
may be seen at sea, about eight or ten leagues distant. Aotourou
called it Oumaitia. He gave us to understand, in a manner which
admitted of no doubt, that it was inhabited by a nation allied to his,
that he had been there several times, that he had a mistress there,
and that we should meet with the same reception and refreshments
there as at Taiti.
Direction of the We lost sight of Oumaitia this day, and I directed
course. my course so as to avoid the Pernicious Isles, which
we were taught to shun, by the disasters of admiral Roggewein. Two
days afterwards, we had an incontestable proof, that the inhabitants
of the isles in the Pacific Ocean communicate with each other, even
at considerable distances. The night was very fair, without a single
cloud, and all the stars shone very bright. Aotourou, after attentively
observing them, pointed at the bright star in Orion’s shoulder, saying,
we should direct our course upon it; and that in two days time we
should find an abundant country, which he well knew, and where he
had friends: we even believed his gestures meant that he had a child
there. As I did not alter my course, he repeated several times, that
there were cocoa-nuts, plantains, fowls, hogs, and above all,
women, whom by many expressive gestures he described as very
complaisant. Being vexed that these reasons did not make any
impression upon me, he ran to get hold of the wheel of the helm, the
use of which he had already found out, and endeavoured in spite of
the helm’s-man to change it, and steer directly upon the star, which
he pointed at. We had much ado to quiet him and he was greatly
vexed at our refusal. The next morning by break of day, he climbed
up to the top of the mast, and stayed there all the morning, always
looking towards that part where the land lay, whither he intended to
conduct us, as if he had any hopes of getting sight of it. He had
likewise told us that night, without any hesitation, all the names
which the bright stars that we pointed at, bear in his language. We
have since been assured with certainty, that he knows the phases of
the moon perfectly well, and is well acquainted with different
prognosticks, which often give notice to navigators of the changes of
weather that are to happen at sea some time after. One of the
opinions of these people, which Aotourou made very intelligible to us
is, that they positively believe that the sun and moon are inhabited.
What Fontenelle taught them the plurality of worlds?
During the latter end of April we had very fine weather, but not
much wind, and the easterly winds kept more to the northward than
southward. On the night between the 26th and 27th, our pilot of the
coast of France died suddenly of an apoplexy. These pilots generally
are called coasting pilots[108], and all the king’s ships have a pilot of
the coast of France[109]. They differ from those of the crew who are
called pilots, and under-pilots, or pilot’s boys[110]. The world has a
very inaccurate idea of the functions which these pilots exercise on
board our ships. They are generally thought to be the persons who
direct the course, and who serve as a staff and support to the blind. I
know not whether there is still any nation where they leave the art of
piloting, that essential part of navigation, to those subaltern people.
In our ships, the business of the pilot is to take care that the
helmsman exactly follows the course, for which the captain alone
gives the orders, to mark down all the alterations of the course that
happen, either in consequence of the changes of winds, or of the
orders of the commander, and likewise to observe the signals; nor
have they the care of all these particulars, but under the direction of
the officer of the watch. The superior officers of the king’s navy
certainly know more of geometry, even at leaving school, than is
necessary to have a perfect knowledge of all the laws of pilotage.
The class of pilots, properly so called, are moreover charged with the
care of the common and azimuth compasses, of the log and
sounding lines, of the lanthorns, the colours, &c. and it is plain, that
these particulars require nothing more than exactness. Nor was my
master-pilot above twenty years old, the second pilot was of the
same age, and the pilots boys[111] were making their first voyage.
Astronomical My reckoning compared, twice during this month,
observations. with M. Verron’s astronomical observations, differed,
the first time, and that was at Taiti, only 13′ 10″, which I was more to
the westward. The second time, which was the 27th at noon, 1° 13′
37″, which I was to the eastward of the observation. Second
The different isles discovered during this month, division of
form the second division of isles in this vast ocean; I isles.
named them Archipelago of Bourbon.
May. The third of May, almost at day-break, we
discovered more land to the north west, about ten or twelve leagues
off. The wind was north easterly, and I gave orders to stand to
windward of the north point of the land, which was very high,
intending to reconnoitre it. The nautical knowledge Sight of new
of Aotourou did not extend to these places, for his islands.
first idea when he saw this land, was, that it was our country. During
the day we had some squalls, followed by calms, rain, and westerly
breezes, such as are observed in this ocean at the approach of the
least land. Before sun-set we distinguished three isles, one of which
was much more considerable than the others. During the night,
which happened to be moon-light, we kept sight of the land; we
stood in for it the next day, and ranged the eastern shore of the
greater isle, from its south to its north point; that was its longest side,
being about three leagues long. The isle extends two leagues east
and west. Its shores are every where steep, and the whole isle is as
it were nothing more than a high mountain, covered with trees up to
its summit, without either vallies or plains. The sea broke very
violently upon the shore. We saw fires on the island, some huts
covered with reeds, and terminating in a point, built under the
shadow of cocoa-trees, and about thirty men running along the sea
shore. The two little isles bear W. N. W. corrected, and one league
distant from the great one, and have likewise the same situation
among themselves. A narrow arm of the sea separates them, and at
the W. point of the westermost isle, there is a small isle or key. Each
of the above two is not more than half a league long, and their
shores are equally high and steep.
Exchanges At noon I made sail to pass between the little isles
made with the and the great one, when the sight of a periagua
islanders. coming towards us, made me bring-to. She
approached within pistol shot of the ship, but none of her people
would come on board, notwithstanding all the signs of friendship
which we could possibly invent and give to five men who conducted
her. They were naked, excepting their natural parts, and shewed us
cocoa-nuts and roots. Our Taiti-man stripped naked as they were,
and spoke his language to them, but they did not understand him:
they are no more of the same nation here. Being tired to see that
they did not venture to come nearer, notwithstanding the desire they
expressed of having several trifles which were displayed to them, I
hoisted out the pinnace. As soon as they saw her, they made all the
haste they could to get off, and I would not pursue them. Soon after
we saw several other periaguas arrive, some of them under sail.
They seemed less mistrustful than the former one, and came near
enough to make exchanges, though none of them would come on
board. We got from them yams, cocoa-nuts, a water hen of a superb
plumage, and some pieces of a very fine shell. One of them had a
cock which he would never exchange. They likewise brought stuffs
of the same make as those of Taiti, but much coarser, and died with
ugly red, brown, and black colours; bad fish hooks, made of the
bones of fish, some mats, and some lances, six feet long, made of a
kind of wood which was hardened in the fire. They did not choose to
have any iron: they preferred little bits of red stuffs to nails, knives,
and ear-rings, which had had so great a success at Taiti. I do not
believe that these men are so gentle as those of Taiti; their features
were more savage, and we were always obliged to be upon our
guard against their cunning tricks to cheat us by their barter.
Description of These islanders appeared to be of a middle size,
these but active and nimble. They paint their breast and
islanders. their thighs, almost down to the knee, of a dark blue;
their colour is bronzed; but we observed one man among them who
was much whiter than the rest. They shave or tear out their beards,
and only one of them wore a pretty long one. They all had black hair,
which stood upright on the head. Their periaguas Description of
are made with a good deal of skill, and have an out- their
rigger. Neither the head nor the stern is raised, but periaguas.
there is a kind of deck over each of them, and in the middle of these
decks is a row of wooden pegs, ending in form of large nails, but
their heads are covered with a fine shell, which is of a clear white.
The sail of their periaguas is of a triangular shape, composed of
several mats. Two of its sides are bent to two sticks, one of which
supported it up along the mast; and the other, which is fixed in the
outer clew, answers the purpose of a boom. These periaguas
followed us pretty far out to sea, when we filled the sails; some came
likewise from the two little isles, and in one of them was an ugly old
woman. Aotourou expressed the greatest contempt for these
islanders.
We met with some calms, being to leeward of the larger island,
which made me give up the scheme of passing between it and the
little ones. The channel between them is a league and a half in
breadth, and it seems as if there was some anchorage to be found.
At six in the evening we discovered from the masts more land to W.
S. W. appearing as three detached hummocks. We steered S. W.
and two hours after mid-night we saw the same land again, in W. 2°
S. The first islands which by the help of the moon-shine we still could
perceive, then bore N. E. of us.
Continuation of On the 5th in the morning we saw that this new
islands. land was a very fine isle, of which we had only seen
the summits the day before. It was interspersed with mountains and
vast plains, covered with cocoa-nut and many other trees. We
ranged its southern coast, at one or two leagues distance, without
seeing any appearances of anchorage, the sea breaking upon the
shore very violently. There are even breakers to the westward of its
westermost point, which runs about two leagues into the sea. We
have from several bearings got the exact position of this coast. A
great number of periaguas sailing, and similar to those of the last
isles, came around the ships, without however venturing to come
close to us; a single one came alongside of the Etoile. The Indians
seemed to invite us by signs to come on shore: but the breakers
prevented it. Though we ran seven or eight knots at this time, yet the
periaguas sailed round us with the same ease as if we had been at
anchor. Several of them were seen from the masts sailing to the
southward.
At six o’clock in the morning we had got sight of another land to
westward; some clouds then intercepted it from our sight, and it
appeared again at ten. Its shore ran S. W. and appeared to be at
least as high, and of as great extent as the former ones, with which it
lies nearly E. and W. about twelve leagues asunder. A thick fog
which rose in the afternoon, and continued all the next night and
ensuing day, prevented our viewing it more particularly. We only
distinguished at its N. E. extremity two little isles, of unequal sizes.
Position of The longitude of these isles is nearly the same in
these isles which Abel Tasman was, by his reckoning, when he
which form the discovered the isles of Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
second
division.
Pylstaart, those of Prince William, and the shoals of
Fleemskerk[112]. It is likewise the same which, within
a very little, is assigned to the Solomon’s isles. Besides, the
periaguas, which we saw sailing to the southward, seem to shew
that there are other isles in that part. Thus these isles seem to form a
chain under the same meridian; they make the third division, which
we have named l’Archipel des Navigateurs, or Archipelago of the
Navigators[113].
On the 11th in the morning, having steered W. by S. since we got
sight of the last isles, we discovered a land bearing W. S. W. seven
or eight leagues distant. At first it was thought they were two
separate isles, and we were kept at a distance from them all day by
a calm. On the 12th we found that it was only one isle, of which, the
two elevated parts were connected by a low land, seemingly bending
like a bow, and forming a bay open to the N. E. The high land lies N.
N. W. A head wind prevented our approaching nearer than six or
seven leagues of this island, which I named l’Enfant Perdu, or the
Forlorn Hope.
Meteorological The bad weather which began already on the 6th
observations. of this month, continued almost uninterrupted to the
20th, and during all that time we had calms, rains, and west winds to
encounter. In general, in this ocean which is called Pacific, the
approach to lands is attended with tempests, which are still more
frequent during the decrease of the moon. When the weather proves
squally, and there are thick clouds fixed upon the horizon, they are
almost certain signs of some isles, and give timely notice to be upon
guard against them. It cannot be comprehended with what
precautions and what apprehensions, these unknown seas must be
navigated, as you are there on all sides threatened with the
unexpected appearance of lands and shoals, and these
apprehensions are heightened by the length of the nights in the torrid
zone. We were obliged to make way as it were blindfold, altering our
course when the horizon appeared too black before us. The scarcity
of water, the want of provisions, and the necessity of making
advantage of the wind whenever it blew, would not allow us to
proceed with the slowness of a prudent navigation, and to bring to,
or stand on our boards, whenever it was dark.
Critical The scurvy in the mean while made its
situation we are appearance again. A great part of the crew, and
in. almost all the officers, had their gums affected, and
the mouth inflamed with it. We had no refreshments left, except for
the sick, and it is difficult to use one’s self to eat nothing but salt flesh
and dried pulse. At the same time there appeared in both ships
several venereal complaints, contracted at Taiti. They had all the
symptoms known in Europe. I ordered Aotourou to be searched; he
was quite ruined by it; but it seems in his country this disease is but
little minded; however, he consented to be taken care of by the
surgeons. Columbus brought this disease from America; here it is in
an isle in the midst of the greatest ocean. Have the English brought it
thither? Or ought the physician to win, who laid a wager, that if four
healthy stout men were shut up with one healthy woman, the
venereal complaint would be the consequence of their commerce?
The 22d at day break, as we stood to the westward, we saw a long
high land a-head. When the sun rose we discovered two isles; the
most southerly one bore from S. by E. to S. W. by S. and seemed to
run N. N. W. corrected, being about twelve leagues long in that
direction. It received the name of the day, Isle de la Pentecôte,
Whitsuntide isle. The second bore from S. W. ½ S. to W. N. W. the
time when it first appeared to us was the occasion of our giving it the
name of Aurora. We immediately stood as near as possible on the
larboard tack, in order to pass between the two isles. The wind failed
us, and we were obliged to bear away in order to pass to the leeward
of the isle of Aurora. As we advanced to the northward, along its
eastern shore, we saw a little isle rising like a sugar-loaf, bearing N.
by W. which we called Peak of the Etoile (Pic de l’Etoile). We
continued to range the isle of Aurora a league and a half distant. It
runs N. and S. corrected from its southermost point to about the
middle of its length, which in the whole is ten leagues. It then
declines to the N. N. W. it is very narrow, being to the utmost two
leagues broad. Its shores are steep, and covered with woods. At two
o’clock in the afternoon we perceived the summits of high mountains
over this island, and about ten leagues beyond it. They belonged to
a land, of which at half past three we saw the S. W. point, bearing S.
S. W. by the compass, above the northern extremity of Aurora island.
After doubling the latter we steered S. S. W. when at sun-setting a
new elevated coast, of considerable extent, came in sight. It
extended from W. S. W. to N. W. by N. about fifteen leagues distant.
We made several boards during night to get to the S. E. in order to
discover whether the land which lay to S. S. W. of us joined to
Whitsuntide isle, or whether it formed a third isle. This we verified on
the 23d at day-break. We discovered the separation of the three
islands. The isles of Whitsuntide and Aurora are nearly under the
same meridian, two leagues distant from each other. The third isle
lies S. W. of Aurora, and in the nearest part, they are three or four
leagues asunder. Its north-west coast has at least twelve leagues in
extent, and is high, steep, and woody. We coasted it during part of
the morning on the 23d. Several periaguas appeared along the
shore, but none seemed desirous to come near us. We could see no
huts, only a great number of smokes rising out of the woods, from
the sea-shore, up to the tops of the mountains. We sounded several
times very near the shore; but found no bottom with fifty fathom of
line.
Landing up on About nine o’clock the sight of a coast, where it
one of the seemed landing would prove easy, determined me
isles. to send on shore, in order to take in some wood,
which we were much in need of, to gain intelligence concerning the
country, and to endeavour to get refreshments from thence for our
sick. I sent off three armed boats, under the command of ensign[114]
the chevalier de Kerué, and we stood off and on, ready to send them
any assistance, and to support them by the artillery from both ships,
if necessary. We saw them land, without the islanders seeming to
have opposed their landing. In the afternoon, I and some other
persons went in a yawl to join them. We found our people employed
in cutting wood, and the natives helping them to carry it to the boats.
The officer who commanded our party, told me, that when he arrived,
a numerous troop of islanders were come to receive them on the
beach, with bows and arrows in hand, making signs that they should
not come ashore; but that when, notwithstanding their threats, he
had given orders for landing, they had drawn back several yards;
that in proportion as our people advanced, the savages retired; but
always in the attitude of being ready to let go their arrows, without
suffering our people to come nearer them; that at last, having given
his people orders to stop, and the prince of Nassau having desired to
advance alone towards them, the islanders had ceased to retire,
seeing only one man come to them; that some pieces of red cloth
being distributed amongst them, had brought about a kind of
confidence between them. The chevalier de Kerué immediately
posted himself at the entrance of the wood, made the workmen cut
down trees, under the protection of the troops he had with him, and
sent a detachment in search of fruits. Insensibly the islanders
approached in a more friendly manner to all appearance; they even
let our people have some fruits. They would not have any nails or
other iron, and likewise constantly refused to exchange their bows
and their clubs, only giving us some arrows. They always kept in
great numbers around our people, without ever quitting their arms;
and those who had no bows, held stones ready to throw at our men.
They gave us to understand, that they were at war with the
inhabitants of a neighbouring district. There actually appeared an
armed troop of them, coming in good order from the west part of the
island; and those who were near us seemed disposed to give them a
warm reception; but no attack was made.
They attack the In this situation we found things when we came
French. ashore. We staid there till our boats were laden with
fruits and wood. I likewise buried at the foot of a tree, the act of
taking possession of these isles, engraved on an oak plank, and
after that we embarked in our boats again. This early departure,
doubtless, ruined the project of the islanders to attack us, because
they had not yet disposed every thing for that purpose; at least we
were inclined to think so, by seeing them advance to the sea-shore,
and send a shower of stones and arrows after us. Some muskets
fired off into the air, were not sufficient to rid us of them; many
advanced into the water, in order to attack us with more advantage;
another discharge of muskets, better directed, immediately abated
their ardour, and they fled to the woods with great cries. One of our
sailors was slightly wounded by a stone.
Description of These islanders are of two colours, black and
the islanders. mulattoes. Their lips are thick, their hair woolly, and
sometimes of a yellowish colour. They are short, ugly, ill-
proportioned, and most of them infected with leprosy; a circumstance
from which we called the island they inhabit, Isle of Lepers (Isle des
Lepreux). There appeared but few women; and they were not less
disagreeable than the men; the latter are naked, and hardly cover
their natural parts; the women wear some bandages to carry their
children on their backs; we saw some of the cloths, of which they are
made, on which were very pretty drawings, made with a fine crimson
colour. I observed that none of the men had a beard; they pierce
their nose, in order to fix some ornaments to it. They likewise wear
on the arm, in form of a bracelet, the tooth of a babyroussa, or a ring
of a substance which I take to be ivory; on the neck they hang pieces
of tortoise-shells, which they signified to us to be very common on
their shores.
Their weapons. Their arms are bows and arrows, clubs of iron-
wood, and stones, which they use without slings. The arrows are
reeds, armed with a long and very sharp point made of a bone.
Some of these points are square, and armed on the edges with little
prickles in such a manner as to prevent the arrow’s being drawn out
of a wound. They have likewise sabres of iron-wood. Their periaguas
did not come near us; at a distance they seemed built and rigged like
those in the Isles of Navigators.
Description of The beach where we landed was of very little
the place we extent. About twenty yards from the sea, you are at
landed at. the foot of a mountain, which is covered with trees,
notwithstanding its great declivity. The soil is very light, and of no
great depth: accordingly the fruits, though of the same species with
those at Taiti, are not so fine and not so good here. We found a
particular species of figs here. There are many paths through the
woods, and spots enclosed by pallisadoes three feet high. We could
not determine whether they are intrenchments, or merely limits of
different possessions. We saw no more than five or six little huts, into
which one could not enter otherwise than by creeping on all-fours;
and we were however surrounded by a numerous people; I believe
they are very wretched, on account of the intestine war, of which we
were witnesses, and which brings great hardships upon them. We
repeatedly heard the harsh sound of a kind of drum, coming from the
interior parts of the wood, towards the summit of the mountain. This
certainly gives the signal to rally; for at the moment when the
discharge of our muskets had dispersed them, it began to beat. It
likewise redoubled its sound, when that body of enemies appeared,
whom we saw several times. Our Taiti-man, who desired to go on
shore with us, seemed to think this set of men very ugly; he did not
understand a single word of their language.
Continuation of When we came on board, we hoisted in our boats,
our course and made sail standing to the S. W. for a long coast
among the which we discovered, extending as far as the eye
lands.
could reach from S. W. to W. N. W. During night
there was but little wind, and it constantly veered about; so that we
were left to the mercy of the currents, which carried us to the N. E.
This weather continued all the 24th, and the night following; and we
could hardly get three leagues off the Isle of Lepers. On the 25th, at
five in the morning, we had a very fine breeze at E. S. E. but the
Etoile, being still under the land, did not feel it, and remained in a
calm. I advanced, however, all sails set, in order to observe the land,
which lay to westward. At eight o’clock we saw land in all parts of the
horizon; and we were, as it were, shut up in a great gulph. The isle of
Whitsuntide extended on the south side towards the new coast we
had just discovered; and we were not sure whether it was not
connected, or whether what we took to be the separation was any
more than a great bay. Several places in the remainder of the coast
likewise shewed appearances of passages, or of great gulphs.
Among the rest there seemed to be a very considerable one to the
westward. Some periaguas crossed from one land to the other. At
ten o’clock we were obliged to stand towards the Isle of Lepers
again. The Etoile, which could no longer be seen from the mast-
head, was still becalmed there, though the E. S. E. breeze held out
at sea. We stood for the store-ship till four o’clock in the evening; for
it was not till then that she felt the breeze. It was too late when she
joined us to think of further discoveries. Thus the day of the 25th was
lost, and we passed the night making short tacks.
Aspect of the The bearings we took on the 26th, at sun-rising,
country. shewed us that the currents had carried us several
miles to the southward, beyond our reckoning. Whitsuntide isle still
appeared separated from the S. W. land, but the passage seemed
narrower. We discovered several other openings on that coast, but
were not able to distinguish the number of isles which composed the
Archipelago around us. The land seemed to us to extend from E. S.
E. to W. N. W. by the south (by compass); and we could not see the
termination of it. We steered from N. W. by W. gradually coming
round to west, along a fine shore covered with trees, on which there
appeared great pieces of ground, which were either actually
cultivated, or seemed to be so. The country appeared fertile; and
some of the mountains being barren, and here and there of a red
colour, seemed to indicate that it contained minerals. As we
continued our course we came to the great inlet, which we had
observed to the westward the day before. At noon we were in the
middle of it, and observed the sun’s height there. Its opening is five
or six leagues wide; and it runs due E. by S. and W. by N. Some
men appeared on the south coast, and some others came near the
ships in a periagua; but as soon as they were within musket shot,
they would not come nearer, though we invited them; these men
were black.
We ranged the north coast at the distance of three quarters of a
league; it is not very high, and covered with trees. A number of
negroes appeared on the shore; even some periaguas came
towards us; but with as little confidence as that which came from the
opposite coast. After having run along this, for the space of two or
three leagues, we saw a great inlet, seeming to form a fine bay, at
the entrance of which were two islands. I immediately sent our boats
well armed to reconnoitre it; and during this time we stood on our
boards, at one or two leagues distance off more, often sounding
without finding bottom, with 200 fathom of line.
Attempts to About five o’clock we heard a discharge of
search an muskets, which gave us much concern: it came from
anchorage. one of our boats, which, contrary to my orders, had
separated from the others, and unluckily was exposed to the attacks
of the islanders, being got quite close to the shore. Two arrows,
which were shot at the boat, served as a pretence for the first
discharge. She then went along the coast, and kept up a brisk fire
from her muskets and pedereroes, directing them both upon the
shore, and upon three periaguas which passed by her within reach
of shot, and had shot some arrows at her. A point of land intercepted
the boat from our sight, and her continual firing gave me reason to
fear that she was attacked by a whole fleet of periaguas. I was just
going to send the long-boat to her assistance, when I saw her quite
alone, doubling the point, which had concealed her. The negroes
howled excessively in the woods, whither they had all retired, and
where we could hear their drum beating. I immediately made signal
to the boat to come on board, and I took my measures to prevent our
being dishonoured for the future, by such an abuse of the superiority
of our power.
What prevents The boats of the Boudeuse found that this coast,
our anchoring which we took to be continued, was a number of
there. isles; so that the bay is formed by the junction of
several channels, which separate them. However, they found a
pretty good sandy bottom there, in 40, 30, and 20 fathom; but its
continual inequality rendered this anchorage unsafe, especially for
us, who had no anchors to venture. It was, besides, necessary to
anchor there above half a league off shore, as the bottom was rocky
nearer the coast. Thus the ships could not have protected the boats,
and the country is so woody, that we would have been obliged
always to have our arms in hand, in order to cover the workmen
against surprizes. We could not flatter ourselves that the natives
should forget the bad treatment they had just received, and should
consent to exchange refreshments. We observed the same
productions here as as upon the Isle of Lepers. The inhabitants were
likewise of the same species, almost all black, naked, except their
nudities, wearing the same ornaments of collars, and bracelets, and
using the same weapons.
Another We passed this night on our boards. On the 27th
attempt to put in the morning we bore away, and ranged the coast
in here. at about a league’s distance. About ten o’clock we
saw, on a low point, a plantation of trees, laid out in walks, like those
of a garden. Under the trees there was a beaten track, and the soil
seemed to be sandy. A considerable number of inhabitants appeared
about this part; on the other side of this point there was an
appearance of an inlet, and I hoisted the boats out. This was a
fruitless attempt; for it was nothing but an elbow formed by the coast,
and we followed it to the N. W. point, without finding any anchorage.
Beyond that point the land returned to N. N. W. and extended as far
as the eye could reach; it was of an extraordinary height, and
shewed a chain of mountains above the clouds. The weather was
dark, with squalls and rain at intervals. Often in day-time we thought
we saw land a-head of us; mere fog banks, which disappeared when
it cleared up. We passed all the night, which was a very stormy one,
in plying with short boards, and the tides carried us to the southward
far beyond our reckoning. We saw the high mountains all day on the
28th till sun-set, when they bore from E. to N. N. E. twenty or twenty-
five leagues distant.
Conjectures The 29th in the morning we saw no more of the
concerning land, having steered W. N. W. I called the lands we
these lands. had now discovered, Archipelago of the great
Cyclades (Archipel des grandes Cyclades). To judge of this
Archipelago by what we have gone through, and by what we have
seen of it at a distance, it contains at least three degrees of latitude,
and five of longitude. I likewise readily believe that Roggewein saw
its northern extremity in 11° of latitude, and called it Thienhoven and
Groningen. As for ourselves, when we fell in with it, every thing
conspired to persuade us that it was the Tierra Austral del Espiritù
Santo. Appearances seemed to conform to Quiros’s account, and
what we daily discovered, encouraged our researches. It is singular
enough, that exactly in the same latitude and longitude where Quiros
places his bay of St. Philip and St. Jago, on a coast which at first
sight seemed to be that of a continent, we should find a passage
exactly of the same breadth which he assigns to the entrance of his
bay. Has this Spanish navigator seen things in a wrong light? Or, has
he been willing to disguise his discoveries? Was it by guess that the
geographers made this Tierra del Espiritu Santo the same continent
with New Guinea? To resolve this problem, it was necessary to keep
in the same latitude for the space of three hundred and fifty leagues
further. I resolved to do it, though the condition and the quantity of
our provisions seemed to give us reason to make the best of our way
to some European settlement. The event has shewn that little was
wanting to make us the victims of our own perseverance.
Difference M. Verron made several observations during the
between the month of May, and their results determined our
reckoning and longitude on the 5th, 9th, 13th, and 22d. We had not
the
observations.
till now found so many differences between the
observations and the ship’s reckoning, all falling on
one side. On the 5th at noon I was more to the east than the
observed longitude, by 4° 00′ 42″; on the 9th, by 4° 23′ 4″; on the
13th, by 3° 38′ 15″; and lastly, on the 22d, by 3° 35′. All these
differences shew, that from the isle of Taiti, the currents had carried
us much to the westward. By this means it might be explained, why
all the navigators who have crossed the Pacific ocean have fallen in
with New Guinea much sooner than they ought. They have likewise
given this ocean not by far so great an extent from east to west as it
really has. I must however observe, that whilst the sun was in the