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nine. Now, some such title as the following, "Journal of a Voyage to the South Sea;" or "Some account of the passage of H. M. frigate Briton round Cape Horn, and of the various places at which she touched on the coast of Chili and Peru, together with sketches of the Gallapagos and Washington Islands, and also a brief notice of Pitcairn's Island, and the situation of the colony planted there in 1789, by Fletcher Christian;" or "A Cruise in the Pacific Ocean in 1814;" would have been certainly as honest and far more appropriate. But though the narrative contains few new facts, and, throws little additional light on the history and condition of any of the places visited by the author, and records little, by which the political speculator, or the historian of nature, can be aided in his investigations, still, the book is on the whole tolerably well calculated to satisfy the wants of the general reader. There is one thing which has given us a good deal of satisfaction in the perusal of it; brief and hasty as are all the accounts which it contains, as far as they go, they corroborate the minuter statements of Commodore Porter, and prove that our fellow-citizen, whatever may have been his errors in the island of Nooaheevah, was both an intelligent and accurate observer. We were the more pleased with this corroboration, because the Quarterly Review, a work which is at once the glory and the stain of English literature, has thought fit, not only to inveigh, with the most veltement indignation and sneering contempt, against Commodore Porter, on account of the Typee war and the elation with which he expresses himself on the subject of his cruise previous to his capture, but also to derogate from the authenticity of his narrative, and to charge him with ignorance and misrepresentation. Now we do not wish to extol the literary merits of the "Journal," nor stand forth as the advocates of Commodore Porter's whole course of conduct in the Washington islands, but we have no hesitation in say ing that we think his narrative fully entitled to credit, and that, so far as it concerns the natives of those islands, their general character, their manners and customs, and the advancement they have made in their social condition, he has spoken of them with intelligence and candour. In proof of his candour,-nay more than candour,-of his anxiety not merely to avoid wrong impressions himself, but also to correct erroneous and injurious opinions, which had been propagated by the preceding voyagers, we

need only refer to his careful inquiry and investigation on the subject of the report that these islanders were cannibals, and the obvious pleasure with which he records his conviction, that a practice so unnatural and unclean has no existence among them. And here, if the Quarterly Reviewers had been actuated by that liberality of spirit so decent in men of letters,-if passion had not stifled the sense of justice, they would, after having copied Commodore Porter's refutation of so wrongful a report, have at least thanked him for his facts, if they could find nothing generous in his motives.

While we are on this subject, also, we cannot but remark that if Commodore Porter's treatment of the natives had been as reprehensible as his enemies would represent it-if he had been as vindictive and ferocious as some would fain have him believed to have been, the manner in which he has given the story of his residence and conduct among them, and the temper with which he has drawn their character and described their situation, is, upon ordinary principles, unaccountable.

A man, conscious of such enormous wrong as that, of which he must have been guilty, provided his own relation of the circumstances in which he was placed, and of the motives which governed him, be false, would never have drawn so favourable a picture, as the "Journal" exhibits, of a people, in his intercourse with whom, he must have committed the most flagrant outrages upon humanity and honour.

We do not deny that there are many things in Commodore Porter's Journal that we could wish were different: he exhibits a vanity that sometimes disgusts, and there is a grossness in parts of his narrative quite unnecessary to the fullest communication of facts, and from which the delicacy of his son's sentiments (for whose instruction the "Journal" is professed to have been written,) will not be likely to receive much encouragement. We do not, as we have said, undertake the praises of Commodore Porter either as a sentimentalist or a politician, but as one of our countrymen, we certainly do well to feel satisfaction at finding his veracity established, and as one, in whose care our national flag so long floated in triumph in the Southern Ocean, it is right to rejoice at any evidence of the falsehood of charges that would blacken his character, and taint the good name of his country. In proof of what we have asserted in regard to the prejudice and mistatements of the Quarterly Review, we give the following extracts from that

work, with their refutation from Porter and Shillibeer. Page 360 of the Quarterly Review, No. 26, it is said,

"We have dwelt thus long on these interesting creatures (the tortoises of the Gallapagos) so 'like elephants,' for lack of better matter, though the Gallapagos supplied other objects, of which a skilful traveller would have availed himself for the instruction and amusement of his readers: they are, for instance, all volcanic, and in a state of activity; and these volcanoes are apparently fed by a constant indraught of the sea towards the group of islands; they abound too with a great variety of plants and animals, and though their situation is directly under the equator, the climate is so moderate as to resemble that of the temperate rather than the torrid zone; but matters of this kind are beneath the observation of Mr. Porter." Who, that reads this passage, and takes it for granted that the statement which it contains is true, would suppose that the "Journal" contains any thing on the subject of the formation, or the face of the country, or the animals, birds, reptiles, fish, vegetable productions, or the currents and the temperature of the Gallapagos Islands? Yet the fact is, that on all these points Commodore Porter has made statements, with not a little particularity, and has, moreover, furnished his profession with much interesting information concerning the navigation of that region of the Pacific Ocean,-noting the direction of currents, the most useful land-marks, and the season of the year most favourable for cruising in that quarter! Thus, page 140 of the "Journal" the author writes, "These islands are all evidently of volcanic production; every mountain and hill is the crater of an extinguished volcano." On the same page, speaking of the difficulty of procuring fresh water, he remarks, "although it seldom rains on shore, and never at sea here, yet the tops of the mountains are almost constantly covered with thick clouds, great part of the moisture from which, instead of being soaked up by the light and spongy soil of the mountains, would find its way, in running streams, to the sea, were the islands sufficiently furnished with trees to condense more constantly the atmosphere, and interlace their roots to prevent its escape into the bowels of the mountains." On page 174 we find the following: "We were enabled to procure here also, in large quantities, an herb, in taste much resembling spinage, and so called by our people; likewise various other pot-herbs, and prickly pears

in great abundance, which were not only of an excellent flavour, but were a sovereign antiscorbutic. The cotton plant was found growing spontaneously, and a tree of a very aromatic flavour and taste, and which indeed was no other than the one formerly mentioned, found on the island of Albemarle, (one of the Gallapagos) and producing in large quantities a resinous substance. Doves peculiar to these islands, of a small size, and very beautiful plumage, were very numerous. The English mocking-bird was also found in great numbers, and a small black-bird, with a remarkably short and strong bill, and a shrill note; also, teal, pelicans, boobies, and other birds common to the islands of these seas." In page 188, Commodore Porter mentions his seeing a volcano. "On the 6th June, we were abreast of the island of Narborough, and in the afternoon saw a thick column of smoke rising rapidly as from its centre, ascending to a great height in the air, where it spread off in large white curls and presented a grand and magnificent spectacle." The volcano was ascertained, next day, to be on Albemarle island. Many more passages might be quoted from the "Journal" to prove the misrepresentation of the Quarterly Reviewer, and to show that the Commodore is well entitled to be denominated "a skilful traveller." The Reviewer also speaks in a very contemptuous manner of what is said in the “Journal” about the tortoises of the Gallapagos, and with a sneer doubts the truth of the statement concerning their weight. Page 359, in reference to what is stated in the "Journal" of the tortoises, it is said, "we were not aware that they weighed 400 pounds each. They have grown, no doubt, since honest Dampier's time, who thought he should hardly obtain credit in stating "one of the largest of these creatures to weigh one hundred or two hundred pounds." Now the "Journal" informs us that the tortoises weighed upon an average about sixty pounds, and it is of the sea-turtle that the commodore speaks when he says, "some of them weigh upwards of three hundred pounds;" and Lieutenant Shillibeer, of the Royal Marines, says of the turtle, "some of them weighed more than three hundred and seventy pounds." What is said in the "Journal" of the guanas, also, is ridiculed and disbelieved by the Quarterly Reviewer, and his wit is couched in numbers. "To give our untravelled readers, who may not know much about guanas, some idea of one of these animated plots, (says

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the Reviewer in allusion to the Commodore's having asserted that " "in some spots half an acre of ground would be covered with them,") it may be necessary to tell them that, supposing each guana to be three feet long and four inches in diameter, which is an enormous size,' there would be in each half acre, 21,780 guanas;" and, having finished his ingenious calculation, remarks, "such an half acre, we will venture to say, is to be found only in the Gallapagos." Very likely-but that such half acres are to be found there, seems probable from Lieutenant Shillibeer's account, for he says, page 31, "the number of guanas we saw here can only be conceived; they are of a light red colour and about two or three feet long." Indeed, so full and accurate is the account given by Commodore Porter of the Gallapagos, that if it were not for the well-known learning and extensive knowledge of the Quarterly Reviewer, we should be ready to suppose that he was indebted to the "Journal" itself for his information concerning these islands.

But we will take our departure from the Gallapagos, which name we are kindly informed by the Reviewer, signifies "The Islands of Tortoises," and, in company with the Commodore and the Lieutenant, take a brief survey of the Washington Islands. There seems to be some confusion on the subject of the names by which these islands are to be called, in both the narratives, and it is not cleared up in the Quarterly Review. The common supposition appears to be, that all the islands included in the Washington group are the same as the Marquesas-but this is a mistake. There are two groups of islands in this region--not far distant, however, from each other; one, the Marquesas group, was discovered, in the year 1595, by Don Alvera Mendana de Neyra, a Spaniard; the other was first discovered by Captain Ingraham, of Boston, in May 1791, and has been laid down on the maps by the name of Ingraham's Islands. They were visited the year after, 1792, by Captain Roberts, of Boston, and were by him called the Washington Islands. In the year 1791, in June, Captain Marchand, a Frenchman, the narrative of whose voyage was afterwards drawn up by Fleurien, fell in with them on his passage to the north-west coast; and in March, 1792, they were visited by Lieutenant Hergest, of the British navy, who surveyed their coasts and gave a considerably detailed account of them, together with a chart. Captain Marchand denoVOL. II. NO. 1.

minated them the "Revolution Islands," in honour of the French revolution; and gave other French names to the several islands which composed the group. Not long after, the group was styled by Vancouver, Hergest's Islands, in remembrance of his friend Lieutenant Hergest, who had, himself, given other English names to most of the islands separately. This multiplicity and confusion of the names of these islands has arisen, doubtless, from their having been visited by the subjects of the several nations abovementioned so near the same time; and it is probable that each nation will continue to employ the names given by its own navigator, if, indeed, they do not all give place to the aboriginal denominations; though, if Commodore Porter's prophecy should prove true, and posterity should know them only as Washington's Group, there is no appellation by which they could be so honoured. Madison's Island, as named by the Commodore, belongs to the Washington group, though the Quarterly Review speaks of it as one of the Marquesas, and is called by the British, Sir Henry Martyn's Island, but by the natives Nooaheevah. This is the island on which the commodore remained so long, and the one which, notwithstanding the title of his book, occupies more of the Lieutenant's pages than other places visited by him. Some account of this island, which is the largest, most fertile and populous of the group, will answer for the rest, and, indeed-in regard to the general character of the people, the soil and productions,~~ for most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean. Nooaheevah, or Madison's island, is divided, with considerable regularity, and quite equally, into fine sweeping valleys, separated by steep, rugged and almost inaccessible hills. These valleys are inhabited by distinct communities, and they cain, each, from 2000 to 3000 inhabitants. These tribes are frequently at war with each other, but they seldom corse to a general engagement, and when they do, not much blood is shed--the five, killed by Commodore Porter's party under the command of Lieutenant Downs, in the battle with the Happahs, being considered a great slaughter. As, however, they fight with clubs and slings, and a variety of missiles, many wounds and bruises are the consequence, and these needing surgical aid, the natives of this island have acquired a skill in the art of surgery truly admirable. But, though few lives are lost outright, in the contests between these various tribes, yet the manner in which they seek vengeance by the de

line,-the second was composed of spearmen, and the slingers were ranged où the flanks. The battle commenced by a single combat between two chiefs, who displayed great powers, both in agility and skill, and were struggling manfully, when the signal was given to advance. A terrific and hideous shout followed. The slingers now began, but were obliged to retire on coming within the reach of the spears. The advance was rapid, and as the parties closed, the confusion increased, Club came in contact with club, and spear with spear, the slingers stood aloof. The conch was at length sounded, when each

filing into the rear of their respective flanks to secure their retreat, and throwing stones until they ceased to be of any effect. Both parties then drew up in their original order, and rested on their arms."

Of the religion of this people, the following extract from Shillibeer's Narrative will furnish a sufficiently circumstantial account.

struction of the materials of subsistence, is, on the whole, as effectual in thinning their numbers, and preventing the increase of their population, as would be more sanguinary battles. Their principal weapons of offence, and they do not appear to have any defensive armour--are clubs, spears and slings. "Their clubs, says Lieutenant Shillibeer, are of two kinds, carved and plain, and both are made from a wood, which, though not hard when first cut, becomes so by being buried in the mud, which serves as a strong die." Their spears, also, are of two kinds; "those," says Commodore Porter, "by which they set most store, are about four-party separated, the slingers, on each side, teen feet in length, made of a hard, black wood called toa, which receives a polish equal to ivory; these are made with much neatness, and are never thrown from the hand: the other kind are smaller, of a light sort of wood, and are thrown with much accuracy to a great distance. At certain distances from their points they are pierced with holes all round, in order that they may break off, with their own weight, on entering the body, and thus be more difficult to extract. Their slings are made of the fibres of the bark of the cocoa-nut tree, and are executed with a degree of neatness and skill not to be exvelled. The stones thrown from them are of an oval shape, of about half a pound weight, and are all highly polished by rubbing against the bark of a tree; they are worn in a net suspended about the waist, and are thrown with great velocity and accuracy; and the numerous scars, broken limbs and fractured skulls of the natives prove that, notwithstanding their great dexterity in avoiding those missiles, they are used with much effect." The following is an account of a sham fight which Lieutenant Shillibeer saw, and which the old chief caused to be performed at the request of Sir Thomas Staines, commander of the expedition to which the Lieutenant was attached. "The old warrior acceded to the proposal, and took great pleasure in going through all the various evolutions. For the club, a tolerably sized stick was substituted; for the spear, a piece of bamboo, and the slingers, instead of stones, threw the small bread fruit. Thus armed, about three hundred of the most experienced went forth to the plain. The king, for the first time, was carried on a superb litter, which we had made for him on board. He gave directions to the chiefs, for the formation of both armies, which were drawn up in the following manner. About thirty principal warriors, with clubs, formed the first

"Their religion, as well as their mode of performing it, appears to differ but little from the description given in the ap-pendix to the Missionary voyage to the Society Islands, excepting that of offering human sacrifices to their Eatooa, or god. I could not find that this custom had ever been in practice here; if it had, it must have been very ancient, for it did not form any part of their numerous traditionary stories. The Eatooa appears throughout these islands, to be the superior deity, but they have many of inferior note, and amongst them I remarked Faitu-aitapoo, and two or three others resembling in sound those mentioned in the Missionary voyage, but the one here mentioned alone corresponded exactly. Every family has also a deity of its own, who is some illustrious relative; supposed, from his great actions and his virtue, to have become an Eatooa. To him they dedicate images cut out of wood, and although the figures are uncouthly represented, they are ingenious. These are held sacred, and are principally used for the tops of crutches, or stilts, as they are superstitious enough to suppose, that when they rest on these images they will be secure from injury ; and if by accident they are unfortunate enough to stumble, they seldom live long afterwards; for if the priest cannot satisfactorily appease the anger of the tutelar Eatooa, they fancy they labour under his displeasure, and with an unequalled resignation, starve themselves to

death. In the performance of all ceremonies, they exemplify the greatest devotion, nor do they at any time approach a place sacred to the Eatooa, without the most marked respect,-the women uncovering their bosoms and the men their heads. Of the evil demon, or Veheeneihee, they have but little dread, being firmly persuaded that after the soul has taken its departure from the body, it will enjoy a rank among their Eatooas, in another world, according as its life has been good or bad in this. Nothing can exceed their superstition; they are continually seeing atoowas, or ghosts, and, in their sleep, they fancy the soul leaves the body to repose among the spirits. Their burial places, or morais, consist of a large heap of stones, very irregularly piled, having on the top a small house for the purpose of receiving the remains of the king and his family, or those of the principal chiefs. The sacrifices are made here, and the place being tabooed, or rendered sacred, the women, who labour under great restriction, are precluded from touching, or even going to it, under the penalty of death." A prevalent custom, and one that is of great importance to strangers, is that of exchanging names. When an exchange of this kind takes place, between a chief and a stranger, the adopted brother, or tayo, is considered equally entitled with himself to whatever his house or district affords, and he receives the same respect from the people.

"The clothing, or dress of these people is very simple, the men having nothing but the ame or girdle of cloth round their waist, which is passed between their legs and neatly secured in front. They have also a hat made from the palm tree, the simplicity of which gives an interesting finish to their manly statures. They are excessively fond of ear ornaments, the men making theirs from seashells, or light wood, which, by the application of an earth, becomes beautifully white. The women prefer flowers, which at all seasons are to be found. Whales' teeth are held in such estimation, that a good one is considered equal to the greatest property; they are generally in the possession of the chiefs, who wear them suspended round their neck. Their other species of dress consists of a kind of coronet, ingeniously made from a light wood, on which is fastened, by means of the rosin from the bread-fruit tree, small red berries; a great quantity of feathers gives the finish. The ruff worn round the neck, is made of the same maLerials. - Added to these are large bunches

of human hair, tied round the ankles, wrist or neck, and always worn in battle, though seldom otherwise. Tattooing is evidently considered among them a species of dress, a man without it being held in the greatest contempt. The women are not exposed as much as the men, and thei. tattooing is very inconsiderable. Their dress consists of a piece of cloth round their waists, answering to a short petticoat, and a mantle, which being tied on the left shoulder, and crossing the bosom, rests on the right hip, and hangs negligently as low as the knee, or calf of the leg, as it may accord with the taste of the lady. Their hair is generally black, but worn in different ways, some long, and turned up-others short. They are all fond of adorning their persons with flowers, and many of the wreaths are formed with such elegant simplicity, as to contribute not a little to their personal appearance, which is at all times particularly interesting; the beauty of their features being only equalled by the symmetry of their figures. They are of a bright copper colour, and in the cheeks of those who were requested to refrain from anointing themselves with oil, and the roots of trees, the crimson die was very conspicuous.'

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The following account of their domestic economy, their food, manners and mode of living, is abridged chiefly from the Journal of Commodore Porter.

The houses of these islanders are built in the following manner: Four upright posts, of the bread tree, with the upper end forked, and about twenty feet long, are driven into the ground, and across the tops of these is laid a ridge-pole made of the cocoa-nut tree; at a convenient distance from these centre posts, on each side are driven other posts, eight or ten feet long, surmounted in like manner with a ridgepole. The roof and sides are formed of bamboo wicker-work, overlaid with the large leaves of the palm and bread-tree, and these are secured, as they are interwoven, with threads, or strings, twisted from the fibres of the inside of the shell of a cocoa-nut. These houses are variously ornamented,-sometimes the columas are carved in the form of their gods, but more commonly they are covered with their fine white cloth, which is made of bark, bound on with different coloured cord, made also of bark or of the inside of the cocoa-nut. The inte rior of the building is divided lengthwise, into two equal parts, by placing along from one end to the other, the trunk of the cocoa-nut tree; the part toward the

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