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;^^^^v^^^ 
 
 /V^^^'^^^^ 
 
 V' 
 
 '^ 
 
 '/. 
 
 \h '^^«88w/f 
 
 VOYAGES AND TW^ 
 
 I* 
 
 TARIOUS PARTS OP THE WORLD, 
 
 BURIN*- 
 
 THE YEARS 1803, 1804, 1805, 1806, AND 1807- 
 
 SY 
 
 G. H. VON LANGSDORFF, 
 
 ACLIO GOUmStLOB TO St* MAJESTY TMSSMrttOR OV ECSIIA, 
 
 eONSOt-OEHBBAL AT TUX BHAZIU, KHIOHT OI THE OBDIB OV ST. ANNE| AND MllfBEB OV 
 
 TABIOCS AOAOZXIBa AND ISABNED lOCItnEt. 
 
 Illustrated htf Engratings from Original Drateings. 
 
 ,*'*'- 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR HBNRT COLBURN, 
 
 ENaUSH AND rOREIGN FUBUC LIBRARY, CONDUIT-STREET) HANOTBR'SaUABE; 
 
 AND 1010 BY GEOROE COLDIE, EDINBUBQH J ANS 
 
 JOHN CUHHINO, DUBtlN. 
 
 1813. 
 
.*'♦ 
 
 ■'f. i.; s' i;^ 
 
 
 
 .V i'.t 
 
 ,v 
 
 *»t 
 
 . ' I • ■. «i . 
 
 
 . 1' . v.. .\ . L 
 
 U. C'LAKKE, PiiBter, Well-Stmt, Luoduu. 
 
 I { 
 
 ; 1 
 
Vi. 
 
 /ynri t',:}; .. 
 
 
 ©EBICATIOK. 
 
 
 
 TO 
 
 :i 
 
 HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY ALEXANDER THE FIRST. 
 
 ,•1 ,1;';>\: ■''■6 <"''^ ■/ ' 
 
 '■,- -i 
 
 «S 
 
 Mo^T Gracious Emperor, 
 
 
 The first Voyage of the Russians ^ 
 round the Woi*ld is one of the most remarkable events 
 in the annals of your Imperial Majesty's glorious 
 reign, and every contribution towards a more en- 
 larged knowledge of this great undertaking may rea- 
 sonably expect to excite the interest of all civilized 
 nations. * 
 
 I 
 
 The observations which. I had the opportunity of 
 collecting, as the fortunate companion of the first 
 Russian circumnavigator, have the most complete 
 claim to attention conferred upon them by the per- 
 
 fi. ',:% 
 
IV DEDlCATiaN. 
 
 mission given me to place at the head of them the 
 very illustrious tiame of your Imperial Majesty, and 
 to publish, in conjunction with my feeble eflforts, this 
 new instance of your gracious condescension. 
 
 May it please your Imperial Majesty to accept this 
 offering as a trifling token of unbounded gratitude 
 and veneration, and of the sincerity with which I 
 shall remain till death, 
 
 Most gracious Emperor, 
 Your Imperial Majesty's 
 Truly devoted 
 
 And obedient servant and subject, 
 
 *". ■. 
 
 G. H. VON LANGSDORFF. 
 
 1: 
 
yi 
 
 t'l* 
 
 .". > J* , ; * < 
 
 <). 
 
 .i. :»»'*fai«. ' 
 
 ■■■is 
 
 t. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ■>-■< * 
 
 - ... c 
 
 ;t: ' ^i^ .^t*:} 
 
 ; . (« 
 
 . M '• 
 
 . >' 
 
 It may perhaps by many people be considered as presump- 
 tuous in me to lay before the public my observations during 
 our very interesting voyage round the world, when they are 
 already in possession of an account of this expedition from the 
 hands of its illustrious chief himself. I have only to answer, 
 that my principal excuse for the present undertaking is, that 
 my attention as a physician and naturalist was necessarily 
 directed to rfifFerent objects from those by which he was prin- 
 ci(>ally occupied. Besides, as I quitted the expedition at 
 Kamschatka in the year ll>' j'. and consequently in the farther 
 progress of my travels took a very different course from that 
 pursued by Captain Krusensterh, as I visited the Aleutian Isles 
 and the north-west coast of America, and at length returned 
 over land through Siberia to the Russian capital, all this part 
 of my work will be wholly distinct from any thing which appears 
 in his. . '• -^ 
 
 v-i ■<■-■ 
 
 a '9, 
 
 Every observer has his own particular point of view, in which 
 he contemplates and judges new objects ; his own sphere, within 
 which he endeavours to bring whatever excites his curiosity ; 
 many things may therefore be noticed in my work which were 
 
 ^- 
 
tl iJlTnODUCTION. 
 
 passed over by Captain Kruseiistern, and of others descriptions 
 may perhaps be given different from what are to be found in 
 his universally esteemed and excellent work. 
 
 It could never be my intention to compile a nautical account 
 of our expedition, to concern myself with the plan of the 
 voyage -and the political and commercial views connected with 
 it, or to enter into details concerning the appointment of the 
 officers and fitting out the ships. All these things are so 
 amply treated by our chief, that any thing said by me must be 
 wholly superfluous. JNIy endeavours have, therefore, been 
 directed to describing the objects which more particularly in« 
 terested me, such as the manners and customs of the different 
 nations we visited, Xheir modes of living, and the productions 
 of the countries, combining with them a historical sketch of 
 our route. I have wished, in short, to compile a popular 
 narrative, such as I may reasonably hope will be in many 
 respects new, and in all acceptable to the learned world. How 
 fer these objects may be obtained remains for the public voice 
 to determine. • .,..-,. ,., ..... 
 
 A strict adherence to truth ought not to be merely a matter 
 of preference ; it ought to be considered as a sacred duty by 
 every traveller who undertakes to give the history of his adven- 
 tures to the world. Nor has he any occasion to have recourse 
 to poetical flourishes, or the detail of marvels, embellished by 
 Si lively imagination, to render his work interesting ; he is daily 
 presented with so many things really remarkable, and highly- 
 worthy of attention, that his only difficulty is to restrain him- 
 self so far in relating mere facts, that his \york may not ex- 
 ceed all reasonable bounds. 
 
 ^.t*. 
 
 i' 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tH 
 
 As I do not think that scientific descriptions of plants, 
 animals, and other objects of Natural Histoiy, belong to a 
 book which has a view to general purposes, and is intended for 
 readers of all descriptions, I have separated them from the 
 body of the work, and intend publishing them, subsequently, 
 distinct from the rest. I have, however, made a sort of begin- 
 ning with the botanical part, since the knowledge of plants is 
 in these days the branch of Natural History which interests 
 the most universally. Essays towards the knowledge of insects, 
 fish, birds, &c. shall follow by degrees, as time and means will 
 permit " 
 
 I.-.-S! 
 
 ■•»*»» 
 
 ^^* 
 
 -.4-1 
 
 • a: 
 
 i:,::.ri'- 
 
 i vM.; 
 
 To make travelling useful, a particular strength and turn of 
 mind is requisite, which can only be acquired by beginning to 
 travel early in life. It was my good fortune to have prepared 
 myself by several minor journies for the great one which I at 
 length undertook. After I liad obtained the degree of Doctor in 
 Medicine and Surgery, at Gottingen, in 1797, I accompanied 
 Prince Christian of Waldeck to Lisbon, who went thither as 
 General of the Portuguese army. 
 
 Even in my early years I had been much fascinated with the 
 study of Natural History : Blumenbach's Lessons decided my 
 attachment to this science, and Portugal opened a wide field i» 
 satisfy my *desire of knowledge. My occupation of Surgeon 
 did not interfere with my inclination to this favourite branch 
 of study ; and I received from the Prince, who was himself 
 a man of learning, and a friend to science and knowledge, all 
 possible support and encouragement. In the spring of 1798, I 
 accompanied him on a military tour through several provinces 
 
 ■*<'.). 
 
viii 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of Portugal ; but alas ! he did not long survive it : he died the 
 following year of a dropsy in the chest, which had come on 
 after the loss of his arm. 
 
 By the advice of the then Portuguese minister, Louis Pinto 
 de Souza Coutinho, I determined rather to comme4ice practice 
 as a physician in the fine climate, and among the social circle 
 of amiable and polished men, whom I found in Lisbon, than to 
 return back to my own country. I soon acquired so extensive 
 an acquaintance in many German, English, and Pc:'tuguese 
 houses, and was honoured by them with so much confidence in 
 my professional capacity, that I had very little time left to 
 devote to my favourite studies, and examine the many new and 
 unknown productions of nature with which I was presented. 
 This induced me to accept the offer of being appointed Surgeon- 
 Major to the English auxiliary troops then resident in Por- 
 tugal, that is to say, the regiment of Castries ; because, having 
 a sufRcient salary, I could devote my leisure hours entirely to 
 my favourite pursuit. I accompanied this body in the cam- 
 paign of 1801 against the Spaniards ; but as we were dismissed 
 in the following year, at the conclusion of the peace of Amiens, 
 and sent over to England, I availed myself of this oppor- 
 tunity to visit London and Paris, on my return into Germany 
 in 1803. 
 
 In the meantime I had sent my collection of Natural His- 
 tory, which was tolerably ample, from Lisbon by Hamburgh 
 to Gottingen, having the intention, when settled at the latter 
 place, to prepare an account of my travels in Portugal for 
 the pres». 
 
VKTRQ^KC?(OIf. 
 
 IX 
 
 
 The friendship shewn me by the f\ni t^aturalistt of Fraiy:e, 
 Messrs'. Ilauy, Olivier, Bosc tl'A^tiq^e, LAtreUle, Geoffroiy, 
 Brognart, and Duoieril, and the bonoMrs conferred upon ma 
 nearly about the same time by the Imperial Academy o( 
 Sciences at St. Petersburgh. io na^ning pie their correspoiv- 
 dent— all these things gave n^e sq much encourageipent, that ai| 
 ardent wish was excited iu my bosoiHi on my return to Got- 
 tingen, to undertake somft great jouniey, entirely with a vieif 
 to extending ray knowledge of |)I^^tural History* A paore fi^- 
 vourable opportunity for this purpose than accompanying i\\9 
 first Russian circumnavigator could never have been presented 
 
 tQ me. 
 
 
 ■ uA'i 
 
 |V( 
 
 .|..l. 
 
 As Correspondent of the Academy, I thought myself to % 
 considerable degree justified in requef>ting their support for the 
 advancement of my project, and I therefore by letter m<^4e known 
 my wishes to that body. But although the Counsellor of St^te 
 and Knight Von Kit^fft*, and the Collegial Counsellor and 
 Knight Von Adelung, both did all in their power to sup- 
 port my application, I received a letter at Qottingen, on the 
 eighteenth of August, 1803, regretting that my wishes h^d not 
 been sooner known, as the time would not now permit their 
 being complied with. The two ships, the Nadeschda and Neva, 
 I was informed, were to sail with the first fair wind, and were 
 not tq stop for above a week at Copenhagen. Dr. Tilesius 
 was, besides, already appointed Naturalist to the £xpedition> 
 which he was expected to join at Elsinore, and I should pro- 
 t^ably not like to undertake a journey thither upon an uncer- 
 tainty, and at my own expence : nothing satisfoctory, thjecej^se, 
 could be promised me with regard to my request* 
 
 V b 
 
^ 
 
 X INTRODUCtlON. 
 
 I yrsis not, however, the less eager in my wishes, and was 
 determined not to abandon my project till convinced of the 
 impossibility of its being executed. My resolution was imme- 
 diately taken, and without loss of time I set out the very same 
 day. On the twenty-first of August, in the morning, I arrived 
 at Lubeck, and found at Travemunde a ship ready to sail fpr 
 Copenhagen, in which I embarked. We weighed anchor in 
 the night between the twenty-second and twenty-third, and 
 having a favourable wind, reached the Danish capital early in 
 the morning of the twenty-fourth. 
 
 i • - 1 
 
 I went immediately to the Hotel of the Sieur Rau, where, to 
 my infinite satisfaction and delight, I found most of the officers 
 belonging to the Russian expedition had taken up their quar- 
 ters. This circumstance inspired me with new courage, as it 
 seemed a happy omen ; and the result did not deceive my expec-- 
 tations. I entreated so earnestly of the Chamberlain Von Re- 
 sanoff, who was going with the expedition in quality of Ambas- 
 sador to Japan, to be received as a sharer in the voyage, that 
 at length, as my petition was ijupported by the excellent Cap- 
 tain Von Krusenstern, the proper chief of the expedition, I had 
 the happiness of finding it granted. 
 
 To this amiable man, and scientific navigator, whose well- 
 known services are far above my praise, I must therefore be 
 permitted here publicly to make my grateful acknowledgments, 
 confessing that I am principally indebted to his friendship and 
 support for all the gratification I received in the travels I am 
 about to record. 
 
INTRODUCTIOIf. 
 
 Xi 
 
 Not less thanks are thie to my friend and travelling com- 
 panion, Counsellor Tilesius, who unites to the most extensive 
 scientific knowledge exquisite taste in the fine arts, for the 
 many sketches with which he has already favoured me, and for 
 the many more promised by him to enrich and embellish the 
 Second Part of my Travels. To him, and not to the draughts- 
 man of the expedition, we are indebted for the historical plates 
 in the Atlas to Captain Krusenstern's work. He has, besides, 
 in his possession a large collection of sketcJies of objects of Na- 
 tural History, which he purposes by degrees to complete, and 
 present to the public. 
 
 In what concerns the geography of Japan, and the language 
 of the inhabitants of Tschoka, I have availed myself very much 
 of the valuable observations of Counsellor Julius Von Klaproth. 
 This learned friend and colleague was so obliging as to furnish 
 me with several interesting notices which he had collected from 
 Japanese maps and geographical works. To the goodness of 
 that ingenious artist, the Sieur Alexander Orloffsky, I am in-* 
 debted for the portrait of the Frenchman Jean Baptiste Cabri, 
 and some other engravings. To all and each of these excellent 
 men I beg thus publicly to return my grateful thanks for their 
 kindness and friendly assistance. 
 
 G. H. VON lANGSDORFF. 
 
 St. Petersburghy 
 Jufu, 1811. 
 
i 
 
 JEnnATA. 
 
 Fiige M, line 21, for 18' 4i* read 18" 46'. 
 
 100, 6, dele the period. 
 
 ""» '4. for AlauHan read Meutian. 
 
 •"» 4, dele «o fflucA. 
 
 160, . 2, from (he bottom, for ocea$iomt read oecashn, 
 
 W8. 3, dele (he semicolon. 
 
 *" » 3, from (be bo((om, after ««/( odd a comma. 
 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES, 
 
 Plate I. 
 The Frontispiece. — Portrait of the Author. 
 
 Plate II.— Page 35. 
 A Brazilian Air. 
 
 Plate III.— Page 63. 
 Interior of a House in Brazil. 
 
 Two females are employed in leparating the seeds from the cotton with a very iroper. 
 feet machine : one of them is sitting on a low stool after the manner of the country. Be- 
 hind her is a water jar, and two Cuja with tubes'far sacking np liquids. Near the door 
 is a kind of net, which I found extremely useful in catching butterflies ; and close by it 
 a bow, from which not arrows, but balls^ are discharged. Near the windaur against the 
 wall hangs a fan. ' * 
 
 Plate IV.— Page 88. 
 View of the Island of Nukahiwa. 
 
 In the fore.ground is a canoe of these islanders. The dark naked rocks^ with the fin* 
 waterfalls, give this landscape a character peculiar to itself. The plate is engraved from 
 a drawing made by Mr. Orloifsky, after a sketch by Counsellor Tilesius. 
 
 Plate V,— Page 97. 
 Portrait of Jean Baptiste Cabriy a Frenchman ^ found on the Island 
 of Nukahiwa, and there become half savage. He is represented 
 as a S linger. 
 
 At our departure from Nukahiwa, Cabri was by accident obliged to leave the island. 
 He was afterwards left by us at Kamschatka, whence he travelled over land to St. Peters. 
 
sir 
 
 KXPLANAl ION Of THE PLATES. 
 
 burg. The eitiai rdinary fa(c of thU man, nnd (he noTcl appearance of his tattooed bodj, 
 attracted the attention of every one. Both at Moscow and at St. Petersburg ho exhibited 
 upon the stago the dances of (he savnge", and wai considered by all the great people of 
 the country as a real curiosity. Although he has by degrees become reconciled to Euro- 
 pean customs, he still thinks with delight of the men whom he formerly killed and ex« 
 changed for swine, or perhaps eat. His dexterity in swimming, in which he is scarcely 
 excelled by the natives of Xukahiwa themseWes, has procured him the appointment of 
 teacher of swimming to the corps of marine cadets at Cronstadt, where he now Titcs. Ha 
 has almost forgotten (he language of Nukahiwa, and made an incredibly rapid progress in 
 the recovery of his native tongue. The story of his marriage with a princess of Nuka« 
 hiwa, and the detail of his exploits on that island, are now so intermixed with the new 
 ideas he has acquired in Europe, that any one who heard him relate them would bo dis. 
 posed to think himself listening to a second Munchausen. 
 
 This plate is from a drawing made and presented to roc by that ozccllont trtist and 
 amiable man Mr. Oiloffsky. 
 
 Plate VI.— Page 117. 
 A}i Inhabitant of the Island of Nukahiwa. 
 
 This and the following plate are intended principally to illustrate the obserrations la 
 the text upon the subject of tattooing. They arc both engraved from designs made upon 
 the spot, that the most accurate idea possible might bo given of so singular an art. The 
 portrait here delineated is of a man about thirty years of age, a period at which ths 
 figures formed by the punctures appear the most distinctly. In later years, one figure it 
 made over another, till the whole becomes confused, and the body assumes a Negro.likt 
 appearance, as may be observed in the stripe across the belly. Tbis man holds a fan in 
 one hand, and in the other a sort of club, the upper extremity of which is ornamented 
 with the hair of a slaughtered enemy. 
 
 
 W 
 
 Plate VII.— Page 119. 
 
 Back View of a younger Inhabitant of Nukahiwa, not yet 
 
 completely tattooed. 
 
 In one hand he carries, as a proof of his bravery, the sknll of an enemy he has killed, 
 and in the other a javelin or lance. In some places the principal figures are only sketched 
 out, in others they are completed. At the back of the head may be perceived, as in all 
 tltete islanders, two glands, which, as far as I know, have never been obwrred by any 
 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. «^ 
 
 European, or by any anatomist. The head here, as in ihe preceding figure, H shaTed, 
 with the exception of a small spot aboTe each ear, where the long hair is tied up in suck 
 a manner as nearly to resemble horns. 
 
 ■■-■■ Plate VIII.— Page I2f. 
 
 Representation of several of the Principal Figures used in tattooin 
 some of' them of their natural Size. 
 
 'g* 
 
 Erery figure has its distinotire name, and most of them are appropriated to a particular 
 part of the body. 
 
 Figures 1 and 2 are called Kake, and belong to the inside of the arm and (he ribs. 
 The principal figure always remains the same; the accessary ones arc, however, often 
 changed. 
 
 Figures 9, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, are called EnatOy that is to say, men. These figures 
 are, perhaps, principally made when an enemy has been killed or eaten. Figures 5 and 
 13, by (he assistance of a little imagination, may be made into men with their arms 
 stretched out: at the lower end some side lines only are required, with a little squaring 
 at the sides, to conceive a man standing upon his legs. 
 
 Figures 6, 7, are cillcd JWAo.j)ta/a, or shark's teeth. Nihoi%& tooth: the shark is 
 properly ilfono, and they should therefore, it seems, rather be called Niho.tnono; but 
 perhaps Piata is a particular species of shark, the teeth of which arc the best for the in. 
 struments made by the islanders as substitutes for knives and laws. These simple figures, 
 as well as the following, No. 8, arc put sometimes in one place, sometimes in another, 
 merely to fill up a space, and are varied in many different ways. 
 
 Figure 8. Tezeehine.nau. This is a sign of wishing to be beloved. I would gladly know 
 whether it ever happened that a young Nukahiwan had himself tattooed all over in this 
 way from inclination for a young woman : sentimental love is surely unknown to these 
 people. 
 
 Figure 9. Matta-Comoe. — Malta, the eye. As this figure seems to represent a man's 
 head, and is often combined with the Enala, I presume that both may be a favourite dis. 
 tinctlon of a hero. They are punctured principally upon the breast, thighs, and back, as 
 may be seen in Plates 5 and 6. 
 
 Figures 10, 11. Kake.opogo, Marks which go directly over the eye, or upon the 
 arms, thighs, and breast. They are commonly made upon occasion of a great banquet 
 or slaughter of swine. 
 
 Figure 15. Tumu-iina. This figure belongs to the back of the hand, with trifling va. 
 riations : the beauty of it depends very much upon the taste and dexterity of the artist. 
 
■vl 
 
 EXPLANATION OP THE PLlTEf. 
 
 j 
 
 Figure 18. Shona^ « tortoise. This is Introduced ai »a orRMiant between tte pii*. 
 cipal figures. For the Mme purpose liiards ^jA other aoimels are sometimet (Mtoeed; 
 which, however, furnish no proof of these people having made » great pvogteH ia the 
 art of drawing. 
 
 Figure 17. I could not learn any name for this figure : it is onlj to be seea in the in. 
 tide of the arm, and upon the thighs. 
 
 Figure 18. The hand of Queen Katanuah. 
 
 Figures 10, 20, il. Ornaments, concerning the names or meaning of which I could 
 never obtain any satisfactory explanation. 
 
 The names of several other figures, which maybe observed in plates S and C, and wMch 
 I have thought it superfluous here to particuUrize, arc, IVibu, a ring or bracelet. Matla* 
 toi-tot, a mark over the eye, as may be seen in the portrait uf Cabri : (his lie received 
 at a feast of swine*s flash. Umahoka^ a breast shield. Tuaheu and AeAn, broad stripee 
 over the breast, shoulders, arms, and belly : this is a very common sign of one of the 
 banqueting societies. MaUthmoit a broad stripe from the nose over the eye to tke ear*. 
 
 Plate IX.— Page 126. 
 View of an inhabited Valley at Xukahiwa. 
 
 In the fore.gronnd to the left is a tabooed cocoa.nut tree staked round, to the stem of 
 which cocoa>nuts are fastened from top to bottom ; they are disposed of in this way aa 
 a provision for a popular festival. On the next tree is an islander, climbing like an ape, 
 with his feet pressed against the stem ; he is going to gather the nuts. The representation 
 of the houses constructed upon platforms is intended to illustrate what is said upon the 
 •object in the pai(e to which the plate refers. Near the left-hand house is a covered pit, 
 which servesas a storehouse tor popotf or fermented bread.fruit. 
 
 Plate X.— Page 1«7. 
 Inside of a Hut at Nukahiwa. 
 
 A tattooer is seen seated, and exercising his art. A tabooed person is entarieg the door, 
 bringing a twine's head as a present to the artist. 
 
 Plate XI.— Page 166. /^<}c3^. 
 
 Song qf the Nativet <if Nukahiw0* 
 
EXPLANATION OP THB PLATES. 
 
 .Mr 
 
 Plate XII.— Page 233. 
 A Landscape seen from the Harbour of Nangasaki. 
 
 We lay at anchor at a little distance from this charming creek, with a beautiful village 
 upon its shore. Sheltered on all sides, it served as an asylum to a great many boats and 
 little vessels in high winds, and often afforded us the view of many pleasing objects. In 
 the fore-ground is one of the barges of our guard of honour belonging to the Prince of 
 Fisi. The nearest hill behind this barge is called Lembon. 
 
 I 
 
 "if 
 
 Plate XIII.— Page 247. 
 A Japanese Fortress. 
 
 ■ 1. 
 
 ^-,v« J. 
 
 The fortress here represented was not far from a (emple on the left point of land near 
 the entrance of the inner harbour at Nangasalii. In the fore.ground is a pleasure boat 
 with ladies, come out of curiosity to see the Russian ship; 
 
 Plate XIV.— Page 305. 
 
 Landing of the Ambassador at Nangasaki on the Day of Audience ^ 
 and Procession to the Governor's House. 
 
 In the foreground is the barge of the Prince of Fisi, surrounded by several vessels of 
 honour. Behind it are the stairs of Ochatto. Over the houses in the open place adjoin, 
 ing to them are the hangings of the Prince of Fisi. . Directly opposite to the stairs is the 
 civil guard, before which are various insignia of honour; on both sides are a number of 
 large lanterns. To the left, at a dfstance in the perspective, are stairs which lead to the 
 upper town, hung with the Imperial hangings, because the house to the righ^aud the stairs 
 arc Crown buildings. 
 
 The order of (he procession was as follows. First came forty persons of different 
 ranks, amon*; whom were several Banjos, each with an attendant. Next came six of tb« 
 Imperial soldieis, carrying long staves in their hands instead of muskets. These were fol. 
 lowed by the Norimon or chair, in which the ambassador was carried by four persons. 
 Immediately behind hirti marched aRussian soldier, carrying the Imperial Russian standard ; 
 then the five cavaliers of the embassy on foot, accompanied by a great number of civil 
 magistrates and interpreters. After them came a guard of sixteen or twenty soldiers, car. 
 rying staves instead of muskets, with an ;ofBccr on horseback : a multitude of inferior 
 oiKcers, interpreters, &c. closed the procession. A shower of rain had fallen jiut before, 
 and for this reason many persons are carrying umbrellas. 
 
.1«iii 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 riato XV.--Pagc282. 
 The Habitat ion of the Ambassador at Megasaki, 
 
 To (ho left, in (ho foreground, is a part of the warehouses for the presents. A water* 
 carrier just appears from behind them : he is coming into the court through the door on 
 (he land lide. Tu his left are the a|)artmciits of some of the officers, and next to them 
 the liitchen. In the centre are the ambassador's apartments, with the Russian guard of 
 honour in attendance at the principal entrance ; and to the right is the door of the court 
 towards (ho water : near (hat begins the high iiiclosure of bamboo.cancs. In the court 
 are a party of Japaneso officers with their attendahts. To the right are three people in 
 cunvursiitiun : in (he middle is a person saluting tome Japanese gentlemen, bowing hii 
 body, and placing tlie palms of his hniuis on his Icnees, according to the custom of the 
 country. On (he left-hand side stand sumc Great Men} behind one is a soldier carrying 
 nn ensign of honour. .V common servant is sitting humbly behind his master, holding in 
 his hand a pair of his master's straw shoes. 
 
 The greatest part of this plate is sketched I)y Major Von Friderici, to whom I am 
 greatly indebted for permission to hare an engraving from it. 
 
 Plate XV I. — Page 31 (). 
 Japanese in various Costumes. 
 
 The man before the houi'C door to the right is occupied in separating rice from the 
 husks, for which purpose he makes use of a large woodtn block, hollow within, which 
 is almost filled with t\m. In the centre of the hollow arc a number of rings of equal 
 sizes, fastened the one to the other, to ihusamc heighth with the rice. The man strikes 
 with a large hcary wooden hammer in the space made by the rings, and at erery stroke 
 several of the grains of rice fall into the spncc. The second figure is a woman with her 
 child, in the manner that children are carried by the poorer classes : she has in her hair 
 several long large pins as ornaments. The next is a Japanese lady with her fan ; her head, 
 dress is not unlike an ancient French one ; her hair is stifl'ened with pomatum, and she has 
 several gold and silver pins besides flowers stuck into it. Behind heris asorvant, who car- 
 ries the child of a rich person upon his shoulder. Children generally have their heads shaved, 
 and commonly wear a long red garment, or one ornamented with a great many flowers. 
 The red is considered as very wholesome for children. Next follows a poor labourer, who, 
 instead of an umbrella, has a large straw hat to shelter him from the rain, with a sort of 
 straw mantle, which is an effectual defence zgainst the weather. lie has, like all the 
 Japanese, his pouch for tobacco, and tobacco.pipc hanging at his girdle. Lastly, is « 
 mechanic, or citizen, in his winter dress. He has a cloth over his head to preserve it 
 from the cold : his pocket-book han;;s over the girdle to his under garment, as is the 
 fashion of the country : his fan, tobacco pouch and pipe, and ink-horn, are tucked 
 into his girdle. 
 
 i 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Voyage from Copenhagen to England. — Stay at Falmouth. — Voyage to 
 Ttneriffe. — Description of that Island and of the Peak. — Voyage to 
 Brazil. Page i 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Stay at Santa Catharina.'—The Town of Nossa Senhora do Desterro. 
 
 Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants.— Dance of the Negro Slaves. 
 '^Excursion to the Main Land. — Arts, Knowledge, and Public Insti- 
 tutions. — Manufactory of Train Oil.— Natural History.— Medical Ob- 
 servations 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Departure from Brazil. — Voyage round Cape Horn. — Easter Island. — 
 Arrival at Nukahiwa, one of the Washington Islands.— Impressions made 
 at the first Sight of the Island. — Visit from the Natives .... 77 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Account of the Englishman Roberts, and the Frenchman Cabri.— Cursory 
 View of the Group called Washington's Islands. — Description of the 
 Island of Nukahiwa. — //* Situation, Climate, Productions, and Popu- 
 lation. — Particulars relative to the Inhabitants 9(J 
 
 c2 
 
IX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Tattooing.— The Manner in which it is performed.—' The Homes tabooed 
 during the Tune. — Clothing of the Islanders. — Their Foo'l. — The Bread 
 Fruit. — Their Dwellings 116 
 
 CHAPTER Vr. 
 On the social Institutions among the People of Washington's Islands. — The 
 Chiifs, or Kings. — The Religion and Laws. — II i capitulation of Objects 
 tabooed, and of the Occasions on which they become so . . . .130 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 Continuation of the Manners and Customs of the People of Nuhahiwa. — 
 Their Anthropophagism. — Their Wars. — Marriages.— Births.^ Funeral 
 Ceremonies. —Magic. — Circumcision. — Dancing Festivals. — Music— 
 Running on Stilts. — Swimming. — Ornaments. — Household Uiensils.—- 
 Playthings. — Canoes. — Miscellaneous Observations . . . . ,139 
 
 CriAPTFR VI H. 
 Departure from Nuhahiwa. — Arrival at Owhyhee. — Remarks upon that 
 Island. — Reunion with the Neva. — Voyage toKamschatka. — Arrivaland 
 Stay there 178 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Voyage to Japan. — Introduction to the Embassy thither. — Departure from 
 Kamschatka. — Occurrences during the Vuyuge. — Festival of the Corona- 
 tion. — Frightful Hurricane. ~ Airioid at Jupun 203 
 
 CHVPTKR X. 
 
 Stay at Japan. — Occurrences in the Road before the Harbour of Nangasaki. 
 
 -—Aiwhorin^-Place before the Papen Mountain. — Vhau<>e of the An-. 
 
 cIv.tring-Place. — Occurrences therefrom the Eighth to the Seventeenth of 
 
 October 223 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 JEii 
 
 CHAPTKR XI. 
 
 Road behind the Papen Mountain.-^Occurrences therefrom the Seventeenth 
 
 of October to the Ninth of November. — Anchoring. Place before the Im- 
 
 periul Guard House, and Negociations there. — Departure from the /In- 
 
 choring-Place, and Enlranc* into Megasaki S4.8 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Stay at Megamki.^-Descrifition of the Habitation there.— Permission given 
 for the Ship to be carried into the Harbour. — One of the Japanese at- 
 tempts to cut his Throat. — A Balloon sent up, and the Alarm occasioned 
 by it.— 'Illness of the Ambassador 383 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Recapitulation of what had passed at Nangasaki. — The Arrival of the 
 Great Man /row Jedo announced to the Ambassador. — Discussiom 
 concerning the Manner in which the Ambassador was to be received. — 
 His ^first Audience of Ceremony. — His second Audience fof Business.— 
 Hit third Audience to take Leave 399 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Departure from Japan.— Voyage from thence to Kamschatka. — Cape and 
 Straits of Sangaar.— Description of the West and North-West Coasts of 
 Matmai, or Jesso. — Stay in Aniwa Bay. —'Description of the same, with 
 the South-East Coast ofSachalin, or Tschoka. — Departure from Tschoka^ 
 and Arrival in the Harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul . . . 317 
 
 Vocabulary of the Language of Nukahiwa 
 
 349 
 
 Specimens of the Languages' spoken among different Tribes of the Ainu; 
 those who ihhabit the southern Part of Kamschatka, the Kurile Islands^ 
 the northern Coast of Jesso, the southern Part of Tschoka, and the north' 
 east Point of Tschoka . « ^ j9 
 
PART J, 
 
 VOYAGE FROM COPENHAGEN 
 
 to 
 
 BRAZIL, THE SOUTH SEA, KAMSCHATKA, 
 
 AMD 
 
 JAPAN, 
 
i 
 
 III, 
 
i;i 
 
 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 
 
 CHAPTER I, 
 
 Voyage from Copenhagen to England. — Stay at Falmouth.^^Voyage to 
 Teneriffe. — Description of that Island, and of the Peak.^-Voyage to 
 Brazil, 
 
 Although our anchor was weighed at Copenhagen on the 
 eighth of September, 1803, we were still obliged, on account 
 of contrary winds, to delay our departure for some days, 
 and could not leave Eisinore till the fifteenth. In the night 
 between the eighteenth and nineteenth a violent storm arose> 
 which occasioned great sickness among those of our passengers 
 who were unused to the sea ; of this number were the cava- 
 liers belonging to the ambassador's train. The ship rolled 
 terribly, and it was impossible to think of having any thing 
 cooked in the kitchen. The roaring of the wind, the raging 
 of the sea, the hurrying to and fro among the sailors, the 
 elbowing, the jostling, the crying out, altogether furnished 
 a scene entirely new to most of our company. In the 
 evening of the nineteenth, the attention of every body was 
 
 B 
 
I 
 
 9 
 
 VOYAGE FROM COPENHAGEN TO EiNGLAND. 
 
 particularly attracted by an uncommonly fine aurora^borcalis. 
 From the horizon in the north-north-west streams of light 
 rose like pillars of fire, wearing sometimes a deeper, sometimes 
 a paler appearance : ascending quite to the zenith like demi- 
 arches, they gradually grew paler and paler, till they were at 
 length entirely lost in the atmosphere. 
 
 The weather continued very variable, sometimes stormy^ 
 sometimes calm, sometimes fair, sometimes rainy, till early 
 in the morning of the twenty-eighth, when we arrived off 
 Falmouth. Here our commander. Captain Von Krusenstern, 
 determined to stop, in order to take in an additional stock 
 of provisions, and to furnish himself with some instruments 
 and other things of which he stood in need. This port, which 
 stands upon the south-western promontory of England, has 
 an exceedingly good harbour: it is defended on one side by 
 a castle, and on the other by a small fort. With regard ta 
 the situation and anchorage, it is considered as one of the best 
 ports in England. The town is small and insignificant. All 
 the packets for Portugal, and for the East and West Indies, 
 sail from lience. This constant intercourse of packets sailing 
 and returning, in conjunction with the fislieries, form the prin- 
 cipal support of the place. Though the town lies at the distance 
 of nearly three hundred miles from the capital, it contains 
 excellent shops of every kind^ 
 
 Falmou<h is in the county of Cornwall ; a district wliich, on 
 account of its dry, desert, and unfruitful aspect, makes a very 
 different appearance from all other parts of England, ijut the 
 county has, notwithstanding, its hidden treasures, in the abun- 
 
•■>tfp*l^- ' 
 
 
 
 STAY AT FALMOUTH. J 
 
 dance of mines buried beneath the surface, furnishing excellent 
 tin and copper, some silver, and mineral coal. The mineralogist 
 may indeed find here some invaluable rarities : copper-earth 
 strongly impregnated with arsenic, stannum iigneuniy and pyrites 
 of tin. The mines that yield the best next to those of Fal- 
 mouth are the copper mines of Redruth. A few miles from 
 Falmouth is a small village called Manacha, which has its name 
 from mechanite or titanian-sand. To get the mineral pure, great 
 pains must be taken to wash it well from the sand*. The shafts 
 and course of the mines about Penzance and other places in 
 Cornwall are among the most remarkable upon the globe, some 
 of them lying at a great depth, and being worked underpeath 
 the sea itself. >%iii' 
 
 The sea-coast abounds with crabs, oysters, and various kinds 
 offish. The fish-market is always plentifully supplied : among 
 others that I saw during my stay, were the rata hatit, or skate ; 
 raia rubus gmel, the ray ; esox belone, the sea pike ; mullus bar- 
 batuSy the red mullet ; murcena conger^ the conger eel ; and 
 several sorts of labrus, perca, and pleuronectes, Squali, or dog- 
 fish, were also taken, but were never brought to market ; they 
 were kept to serve for baits in angling. Tu^ trigla iineata, 
 which abounds here, Zind the ciupeapiichardus, a small sort of 
 herring very little known, particularly attracted my attention. 
 These latter fish are taken in immense quantities: they are served 
 at the tables both of the rich and poor, and vast quantities are 
 cured, which are sent to Gibraltar and the Mediterranean. 
 
 * Counsellor Klaproth, of Berlin, through the farour of Sir John Hawkins, poi. 
 sesscs a complete collection of the minerals of Corawall, which he hag examined chemi. 
 cally, and ascertained the composition of them. 
 
 b3 
 
$ VOYAGE TO 7ENERTFFE. 
 
 After having procured an abundant supply of provisions,^nd 
 having taken on board every thing we esteemed necessary for 
 so important and distant a voyage, we saluted the fort ancl 
 guardship, and on the fifth of October quitted the shores of 
 Europe, with fair weather and a favourable wind. The specula-* 
 tions of every one were now turned towards the probable fate 
 which was before him. S^eparated from the rest of the world, 
 the sport of the winds and waves, with no other objects in view 
 but the sea and the sky, and at every hour removed farther &om. 
 parents, brethren, relations, friends, from every thing, in short, 
 most dear to us, it was scarcely possible not to find some feel- 
 ings of regret now and then intruding themselves upon our 
 minds. • ■ i 
 
 Captain Von Krusenstem preferred' steering his course, in the 
 first instance, towards Tenerifie rather than Madeira, because 
 the landing at the latter is much more expen»ive than at the 
 former, and all kinds of provisions are much dearer. Our course 
 was therefore directed towards the Canary Islands* The English 
 coast was- soon out of sight, and the great Atlantic Ocean lay 
 extended before us. Many people have the idea- that a very 
 long sea voyage cannot be otherwise than extremely emmycux, 
 l$ince nothing is to be seen day after day but the sea and the sky, 
 they conceive that the mind of every one must be wearied with 
 such an eternal uniformity. But this is seldom or never the 
 case; it is only so with those who are equally a prey to ennu^ 
 upon terra Jirma ; who are in fact always ennuye, unless they 
 are at a ball, a concert, the theatre, or cards. But in an 
 expedition such as our's, among a numerous society of learned 
 and scientific men, eager in the search of knowledge, it was im- 
 
I 
 
 
 VOTAGE TO TENERIFFE. 5. 
 
 possible to experience ennui: it might even be asserted with' 
 truth, that there was scarcely an individual among us who could' 
 not have found abundant occupation, even if our days had been 
 twice their actual length. I will endeavour to- give a general- 
 idea of the manner in which< our time was passed. 
 
 i 
 
 Tliose who were the latest in rising, -were yet ready for their 
 tea or coffee by eight in the morning. The common topics of 
 conversation at breakfast were the occurrences of the nighty 
 whether the wind and the weather had been favourable or un- 
 favourable ; and how far the ship had proceeded in her course. 
 After breakfast each repaired to his own private business. In a 
 numerous and well-assorted library, particularly of travels and 
 works of geography, which Captain Krusenslern with' great po- 
 liteness left free to ail the company, it was not difficult to find 
 entertainment for many hours in the day ; so that the morning 
 was parsed in reading, writing, drawing, taking the height ofi 
 the sun, and calculating^ the distance of the moon. ..,,,■ ^■;z 
 
 The Canary Tslands, which we hoped to reach in a few days, 
 naturally occupied our minds very much. All descriptions of 
 them from the pens of former travellers by whom they had been 
 visited were in consequence eagerly sought after. Every one 
 had studied assiduously their history, the different accountt 
 given of the discovery of them, the descriptions of their situation, 
 of their products, and of the manners and customs of the inha- 
 bitants. 
 
 Comparisons were made between the accounts of different 
 travellers; the former and present mode of their government 
 
^ VOYAGE TO TENERIFFE. 
 
 -were studied, with the chances of war that had befallen them, 
 particularly the unsuccessful attack made upon the principal 
 island by the English, when the brave Nelson lost his right arm. 
 All these things furnished abundant matter for pleasant and 
 instructive conversation, for scientific emulation, and even gave 
 occasion for sallies of wit and mirth. If we happened to get 
 somewhat heated in conversation, we repaired to the deck to 
 walk up and down, and cool ourselves by breathing the fresh 
 air. 
 
 I III 
 
 Shoals of dolphins, delphinus de/phis, of pelamides, scomber 
 pelamis, of flying-fish, exoccstus volans ; the fuci floating upon 
 the surface of the water ; the sharks following the ship ; nu- 
 merous sorts of aquatic birds unknown to us before ; the whales ; 
 a poor land-bird driven from the shore through the force of th^ 
 winds, and which sought an asylum in the vessel ; an unknown 
 ship seen in the horizon ; the expectation of approaching the 
 land — all these, and a thousand other objects, occupied our 
 attention, enlivening and varying the scene so much, that I am 
 almost inclined to think a sea voyage not at all less amusing 
 than a journey by land, wUh the reserve, that no stops are made 
 at the towns and villages through which the road lies. And 
 why should a life such as our's be more wearying than that led 
 by a man devoted to letters ? — why more ennuyeux than that of 
 a mechanic ? About two our table was spread with abundance 
 of very excellent provisions, to which commonly twenty-two 
 persons sat down. After dinner we went to our respective e.ii- 
 ployments till tea; then we busied ourselves Avith oirr journals, 
 and the evening was concluded with cheerful conversation over 
 a bowl of punch. Several of our party were fond of music, and 
 
n 
 
 ISLAND OF TENERIFFR 7 
 
 a part of the evening, when tlie weather was cahu, was' not 
 unfrequently spent in making little concerts. - 
 
 The weather was so favourable, that we every day drew 
 nearer to a better climate ; and at length, on the nineteenth 
 of October, the snowy summit of the far-famed Peak of Te- 
 neriffe first presented itself to our view ; the twentieth Ave cast 
 anchor before Santa Cruz, in the eastern part of the road, 
 with thirty-six fathom water, in latitude 28» 27' 33' north,^ 
 and in 16" 15' 50* longitude west from Greenwich. 
 
 Santa Cruz, on the north-east side of the island of TeneriifFe, 
 presents a tolerably good bay ; which, however, is not well 
 sheltered towards the east and north-east. The town, consist- 
 ing of some hundred houses, lies at a short distance from the 
 bay. The houses are in general from one to two stories high ; 
 a few have balconies ; most of them hsive jalousies * to the win- 
 dows, as in Spain and Portugal. The streets are regular, clean, 
 and well paved with lava ; they have trottoirs on each side. 
 It is no less pleasing than surprising to see so regularly built 
 and pretty a town under so remote a heaven. The internal 
 arrangement of the houses, the dress, tlie manners and customs 
 of the inhabitants, are so very similar to the Spanish, that any 
 one might easily believe himself in the mother-country. The 
 streets are at all times filled with a vast concourse of people,, 
 more women than men, and in the evening particularly with 
 a wretched shameless crew of females, and a rabble of men. 
 
 * Shutters made with sloping laths, in the manner of Venetian blinds.. 
 
« 
 
 ISLAND OF TENERIFFE. 
 
 * i 
 
 that liave much more the appearance of banditti than of in- 
 habitants of a civilized country. Besides these, there are a 
 parcel of beggars with tattered garments, half naked, who 
 importune and Auuoy strangers exceedingly. 
 
 This place owes its present flourishing condition to being 
 so much frequented by vessels in their course to different 
 parts of the globe. Very near the shore there is good an- 
 chorage at fifteen, twenty, and thirty fathom water. Ships 
 may even be well supplied with provisions, if they come about 
 a month sooner than we were here. Grapes, peaches, pears, 
 oranges., lemons, apples, bananas, chesnuts, figs, melons, pota- 
 toes, onions, and a great variety of culinary vegetables, are 
 p»'oduced in abundance all over the island, the superfluities 
 or which are brought to Santa Cruz for sale to strangers 
 touching at the port. Corn is cultivated in some degree at 
 Teneriffe, but much more in the neighbouring islands. Salt 
 is very scarce ; I was even assured that this article is brought 
 hither from Portugal. The wiiie, one of the principal objects 
 of trade in the Canary Islands, is very good, and not more than 
 half the price of that made at Madeira, for which reason a great 
 deal of TenerJffe wine is sold in England, France, and Holland, 
 as Madeira. A considerable dealer in wine told me, that the 
 superiority of the latter was principally owing to the addition 
 of a small quantity of French brandy, an article not easily to 
 be procured at Teneriffe : this, he said, constituted the most 
 essential difference betweep the wines. 
 
 There are no regular inns here, but for that very reason 
 the greater hospitality reigns in private houses: of this we 
 
ISLAND OF TENERIFFE. 
 
 received the most obliging proofs in particular from Mr. Arm- 
 strong, an English merchant. The lower class of the people 
 seem extremely poor ; many of them never have even baked, 
 bread ; they only grind the corn to meal by rubbing it between 
 two stones, and then mix it up in their hands with water or 
 milk, and so eat it : sometimes their food is merely roasted 
 corn. The fish-market was abundantly supplied ; but during 
 my short stay I did not observe any great variety among the 
 fish. Mackerel and pelamides were daily brought to market in 
 great quantities ; dog-fish were eaten by the poor. I observed 
 two sorts of rays ; the tails of both were cut off, probably be- 
 cause here, as well as in Europe, the popular belief is, that 
 the thorns in the tail are poisonous. One species seemed to be the 
 rata aquila ; upon the other I will not speak with equal decision : 
 it had a very pointed head. Besides these, I saw the esox belone, 
 the murtena helena, some sorts of sparus, labrus, and chcBtodon^ and 
 one salmon. The fish are commonly caught by angling : instead 
 of string,catgut is used, which is brought hither from Cadiz. To 
 catch mackerel, six or eight persons go out in the evening in a 
 Kmall boat, on which, as soon as it is dark, a large fire of pitch 
 is made on both sides. The hook does not go deep into the 
 water, and a fish is caught almost at every moment. The fisher- 
 men often remain out the whole night, and it is extremely 
 pretty to see such a number of fires upon the water, 
 
 Santa Cruz contains two convents of monks. There are 
 several squares, and a public promenade ; but, excepting on 
 Sundays, it is very little frequented. In the market-place is a 
 monument of white marble, which was made in Italy, and 
 erected here at the expence of a gentleman of the country. 
 
 * V 
 
 ^ 
 
 
10 ISLAND OF TENEIVIFFE. 
 
 to do honour to the Virgin Maria di Candeliaria. The pious 
 erector spent so large a portion of his fortune in this act of 
 devotion, that he is now reduced to very narrow circumstances, 
 and obliged to live with great oeconomy. Tlie town and the 
 island are protected by fortifications, which are garrisoned by 
 a regiment of soldiers. The island consists chiefly of almost 
 inaccessible mountains and rocks. Evident marks of former 
 volcanoes are to be traced in different parts : lava of several 
 sorts is every where to be found : all the houses and fortifica- 
 tions are built with it, and it is also used for paving the 
 streets. • 
 
 On an excursion along the sea-coast to the north-eastern 
 point of the island, after a good hour, I arrived at a little vil- 
 lage called St. Andrew. In the hills about I observed many 
 volcanic productions, which were miiv«led with siiex-obsidianus, 
 schorl, and pyroren. In the farthest hills were several porous 
 lavas, and a sort of argillaceous earth mingled with iron dust. 
 Here and there I saw basaltic blocks in rough masses, some 
 smaller, others larger, in other places, a sort of argillaceous 
 stones, some of which were mingled with strata of cal- 
 careous spath, others were covered over with it. About half 
 an hour's distance from St. Andrew, the lowermost stratum 
 of the hill consists of real trapezum Combined with lava. In a 
 deep valley in the neighbourhood of this place I observed a fine 
 grained granite mingled witli schorl. Subterranean grottoes 
 or caves, which it is to be presumed were the dwellings of 
 the ancient inhabitants of the island, the Guanches, are to be 
 found upon the steep declivities of the hills in several parts of 
 the island. In many of these caves are human bones, and 
 
, ISLAND OF TENERIPFE. J] 
 
 sometimes the entire human skeleton with the skin dried 
 upon it, like leather. One of these natural mummies is to be 
 seen in the National INIuseum at Paris, and we had the good 
 fortune to procure one for the museum at St. Petersburgh *. 
 
 Concerning the Guanches, the aborigines of the island, we 
 could not obtain any accurate or satisfactory information. 
 We were assured that here and there families exist who have 
 never mingled their race with Spanish blood, but might be 
 considered as genuine descendants of the Guanches. We in- 
 deed saw some men who had a very repulsive appearance, look- 
 ing more like savages than like people belonging to a civilized 
 country. The dirty yellowish brown beard, the poverty and 
 scanty clothing, the uncouth habits and modes of life, all 
 concurred to make a very unpleasant impression upon us as 
 Europeans, and we should really much rather have taken the 
 greater part of them for Guanches than for civilized Spa- 
 niards. 
 
 The climate is so mild, that even in winter very little 
 clothing is necessary. We saw many children playing in 
 the streets entirely undressed ; and boys even of twelve or 
 feurteen years old, equally without clothing, were to be seen 
 working upon the sea-shore. The usual height of the ther- 
 mometer during our stay was from eighteen to twenty-two 
 degrees of Reaumur. In the country are many windmills ; but 
 the poor man, as observed above, grinds his corn by rubbing it 
 
 * The author dois not seem aware that one of these mummies is also to be scon in the 
 library at Trinity College, Cambridge. SeTeral dried corpses of this kind were lately 
 found in St. Giles's parish church, Westminster. — Translatoii. 
 
 C2 
 
tl JSI.AND OK IKNKfllKFE. 
 
 betwern two stoiu'H : one of them is li|2;lit and porous, the other 
 thick, siiul of hard lava. • • .<. •■ 
 
 Santa Crn7 Is not tlestitute of soci»l intercourse. Our party 
 found a very pKasatit society every evening at the house of Mr. 
 Armstrong. At tlie proposal of tliis Ivospitable man, several of 
 \is joined in an excursion to the north-north-west part of the 
 island, as far as Porto de I'Orotava. Tiie distance of this place 
 from Santa Cruz h about four German miles and a half*. Ac- 
 cording to the custom of tlie country, these kind of excursioni 
 are made upon asses, mules, or very small horses, and the dis- 
 tance I have mentioned camiot be gone over in less than eight 
 or nine hours. Tlie ambassador, Von llesanoff, Major Von 
 Friderici, Dr. Laband, Counsellor Tilesius, and myself, pre- 
 ferred horses; and proper ones being procured, we set out early 
 in the morning of the twenty-first. The road lay through La 
 Laguna, La Matan<;a, La Vittoria, and Santa Ursula. After 
 about an hour, we arrived at La Laguna. The road is hilly, 
 lying over a soil abounding with lava ; the aspect of the country 
 is altogether not nnplea^rng. La Laguna is the principal town 
 of the island : it lies in a very, fertile district, and a great 
 deal of corn is cultivated in the neighbourhood. The town 
 itself is irregular, neither handsome or clean, and much worse 
 paved than Santa Cruz; it contains two convents of monks, 
 and two of nuns. Wc visited the monastery of Dominicans, 
 in which we found some monks, who received us very politely, 
 but their conversation betrayed the grossest ignorance, so 
 
 About tff«n(}->two English siilcs and a halfi 
 
ISLAND Ot TENERIFFE. 
 
 M 
 
 that Wti could not obtain any information respecting their 
 institution ; they were even wiiolly uninforuicd as to the 
 origin and history of their monastery. Their library consisted 
 only of a few church books, and some lives of distinguished 
 saints. We endeavoured also to visit a convent of nuns, but 
 were sent away from the door by an old sister in a very 
 courteous maimer, and with a sort of mysterious smile. It 
 appeared to us, however, as if this good lady would have 
 given us a more favourable reception towards evening. Fa- 
 tigued with the heat of the sun, and the exertion of the jour- 
 ney, we looked about in vain for an inn, and were constrained 
 to beg hospitality of a citizen who was wholly unknown to us. 
 lie received us very kindly, and we procured some fruit, eggs, 
 and wine, of which we made a comfortable repast, .an^ then 
 proceeded on our way.. 
 
 At a little distance from Laguna we came to a beautiful and 
 widely extended valley, well cultivated with corn. The soil, 
 consisting of decayed lava, appeared fertile in the highest degree, 
 though to the ye, the country was dull and uniform, as there was 
 scarcely a shrub or bush to be seen. Some cactuses, figs, and 
 mulberry trees, were the oi ly things tliat in any degree varied 
 the scene. For about an hour and half, or two hours, we ex- 
 changed this fertile country for a stony and hilly one. This 
 is a district where vines flourish more particularly; and the 
 nearer we approached to La Matan9a, La Vittoria, &c. the 
 greater abundance of vine-covered hills we found. We arrived 
 at Santa Ursula, a tolrrably large village, as the evening was 
 closing in. The whole village, and all the neighbourhood, were 
 assembled to celebrate the festival of Santa Ursula, whose 
 
u 
 
 ISLAND OF TENERIFFE. 
 
 birth-day it was. On this account, there were a great many 
 booths set up, in which refreshments, and a number of trifling 
 articles, were sold. Here and there were groups of dancers, both 
 men and women, who accompanied their movements with the 
 guitar, and a rude kind of singing. The dance consisted of a 
 sort of swimming movement, very slow, so that the dancers 
 scarcely moved from their places, and at the utmost, made some- 
 times a demi-chain. The great concourse of people assembled 
 together in the darkness of the night, had rather the appearance 
 of a fair than of a church festival. We had still a three hours* 
 ride to reach Porto de I'Orotava, and we therefore set forwards 
 again as soon as our curiosity was satisfied. 
 
 The road from St. Ursula was bad, stony, and irksome. Our 
 attention was engrossed with the lofty peak, which appeared to 
 be just before us, though it was still at the distance of five 
 German miles. The greater part of our company did not choose 
 to trust the insecure footsteps of their horses in the dark ; they 
 therefore dismounted, and descended the hill on foot, having 
 the town of Orotava always in view, as it was clear moonlight. 
 After much winding and turning, we at length reached it at nine 
 o'clock, exceedingly fatigued with the exertions of the day. We 
 went to the house of a friend of Mr. Armstrong's, Mr. Barry, 
 who, having been previously informed of our intended visit, 
 received us with the utmost courtesy and hospitality. 
 
 Porto de I'Orotava is a small town, which, from having been 
 originally only an assemblage of fishermens' huts, has been con- 
 stancy increasing, and is now become the abode of some of the 
 richest merchants in the island. The streets are in general 
 

 ISLAND OF TENERIFFE. 15 
 
 broad, tolerably clean, and well-paved. The port is not by any 
 means so good, or so safe, as that of Santa Cruz -. there are many 
 rocks near the shore, and a very strong surf. The situation of 
 the town is fine, and the surrounding country is beautiful : as the 
 town lies on the north side of the peak, it is less molested by 
 the burning heat of the sun. The greatest quantity of wines in 
 the island are cultivated in this district, so that ships often 
 come hither to take in their lading ; but they are obliged to 
 anchor at a considerable distance from the shore, and if the wind 
 be at all strong, to stand quite out to sea. 
 
 The most interesting object in the town is a very fine botanic 
 garden. This was established in 1795, by the Marquis de Nava, 
 a very rich man, who lived at Laguna. As a friend to know- 
 ledge and science, he laid before the Spanish Court a plan for 
 cultivating plants here from all parts of the world: he par- 
 ticularly wished to make the experiment of transporting to this 
 spot many valuable and useful plants growing in the torrid zone, 
 in hopes, that if accustomed by degrees to a cooler climate, they 
 might at length be brought to thrive in the cold soils of Europe. 
 The plan was discussed, and the government determined to 
 support the undertaking. The Marquis himself omitted nothing 
 that lay in his power to promote it, and even advanced large sums 
 to the government for the purpose. He has now laboured for many 
 years to obtain the very desirable objects he proposed, but alas, 
 in vain! and it is much to be feared that an undertaking, which 
 would have done so much honour both to the nation and the 
 individual, will soon fall entirely to the ground. The Marquis 
 finds himself almost at the end of his own means, and the 
 government does not seetTi disposed to concern itself farther in 
 
J6 ISLAND OF TrNRRIFPE. 
 
 the affair. This is so much the more to be regretted, as there are 
 already more than three thousand rare plants collected from 
 Mexico, Peru, Chili, and the Cape of Good Hope, which, under 
 the care of a very scientific gardener sent from England, are in 
 the most flourishing state. This gardener has also endeavoured 
 to cultivd,te some of the wild plants, natives of the Canary 
 Islands. 
 
 The draccena draco, or dragon's-blood tree, is a native of the 
 Canaries ; but the inhabitants, though well aware of its utility, 
 concern themselves little about derivins; the advantages that 
 might be obtained from it. Nearly an hour's distance fi-om 
 Porto de I'Orotava lies a villa of the same name, belonging to 
 Don Pedro Franschy. Close by the house stands a dragon's- 
 blood tree, the circumference of which is forty-two English feet. 
 Time did not permit us to visit this veiy extraordinary natural 
 curiosity. • , ! . j. 
 
 ■ ■ ' ■ ', ■' ' ' ■ 
 
 On the twenty-third we returned to Santa Cruz. Captain 
 Von Krusenstern had in the mean time laid in a stock of water, 
 wood, wine, and other ship stores; and we learnt from the 
 officers that while we had been amusing ourselves at Orotava, he 
 had given a ball on board the Nadeschda. Our crew being 
 rested and refreshed, we were all ready to depart by the twenty- 
 sixth. 
 
 I must not, however, quit the island without a word or two 
 respecting the Peak, so universally celebrated. This was for- 
 merly regarded as one of the most conspicuous among the moun- 
 tains upon our globe. Its height, according to the best 
 
PEAK OF TENERIFFE. 
 
 17 
 
 
 geometrical calculations, is estimated by Bordaat 1905 toises* ; 
 others only give 1901. But since we have been better ac- 
 quainted with the new world, and the height of Chimboraxo 
 is ascertained to be 3357 t«»'oes, that of ,Cayambe-Urku to be 
 3030, Antisana 2993, Cotopaxi 2952, ;uid that a great number 
 of others tower far above the Peak of Teneriffe, the latter has 
 lost much of its ancient fame. 
 
 How much soever some of our company wished to ascend 
 this mountain, the short and indefinite term of our stay pro- 
 hibited the gratification of our wishes. We were besides assured 
 by the inhabitants, that at so advanced a time of the year we 
 should hardly be able to overcome the difficulties attendant 
 upon the undertaking, and should be obliged, if we engaged hi 
 it, to turn back again. But as it had been visited earlier in the 
 year by Monsieur Cordier, a Frenchman, whose knowledge of 
 mineralogy, and zeal in the pursuit of mineralogical subjects, 
 are well known, I will here present my readers with the remarks 
 made by this very intelligent traveller, taken from his own 
 manuscript. . ,. = - -. . >-. . ,, , - „, . , 
 
 On the sixteenth of April he set out from Porto de I'Orotava 
 to ascend the Peak. He found the plain on which the hill stands, 
 Las faldas de ias Canadas, to be 1100 toises above the level 
 of the sea: it was covered with vitrified lava and pumice- 
 stones. A great quantity of broom, spartium supranubium. 
 
 * A toise is six French feet, about six fret .ind a liulf English measure ; so that 1905 
 toises vi\\\ giro a height of somewhat more than ivto English miles and a quarter. 
 
 Taanslator 
 
i 
 
 18 
 
 PKAK OF TENERIFFE. 
 
 shared with some lichens the possession of this vast waste. At 
 the sfancia de los ingieses the barometer was at 19 inches Q'^OS 
 lines, and the heat + 4,°,00, by Reaumur: the stancia, therefore, 
 according to the above observations, he determined to be 1529 
 toises above the sea. The broom grows still at this height, 
 though very much stunted. Tiie cold was very supportable. 
 Three hours carried him to the summit of the Peak. In arriving 
 at it, a great deal of ground is passed over, covered with heaps of 
 vitrified lava in very large rough pieces. The steep acclivity which 
 leads to the summit is strewed with loose pumice-stones, which, 
 from their constantly slipping under the feet, makes the ascent 
 very fatiguing. With a clear atmosphere, and mild weather, the 
 islands of Hierro, Gomera, Palma, and Canaria, may be seen 
 from hence. The walls of the crater within are very steep, and 
 are highest on the northern side : the descent into the cavity is 
 only practicable by three clefts in the sides. The space within 
 is of an elliptic forai ; the circumference is about 1100 feet; the 
 depth 110. The steep descent into the crater consists of a 
 white earth, which seems a decomposition of vitrified lava. 
 Crystals of sulphur of the most beautiful colour, and extremely 
 brilliant, ornament the inward walls', the hot moisture, which 
 stood abundantly on all sides, bad been ascending for some 
 hours front) the depth below ; and a thermometer held in one of 
 the clefts rose to the height of 80° by Reaumur: this moisture 
 consisted of sulphur, and a sort of tasteless water. It is very 
 remarkable that, mingled with the incrustations of sulphur, 
 opal, in a variety of forms, was to be found. 
 
 At eight o'clock, Monsieur Cordier being one toise and a 
 half from the top of the mountain, the barometer stood at 
 

 a 
 
 PEAK OF TENERIFFB, J9 
 
 18 inches four lines, the thermometer at Go^09. At the same 
 hour, the barometer at Porto de I'Orotava was at 28* 5'" 06, 
 the thermometer at + 19°,09. The point at wliich this obser- 
 vation was taken was seven toises above the level of the sea, so 
 that the result of the whole gives 1901,02 French toises for the 
 height of the Peak. The inclination of the needle was directed 
 more than five degrees towards the south pole. 
 
 The accounts generally given concerning the keenness of tlte 
 cold, the difficulty of breathing, and the appearance of the 
 aun's disk, arc extremely exaggerated. The cold was per* 
 fcctly supportable, the strength of the liquors was not in the 
 least diminished, nor did the hydrosulphuric moisture occasion 
 any difficulty of breathing : the rarefaction of the ak did not 
 oppress the lungs any ferther than to create a necessity of stop- 
 ping at intervals for a short time when approaching towards 
 the summit. . , » ^ .. . .. .. ^ ;^ .j. 
 
 Although these observations of Mons.Cordier vary very much 
 from those of other travellers, the diiferences may be easily re- 
 conciled, since it is well known that in the Alps of Switzerland 
 the cold will change very much in the course of an hour. Mons. 
 Cordier was also extremely fortunate in having chosen a very 
 favourable moment for ascending the Peak. He left this 
 interesting place after staying three hours and a half. In 
 descending, he soon reached the nostrils of the Peak, as they 
 are called. These are two holes at the foot of the summit, 
 which constantly emit a damp vapour. In their neighbour- 
 hood is the cave called Cueva del Gelo, of which a thou- 
 sand wonderful stories are related. An idea of it may 
 
 D 2 
 
 #•-, 
 
'io 
 
 PEAK OF TENERIFFE. 
 
 be conceived by imagining a grotto formed occasionally by the 
 flowing lava, as it bursts over a vacant space. The bottom of 
 this cave is commonly filled M'ith water arising from dissolved 
 snow, but in the summer it is occasionally entirely dry. The 
 difterent lavas found in these parts have this peculiarity, that 
 they show the transition of flints into pumice-stones. 
 
 There are some other volcanoes. The crater of that which 
 choaked up the harbour of Garachico with lava is five 
 hours from Orotava ; the new volcano is seven hours distant 
 from Yrod dc los Vinos. The three apertures made by the lava 
 in Las Canadas'Vie one above tb'- other upon the steep descent 
 of the mountain Chahorra, which is itself a monstrous excres- 
 cence at the foot of the Peak on its south-west side. The 
 largest of these apertures is twelve hundred paces in circum- 
 ference, and its margin is thirteen hundred toises above the level 
 of the sea. There is no possibility of descending into this. In 
 the others sulphur is found in small quantities, and the vapour 
 is not material. In ascending Chahorra, Mons. Cordier dis- 
 covered another crater, which had never been observed before : 
 it is sixteen hundred toises above the level of the sea, and is 
 finer than any of those hitherto mentioned : it is nearly an hour 
 and a half in circumference, is very old, and on its steep sides 
 are to be seen abundant traces of the most dreadful fires. 
 The Peak stands upon its margin. The reason of this splendid 
 phoenomenon having remained hitherto unknown, is, that it is 
 impossible, on account of the steepness of the sides, to ascend 
 to the top of the crater upon the Peak on the north side. 
 
 The volcano of Guimar is six hundred and seventy toises 
 
VOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS. oj 
 
 above the level of the sea, on the steep declivity that leads 
 to La Cumbre. After forming a mass, the square of which 
 required an hour to go round, the lava spread itself over 
 the plain of Los Barancos, at the foot of the mountain ; a 
 part of it ran even to within a quarter of an hour's distance 
 from the sea, which is at the distance of two hours and a half 
 from the mountain. The lava is grey, of a petrosilex nature, 
 mingled with crystals of augit and crysolites. The scoria con- 
 tinues now to decompose, producing a fine sand, which might 
 no doubt be brought into cultivation. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh of October, in the afternoon, we' 
 weighed anchor; and, amid the roar of cannon, set forward to 
 the Brazils. The atmosphere was uncommonly clear, so that 
 on the twenty-ninth, at six in the morning, we could still see 
 the Peak, though it was at the distance of more than a hundred 
 sea miles. We had now before us a voyage of two months 
 and a half; although to many this would have appeared a 
 wearisome and cnnuyant prospect, - . thought of it with great 
 pleasure. 
 
 A few days after our departure we arrived between the tro- 
 pics ; and, favoured by the monsoon, proceeded on our voyage 
 most pleasantly. The thermometer was generally from 20" to 
 22°, and we endeavoured to render the heat supportable by 
 wearing very thin cloathing, chiefly of nankeen. The ship 
 cut the waves so tranquilly, that, but for feeling every now and 
 then a fresh breeze, we should hardly have recollected that we 
 were upon the sea. The nights were cool, and sometimes 
 damp. Captain Von Krusenstern was therefore particularly 
 
I 
 
 fli VOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS. 
 
 careful that no part of the crew should be thinly clothed at that 
 time, or should sleep uncovered upon the deck. Several, in- 
 deed, considered this as being over-cautious, since they con- 
 ceived, that by enjoying the cool air of night, their strength 
 would be recruited ; but the happy consequences that attended 
 the regulation^ the constant good health that reigned among 
 us, shewed plainly that we were all greatly indebted to this 
 excellent man for his prudent attentions. 
 
 Most of our northern travellers found the warm climate 
 very pleasant, and agreed, that while in twenty to twenty-four 
 degrees of cold, an ear or nose might very well be frozen off; 
 in a like degree of warmth, nothing prejudicial to the health 
 was to be apprehended. The riches of the southern climates, 
 where, almost without the intervention of man, nature 
 brings forth fruits and other things necessary to his suste- 
 nance, where he is free from all solicitude to procure a warm 
 dwelling, warm clothing, and plenty of firing, shew suflfi- 
 ciently that the existence of man in mild climates is the effect 
 of nature, in cold ones it is entirely the result of art. It is 
 consequently there where necessity compels the mind to greater 
 exertions, and where reciprocal assiduity has for its object 
 merely to satisfy the necessities of nature, that a higher degree 
 of cultivation must be sought. One only among our party, 
 whose constitution had been previously shaken, ever complained 
 of the heat being insupportable. 
 
 Hy 
 
 We had daily new scenes and new sources of entertainment 
 in various ways. The tropic bird photon athereus, the Bying 
 fish, the pelamide, and the tiiunny, ar€ often seen in these 
 
VOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS. f3 
 
 regions, and we could sometimes take them with the harpoon ; 
 but this sport was not so productive to us, as, according to the 
 accounts given, it has been found by others. We many times 
 caught a small kind of sharks, which, for want of other fresh 
 food, were eaten with great pleasure by the sailors. The 
 remora or sucking fish, echeneis remoray and the pilot, gastcros- 
 teus ductor, were also taken occasionally. In very still wea- 
 ther we sometimes saw the pht/saiis peiagica. The extraordinary 
 structure of this creature, like a bladder with a number of little 
 threads hanging to it, the beauty of its colours, and the no- 
 velty of the object, delighted us exceedingly. The threads, 
 by touching them, occasion a smart and an inflammation on the 
 skin, in the same manner as if cantharides were applied to it. 
 In good weather we frequently hoisted out a boat to examine 
 the clearness and temperature of the water, and the current, 
 or else to fish ; sometimes even we went to pay a visit to our 
 companion in the voyage, the ship Neva. Such little excur- 
 sions, when out in the vast ocean, have inexpressible charms, 
 and whenever one of them took place, it was always a sort of 
 competition who should partake in the treat. > ' 
 
 The nearer we approached to the equator, the more variable 
 was our weather. We had alternate calms, brisk gales, showers, 
 thunder-storms, cloudy skies, and bright sunshine. The heat 
 was very supportable, seldom exceeding twenty-two degrees of 
 lleaumur. On the twenty-sixth of November, in the fore- 
 noon, we passed the Line in longitude 24" 20' west of Green- 
 wich. This occurrence is sufficiently interesting to all Euro- 
 peans to be noted in their journals ; how much more remark- 
 able then was it to Russians, since ours were the first ves- 
 
54 VOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS. 
 
 scis of that nation that had over navigated these waters, that 
 had ever visited the southern division of the globe. A feeling 
 of national pride Avas awakened in every breast ; and t\ v.w we, 
 who were foreigners, joined in the exultation, since wc shared 
 in the honour of laying the foundation for an active conunerce, 
 which might be in the end of the greatest importance to the 
 Russian nation. . • 
 
 It vas about ten in the forenoon that we crossed the Line, 
 when both vessels, the Nadeschda and the Neva, hoisted the 
 Russian flag, and the day was celebrated as a festival by both. 
 As it is prescribed by ancient custom, that every one who passes 
 the Line for the first time shall be dipped into the water, or at 
 least well sprinkled with it, this ceremony was punctually ob- 
 served by us. A sailor, who was full of natural drollery and 
 vivacity, to make it the more impressive, dressed him- 
 self to represent Neptune. The costume in which this god 
 of the seas appeared must have been one he was only accus- 
 tomed to wear at the north or south pole ; for certainly in the 
 warm climates he usually inhabited, such an one could never 
 have been seen before. In his hand, instead of a trident, he 
 held a harpoon, and with inconceivable celerity dipped his 
 bucket again and again into the water, and sprinkled those 
 around him. When it is observed that the thermometer was 
 now between twenty-two and twenty-three degrees of Reaumur, 
 it will easily be imagined how comfortably warm this good sailor 
 must have been, clad in a thick fur dress, remaining for some 
 hours upon the deck, springing hither and thither in the per- 
 formarxe of his function. He went through the whole most 
 admirably, to the great delight and amusement of the company. 
 
VOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS. 
 
 85 
 
 The comniander of the other ship, the Neva, Captain Lisian- 
 sky, at the moment when the Rustiiaii flag greeted the equator, 
 passed us in full soil with his yards manned, and gave us three 
 hearty cheers, which we returned with equal ardour. 
 
 n 
 
 The ambassador, Von Resanoff, in order to impress this 
 very remarkable day in the annals of Russian navigation the 
 more forcibly upon the minds of everybody, assembled all the 
 sailors upon deck, and ranging them in a row, gave every 
 one a Spanish dollar. When dinner-time arrived, we all sat 
 down with the utmost hilarity. During dinner, we drank, 
 amid the roar of cannon, the health of his Imperial Majesty,— 
 of the gracious monarch, the benefactor of his subjects, the 
 promoter of trade and navigation, — and all his imperial house. 
 Afterwards we drank the minister of trade. Count Roman- 
 zoff, and Count Tchitchagoff, minister of the marine, the 
 president of the academy of sciences at St. Petersburgh, Von 
 NovosilsofF, the directors of the Russio- American company, our 
 brave commander. Captain Von Krusenstern, the ambassador 
 Von Resanoff, with all our friends and relations, and the com-- 
 panions of our voyage. We were arrived at the utmost height 
 of joy and mirth, when we rose from table, and went upon 
 deck. Here a new jubilee began. Captain Krusenstern, the 
 ambassador, and all the officers, were one after the other raised 
 up, and swung round in the hand with a shout of joy and a 
 grand liuzza. This is a custom among the Russians, when 
 they would shew the great esteem and honour in which they 
 hold persons of such a description. The pleasures of this re- 
 markable day were concluded with a bowl of punch. • 
 
 E 
 
26 VOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS. 
 
 We did not find the heat under the equator by any means so 
 insupportable as it is generally represented. To judge by my 
 own feelings, I must confess that a very burning summer's day 
 in the north of Europe is much more oppressive than the 
 heat under the Line. In the latter region, seldom a day passes 
 that a cooling thunder-storm does not refresh the air. As in 
 the north, people guard agains' the cold by warm, clotliiiig and 
 fur caps, so in warm climates the inhabitants, to avoid being 
 overcome by the heat, wear very thin clothing and light straw 
 hats. .. . < 
 
 Our Neptune, who, notwithstanding the height of the 
 thermometer, had been leaping about all day in a ma,sk and 
 a thick fur dress, must have indeed endured a very unusual 
 degree of heat ; yet he never suffered in the least from it. 
 Perhaps the Russian custom of using the vapour-bath so 
 much had a considerable influence in enabling him to support 
 the heat without inconvenience. It is very striking to compare 
 the regulations formerly made on a sea voyage with those 
 of the present times. For example : Sir John Narborough, 
 in the year 1670, says, that he had the precaution, in the 
 warm zones, to have his people bled frequently ; and expe- 
 rience had taught him, that no method was more efficacious 
 for preventing fevers. This navigator must have had a very 
 healthy crew, for it might be proved, by many weighty ar- 
 guments, that his precaution was sufficient to debilitate them, 
 and render them much more liable to be attacked by fevers and 
 scurvy. Experience has shewn Captain Cook's and Cap- 
 tain Krusenstern's plan to be far more salutary. By keeping the 
 men well fed, and endeavouring to mrike them cheerful, by 
 
VOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS. fj 
 
 enforcing cleanliness, and giving them plenty of good water, 
 witli sometimes a glass of wine, grog, or punch, the whole 
 crew, without any one being bled, passed the Line four times, 
 and returned to Europe all in perfect health. 
 
 Our poultry, which were partly brought from Europe, 
 partly taken in at the island of Teneriffe, did not bear the heat 
 and the long sea voyage so well as ourselves ; our hens, a few 
 excepted, became entirely blind. What could be the reason of 
 this I can by no means conjecture. Labillardiere, who ob- 
 served the same effect among his poultry, ascribes it to the in- 
 fluence of the air. Perhaps it is rather occasioned by the, sea- 
 water, since, from the ship being very frequently washed, and 
 from water being thrown into it in considerable quantities by 
 strong winds, it is almost inevitable that some will occasionally 
 mingle itself with the food given to the poultry. 
 
 ■i / 
 
 ■r.l 
 
 Every little and often apparently trifling circumstance de- 
 serves notice in a voyage such as our's. I cannot, therefore, 
 pass over an incident which occurred on the twenty -second of 
 November. We observed a ship, which appeared to be sailing 
 towards Europe ; Captain Krusenstern hailed it, and sent an 
 officer on board with letters. I begged to accompany him, as 
 such an excursion upon the wide ocean is not a thing that hap- 
 pens every day. We learnt that the vessel belonged to the 
 United States of America, and was bound for Batavia. This 
 arduous voyage the captain, like many others, was making 
 without any great astronomical knowledge, and without a chro- 
 nometer, in consequence of which he was now in reality three 
 degrees more to the west than he was according to his ship's 
 
 Ed 
 
18 yOYAGE TO THE BRAZILS^ 
 
 reckoning, fie was exceedingly thankful to us for pointing 
 out to him his error, and indicating the true longitude of the 
 vessel : his course was in consequence immediately changed. 
 
 The seventh and eighth of December, Captain Krusenstern 
 was occupied in seeking the problematic island of Ascen^ao, 
 the existence of which is doubted by the latest navigators, par- 
 ticularly by La Perouse. We steered westward, and found 
 ourselves towards evening in latitude 20° 42' south, and 37* 
 longitude, consequently two degrees more to the west than the 
 last-named unfortunate navigator, without finding any island : 
 so that if it really exists, it is not in the place hitherto laid 
 down in the maps. 
 
 We had now for several weeks, that is, from the twenty- 
 seventh of October, floated upon the great ocean, the sport of 
 the winds and waves ; when at length, on the t\v«lfth of De- 
 cember, we discovered Cape Frio, on the long wished-for coast 
 of Brazil. This land, abounding in gold and diamonds, with 
 its splendid towns and rich productions, had long been the lead- 
 ing object of interest among us; it had been the subject of our 
 daily conversation, of our anxious curiosity. Many of our ship'.s 
 company wished earnestly to visit the town of Rio Janeiro, in 
 the neighbourhood of this cape. Captain Krusenstern, how- 
 fever, thought of the difficulties we should have to contend 
 with. He saw clearly, that here we must of necessity be sub- 
 jected to a very strict visitation, and put to many unnecessary 
 expenses, besides probably losing a great deal o£time ; and he 
 therefore determined rather to bend his course to Santa Catha- 
 fina, an island three degrees farther to the south, which had 
 
ISLAND OF SANTA CATBAHlNA. 10^ 
 
 many superior recommendations as a place of refreshment, and 
 which had been visited by the immortal La Perouse. We made 
 amends for our disappointment by amusing ourselves exceed- 
 ingly "with the many new objects which the sea and the neigh- 
 bourhood of the land here presented to our observation. We 
 were from twenty to thirty miles distant from the shore, and 
 saw near our ship a great number of fishing-boats, which sailed 
 by with perfect indifference, probably because they had nothing 
 to sell, and did not want to buy any thing of us. 
 
 The country, even at this distance, gave us specimens of 
 its riches. The sea appeared altogether alive. In forty fathom 
 water we caught dorades, coryphoena hippurus, which we 
 thought* excellent. We remarked, at the same time, an im- 
 mense number of salpoe, heroes, medusas, and other slimy 
 gelatinous and transparent animals, which come under the 
 general name of Zoophytes and Mollusquae. It was particularly 
 striking to see the white sea in some places entirely red : on an 
 accurate examination, we perceived that this effect arose from 
 an immense number of little crabs which floated upon the surface 
 of the water. 
 
 On the eighteenth of December we came in sisht of 
 the island of Santa Catharina, and were already welcomed, 
 though at the distance of more than sixty sea miles, by a 
 great quantity of butterflies : they were probably driven from 
 the land by a strong wind. The weather was very fine, the 
 horizon clear-, and we steered directly for the coast. At half 
 past four in the afternoon we were so near, that we could 
 distinguish the trees, the rocks, and other objects. We were 
 
'■•m 
 
 SO m.AND OF 9ANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 full of hope, that this evening, or very early the next morn- 
 ing, we should cast anchor, and be soon in full enjoyment of 
 all the delights of Brazil ; when suddenly a violent storm of 
 thunder, wind, and rain, came on, so that we were obliged 
 to bear away from the land, and seek our safety from a south- 
 west wind in the open sea, nor could we venture to approach 
 the coast again till the twentieth. 
 
STAT AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Stay at Santa Catharina. — The Town of Notsa Senhora do Desterro.'— 
 Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants. — Dance of the Negro Slaves.— ^ 
 Excursion to the Main-Land. — Arts^ Knowledge, and Public Institw 
 tions. — Manufactory of Train-Oil.'- Natural History. — Medical Obser- 
 vations. 
 
 The aspect of the landscape presented to our view, which 
 was decked with a drapery of the most beautiful green, orna- 
 mented with flowers of a thousand hues, promised us, even at 
 a distance, the highest enjoyment during our stay in the place, 
 and the most abundant refreshment. The island of Santa Ca- 
 tharina, and the coast of the main-land opposite to it, consist 
 principally of pretty high land ; the most lofty summits, how- 
 ever, rise only to a middling height, and are entirely clothed 
 with trees ; the ascents are steep, and they are much intersected 
 with deep vallies. We observed along the coast several little 
 creeks and islets, and found the land abundantly watered by many 
 springs, rivulets, mountain- torrents, rivers, and marshes. The 
 shore is partly sandy, partly bordered by granite rocks, against 
 which the waves beat with so much force, and occasion so 
 strong a surf, that it is impossible for a vessel to approach 
 them. 
 
 The sight of land, even of the most barren rocks, is always 
 delightful after a voyage of two months, and having no other 
 view during all that time but the wide waste of waters. How 
 
3^ STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 much more enchanting then is the prospect of such a land as 
 that we now approached, where nature is so' highly favoured, 
 where reigns all imaginable beauty, every thing that can 
 charm the eye and delight the heart. A lovely landscape 
 rose above the strand of the sea, and the green of the hills 
 was increased by the golden border they received from the 
 rays of the setting sun. We saw about the shore, to which 
 we drew nearer every moment, several little vessels ; and 
 dropped our anchor, on the twenty-first, near a small ft)rtress 
 called Santa Cruz, upon the island of Atomeri. 
 
 My imagination was so filled with beautiful pictures, that 
 I could scarcely wait the return of dawn to obtain a more inti- 
 mate knowledge of this enchanting spot. I must confess, that 
 my ideas were carried almost perhaps to extravagance ; but 
 notwithstanding this, the nearer I approached the land, the 
 more did I find the reality exceed my expectation. The num- 
 t>er and variety of the flowers, the beauty of their colours, 
 their size and forms, were truly worthy of admiration, and the 
 delicious odours with which they filled the atmosphere seemed 
 at every breath to strengthen the body, and exhilarate th»mind. 
 
 Large butterflies, which I had hitherto only seen as rarities 
 in the cabinets of the curious, were fluttering about in pro- 
 digious numbers ; and plants, which I did not know any 
 otherwise but as dwarfs in our conservatories, here reared their 
 heads aloft in towering majesty. The lovely golden colibris 
 hovered about the honied flowers of thje banana-groves, and the 
 notes of birds never heard before resounded through the well- 
 watered vallies, delighting at once the ear and the hearts 
 
% 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 33 
 
 Shady winding paths lead from one habitation to another, very 
 far exceeding in pleasantness and beauty, in simplicity and 
 variety, the studied and artificial walks that ornament our 
 European gardens. Every thing I saw excited in me the 
 utmost astonishment from its novelty, and made an impression 
 upon my mind and heart much easier felt than described. In 
 the evening I returned to our ship wholly transported, and 
 enriched with a large coUectioji of plants and insects : here I 
 excited no less astonishment among all our party than I had 
 myself experienced, and they joined with me in admiring more 
 particularly the size, variety, ^nd beauty of colouring among 
 the butterflies. 
 . . '■,,-.■. ' 
 
 The island of Santa Catharina forms but a small portion of 
 the government to which it gives name. It is twenty-five miles 
 long, and in some places from eight to nine miles broad, in 
 others only from three to four. Its north-north-west point lies 
 in latitude 27" 19' 10" south, and in longitude 47° 49' 2(y 
 west, according to Captain Von Krusensteru's and Dr. Horner's* 
 observations. It is separated from the main-land by a strait, 
 which in the narrowest part is not more than two hundred 
 fathoms over. All the entrances to the strait are guarded by 
 forts mounted with artillery, and garrisoned ; but, notwithstand- 
 ing, in case of an attack from an enemy, they are not capable 
 
 ^ Dr. Horner, of Zurich, was, at Zach's recoDimendation, appointed astronomer to 
 thii expedition. Captain Von Rrusenstcrn commends, in liis work, the activity and 
 knowledge of this excellent man. Through his probitjr, hif> integrity, and the mildness 
 of his character, he acquired the friendship and esteem of erery body : he distinguished 
 hinself in the most adTantagcoui manner on a great variety of occasions. 
 
 V 
 
■*)i^ 
 
 f'. 
 
 f »}f/ 
 
 «*, 
 
 '■%■» 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARftfA. 
 
 of making much resistance. Small vessels, such as brigs, cutters, . 
 ,&c. may take the southern entrance to get to the establishment, 
 but larger vessels must take the northern. The latter is defended 
 by two small forts, one of which stands upon the north-west 
 point of the island, and is called Forte da Ponta Grossa ; the 
 other is nearer the main-land upon the little island Atomeri, 
 and has the name of Santa Cruz. In the neighbourhood of the 
 latter, large ships find a safe and convenient anchorage. - ' 
 
 The principal place of the island, and the seat of govern- 
 ment, is the' town of Nossa Senhora do Desterro. It stands 
 on the south-west side of the island, about ten sea-mile? 
 from the anchoring-place above mentioned, at the foot of a 
 considerable hill, and contains between four and five hundred 
 houses. The number of inhabitants in the island of Santa Ca- 
 tharina is reckoned at ten thousand, that of the whole govern- 
 ment dependent upon the island at thirty thousand. There are 
 a great number of people among the inhabitants in easy cir- 
 cumstances, but few very rich. The houses are all built of 
 stone, cemented with a kind of clayey earth : the streets are 
 for the most part regular. Here are merchants, or rather 
 traders, and mechanics, of every description ; and great abund- 
 ance of provisions of all kinds are daily brought to market 
 from the country around. In the numerous shops are to be 
 found almost all sorts of European merchandize that contribute 
 to the support and convenience of life ; as, for example, iron 
 wares, glass, porcelain, silk and woollen stuffs, cloth, looking- 
 glasses, paper, &c. &c. But all these things, as may be rea- 
 flonably supposed, are extremely dear. ,,; —,;-) 
 
 J I. . 1 
 
Bkasilian Air. 
 
 Modinha. 
 
 ^ Quan do o mal a _ Ra-ba,o bem prinei _pi a qmmdo omal a ea ba o bem prinei.pi . a«inca 
 
 Tnal a oeor _ de mal a oe-or _ de mal a nenr _ _ H« mal n n*ini> 
 
 peor _ de mal a pe-or _ de mal a peor _ _ de mal a peor _ 
 
 Quaiido o mal acaba 
 O bem priuripia 
 Meu mal acabou 
 O bem se sep,>!ua 
 Pois sim, men senhor* 
 IVIeu mal acabou 
 Mas penso que vou 
 De n\v\ a peor. 
 
 Vein a noite eseura 
 Succedes o dia 
 DepoiN da tormenta ; 
 Veil) a ealmeria 
 Puis itim* meu senhor, 
 Meu mal arabou 
 Mrs penxo que vou 
 De iiial a peor. 
 
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 Song op the Natives op Nukahiwa. 
 
 Choral. MelancoHco, tiniHono retardaado. 
 
 Solo ^ ^ Tutti 
 
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 O: 
 
 DfTflMlw. 
 
 / i I iI i ^mT l u ii i IT I '^ 1 1 \ ^ sm 
 
 Hi a te a niM_H_a . uh 
 Where in the Iig4it? 
 
 J.ta u a ta.a-a- . oh tea ma a. ma a 
 on the Iiile of Tk^naJta Wherefors tfio Vir" . 
 
 Tail 
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 e na ta . a 
 roa<it the 
 
 oh 
 foe 
 
 Hia tea he _ - 
 let us . kin _ die 
 
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 .he 
 
 Fire 
 
 Tai . (• 
 here ia 
 
 M o 
 
 fe^ 
 
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 H iiia_a _ eh 
 Fire 
 
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 Tai - e _ na.ta a eh 
 we will roast him 
 
 ena.ta a 
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 eh 
 hiin 
 
 ote ma 
 hewoaldha»« 
 
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 r.f Pr'ir.^"-H^"^ 
 
 :0: 
 
 O - 
 
 fled 
 
 a.ma-te 
 now he 
 
 ma_te . 
 is dead 
 
 ^^ 
 
 - eh 
 
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 1 toe tn - - eh 
 his Sister weeps 
 
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 ti_ti he i - .he 
 his Parents weep hin 
 
 lO: 
 
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 q py*!* 
 
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 daug'hters weep 
 
 atahi 
 first 
 
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 eh 
 
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 second day 
 
 oh ah on . he 
 
 third day 
 
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 fourth day 
 
 oh 
 
 
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 fifth day sixth day 
 
 ast . tu - - 
 seventh day 
 
 eh 
 
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 awahu _ _ 
 eighth day 
 
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 a hi.wa _ 
 ninth day 
 
 ^ 
 
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 tenth day 
 
 m 
 
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 aho _ hi _ . «li 
 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. (ft 
 
 The inhabitants of the whole province are pleasing, friendly, 
 and prepossessing ; great hospitality reigns among them, and 
 they are very sociable with each other. Tliey assemble toge- 
 ther in the evening in little family parties, in which the Portu- 
 guese manners prevail entirely : they dance, they laugh, they 
 joke, they sing, they play, and might be taken really for those 
 whose manners they imitate. Their usual instruments are the 
 guitar and the dulcimer. The music is expressive, pleasing, 
 and aflfecting ; the songs are, according to the very general, it 
 may be said, almost universal custom, changes upon love and 
 maidens, upon wounds given by Cupid and bleeding hearts, 
 upon sighs and longings. But as it will, perhaps, be more 
 agreeable to my readers to have a specimen of the Brazilian 
 airs, than merely a description of them, I subjoin one. 
 
 ■ The females are not i^ly ; among those of the higher classes 
 we saw some who, even in Europe, might with justice have 
 been pronounced handsome. They are in general of a middle 
 stature, well made, with dark complexions, coarse dark 
 hair, and dark eyes full of fire ; we saw, however, a few who 
 were very fair. They rect ive their guests with great courtesy, 
 and are not restrained like the lovely sex in the mother- 
 country, who are shut up he whole year through, and can 
 only catch a sight of a stranger by looking through the key- 
 hole or a crack in the door. How inconsiderable soever this 
 place may be, it is not destitute of little love intrigues ; they 
 are woven together here as every where else. ' The most insig- 
 nificant presents of European merchandize, tinsel, ribbands, 
 ear-rings, or other things of the like kind, are always 
 thankfully received. The clothing of both sexes is according 
 
 f2 
 
36 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 to the European fashions, only that the garments are made 
 of the thinnest and lightest materials that can be procured. 
 Muslins, fine linens, nankeen, and silks, are particularly sought 
 after. 
 
 This gorernment is of modern institution. It extends from 
 Rio Grande, which is at thirty-two degrees south, to the go- 
 vernment of St. Paul, which is at twenty-five. It was princi- 
 pally peopled from this latter government. The Portuguese 
 regency has bestowed many privileges upon it ; as, for example, 
 that all ships coming into or going out of this port, foreigners 
 as well as natives, pay ranch less than at any otlrer harbour 
 in Brazil. The province is fertile, and all things necessary to 
 life are extremely cheap. Nature brings forth every tiling with- 
 out much help from the activity and industry of man. Fruit, 
 of a great variety of sorts, is produced in ahnost inconceivable 
 profusion. Oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, pine-apples, 
 peaches, sweet melons, water melons, figs, cocoa and other 
 nuts, and grapes, abound all over the island. Turkish corn 
 is also grown, as well as rice and various sorts of pulse. Spa- 
 nish potatoes, convolvulus batatas, onions, yams, dioscorea alata, 
 and many other sorts of vegetables, are cultivated. Tapioca, 
 as it is called in Brazil, in other places mandioca, or cassava 
 root, jatropha manihoty is the principal food of a great part of 
 the inhabitants, and is eaten instead of bread. The finer parts 
 of the root make the tapioca, a true white sago, and this is 
 eaten by the higher classes ; the grosser parts, under the name 
 offarinha da pao^ are eaten by the poor. Corn and white bread 
 are only to be found among the very highest and richest of the 
 people. The earth-nuti arachis hi/pogwa, is also abundantly 
 
STAT AT SANTA CATHARI.VA. ||| 
 
 culttvated. At the time when this plant is in flower, the 
 pointal inclines towards the ground, by which means it receive* 
 its fructification. It is said to be now much cultivated in the 
 south of France. 
 
 The landed nroprietors almost invariably keep a great num- 
 ber of domestic animals, as oxen, horses, cows, hogs, ducks, 
 geese, turkeys, &c. , meut and poviltry are therefore to be had 
 at a very reasonable ^^rice. An ox, of at least four hundred 
 pounds weight, niay be ^^urchas u fortnight Spanish dollars ; are 
 excellent milch cow for twe)'"", or from tliat price to sixteen : 
 a fat hog of two hundred pounds for ' n dollars ; a good fowl 
 for the eighth of a dc'.ai. Muscles, c^iabs, shrimps, and fish- 
 of various sorts, might als<> be had in abundairr but they are 
 dear in proportion to other things. The inhabitants of tlie coast 
 in general fish for themselves, so that but little is brought to 
 market ; the negro slaves are the persons principally employed 
 to fish. A fine fertile property of some hundred acres of land, 
 well wooded, and with excellent pasture, may be bought for 
 three or four hundred Spanish dollars. Any one who is in pos- 
 session of such a property, and some good slaves, may be con- 
 sidered as a rich man, free from care, and he may live in abun-^ 
 dance upon ' products of it. The proper inhabitants of the 
 country are easily to be distinguished by their superior clean- 
 liness from the dirty Portuguese. The soldiers, the peasants, 
 and e^" u the poorest among the people, not only wear plenty 
 of good and clean linen, but the utmost neatness is to be ob- 
 served in their houses and household. 
 
 The greatest part of the government of Santa Catharina con-- 
 
 i/f. 
 
38 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 sists of coast-land, running not farther into the country than from 
 six to eijiht German miles. Even at the distance of one Ger- 
 man mile from the shore the lands begin to be thinly inhabited : 
 only scattered cottages are to be found at a considerable dis- 
 tance from each other. These people depend principally for 
 their support upon the rearing of cattle. They have innu- 
 merable herds of horned beasts, which range in immense pas- 
 tures, remaining there the whole year round without any care 
 being taken of them ; nor can each individual exactly ascer- 
 tain the number that properly belongs to him. These half- 
 wild animals are sold upon the spot at the low price of two 
 or three Spanish dollars ; they are bought in great numbers, 
 and brought to the town of Nossa Senhora do Desterro. 
 The greatest difficulty is to catch them : for this purpose, 
 many persons both on foot and on horseback endeavour to 
 surround an ox, and to throw over his horns or his foot a 
 cord with a noose in it. When thus caught, they play him 
 about for a while till he is wearied, and he is then thrown 
 to the ground : in this manner he is somewhat tamed, so that 
 he can at length be driven to the town. Yet the transport of 
 these beasts is attended with so much trouble, that the price 
 is doubled by the time they reach the place of their destina- 
 tion. 
 
 The inhabitants of the interior are not only the poorest 
 in the province, but they are subject, from time to time, to 
 inroads from the Indians, the aborigines of the country, who 
 are here called Gentio brava, wild men, or CaboccoJos. Du- 
 ring our stay, an occurrence of this kind took place, and the 
 governor was obliged to send a detachment of soldiers to the 
 
 i'l 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 39 
 
 assistance of the people. I understood, indeed, that such 
 occurrences were by no means rare. , 
 
 With regard to the climate, we did not find the heat so 
 insupportable as we had been led to expect. During the 
 months of December and January, which, in the southern 
 hemisphere, answer to our summer months, the usual height 
 of the thermometer in the shade was from twenty to twenty- 
 two degrees of Reaumur; the greatest heat was twenty-six. 
 The governor related, as an extraordinary circumstance, that 
 he had known the thermometer as low as ten degrees: this 
 is the greatest degree of cold ever felt. Scarcely a day 
 passes in the warm, season without rain and thunder storms 
 towards the evening. Winter, according to the account 
 of the inhabitants, is the most agreeable season of the year,, 
 and like a delightful spring, ., . 
 
 The air is constantly moist. The lofty chauis of mountains 
 being covered with an eternal green, attract the clouds, which 
 then descend into the vallies to refresh the plants and ani- 
 mals, and afford them nourishment, and to furnish supplies 
 to the springs, the brooks, and the rivers. The greater the 
 heat during the day, the more certainly may thunder and 
 rain be expected in the evening. The regular supply of 
 moisture, together with the great degree of warmth, may be 
 considered as the united causes of the excessive luxuriance 
 and variety that reign in the vegetable and animal kingdoms 
 here. The naturalist, however, finds great obstacles to his ob- 
 taining a good collection of objects of natural history, since 
 the beetles, the crabs, the butterflies, the locusts, the large 
 
'40 «TAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 spiders, wliich among us are dried very easily, are here 
 always disposed to rot, unless very great care be taken to dry 
 them in close places, where they are not at all exposed to the 
 humidity of the air. To my inexpressible concern, from igno- 
 rance of this circumstance, and not taking precautions against 
 it, I lost a great part of the plants which I had collected at the 
 beginning of my stay. Leaving them half-dried when I went 
 for some days upon a distant excursion into the interior of the 
 country, at my return most of them were completely mouldy. 
 The nights are particularly damp ; but it must be observed, 
 that this seems to have no ill effect upon the health of the in- 
 habitants. This government, except the northern part about 
 San Francisco, is considered as extremely healthy. In the 
 part above alluded to, the vapours arising from some very 
 extensive marshes and standing waters are extremely preju- 
 dicial. 
 
 The manners and customs of the country do not partake 
 much of those to be observed in Portugal : they vary from 
 them particularly in the different customs and modes of life 
 which a different climate and different natural productions ine- 
 vitably occasion. In such a climate as Santa Catharina very 
 little clothing is required , the women, therefore, seldom wear 
 more in the house than the under garment and a thin gown 
 over it. The former is of fine linen or cotton, with a handsome 
 worked border round the bottom ; they commonly also wear a 
 muslin handkerchief. In company, in the evening, the ladies 
 appear dressed very much in the European style, but orna- 
 mented with great quantities of ribband and tinsel : the greater 
 the variety of colours worn, the more elegantly dressed they 
 
 
«TAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 41 
 
 esteem themselves. The men are equally clothed almost 
 entirely in the European style. The negro slaves go nearly 
 -without clothing ; the men wear only a culotte, and the women 
 a short petticoat, with perhaps an old shift, or some rags 
 fastened upon the shoulder, and hanging down over the 
 breast. 
 
 The number of negro slaves of both sexes to be seen here 
 appears very singular to the eyes of an European unaccustomed 
 to such a spectacle. It gave me a wholly new and very revolt- 
 ing sensation, when I went for the first time to Nossa Senhora 
 do Desterro, and saw a number of these wretched helpless 
 beings lying almost naked about the streets for sale. It is well 
 known that a great number of negroes are brought every year 
 from the Portuguese settlements in Africa, particularly from 
 Angola, Benguella, Mozambique, &c. to Brazil. These poor 
 creatures are, like all other animals, rated in their value 
 according to whether they be old or young, healthy or 
 unhealthy, strong or feeble, of the male or female sex ; if they 
 have had the small-pox the price is exceedingly enhanced. 
 Although I have, even in these modern days, heard this 
 traffic defended by many respectable men, according to my 
 ideas, it must be one highly revolting to the refined feelings 
 of an European. During the transport from Africa, great 
 numbers fall victims to the small-pox, to putrid fevers, or 
 to their sickly longing for their own country : this produces 
 a fixed melancholy, which few who are stricken with it ever 
 survive. A young healtliy negro costs in Brazil from a hun« 
 dred to a hundred and fifty Spanish dollars. If he be accus- 
 tomed to labour, or understands any mechanical trade, or if 
 
M STAT AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 he can speak the Portuguese language, his price is much in- 
 creased : he is paid for, in short, according to the talents he 
 possesses. A number of such slaves forms a valuable capital 
 to the owner of them: for it must be observed, that what- 
 ever they can earn, whether by bodily labour, or me- 
 chanical employments, is not their own, it all reverts to their 
 master ; they are let out by him to work, as an European 
 would let out a horse, at a stated price, by the day or 
 week. 
 
 It is these miserable creatures who cultivate the land, and 
 do all the most laborious work of every kind. The wealth of 
 the inhabitants is principally estimated by the number of slaves . 
 that each one possesses. The latter may esteem themselves 
 happy when they fall into the hands of merciful and humane 
 masters ; but woe to those whose lot is cast under harsh and 
 severe ones: they are sometimes treated in the most brutal 
 manner. Among such it often happens that the desire of 
 liberty, so natural to the heart of man, leads them to run away 
 upon the first favourable opportunity presented ; they con- 
 ceal themselves among the mountains, preferring, infinitely, 
 the life they lead there, feeding upon herbs, fruits, roots, and 
 such animals as they can kill in the chase, to smarting under 
 the lash of a barbarous tyrant. Under such circumstances, 
 they often associate themselves with the Indians of the interior, 
 and serve them as guides when they make the inroads already 
 mentioned into the settlements of the Europeans. In some 
 few cases, the ill-treatment of the slaves has wrought them 
 up to such a pitch of fury, that they have become the mur- 
 derers of their masters. Such an instance occurred a short time 
 
STAT AT SANTA CATftARlNA. 4$ 
 
 before our arrival at Santa Catharina. As the coast of Brazil is 
 very thinly peopled, the annual increase of industrious slaves 
 would be a real acquisition to the country ; and the govern-^ 
 ment would therefore do wisely to pay great attention to having 
 them treated with humanity and kindness. 
 
 The products of the land, abundant and various as they are, 
 would prove an inexhaustible source of the richest commerce, 
 if trade were not embarrassed with many shackles. Every 
 other part of the colony is made subservient to Rio Janeiro, as 
 it is there alone that the inhabitants are allowed to sell their 
 commodities. Should this fine country become hereafter more 
 populous, and be less neglected by the government, it might, 
 from its superabundant natural riches, be made one of the most 
 important marts of commerce in Brazil. The cultivation of 
 cotton and coffee would produce immense gains. Rice and 
 sugar abound here, and yet there is a great want both of rum 
 and arrack. Indigo, pepper, vanilla, copaiva balsam*, and 
 various other objects, would grow without trouble. A number 
 of the finest sorts of wood for ship-building, and for making the 
 most costly household furniture, abound in the forests, and 
 would form very important articles of trade, if the exportation of 
 them were not prohibited. In the southern parts of the govern- 
 ment, namely, in Rio Grande, are to be found most of the 
 
 • The tree which yields the copaiva balsam, or balsam of tolii, copaifera officinalis^ 
 \t here called olco breto, or black olive. Tt abounds in (he forests, but very little use is 
 made of it. I was assured, that when the incision is made in the tree to procure (he balsam, 
 which is done only in the very hot summer months, a strong sound is heard, and the sap 
 ox balsam rushes out in a stream, as when a vein is opened in the human arm. 
 
 g2 
 
i§- STAT AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 piquets of the milder parts of Europe: vines, for instance^ 
 in abundance; but scarcely any persons concern themselves 
 with the cultivation of them. 
 
 >■' '!•!.• 
 
 ■.i;»u.|> 
 
 Whoever is accurately acquainted with the nature of the 
 Portuguese government, must be surprised, in an establishment 
 where so much affluence reigns, to find so few ecclesiastics. 
 Permission has often been asked of the Court to build a convent 
 here; but the present governor, Don Joachim Xavier Curado, 
 has upon every such application strenuously opposed it, for 
 the very wise reason, that the monks, not contributing to the 
 population of the country, would prove in reality an obstacle 
 to its increasing in wealth and prosperity. Such an instance had 
 occurred only a short time before our arrival. 
 
 Of the peculiar customs and manners which I observed during 
 my stay at Santa Catharina, I will endeavour now to give some 
 idea. The inhabitants very often drink a tea, or an infusion 
 from the leaves of a plant known here by the name of herba do 
 matio, the galium moUugo of Linnaeus : this is as general here as 
 tea or coffee in most European countries. I could not procure 
 the plant which produces these leaves*; it does not grow in 
 the island of Santa Catharina, but is brought from the most 
 northern parts of the government, about San Francisco : the 
 leaves are transported hither in a long kind of baskets, which 
 hold from two to three pounds each. When they are to be 
 used, hot lyater is poured upon them ; the liquor is then SAveetened 
 
 * To judge by the textur« of the leavei, it appears to be an ilex; perhaps somewhat 
 TCicmbling the ilex vomitoriaf or Paraguay tea. 
 
STAT AT SANTA CATHARINA. ^ 
 
 with sugar, and served to the guests. In order that none of th« 
 leaves may come into the mouth, a little pipe is used, about six 
 inches long, and as thick as the shaft of a- tobacco-pipe, through 
 which the liquor is drawn up. Among the poorer class, the 
 shell of a cocoa-nut, o» of a species of gourd, probably the 
 cucurbita siceraria, is commonly used as a cup : sometimes, 
 however, a sort of cups are made of burnt clay, which are pre- 
 sented with a napkin ; the latter is made a part of the appurte- 
 nances, that the hand may not be molested by the heat of the cup. 
 Among rich people may be seen cocoa-nuts, finely carved and 
 lackered, while others have both the cup and the pipe of silver, 
 the workmanship of which is very neat, and instead of a napkin, 
 a saucer of the same metal. I was informed that the use of this 
 tea was introduced from the Spanish possessions, and that the 
 drinking it had been for a long time an universal, custom. 
 
 .; #^ ;'.'«'s:rr!:'j j ' 
 
 '' J 
 
 Instead of fire-arms, the people of Santa Catharina make use 
 of a sort of bow, but they do not shoot with arrows. Some- 
 times they use small pebbles, sometimes balls made of hard 
 clay. It ia surprising to see with how much dexterity even 
 boys will use this weapon: they kill at a considerable distance, 
 with as much certainty as an European with his musket. Nor 
 is this merely a sport of youth to bring down small birds : I 
 have been assured that the aim is taken with so much cer- 
 tainty, that as many, even large bii'ds,.are brought home as they 
 carry out clay balls with them. This account appeared to 
 me so much the more credible, as I had in my excursions often 
 taken a youth with me as a guide, who used his bow with ex- 
 traordinary dexterity : and I once saw a boy only ten years old 
 take his aim at a butterfly which was perched upon a flower. 
 
 . 3> 
 
46 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 and blow the creature entirely to pieces. I observed another 
 shoot a particular orange which was pointed out to him from 
 the bough of the tree; and I repeatedly saw them destroy 
 the little colibris as they were hovering about the blossoms. 
 As a good gun from Europe is in Brazil a very dear and 
 costly weapon, and as powder can often not be procured at 
 any price, the manner of shooting here described is so much 
 the more valuable. For natural history, and particularly for 
 subjects of ornithology, it is particularly desirable, as all birds, 
 not excepting the smallest colibri, that I saw dispatched by it, 
 were not in any way shattered : they were killed merely by the 
 force of the blow received from the ball. 
 
 Another universal custom is to wash the feet with warm 
 water every night before going to bed. All persons of both 
 sexes, from the wealthiest land-proprietor to the lowest slave, 
 those that inhabit the most splendid mansions, as well as those 
 who live in the poorest cottages, observe this custom, only with 
 the difference, that the feet of the masters and their guests are 
 first washed by the slaves, and then the latter wash their own. 
 The principal reason of this universal custom arises from the 
 general practice among the poorer classes of going barefoot. 
 The day-labourers, and slaves who return home from their daily 
 labours, weary, and covered with dust and sweat, find it infinitely 
 reviving and refreshing: it besides is the most effectual pre- 
 ventive of the bad effects which might arise from the noxious 
 insects that get under the skin. The pulex penetrans, for ex- 
 ample, among negligent and careless people, going barefooted, 
 will burrow almost into the flesh, and finish by occasioning sores 
 of a very painful and pernicious kind. In the townofNossa 
 
STAT At SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 4^ 
 
 Senhora do Desterro, we were much struck by seeing persons 
 of the highest classes with ven long nails, particularly upon 
 the thumb : this was considered as i\ great ornament. Here, as 
 in many places in the East Indies, it is regarded as a mark of 
 distinction to have long nails, since it is a certain sign that the 
 hands cannot be employed in hard labour. , 
 
 In our European towns we go in splendid equipages to make 
 visits of great ceremony, or to attend a wedding or christening. 
 In this little town of the new world, on such occasion a sort of 
 sedan chair is used, called cadeirinhas, in which the rich are 
 drawn in state by their negro slaves. They are not like our 
 sedan chairs, closed up with doors and glass windows, but rather 
 resemble an easy chair with a high back : they have a canopy, 
 round which is a curtain of scarlet cloth richly bordered with 
 gold fringe, and the whole, when the curtain is open, has very 
 much the appearance of a king's throne. 
 
 We had the satisfaction of solemnizing here the festival of the 
 New Year, and of participating in the pleasures which on this 
 occasion are allowed by the state. Nor was it a slight satis- 
 faction to see the poor negro slaves, who are kept so strictly to 
 work the whole year round, at this period allowed some days of 
 freedom, when they could seek their enjoyments after their own 
 fashion, and indulge in those national dances which are to thera 
 so great a source of delight. Although the best description of 
 these characteristic performances can be but imperfect, yet 
 will I endeavour to give some idea of them in the best manner 
 I am able. 
 
 '% 
 
48 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 Commonly the slaves rush into the street with great noise 
 and impetuosity ; but at this time it rainedjso hard that they 
 were constrained to solemnize their bacchanalian rites in cot- 
 tages ur public-houses. It was easy to discover where a ball was 
 going forwards, for the music, and the shouts of the dancers, might 
 be heard to a considerable distance. I say music, although no- 
 thing like any of our European wind or stringed instruments 
 was to be heard, not even a bagpipe. A monotonous cry, a 
 wild, noisy, yet measured kind of drumming, a sound like that 
 of hammering copper, a clapping of hands, distinguished the 
 place of assembly. In entering this seat of rejoicing, the not 
 very agreeable smell of so many negroes, shut up together in a 
 very confined space, heated with the exertions of dancing and 
 leaping, was sufficient to satisfy the curiosity of many, or rather 
 to frighten it entirely away. Mine was not so easily subdued : 
 the desire of seeing in South America a dance performed by 
 the swarthy natives of Africa, was superior to any repulsion 
 arising from the above-mentioned circumstance. 
 
 The king, or leader of the dance, was to be distinguished im- 
 mediately from the rest by his greater height and more athletic 
 form. He stood like a hero in the midst of his followers, who 
 were all collected in a circle round him. Instead of the helmet 
 of steel, his head was ornamented with gold paper and feathers : 
 instead of the iron breast-plate, his body glittered with bits of 
 glass, gold fringe, and spangles: suns, and stars of gold and 
 silver paper, appeared above all others the favourite ornament. 
 In his left hand he held a reed about two feet long, in which 
 were a great many notches pretty close to each other: on this 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATHABINA. ]|| 
 
 he scraped continually with a little stick which he held in 
 his riirht-hand. The rest of the dancers had either like sticks, 
 rattles, or little bells, any thing, in short, that would make 
 a clattering and noise. Instead of musicians, some of the 
 negroes sat in a corner of the room upon the ground, and 
 struck with their hands upon an ox-hide, which was stretched 
 over the hollow trunk of a tree, serving as a drum. The whole 
 company were ornamented with feathers and ribbands, and 
 wore diadems of gold paper. The faces of some were covered 
 with masks, those of the rest were smeared over in a frightful 
 and horrible manner, with red, white, and other colours. 
 
 Both negroes and negresses having formed a circle round the 
 king, afterwards began, first one, then another, according to 
 the degree of agility they possessed, to come forwards in the 
 circle as solo-dancers, when they made the strangest gestures 
 that can well hs conceived ; the rest sung, or screamed some 
 incomprehensible African soi^gs* They drew the hip and ankle- 
 bone with incredible celerity into a circle horizontally, while 
 the upper part of the body remained almost motionless, seem- 
 ing, as it were, to balance themselves upon the lower part; 
 the neck, the shoulders, and the back, were equally shaken 
 with such celerity, that they seemed to have every joint and 
 muscle about them perfectly at command. The greatest 
 dexterity was shewn by a half-naked negress, who united with 
 the most rapid movement of the hips a very exactly mea- 
 sured and equally rapid motion of the feet. Tlie distortions of 
 the countenance, the swelling out of the cheeks, and other 
 hideous gestures, seemed to constitute, according to the ideas 
 of these people, the perfection of the performances. After 
 
 H 
 
50 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 awhile, the sweat arising from their exertions mixing itself 
 with tiie dyes that smeared the swarthy bodies of the dancers, 
 and ninning down together, occasioned a variety of shadings 
 truly ludicrous, and more easily conceived than described. 
 
 The principal object of these dances consists in representing 
 the common occupations of life, as fishing, hunting, fighting^ 
 &c. ; and they are represented with so much fidelity, that our 
 European ballet-dancers might here learn lessons of expression. 
 When we consider the natural warmth of the climate, united 
 with the artificial warmth of so many people shut up together in 
 a confined space, and both combined with that arising from the 
 violence of their exertions, one cannot be enough astonished to 
 see for what a length of time together the dancing is con- 
 tinued. 
 
 In the night before the feast of Epiphany, it is the custom 
 for lovers to serenade their beloved, and friends to serenade 
 each other. We had not been previously apprised of this 
 custom, and were not a little astonished at being waked in 
 the middle of the night with a sweet and melodious song, 
 accompanied by flutes and guitars. The effect of this soul- 
 enchanting art, particularly in the middle of the night, must 
 be well known to all who hav6 experienced it, and they will 
 easily conceive the pleasing impression made upon us by the 
 charms of these soft tones on our yet but half-awakened 
 senses. On the following morning we learnt that this was 
 intended as a mark of friendship and good-will, as a token how 
 much we had acquired, during our short stay, the esteem and 
 respect of the inhabitants. 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 5r 
 
 I was no less surprised than rejoiced to learn from the 
 governor, that there was a person in tlie country wlio had for 
 several years occupied himself exceedingly in collecting insects. 
 Anxious to avail myself of a circumstance which might prove 
 of so much advantage to me in my own pursuits, I immediately 
 intreated his Excellency to introduce me to the acquaintance of 
 this brother collector. But here a difficulty arose, as he did 
 not live in the island, but upon the continent, at the distance 
 of a full German mile, and the governor was not very well 
 acquainted with the precise place of his abode. He, however, 
 very obligingly took great pains to inquire him out, and I 
 had soon the pleasure of a visit from him. My first business 
 was to intreat him to point out to me the parts where I might 
 obtain the richest harvest for my collection, and to solicit 
 permission to accompany him in some of his excursions; both 
 which requests he complied with in the most obliging manner. 
 
 The very same day, at his invitation, I quitted Nossa 
 Senhora do Desterro, to accompany him to his own habitation 
 on the continent, which we reached at five o'clock in the 
 evening *. It was a small house, situated in a most charming 
 and fertile landscape, about a hundred paces from the shore. A 
 considerable tract of land belonging to him afforded ample 
 means of providing for the wants of himself and his family. 
 Three slaves, eight cows, a number of swine, fowls, ducks, and 
 turkies, constituted his household, the guard of which was 
 
 * For the information of futqr* traTelieri, it nsy not be amin to g'ire the name and 
 addreis of this worthy man. Senhor Matheot Lardoto Caldeiro, nos carrieros Freguesia 
 Sao Jot9f Govirno d« JIha Sanf Catharina, 
 
 II 2 
 
53 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 delegated to several very fine and watchful dogs. His wife, an 
 industrious active woman, and very well instructed in all the 
 departments of domestic management, kept a school for girls, 
 and liad a house full of young pupils. At my, entrance, I found 
 them all at their respective employments ; some were spinning, 
 others sewing, others knitting, others learning to read and 
 spell ; such a general appearance of order and industry, in 
 short, reigned among them, that it made the most pleasing 
 and interesting impression upon me, and gave me the highest 
 opinion of my new hostess. 
 
 She received me in a very hospitable and friendly manner 
 ac(,ording to the customs of the country, and to her own con- 
 fined means. Two daughters, already grown up, who seemed, 
 for their situation, to have been extremely well educated, sung, 
 at the conclusion of the day's work, upon my request, some 
 very pleasing and expressive airs ; and as they could not play 
 upoa any janusical instrument, a?ccompanied their singing in 
 a very peculiar manner. They had in their hands a bivalve 
 shell, in which was inclosed a small pebble, which they shook 
 in a regular manner, so as to mark the time : it resembled 
 somewhat the Spanish castagnettes, and produced by no means 
 an unpleasing effect.. 
 
 This agreeable entertainment concluded, they both absented 
 themselves awhile, and at their return brought me, the one 
 figs, the other flowers, which they had gathered in their own 
 garden. Their whole demeanour was replete with rural inno- 
 cence and kindness. It was a fine moonlight evening, and the 
 good father proposed a walk upon the sea-shore, which I 
 
STAV at SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 53 
 
 accepted with the greater pleasure, as we were ta be accom- 
 panied by the two daughters. 
 
 At our return, we found an excellent supper set out, 
 which the good mother had been in the mean time preparing. 
 The bananas " were dressed in a way wholly new to me, 
 and which I thought particularly good. This fruit, the musa 
 sapientum of Linnaeus, may be eaten the whole year through. 
 It is, in truth, one of the most benevolent presents of nature, 
 furnishing a grateful, healthy, and nourishing food ; the fla- 
 vour may be best likened to a mixture of flour, sugar, but- 
 ter, and eggsi The fruit is eaten either raw, or boiled in 
 water only, or roasted in butter; dressed in the latter way, 
 it resembles very much an omelette or a pancake. The 
 evening was passed very pleasantly, and our grand excursion 
 was fixed to take place early on the following morning. 
 
 Before I went to bed, a slave brought me, according to 
 the custom mentioned above, a warm foot-bath, when he 
 washed, rubbed, and wiped my feet so softly, so gently, that 
 I must freely own I thought it a most refreshing, and grateful 
 ceremony. I have ever since found the same practice the 
 greatest refreshment possible when I have been fatigued. I 
 could not help thinking of the deceased Forster as I was 
 going through this operation. He says, that the best remedy 
 he ever found for reviving his wearied muscles, and restoring 
 them to their elasticity, was, when the daughter of his host, 
 who excelled all the beauties of Otaheite in the clearness of 
 her complexion and the regularity of her features, rubbed his 
 arms and legs gently with her delicate hands, and pressed the 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 muscles softly between her fingers*. I must confess, that 
 whatever pleasure I received from the friction by the negro 
 slave, I should have felt ten times greater, if, instead of him, 
 the daughter of my host would have condescended to be my 
 attendant. The effect of this operation is indeed not very 
 ditjferent from that of animal magnetism. 
 
 On the following morning, at day-break, after an excellent 
 "breakfast of bananas and milk, which I preferred to coffee, 
 we set out upon our excursion. It was never extended more 
 than a German mile from the house ; and a little before even- 
 ing we returned richly laden with butterflies and other insects. 
 I, for my part, took every thing that came in my way, and 
 filled four middling-sized boxes, which were carried by a boy 
 whom I had taken with me for the purpose, with the most 
 beautiful, and to me very rare objects. My conductor brought 
 home only one box full, he being much more select as to what 
 he caught than myself. After I had refreshed myself with a 
 very hearty and excellent meal, I expressed a wish to return 
 the same evening to Nossa Senhora do Desterro, as I had no 
 more boxes with me for farther excursions. My friendly host 
 immediately sent fo** one of his slaves, and ordered his own 
 boat to carry me over ; he, indeed, accompanied me himself 
 to the island, though purely out of politeness, as he had no 
 real business there. 
 
 In some of our future excursions together, he carried me to 
 the hill of Sertao das Picadas, and to the stream of Ribeirao, 
 
 * Sec the account of a Toyage of JiscOTery to the South Sea by Captaia George Foiitex. 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 55 
 
 about two German miles and a half inland. These my con- 
 ductor assured me were the principal places for finding large 
 and rare butterflies ; and here we collected, among others, the 
 adonis crameri, epi»trophus weberi, heknoris crameri, lysimnia, 
 februa hqffmanseggi, thoas, archidamas, and many others equally 
 uncommon and beautiful . 
 
 
 We always set out at day-break. A Portuguese boy, whom 
 I hired for the purpose, carried the boxes and the necessary 
 refreshments ; and I had my nets, my needles for fastening the 
 insects when caught, botanizing boxes, knives, and other tools. 
 At every step I took, as I left behind me the sea-coast already 
 so well explored, and which I thought had yielded me so rich 
 a harvest, and approached the forests, as yet unknown to me, I 
 was in still greater astonishment, and could not contemplate 
 with sufficient transport the new and charming objects which 
 were at every moment presented. 
 
 Transported, enraptured with the beauties of nature, often 
 did I stop to enjoy them a few moments longer. My conductor 
 could not comprehend how I could feel so much delight at con- 
 templating objects with which he had been too long familiarized 
 to experience any thing like corresponduig sensations. The 
 admiration I expressed at the variety and stature of the gigan- 
 tic stems with crowns of flowers upon their 'leads, at the fra- 
 grance of the atmosphere, at the new forms and colours of the 
 fungi, at the size and extraordinary variety of the ferns*, at 
 
 * Sec •' Planter recMillies pendant le Voyage dcs Russes autoiir du monde par 
 Langsdorf ct Fischer." Tubingen, clioa Cotta, 1810. Fol. arcc d«s figures. 
 
86 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 every object, in short, that I beheld around me, excited more 
 astonishment in him than the things themselves. Instead of 
 cocoa and banana trees, of coffee, sugar, rice, and cotton- 
 plants : instead of fields of tapioca and earth-nuts, the sight of 
 wliich had so often enchained me on the sea-shore, my eye now 
 endeavoured to pierce through dark, shady, and almost impene- 
 trable forests. Here were olives, fig-trees, the cedrus odorata or 
 mahogany tree, beroba, garabisi, garaberi, garaxuba, garabrura*, 
 and others, all with the thickest, liighest, and most upright 
 stems, with the most luxuriant foliage, and with their branches 
 covered with fruit or flowers ; it seemed impossible sufficiently 
 to admire them. Nor was I less delighted with the infinite 
 variety of climbing plants which wound about these superb 
 trees nearly to their summits, forming the finest natural gar- 
 lands. 
 
 Bountiful nature, who bere far exceeds all ideas ever con- 
 ceived of her fertility, of the brilliance of colouring and beauty 
 of form among her productions, of her delights and riches, has 
 animated these forests with an endless variety of living crea- 
 tures. Wild beasts, birds, insects, and reptiles, which we 
 Europeans seldom see even in large collections of natural his- 
 
 * I cannot insert more than the names of these, for to hare obtained the leave* 
 or flowers, the tree itself must have been cut down. A botanist who would stay 
 here, not days or weeks, but years, and go upon his excursions with an axe and 
 bill, would be richly rewarded by the discovery of many new genera and species in 
 the vegetable kingdom. 
 
 The Translator is obliged to give the fire latter names as they stand in the ori- 
 giniil, not being able to find them in any iictionary, so as to insert them under either the 
 li)n^lish or botanical names. 
 
 K 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 57 
 
 tory, either stuffed or preserved in spirits, are here presented 
 to -the eye at every moment in living forms. I have seen on 
 one side parrots of various sizes and colours flying about with 
 loud and discordant screams, while on the other the large- 
 beaked toucan ramphastos, unsuspicious of any treachery, 
 was eating the fruit of a neighbouring tree wholly unknown 
 to me. Deeper in the forest, I heard the cries of monkies, and 
 at my feet were holes of the armadillo. Here a brisk butterfly, 
 as large as a bird, fluttered from flower to flower : there a lovely 
 colibri sucked the honey from the odoriferous blossoms. The 
 venomed snake, gliding along the narrow foot-way, terrified 
 the wanderer, and made him half insensible to the heavenly 
 harmony of thousands of singing birds, whose notes were cal- 
 culated at once to charm the ear, and enliven the heart. 
 
 Among such transporting pictures, which seemed almost 
 like the illusions of a dream, did we one day wander till 
 we came to the ridge of a steep hill composed of a moist and 
 red argillaceous earth, when suddenly I was surprised anew 
 by seeing a fine and extensive valley spread before me. We now 
 exchanged the cool shade of the forest for an open region, 
 where we were constantly exposed to the burning rays of the 
 sun : along this we had proceeded some way, when we found the 
 stomach begin to be very importunate for a share of our atten- 
 tion. In our route hitherto, which exceeded a German mile, 
 we had met with only a single miserable house ; so miserable 
 that it could not even furnish us with a little milk. Farther 
 in the valley, at about ten o'clock in the morning, we came 
 to another small hut or cottage. It was not provided with any 
 of the dainties of an European kitchen, but we found an 
 
58 STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 excellent water-melon, wliich the good people gave us very 
 freely, though it was the only one in the house : they besLtles 
 set before us a gourd-shell full of tapioca-ineal. The rest of 
 our repast was made out with bread and a glass of brandy, both 
 of whicli we had providently brought with us. Our hosts 
 would not accept any payment, but we presented them with 
 some bread, which seemed very acceptable, as it is a thing 
 the common people of this country seldom taste. 
 
 Exceedingly refreshed, we proceeded on our walk, pene- 
 trating still farther and farther into the valley. We had' 
 already reached the bound of our that day's excursion, the 
 river Ribeirao, when my conductor desired me to lake off 
 my boots and stockings, and follow him. Though this proposal 
 did not please me very much, principally because I had the 
 jdea of venomous serpents fresh in my mind, jet no choice was 
 left me but to comply, or leave my curiosity unsatisfied ; for 
 the only possible means of penetrating into the thickest part of 
 the forest was by following the .sii« am in its course through )!:. 
 The boots and stockings were accordingly Ui'tn oif and left 
 upon a bush, and we waded along up to the knees in the crys- 
 talline flood. We had scarcely proceeded ten steps, when we 
 were surrovmdea by an indescribable number of beautiful 
 butterflies, and my conductor had sufficitat employment in 
 sticking 1 11 t\v^. I caught. As it was not, however, our pur- 
 pose to jndertake this walk merely ♦<:« obtain what might 
 equally n.ve been procured upon the sea-coast, we rather 
 reserved ourselves for the more important objects we aad in 
 view; ant!, like the huntsman, who watches for the game in 
 the snare, waited at a little distance frona each other with ouv 
 
 •i'H 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 51» 
 
 net spread, the arrival of the more rare and costly game of 
 which we were in search. It was not long before the beautiful 
 adonis and epistrophus weberi appeared. The first rose high 
 into the air with a rapid flight, its glittering wings shining in 
 the distance like some brilliant metal ; the second, with a proud 
 and majestic air, as if mocking the levity of the other, bent its 
 slow course solemnly over the stream. The sun fell with 
 almost perp ndicular rays upon our heads, while our feet 
 were one moment plunged in the cool water of the river, then 
 in the hot puddles of the surrounding bog. 
 
 n 
 
 My conductor being better accustomed to this sort of 
 insect hunting than myself, seemed to prosecute it without 
 feeling the least inconvenience ; but for my part, after remain- 
 ing here for some hours, my feet, from having been so long 
 naked, sometimes in the cool water, at others in the burning 
 puddles, began to smart and turn red as if they had been 
 scalded, nay, even to swell. We had come in the intention 
 of staying in this spot, so rich in the objects we sought, till the 
 following day ; but this idea I wa^ now constrained to aban- 
 don, lest on the following day I should not be able to stir. 
 We therefore set out on our return, and notwithstandins' the 
 constantly increasing swelling of my feet, reached the dwelling 
 of my host late in the evening, exceedingly fatigued, but 
 richly rewarded in the number, the beauty, and variety of the 
 new objects we brought away with us. Indeed, I had good 
 reason to consider this as one of the most delightful and most 
 memorable days of my stay in Brazil. 
 
 In all my excursions I found the people of the country 
 
 i3 
 
60 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATIIAllINA. 
 
 truly hospitable and obliging. Wherever I presented myself, 
 the family were eager to produce all which their little stores 
 could furnish to satisfy my hunger. Sometimes I pro- 
 cured a fowl, some eggs, milk, fish, or bananas, oranges, and 
 water-melons ; at other times I was obliged to be contented 
 with tapioca or dried beans. In the latter case, however, 
 though the fare was not sumptuous, I found the truth of the 
 old saying, that a good appetite is the best sauce. 
 
 As in this season of the year scarcely a day passes without 
 rain, it sometimes happened that I was obliged to seek 
 shelter from that and the thunder in the first cottage I could 
 find ; and being not unfrequently wet through before I could 
 reach any place of shelter, the good people always pressed 
 me, unasked on my part, to accept dry linen, and were assi- 
 duous in wiping and washing any part of my dress that had 
 been dirtied. If occasionally I could not reach the ship, or my 
 dwelling in the town, before night, they were always ready to 
 give me a night's lodging, such as their situation would afford ; 
 and if it generally was but ordinary, it was always clean. The 
 bed was commonly nothing moic than one or two thin straw mats 
 spread upon the ground; but there were always clean sheets and 
 a soft pillow : a light cotton covering completed the furniture. 
 However hard and inconvenient such a bed appeared at first, I 
 soon grew accustomed to it, and learnt an useful lesson how 
 little is necessary to satisfy the real wants of man, and how 
 tender he is made by a high degree of what we call cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 The same straw mats that serve for the bed, or similar 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATIIARLVA. 
 
 61 
 
 ones, are spread at dinner by way of table ; they are co- 
 vered with a cloti). The whole family lie down round the 
 mat, the men stretched at full length, resting one arm on a 
 little pillow ; but the women, after the oriental fashion, with 
 their feet crossed one over the other, in the way that tailors sit 
 among us. The use of chairs is almost as little known in the 
 country as that of tables. 
 
 I have already mentioned the tapioca, or mandioca root, 
 which the common people use instead of bread, and will here 
 therefore only mention the manner in which it is eaten. The 
 shell of a small gourd cut in halves and dried, full of this 
 tapioca meal, is brought upon the table, with some wooden 
 spoons, while, by way of bread, some of the dried root is 
 eaten with it, or perhaps mixed into the dish ; each person 
 dips his spoon in, and eats as much as he likes. I was exceed- 
 ingly struck with seeing a lady of consequence at Nossa Sen- 
 hora do Desterro take some of this tapioca-meal at dinner, 
 and after mixing it with her other food, eat the mixture with 
 her fingers, without seeming to think that she had done any 
 thing improper or unbecoming. In consequence of this custom 
 of eating M'ith the fingers, it is a constant practice to bring water 
 to wash the hands and mouth at the conclusion of dinner. 
 This is done even in the poorest and meanest houses; and 
 equally, when, instead of eating with the fingers, nothing but 
 the spoon has been used during the whole meal. 
 
 The houses of the land cultivators are small, but convenient, 
 and generally placed in fine situations. The interior usually 
 consists of a sitthig room, one or two chambers, and a kitchen. 
 
61 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATIIARIXA. 
 
 The latter is soiuetiiut's in a separate luiildiug with a chaiul)er 
 over it, appropriated to the negro slaves. Atnoiig the richer 
 cultivators, the principal room has a boarded lloor, but this is 
 not the ( Mse with the poorer ; few are covered with tiles ; the 
 greater part are only thatched, as it were, with palm-leaves, from 
 a sort of palm probably not yet known to us. Villages, as 
 among Europeans, there are i^w, or rather none : the houses 
 are scattered singly over the country, some at a greal^a-, some 
 at a less distance from each other. Every land proprietor has 
 his possessions immediately round his house. Most of the 
 dwellings lie near the sea-coast, and are surrounded with 
 orange-tices, coffee, baimna, and cotton plants. In the neigh- 
 bourhood of each house is commonly to be seen a crystal foun- 
 tain under the shade of an orange-tree. 
 
 The little boats hollowed from the trunk of a single tree, 
 which are used by the inhabitants for fishing, and for their 
 intercourse with the continent, are commonly from twenty-four 
 to thirty-two feet long, and about three feet broad. They lie 
 along the siiore, not shut up or watched, only drawn under a 
 sort of sheds, to keep them from the rain and the burning sun. 
 Every where I observed among the people simplicity, con- 
 fidence, and hospitality. They are seldom devoted to one 
 particular branch of mechanical occupation, but, as true cosmo- 
 polites, understand a little of all, and each one practises the dif- 
 ferent mechanical arts for himself, as far as he has occasion 
 for them. He is his own butcher, carpenter, joiner, tailor, 
 fisherman, huntsman, &c. &c. ; many are, among other things, 
 weavers. 
 
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 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 873.4503 
 
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STAT AT SANTA CATHARFNA. 
 
 «a 
 
 As to what concerns the arts, knowledge, and the public 
 institutions, not much is to be expected. The tools for 
 mechanical works, the implements of husbandry, the house« 
 hold furniture and utensils, are poor and inconvenient. Pos- 
 sibly the government may intentionally prevent the people 
 becoming much enlightened, lest they should in the end grow 
 too well aware of their own power, and bidding defiance to the 
 little kingdom of Portugal, shake off their yoke entirely. 
 
 If any individual of greater activity and ingenuity than the 
 rest endeavours to distinguish himself by the introduction of 
 new objects of industry and wealth, instead of being sup* 
 ported by the higher powers, he always finds them throwing 
 obstacles in his way. Such was particularly the case with a man, 
 who sometime since endeavoured to establish a manufactory 
 of indigo, and for this purpose had procured a quantity of the 
 plants ; but for want of support from the government, he was 
 obliged, in the end, to abandon the scheme. The manner of 
 making brandy, and the apparatuses for distilling, must be very 
 imperfect : the latter I did not see, but I judge from the very 
 indifferent quality of the rum. I do not know that the islan* 
 ders ever attempt making arrack from their rice, but it is cer- 
 tain that they might have both rum and arrack of a very supe- 
 rior quality, and in abundance, for exportation. Instead of 
 this, brandy is even brought hither from Lisbon, and under the 
 name of aqua ardente do reino, sold very dear. 
 
 iFor separating the cotton wool from the seeds, a very incon- 
 venient machine is used, consisting of two cylinders working 
 against each otber, and which require two people every time to 
 
 # 
 
■I* 
 
 \. 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 99 
 
 As to what concerns the arts, knowledge, and the public 
 institutions, not much is to be expected. The tools for 
 mechanical works, the implements of husbandry, the house- 
 hold furniture and utensils, are poor and inconvenient. Pos- 
 sibly the government may intentionally prevent the people 
 becoming much enlightened, lest they should in the end grow 
 too well aware of their own power, and bidding defiance to the 
 little kingdom of Portugal, shake off their yoke entirely. 
 
 If any individual of greater activity and ingenuity than the 
 rest endeavours to distinguish himself by the introduction of 
 new objects of industry and wealth, instead of being sup- 
 ported by the higher powers, he always finds them throwing 
 obstacles in his way. Such was particularly the case with a man, 
 who sometime since endeavoured to establish a manufactory 
 of indigo, and for this purpose had procured a quantity of the 
 plants ; but for want of support from the government, he wa« 
 obliged, in the end, to abandon the scheme. The manner of 
 making brandy, and the apparatuses for distilling, must be very 
 imperfect : the latter I did not see, but I judge from the very 
 indifferent quality of the nini. I do not know that the islan- 
 ders ever attempt making arrack from their rice, but it is cer- 
 tain that they might have both rum and arrack of a very supe- 
 rior quality, and in abundance, for exportation. Instead of 
 this, brandy is even brought hither from Lisbon, and under the 
 name of aqua ardente do reino, sold very dear. 
 
 P 
 
 — Tor separating the cotton wool from the seeds, a very incon- 
 venient machine is used, consisting of two cylinders working 
 against each otber, and which require two people every time to 
 
C4 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 move thein. The looms for weaving are quite in their infancy* 
 and the mills are very defective. Yet among so many indif- 
 ferent objects, I must not omit to observe, that I saw some ex- 
 cellent pottery manufactured at Nossa Senhora do Desterro. A 
 fine red and black argillaceous earth, both of which abound in 
 the country, are used for this manufactory, and the different 
 articles are so well made tliat they are even exported to Rio 
 Janeiro, and llio Grande. There is also a very good tile 
 manufactory. Concerning the sugar-boiling I could not obtain 
 any particular information. 
 
 ■^-'- ■' '.■'■ ^" - , ■ -I 
 
 The whale-fishery, however, and the manufactory of train- 
 oil, in this government, deserve to be especially mentioned. 
 This branch of industry was formerly carried on by a company 
 to whom it was farmed out, and was very profitable ; but for 
 some years past the administration have taken it into their own 
 hands. Perhaps the farmers, from the diminution in the number 
 of fish taken every year, found it, latterly, not a sufficiently 
 advantageous speculation ; or more probably the government, 
 by restraining the fishery, hoped to increase their gains. Be 
 this as it may, the whale-fishery, even as it is now carried on, 
 and the manufactory of train-oil, form a very considerable 
 branch of the national industry, and support some thousands 
 of souls, particularly the negro slaves. 
 
 The regulations for the fisheries are as follows. That of Villa- 
 Nova has its warehouses in the parish of Villa-Nova ; that of 
 the island has its warehouses on the south-east side of Santa 
 Catharina; that of the Entrada has the warehouses at the 
 northern entrance of the Strait, and that of Rio do Gravato, has 
 
»^ 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. ^. 
 
 warehouses upon the same river. The warehouses of the Eu- 
 trada, at the north-west point of the island, being the nearest 
 to us, I took an opportunity of visiting them, accompanied by 
 some others of our party. In the last winter, that of 1803, no more 
 than ten of the spermaceti whales, physeter macrocephalus^ were 
 caught: and the overseer assured me that this was the only 
 sort of whale ever taken here. The largest, according to his 
 account, do not exceed thirty-five feet in length ; the generality 
 run about twenty-four feet ...„..>,,. 
 
 The fishery is extremely well regulated. Two or three boats 
 go out in the morning, and return back in the evening. They 
 never run farther than the island of Alvoredo: the whales 
 sometimes come even into the Strait. At the commencement 
 of this institution, four hundred fish were not unfrequently taken 
 in a winter: the greatest number ever known to have been 
 caught in one season was five hundred. When we consider the 
 produce of so large a number, some idea may easily be formed 
 of the quantity of vessels, of furnaces, and other things neces- 
 sary for the manufactory, that must have been provided here. 
 The profits of a manufactory, which had taken five hundred 
 whales, might be estimated at three hundred and forty-six thou- 
 sand rix-dollars, clear gain. The quantity of fish taken, however, 
 and consequently the profits, decrease every year: this has 
 been more especially the case since the English, and the spe- 
 culative heads in the United States of America, have begun to 
 pursue the fishery in these parts, particularly in the neighbour- 
 hood of Falkland's Islands. But perhaps the principal reason 
 for the decrease of the whale-fishery is, the government having 
 taken it into their hands. Every one knows with how much 
 
w 
 
 66 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 assiduity individuals will seek their own emolument, and wite 
 what negligence the very same objects are pursued if the 
 direction of them, in behalf of the public, is consigned to 
 men who have no eventual interest in the concern but being 
 well paid, think much more about receiving their stipends 
 than of advancing the prosperity of the undertaking. Besides 
 the warehouses above-mentioned, there are others on the more 
 southern parts of the coast of Brazil, about Rio Grande, but 
 the number of them I could not exactly ascertain. > • 
 
 Vy- 
 
 If I only subjoin a few cursory medical observations, it must 
 be understood that I do not offer my remarks in general as 
 any thing more than cursory and detached ones. No person of 
 candour and judgment can expect a circumstantial history of 
 diseases from a stranger who resides a few days, or perhaps 
 weeks, in a place, and who can therefore never obtain more than 
 a superficial knowledge of the climate, the domestic economy 
 of the inhabitants, their customs and modes of life ; all of which 
 have so essential an intfuence on the constitution, and of course 
 on the maladies to which the human frame is subjected ; who 
 besides, perhaps, cannot gain the confidence of the inhabitants 
 «o far as that they will communicate freely with him ; nay, 
 who cannot even be sure that they will not studiously conceal 
 many circumstances, or represent them under false colours. I 
 shall confine myself, therefore, to stating the few following facts. 
 
 '» 
 
 The medical oracle of the island, -and indeed of the whole 
 government, is an army surgeon, who lives at NossaSenhora do 
 Desterro, and who has the superintendance of two hospitals, a 
 general and a military one. Though these hospitals aie well 
 
"•^ 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 67 
 
 % 
 
 situated, and appear tolerably spacious, yet if, unfortunately, 
 putrid fevers or other malignant diseases break out in them, it 
 happens, as in most European hospitals, that too many of the 
 sick are crowded together, so as to endanger tlie increasing, 
 rather than lessening the ravages of the disease. In a gallery of 
 the military hospital, which is scarcely large enough for fifty 
 beds, I saw eighty crammed together. I cannot forbear ob- 
 serving, besides, that the great cleanliness which I had in 
 general remarked and admired, all over the island, failed very 
 much here, where it was particularly desirable. Though this 
 province is generally considered as extremely healthy, yet some 
 years before a contagious disorder prevailed, to which several 
 thousand persons fell victims. According to the best informa- 
 tion I could collect upon the subject, it seems to have been a 
 dysentery, accompanied with putrid fever. Notwithstanding 
 that the loss of several thousand lives, in a colony so thinly 
 peopled, is irreparable, it was not sufficient to rouse the apathy 
 of the Portuguese government, and induce them to establish 
 in the island persons properly instructed and experienced in 
 the medical art. , _-- ....,,.„.,. 
 
 The only remedies administered by the practitioners here, are 
 cathartics, en^tics, and phlebotomy. The common people 
 have a number of domestic remedies, which are scarcely less 
 pernicious than bad medical advice. In Nossa Senhora do 
 Desterro are three houses which bear the title of apothecaries* 
 shops : the owners of them profess to have a large stock of me- 
 dical drugs, but the fact is, that they have not even the medi- 
 cines produced by their own country. One might ask in vain 
 for some ounces of copaiva balsam, or ricinusol. The small- 
 
 * k2 
 
68 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 pox i» a very dreadful and dangerous disease, particularly 
 among the negro slaves : when it breaks out, it commonly 
 costs the lives of thousands. Inoculation is a thing of which 
 the people here have no idea ; and that most precious gift of 
 heaven, the vaccine inoculation, is hardly known even by name. 
 Cutaneous diseases are very frequent in this country, as in 
 all equally hot, and appear under various forms and modifi- 
 cations. The itch, and other eruptions of the skin, are to 
 be seen in the most distinguished families, and among the 
 poor there is scarcely a house free from them. They do not 
 seem, however, to be communicated by the touch, as no in- 
 fection was ever taken by any of our ship's company. The 
 syphillitic virus is but too widely spread, owing to circum- 
 stances which may be considered as invariably attendant upon a 
 warm climate. . . ,. 
 
 4'. )} 
 
 A very common evil here is the sores that arise from the 
 pulex penetrans, or sand ftea^ as it is called . This is a small 
 insect, which burrows into the skin of persons going bare- 
 footed, and announces itself by occasioning an itching and 
 smarting sensation. If the sting be not early attended to, and 
 the animal taken out, it will make its way even into the flesh, 
 and occasion swelling and sores very difficult to be healed. The 
 slaves, who always go bare-footed to their field-work, are par- 
 ticularly subject to this inconvenience : it was experienced by 
 most of our party, who went about in thin silk stockings, or 
 even without any covering upon their feet. With two of them, 
 the itching and smarting continued for six weeks, long after we 
 had quitted Brazil, when we had even doubled Cape Horn. If, 
 however, as soon as the itching is felt, people are careful to 
 
STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA (J9 
 
 extract the animal in the same manner that they would a thorn 
 or splinter of wood, no ill effects will arise; if left, a large 
 family may soon be expected. 
 
 It is extraordinary, that most of the native women here 
 have very bad teeth, although those who are borr of Portu- 
 guese parents are distinguished for beautiful ones. Many young 
 girls, not more than fifteen or sixteen years old, may be seen 
 with one or more of their front teeth entirely gone. May 
 not this effect be produced by the tapioca-meal, which consti- 
 tutes so essential a part of their food ? As a remedy against 
 head-ache, it is common to rub the forehead and temples over 
 with a red earth mixed with water. The countenances of the 
 negroes, painted in this way, as I have often seen them, have 
 a truly singular and comic appearance. , ff-\mi*HrM'^*'i-j 
 
 ^ -' In a country where experienced physicians are not to be 
 found, it is little to be expected that midwifery should be 
 practised by instructed persons. The practitioners in this 
 <? ipr^rtment of science are old women, who have had many 
 chiHren themselves, and thus from experience have acquired a 
 sort of substitute for knowledge. According to the account 
 given me by many different persons, uimatural labours are not 
 by any means uncommon, and many women lose their lives in 
 consequence of them : far more instances of the kind occur here 
 than is usual in warm climates. The women in this country, as 
 well as in Spain and Portugal, are extremely fruitful, nor is it 
 unusual to find families of fifteen or even twenty children. All 
 the streets and roads are full of children, and it is well known 
 that the population of Brazil increases rapidly. When we 
 
 "^ 
 
70 STAY AT SANTA CATRARINA. 
 
 reflect how abundantly the people of the country are provided 
 with the means of supporting their children, and that with 
 very little labour, it will not appear surprising that the families 
 arc so numerous. The children are fed in their infancy very 
 much with bananas. Many mothers endeavour to retain 
 their milk, and suckle their infants as long as possible : 
 children even of three or four years old may occasionally be 
 seen at the breast. This is done, according to the confes- 
 sion of the women themselves, to delay as long as possible any 
 farther increase of their family. 
 
 fit? 
 
 
 The natural history of the country, according to the plan I 
 have followed, is so interwoven with the account of my travels, 
 that little more remains to be said except to subjoin a few 
 observations, which I trust will be found of general interest. 
 
 However charming the forests appear, however delightful 
 the country, yet there are a number of venomous reptiles, 
 which occasion the walking about not to be entirely free 
 from danger. Of these, the most noxious are the coluber corai- 
 linus, or coral snake, and the xiraracca*. The coral snake is 
 the most poisonous of all. The inhabitants cannot speak 
 of the bite without terror, as certain death. This serpent 
 moves very slowly, somewhat in the manner of our anguis 
 fragilis, or blind worm. In the open field, or upon the sea- 
 shore, it may easily be avoided or killed. I have several times 
 
 * The Trsnilator has not been able to procure any explanation of thi< Portugneie 
 name for the serpent here mentioned^ and it therefore obliged to call it only by the naoe 
 given in the original. ' 
 
 *■ 
 
STAT AT SANTA CATHARINA. Tf 
 
 killed them myself. They endeavour to avoid man when they 
 see him approach. The great danger of being bitten by them 
 is in going barefooted into the thick forests, wlien they may 
 be concealed among the leaves, and a person may tread upon 
 one unawares. The consequences of the bite are a sudden 
 swelling of the whole body, and a rushing of blood from the 
 nose, ears, eyes, and ends of the fingers. They are seldom 
 more than an ell and a half long *. The xiraracca is also ex- 
 tremely venomous, and many persons have died of the bite ; 
 but it is not considered as such certain death as that of the 
 coral snake. This snake is sometimes between two and three 
 ells long. When I inquired whether there was no counter- 
 poison against the bite of these serpents, I was answered that 
 there were many persons who could pronounce a blessings and 
 that this was the best remedy. Reasonable people have, how- 
 ever, found burning the wound of great utility. >- <i .^ <•, , 
 
 m 
 Often in the evening, particularly in low marshy grounds, 
 the air will be filled in places, fura circle of twelve or fifteen 
 paces, with a smell exactly like that of musk. This I had several 
 times remarked, and was anxious to investigate the cause 
 of it. The universal popular opinion is, that it arises from 
 the xiraracca. I must leave it to future travellers to 
 determine whether this be in any, and in what degree, 
 
 * It is to b« presumed, that by this measure is meant the Flemish ell, which is three 
 ^jiiarters of an English yard, or two fuct three inches. In Nemnich's Dictionary of 
 Natural History, the coluber corallinus is mentioned as more than three feettong, which 
 corresponds with the measnrc given by the author^ taking it fof the Flemish elL—TxAx. 
 
72 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 true. It is possible tliat nature, by occasioning the animal to 
 emit such a smell, means to warn man against the approach 
 of a formidable enemy, as by the rattle it warns him against 
 the most pDisonous of all serpents. 1 must, however, ob- 
 serve, that I have myself killed and skinned many, and never 
 perceived any thing of the pungent odour which I had often 
 experienced in my evening walks in the fields. If it did in- 
 deed proceed from the animal, I know not why it should be 
 exhaled in the evening only, and not at any other time. In 
 my opinion, the origin of the smell is to be sought in some 
 cause different from the vicinity of the xiraracca. , ^r;,. . :,... 
 
 The bird spider, aranea avicularis, is very common. This 
 name was given to it because it has been said that it eats the 
 humming-birds ; but the notion appears wholly unfounded. 
 This spider does not make any web ; it lives in holes under 
 ground, which it only leaves in very warm sunshine, and never 
 goes many paces from them. It moves almost like a crab, 
 and thence has the Portuguese name caranguexeira, or crab- 
 spider. I myself caught three, and fourteen other specimens 
 were brought to me, so that I had suificient opportunities 
 of making myself acquainted with their structure, and judg- 
 ing therefore somewhat of their habits and the nature of their 
 food. If I asked the people of the country whether these 
 spiders ever eat the colibris, they answered me in the nega- 
 tive with a smile, assuring me that they feed upon nothing 
 but insects, such as flies, ants, bees, wasps, beetles, and the 
 like, and this assurance was confirmed by niy own investi- 
 gations. The structure of the mouth is sufficient to decide 
 that the idea can be only a popular prejudice, as it is cal- 
 
&TAT AT SANTA CATIIARINA. 
 
 » 
 
 culaled merely for suction, so that at tlie utmoHt it could 
 only suck the blood of the little creature. The colibris hover 
 about from flower to flower; how should they, therefore, ever 
 come in contact with a spider that only crawls upon the ground ? 
 the latter is, besides, very slow in its movements, and upon 
 this principle alone could never overtake the brisk and active 
 colibri. It is difficult to conceive how the idea was ever enter- 
 tained of giving this animal a bird as its principal food. The 
 bite is not mortal, or even dangerous, but will occasion con- 
 siderable smart. The hair, with which the body is entirely 
 covered, by merely touching the skin creates a painful kind of 
 smarting and itching, as I more than once experienced in only 
 tbuching, in order to preserve them. The creature appears to 
 have very little strength in his muscles to defend himself 
 against an enemy. This spider, as well as many other insects 
 and plants, is not to be found in the island of Santa Catharina) 
 but abounds upon the continent, particularly in a district called 
 Os Barreiros, where a great deal of Turkish corn is grown. 
 
 At the beginning of summer, only a few- small butterflies 
 of several sorts appear : the largest and most beautiful do not 
 come out till the great heat of summcF is over. Although I was 
 extremely satisfied with the collection I made here, my Portu- 
 guese friend, Senhor Caldeiro, assured me, that all these were 
 nothing in comparison with the beauty of several species that 
 appear in the months of February and March ; and, indeed, 
 the latter days of our stay were those in which I made the most 
 interesting captures. I observed, that in their nature and 
 habits, these superb creatures differed in many respects as much 
 from their brethren in Europe as in their exterior. They raise 
 
 h 
 
74 
 
 STAY AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 themselves with a light and rapid jflight into the air, and hover 
 about the blossoms of lofty trees ; they are shy and restless, 
 and settle so seldom upon the flowers, that they must in general 
 be caught in their flight. An amateur who uses here only the 
 flaps which he employs in Europe, would return home very 
 little satisfied with the produce of his labours. Large nets 
 are necessary, fastened to a long and light cane-staif. I recol- 
 lected on this occasion, a net for catching batterflies, which I 
 had seen some years before, at the house of a Mr. Latham, in 
 London, and had a similar one made immediately, which was of 
 very great use to me. I observed with the utmost astonish- 
 ment, in my excursions, a particular species, y*edrwa hofftnanseggi, 
 which, when it flew away from a tree, or when flying with the 
 female, made a very clear and distinct noise like a rattle, pro- 
 bably with its wings. This species lives in thick orange groves, 
 settling upon the stem, with its wings spread out, and from 
 being very much the colour of the tree, it is difficult to be dis- 
 cerned ; but when any one approaches, it flies away with the 
 rattling noise above described. The archidamas is a butterfly 
 which emits a soft and not oppressive smell of musk : it lives 
 upon flowers, and flies very quick and high. 
 
 Another phoenomenon I observed was, that a butterfly, 
 which I took to be the catilina crameri, through a very remark- 
 able opening in the breast-plate emitted a great quantity of a 
 sort of froth : this seemed employed as a means of defence against 
 its enemy, and resembled, in some sort, what is done by the ca- 
 terpillar of the machaon. Several species of the yellow diurnal 
 butterfly, wliich are here among the most common sorts, live in 
 .societies, and are seen in flocks of hundreds, nay thousands. 
 
STAT AT SANTA CATHARINA. || 
 
 together. Among these, the philea, the trite, the alcmeone, the 
 sennae, the eubuius, and the argante, may be particularized. 
 Their favourite abode is in low, sandy, and sometimes moist 
 districts, near rivers or brooks, where they often settle in large 
 flocks together upon the sand. Wlien one of these butterflies 
 is caught, if he is only stuck with a pin io the ground, he it 
 sure to be quickly surrounded by a number of his species, and 
 forty or fifty specimens may presently be acquired. 
 
 Not only upon the land, but in the water, the inhabitants of 
 this country find enemies unknown to us in Europe. In the 
 neighbourhood of Santa Catharina, and (particularly about the 
 island of Alvoredo, and ether islands in the same cluster, a very 
 large sort of sepia, the sepia ootopusy or polvo, is found. I was 
 assured that these creatures sometimes 'grow to -the size of a 
 man, and are very dangerous, since they will twine their suckew 
 round a person bathing, or fishing, in such a manner that it is 
 impossible to get free from them ; and if no one is at hand to 
 assist the person attacked by cutting the animal away, death is 
 inevitable. That a very large sepia may in this way become dan- 
 gerous to a man I can believe ; but that there is a species which 
 will, in the open sea, thus twine itself round a large three-masted 
 vessel, so as to draw it under the water, does not come within 
 the compass of belief*. 
 
 Very little fish was brought to market during our stay : the 
 principal reason was, perhaps, that from the burning heat of 
 
 * Histoir« NatursUe das moUusquet, pur Denyi Montfort. Pari*, Au. 10. Le poulpc 
 •oIoMal. 
 
 l2 
 
<^ STAT AT SANTA CATHARINA. 
 
 the sun it was liaHe to corrupt very soon. I remarked the 
 dorade coryphana hippurus, the sheat-fish silurus bagre, the scad 
 scomber trachurus, the cat-fish squalus zygcena, the sword-fish 
 trichurus lepturus, the pelamide scomber pelamySy some species of 
 thatodont of tctraodon, of sparus, of diodon, and several others ; a 
 catalogue of the names of which was made by Counsellor 
 Tilesius. 
 
 * •-■ 
 
 The great number of still unknown animals, the investigation 
 of their habits and modes of life, under a heaven so remote from 
 our's ; the infinite riches and variety of the vegetable kingdom, 
 would furnish employment for hundreds of naturalists during a 
 long course of years. Our short stay, and the little effectual 
 support which Counsellor Tilesius and myself found in our re- 
 searches, compelled us to rest satisfied with the little knowledge 
 we could obtain by our own individual efforts. t 
 
DEPAftTURE FROM BRAZIL. ^ 
 
 I '-...f^ •«,, l. 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 «•:- -■ y*;-. ;i-S./v.- 
 
 Departure from Brazil. — Voyage round Cape Hom.—EaHer Islandj-^ 
 Arrival at Nukahiwa^ me of the Washington Islands. — Imprw- 
 , sions made at the first Sight of the Island.— Visit from the Natives. 
 
 By the end of January, the ships were ready to proceed on 
 the voyage. We were iiH refreshed with the luxurious living 
 we had enjoyed for some weeks : the whole crew of both ships 
 were in excellent health, and Captain Von Krusenstem had 
 laid in a large stock of fresh provisions of various kinds. On 
 the first of February, therefore, an order was issued for all who 
 had resided during this time at Nossa Senhora do Desterro to 
 repair on board, and we were obliged to quit one of the finest 
 and richest spots upon the globe. The recollection of my stay 
 in Brazil can never be erased from my memory, nor can I ever 
 recur to it but with delight. On the second of February, the 
 governor, who had shewn us great kindness and attention during 
 our stay, came on board with a number of other persons of both 
 sexes, to bid us adieu. 
 
 The captain thought it right to hasten our departure as much 
 as possible, as it was by no means desirable to saiL round Cape 
 Horn very late in the season. The frightful pictures given by 
 Commodore Anson of the passage round this Cape at an un- 
 favourable period, and the many hardships endured by Captains* 
 
18 DBPAilTURe f AOM <9RAf ft. 
 
 Bligh, Wilson, and others, whose descriptions were now the 
 daily subjects of our conversation, rendered us all equally de- 
 sirous that no unnecessary delays should be made, so as to en- 
 danger our experiencing any thing similar. 
 
 Our departure had been fixed for the third of February ; but 
 on that day th^re came on so strong a gale of wind, that our 
 captain judged it prudent to remain in the harbour, and 
 wait a more favourable moment. On the fourth, in the after- 
 noon, the wind being sufficiently abated, the anchors of both 
 ships were weighed, and they were soon under sail with a fresh 
 breeze from the south. This day, and the next, the weather 
 was not very favourable ; it rained almost incessantly ; but the 
 breeze continuing, we were soon at a considerable distance from 
 the coast of Brazil. On the sixth, the weather changed; the 
 rain ceased, and we had a brisk wind from the east, -which 
 carried us on rapidly in a southerly direction, so that by 
 the ninth of February we were in the latitude of the Rio de la 
 Plata. Here a small vessel in the horizon, to the south-^wt, 
 attracted our attention ; but as it 'would have been idle to waste 
 time in satisfying our curiosity with regard to it, we contented 
 ourselves with leaving it to pursue its course quietly, and con- 
 tinued to pursue our's with great rapidity. 
 
 We found many new objects of various kinds to engage our 
 attention and observation, in regions hitherto so entirely tin- 
 known to us. The flying fish, the dolphins, the pelamides, the 
 dorades, the tropic-birds, and other inhabitants of the warmer 
 zone, were no longer to be seen : but we had sibatrosses, dio- 
 
DEPARTURE FROM BRAZIL. 
 
 7» 
 
 medea exulans, peterels, procellaria, and whales, as our constant 
 companions. In the fortieth degree of southern latitude we 
 found a great quantity of a very particular sort oifucus, though 
 we were six hundred miles distant from the nearest land. The 
 whole crew of the Neva experienced, in the night of the twen-r 
 tieth of February, a most terrible alarm : the vessel received so 
 violent a shock, that they thought of nothing less than being 
 upon a rock or a sand-bank. They all rushed upon deck to 
 learn the whole extent of their danger, but were soon satisfied 
 with finding that it was nothing more than a whale, whether 
 dead or alive was very immaterial, against which they had 
 struck. 
 
 The wind, though variable, had been so generally favour- 
 able, that by the twenty-fifth of February we were in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Staten-land. This wild and uninhabited country, 
 whose steep and craggy mountains now bounded our horizon to 
 the south, afforded us, when the weatlier was clear, many agree- 
 able variations in the different aspects which it presented, as 
 seen at different paints of view. We clearly distinguished Cape 
 St. John, from which we were about thirty-three sea-miles dis- 
 tant. This promontory lies in 63° 47' western longitude, and is 
 a point of great importance to mariners, since its situation is 
 so well ascertained, that the greatest difference to be found 
 with regard to it, among the mos| experienced astronomers and 
 navigators, does not exceed a few minutes. This cape may 
 assist mercantile seamen, who have not always the best means 
 on board their vessels of ascertaining the longitude and latitude *, 
 
 * Witness the American Tessel mentionrd in page 27, which iras three degrees too 
 much to the west. 
 
m 
 
 DEPARTURR FROM BRAZIL. 
 
 as a s..fe guide to correct their reckonings. It is of double impor- 
 tance in these parts, where the navigation is so dangerous, and 
 where, frequently, the prosperousdoublingofCape Horn depends 
 upon the longitude being ascertained with great precision. The 
 quantity of peterels and albatrosses increased the more we pro- 
 ceeded southwards, and the throwing up the water by the 
 whales, which appeared sometimes in the night as if it was surf 
 breaking over a concealed rock, was become so familiar to us, 
 that it almost ceased to be a subject of remark. 
 
 Here and there were to be seen stripes, or spots in the sea, 
 which from their glittering appearance, and the little movement 
 the water then had, were distinguishable at a very great dis- 
 tance. These spots proceeded from the fat and oily substances 
 emitted by the whales in their breathing, or from their excre- 
 ments, and shewed, in a remarkable manner, how little oil is 
 necessary to spread to a great extent over the surface of the 
 water. The idea, which I believe originated with Dr. Franklin, 
 that the waves of the sea, when violently agitated, might be 
 stilled with oil, was probably borrowed from this circum- 
 stance. 
 
 The almost constantly favourable wind, by which we had 
 been so rapidly carried forwards from Santa Catharina, in- 
 creased our hopes, and aniii^ted our wishes, that we should 
 now, in a few days, have doubled Cape Horn. But, alas! we 
 had scarcely passed Cape St. John, and reached the latitude of 
 the dreaded promontory, when, on the twenty-sixth of Fe- 
 bruary, a very strong gale from the south-south-west, attended 
 
VOYAGE ROUND CAPE HORN. 
 
 91 
 
 ■with violent hail and rain , which suddenly came on, shewed us 
 what sort of a region it was that we were now navigating. 
 
 >k 
 
 We had been so much accustomed for some time to a warm 
 climate, that till the twenty-fifth of February, when we 
 were in latitude 54" 12' south, we had seldom a less degree of 
 warmth than twelve degrees, by Fahrenheit. On this day the 
 thermometer fell to eight, which affected our feelings very sen- 
 sibly. On the twenty-seventh the weather cleared very much, 
 and the thermometer was at 5^', we being then in latitude 
 57' 19'. The waves, however, continued very high, and the 
 rolling of the ship fatigued us exceedingly. The hope of a 
 calmer sea, with which we flattered ourselves, soon vanished ; 
 for on the twenty-eighth began the most frightful south-west 
 wind imaginable, accompanied with fog, rain, and hail, which 
 continued more than twenty-four hours. At length, on the 
 first of March, the storm abated, the wind turning more towards 
 the north : during its continuance, the water almost incessantly 
 washed over the ship. v 
 
 -•• • -^^ ■ ■ - • ' -•' .- - ' ' : ■ > 
 
 The second of March was one of the finest days that we saw 
 in these southern latitudes. The reviving rays of the sun warmed 
 us more than ever ; and since, during the late melancholy wea- 
 ther, almost all the crew who were not under the necessity of 
 being upon deck, had kept below, we were now very glad to 
 indemnify ourselves by inhaling as much as possible of so re- 
 viving an air. Three days had elapsed since we had seen the 
 sun. Our joy, however, experienced some abatement on learn- 
 ing that during the late winds we had been carried entirely 
 southwards, not in the smallest degree towards the west. . 
 
S^ VOYAGE ROUND CAPE HORN. 
 
 Our earnest prayers to be soon out of this stormy region 
 seemed at length to be heard, since about noon a light wind 
 from the north-east sprang up, which freshened so much towards 
 evening, that in the space of an hour we had run ten sea miles 
 westward ; and in the morning of the third of March the de- 
 lightful intelligence was communicated to us by our excellent 
 captain that we had doubled the Cape. This welcome news 
 was received with hearty congratulations to each other, and 
 sincere thankfulness to heaven. 
 
 Since the twenty-seventh of February, the thermometer had 
 commonly fluctuated between l^^* and S4° ; but in the night of 
 the first of March it was only one degree above the freezing 
 point. The barometer was at the lowest during the storm of the 
 twenty-eighth of February ; it was then ZG"5 ; the highest point 
 it attained was on the second of March, when it was at SO^oO. 
 
 Scarcely had we entered the South Sea, when we were for- 
 saken by the north-east wind, and a not very favourable west 
 wind began to blow. This constrained us to keep in a southerly 
 direction, so that on the fifth of March we were in latitude 
 60° south, the lowest southern latitude that we reached during 
 our voyage. After doubling Cape Horn, notwithstanding that 
 we were going farther southwards, the weather grew warmer 
 every day. From the third to the thirteenth of March, the 
 usual height of the thermometer was four degrees above the 
 freezing point ; the lowest point to which it descended wa» 
 three, and it never rose above five. We had now very change- 
 able weather, alternate fog and sunshine, calm and brisk winds- 
 For some days the wind wsy almost constantly to the east ; and 
 
VOYAGE ROUND CAPE HORN. 83 
 
 then, from the twelfth to the sixteenth of March, we had a 
 strong north-west wind. 
 
 t'l 
 
 In the night of the seventeenth, between the hours of 
 three and seven, the quicksilver in the barometer fell from 
 29'! 0, to 28*45. Such a fall was a thing hitherto wholly 
 unknown to us, and it filled us with the cruellest apprehen- 
 sions of a more dreadful storm than we had yet experienced. 
 On the eighteenth, however, the weather was again fine ; we 
 had nearly a calm ; the sun shone delightfully ; and the ther- 
 mometer stood at noon at seven in the shade. An immense 
 number of albatrosses were swimming like geese about the 
 ship ; we endeavoured in vain to kill some of them witli our 
 guns, but as soon as a shot was fired, they flew away : they 
 seemed to raise themselves with difficulty from the water, 
 and made a vast circle in it before they had wind enough 
 to fill their long wings, and begin their ascent. This was to us 
 a new and very amusing spectacle. We were now in latitude 
 55* 46" south, longitude 89° 51* west. 
 
 Repeated attempts were made by us to catch the alba- 
 trosvses alive with a hook, as well as to kill them with our 
 guns ; but though this has, according to report, been often 
 done by other mariners, we could never succeed in it. Cap- 
 tain Bligh says : ** The method employed by the sailors for 
 catching the albatrosses consists in fastening the bait two or 
 three feet from the hook, and when the bird catches at the 
 bait, the hook may, with a jerk, be fastened into the foot 
 or some part of the body. Many sorts of birds caught by 
 
 m2 
 
g4 ' easteh island. 
 
 ns in this manner ¥rere shut up and fatted, and their fie»h 
 was then as good as that of a goose." 
 
 The following week the weather was very pleasant, and 
 nothing deserving of remark occurred till the twenty-fourth 
 of March, when a strong north-north-west wind aro«e, which 
 continued till the end of the month. On this day, in a very 
 thick and long continued fog, we were, to our inexpressible 
 concern, separated from the companion of our voyage, the 
 Neva. Captain Von Krusenstern had previously agreed with 
 Captain Lisiansky, that in case of a separation, Easter Island 
 should be the place of rendezvous; and thither, therefore, 
 t4ie attention of the Avhole crew was immediately directed. 
 We sought out all the accounts of former navigators by whom 
 it hatl been visited, and studied them assiduously, so that 
 our curiosity was in the end extremely excited to see the 
 island, and compare its present state with that in which it hacl 
 been seen by others. We were particularly desirous of know- 
 ing whether the presents made to the inhabitants by the unfor- 
 tunate La Perouse had been cherished, and preserved by them 
 so as to have contributed to their comfort and happiness *. 
 Unfortunately for us, contrary winds, combined with other 
 very particular circumstances, constrained Captain Krusenstern 
 in the end to abandon his intention of touching thei'e, though 
 we were now within five hundred sea miles of it. The latest 
 
 * They consisted of goats, sheep, hugs, orange and Icmoa tr«cs, cottoD pUati,, 
 Turkish corn, and a profusion of seeds of variout kindj. 
 
EASTER TSLAND. 
 
 ^ 
 
 accounts we have of the island are derived from the voyages of 
 Captains Forster and Cook, and from La Perouse's voyage. I 
 cannot refrain from noticing a passage in a work, where an 
 account is given of the first discovery of this island, since it 
 
 'will display in strong colours that propensity to the marvellous 
 which pervaded the relations given by the discoverers of those 
 
 ' times.* 
 
 (( 
 
 These savages do not go naked, but are clothed in a 
 ' sort of cotton cloth. The most remarkable thing among them 
 is their long ears, which are considered as a great ornament ; in 
 some of them there are holes so large, that a man might easily 
 thrust his hand through them. Thus far my narrative will readily 
 gain credit, as it contains nothing that is at all uncommon ; but I 
 must add, that these savages are of more than gigantic stature i 
 the men are twice as tall and bulky as the largest among the 
 people of our own country. Most of them are twelve feet 
 
 • high, so that, however incredible it may appear, we could easily 
 pass between their legs without stooping ; they were extremely 
 well-proportioned, and each might very well have been taken 
 
 • for a Hercules. The women were lower in stature than the 
 men, not being more than from ten to eleven feet high. I pre- 
 sume that most of those who read my narrative will not believe 
 what I say, but consider this account as a poetical fiction. I, 
 however^ declare, that I have written nothing more than the 
 
 * The island was discovered by Roggewein, who landed there on the sixth of April, 
 na. The passage here given is from a Dutch work, intitled, Twee Jaarige Reyse rotfd 
 «m d* IVereld, 4fc> te Dordrecht j by Joannei tan Braam, 1728 ; a work very |ittl« 
 kuown. 
 
M WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 strictest truth, and assert, that upon the most accurate investi- 
 gation these people will be found such as I have described 
 them, of a size and stature altogether supernatural." 
 
 Let us now advert to the testimony of Captain Forster. lie 
 says : " We did not find one among these people who could 
 be called tall, and they were extremely thin ; the women are 
 little, and of a slight construction." Such arc the very oppo- 
 site accounts given by different voyagers. We lamented 
 exceedingly that we could not visit so interesting a spot, and 
 examine into the truth ourselves, r Mi " *>. ; !. *, 
 
 We were now daily wafted by very turbulent winds into 
 a warmer zone. On the first of April the wind abated, and on 
 the following days we had changeable weather with showers : 
 the thermometer was from thirteen to fifteen. On the fifth, a 
 very strong west wind rose, by which the ship was so much 
 heeled, that one side lay three inches in the water, and the fore- 
 sail swept its surface. On the twenty-seventh we crossed the 
 tropic of Capricorn, and after the bad weather we had so long 
 encountered, found the constantly increasing warmth very com- 
 fortable and pleasant. By the twenty-second the trade- wind 
 commenced ; we were then in latitude 18' 45' south, in longi- 
 tude U 4'* 50* west. The weather continuing fine, the thermo- 
 meter being generally from eighteen to twenty-three, we pro- 
 ceeded rapidly on our course, so that by the sixth of May, 
 at daybreak, we were in sight of the nearest island among the 
 group called the New Marquesas, or Washington's Islands. 
 The island we now saw was that to which Captain Cook gave 
 
WASniNOTON'S ISLANDS. ^ H 
 
 the name of Hood's Island : it was about tliirty sea miles 
 distant from us. » j •' • -^^ 
 
 The short description given of this little Archipelago by 
 Hergest, Marchand, and others, appeared so prepossettsing, 
 that Captain Krusenstern had no doubt of finding atNukahiwa, 
 the largest of them, abundance of every thing for the present 
 refreshment of his crew, and for recruiting the stores nert^ssary 
 to continue his voyage. He preferred Nukahiwa to the neigh- 
 bouring island of Santa Christina, though the latter has been 
 hitherto much more frequented than any other in the group. 
 An uncommon number of birds, and immense shoals of a small 
 Ash, which seemed a sort of herring, perhaps the scomber scom- 
 ber of Linnseus, announced, on the fifth of May, that we were 
 approaching to land. 
 
 Hood's Island had the appearance of a steep rock rising out 
 of the sea ; and seemed, on the north side at least, entirely 
 sterile and uncultivated. It was about six in tlie morning when 
 we first saw this island : about seven, we discovered to th'^ 
 south-west, though the horizon was hazy, Dominico, and St. 
 Pedro. By nine, Riou's Island, or Ualiuga, was in sight ; its 
 naked aspect, its rugged, steep, and peaked rocks, did not 
 appear to us extremely attractive. We observed a prodigious 
 flight of birds, and the ship was followed by numbers of por- 
 poises, delphinus phoaena. . , 
 
 About five o'clock in the "/en ins we were delighted with 
 discovering the place of our relreshment, the island of Nuka- 
 hiwa. Almost at the same moment a heavy rai" and gust of wind 
 
88 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS.' 
 
 came. on, so that at night we were forced to take lit d,lmo9t all ourt 
 sails, in order to keep the vessel from running too near the land.) 
 Early in the morning, the haze being much cleared away, the 
 island was again in sight : the neater mi^ approached to it, the 
 more was our curiosity excited. We were constantly, looking^ 
 through our glasses, and were now so near to the southern^ 
 coast, that we could distinguish it very plainly. After so long!' 
 a voyage, our thoughts were turned with no small degree of 
 delight towards the enchanting valleys of the South Sea 
 islandsj planted with groves of cocoa-nuts, of bread-fruit, and 
 bananas, so highly extolled by Captains Forster and Cook; 
 and although we had as yet been scarcely ablj5 to discover any 
 thing except naked and barren rocks, feasted in idea upon the^i:>< 
 profusion we expected to find of these and other deliciou^ ! 
 fruits. It was only in the deep valleys, an^ong the rocks, that 
 "we could discover faint traces of population and cultivation. 
 Several cataracts, which fell from the tops of rocks,- not less 
 than ?L thousand feet high, into the sea below, and which werei, 
 now filled by the recent heavy rains, wejre the only objects that 
 varied and enlivened this desert landscape. But the sight of 
 fresh water was particularly grateful to our eyes, as we had been: 
 for some weeks much in want of it, and had been reduced to a 
 stated daily portion of an article so. essential to the comfort and 
 health of man. . 
 
 ^\ 
 
 Cv, 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 The land which lay before u» was of a middling height : it 
 was bordered by steep and abrupt masses of rock, alternately 
 terminating in naked peaks, and in broken craggy summits, 
 which seemed thrown together without any order or regularity. 
 At the iu'st view, they had very much the appearance of having 
 
"T' ' ■^"^'w-t:' "' 
 
 •a^ »-,T 
 
 *. 
 
 'ntr^"- 
 
 kif 
 
>' r. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. §9 
 
 been subjected to the action of fire, and we could almost 
 fancy ourselves again at TenerifFe. Here and there only were to 
 be seen a bush or a shrub ornamenting the dark summits of 
 the rocky pyramids, or a tree adhering, as it were, to their 
 sides : some gentle declivities were clothed with a beautiful 
 soft carpet of green. However inviting the landscape appeared, 
 the eye was soon wearied with looking in vain for some traces 
 of mankind. No living creature was to be seen, not even any 
 thing like flocks feeding upon the grassy slopes. 
 
 The strong surf occasioned by the waves beating against 
 these broken rocks was every moment more and more clearly 
 to be discerned ; we were, indeed, now so near the shore, that 
 we looked about with the utmost anxiety in hopes of discover- 
 ing some of the inhabitants, or a canoe, which the rarity of 
 seeing an European ship might have enticed from some creek j 
 but we looked in vain, and at length almost abandoned the 
 hope of being welcomed by these islanders while still upon the 
 sea. Captain Krusenstern now ordered out two of the boats to 
 reconnoitre the coast and the harbour, when at length we per- 
 ceived some islander.-^ fishing, but, as far as we could perceive, 
 they seemed to see us bail by with the most perfect indifference, 
 A short time after, to our great joy, a canoe appeared, carry- 
 ing a white flag, and navigated by eight men entirely naked, 
 which rowed directly up to one of our boats. We observed it 
 very anxiously, and were rejoiced to see one of the men, without 
 the least appearance of reluctance or timidity, spring from the 
 canoe into our boat, when our men immediately began to 
 return towards the ship. This gave rise to a great variety of 
 conjectures; but how much "were we surprised, when, instead 
 
 N 
 
90 WA^l^GT.ON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 of a Souti^ Sea islander, w£ saw an European entirely in the 
 costume of tlie covutry, with only a piece of clotJI» round the 
 waist, spripg upon our deck. 
 
 An English sailor of the name of Roberts, who had, God 
 knows how, or on what occasion, come hither, now stood 
 before us, and informed us that he had inhabited the island 
 some, years. Such had been the influence of tlie climate upon 
 his exterior, that he was scarcely to be distinguished by his 
 colour from the natives. Several written testimonials, which 
 he bad from captains of ships who had touched here, of the ser- 
 vices he had rendered them, gave us naturally great confidence 
 in him, and we rejoiced not a little at having so unexpectedly 
 found an European, from whom we should receive, according 
 to his own promises, all the information we could desire rela- 
 tive to the island, given with perfect fidelity and accuracy. 
 
 He was now besieged with a thousand and a thousand ques- 
 tions, every one being solicitous that his should be the first 
 answered. As we inquired for the chief of the island, he replied 
 that it was governed by a king, who, with his brothers, was 
 now in a canoe rowing round our ship. It seemed very laugh- 
 able to us when we immediately gave permission for his majesty 
 to come on board. A large robust man, with his body tatooed 
 all over, instantly presented himself before us, and climbed 
 upon deck. He was, as were likewise all his attendants, 
 entirely naked, and had no badge or characteristic by which he 
 was to be distinguished from them. He appeared so extremely 
 shy and timid, that we could not help being astonished 
 bow a person so athletic and powerful could be impressed 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 91 
 
 with apprehensions, which to us, unaccustomed to the habits 
 of people living in these remote climates, seemed altogether 
 childish. '■ - 
 
 At first he hesitated whether he should take the hands held 
 out to him ; then, in a few moments after, he evinced a dispo- 
 sition to approach those who shewed a friendly disposition 
 towards him, but yet had hardly courage enough to venture it. 
 Perhaps this extraordinary timidity arose from a circumstance 
 that occurred between the English and the inhabitants, when 
 Captain Vancouver's vessel, the Daedalus, came hither from 
 the coast of North America in February, 1793, and was at 
 anchor in the harbour of Anna Maria, where we now were. 
 A very friendly intercourse at first took place between the 
 islanders and their visitors, but it was after awhile inter- 
 rupted by a quarrel, in which an islander, who was on board 
 the ship, struck one of the sailors. He immediately sprung 
 overboard, and was swimming away, hut the insult was so 
 deeply resented by the whole crew, that they fired upon and 
 killed him. This occasioned so great an enmity among the 
 islanders towards the English, especially as the person killed 
 happened to be of a distinguished family, that Lieutenant 
 Hansen, who had then the command of the ship, was obliged 
 to leave the harbour. We all thought that the recoUiection of 
 this event was a principal cause of the apprehensions evinced 
 by the king. ' . i . . 
 
 After our guests hiid remained awhile trembling on board the 
 ship, and seemed desirous of returning to their canoe, they 
 were presented with some nails, knives, red clothj and other 
 
 n2 
 
98 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 things, with which they jumped overboard highly delighted, 
 and swam away. We, in the mean time, had, under the direc- 
 tion of our Englishman, who was a pilot, made our way into 
 the harbour, where we cast anchor at one in the afternoon, 
 about iialf a mile from the shore. Every thing was still silent 
 as death on the nearest part of the land ; it was not long, Iiow- 
 ever, before a number of people of both sexes appeared : the 
 women were most of them to be distinguished at a distance by 
 having a piece of cloth made of the paper mulberry-tree, ftiorus 
 papi/ri/era, principally of a yellowish colour, thrown over 
 them. .. ' ,, . 
 
 A number of the islanders a short time after came from the 
 opposite sliore of the harbour, which was to the north-west, 
 and swam to the place where we were anchored, a distance of 
 three miles. At first we could only see a shoal of black-haired 
 heads just above the water ; but in a short time we had the 
 very extraordinary spectacle presented us of some hundred men, 
 women, girls, and boys, all swimming about the ship, having 
 in their hands cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, and bananas, which they 
 had brought to sell. 
 
 The cries, the laughter, the romping of these mirthful 
 people, was indescribable, and made a very novel impression 
 upon us. Only a few, whom Roberts pointed out as persons of 
 distinction, were invited on board, the rest swam and played 
 about like a troop of Tritons. The never-ceasing noise they 
 made fiir exceeded ai'v that I hod ever heard at our most 
 numerously attendea fairs ; and we could scarcely, when we 
 were at dinner^ hear each other speak. The young girls and 
 
WASHir^GTON'S ISLANDS. 93 
 
 women were not more clothed than the men, and were collected 
 even in greater numbers ; they were above all loud and noisy, 
 and, according to our European ideas, immodest. They burst 
 into a loud laugh at the most trifling things ; and as we did not 
 understand a word of the many comic effusions addressed to us, 
 their oratory was illustrated with pantomimic gestures, by which 
 we were sufficiently given to understand that they were mak- 
 ing us the most liberal and unreserved offers of their charms. 
 The men who were with them did not shew the slightest symp- 
 toms of jealousy, but rather seemed pleased and flattered when 
 a wife, a daughter, or a sister, attracted our particular attention. 
 
 Towards evening most of them, at our very earnest and 
 pressing solicitations, returned on shore, some having by that 
 time kept up for four or five hours such a constant shouting and 
 noise in our ears, that they had quite wearied us. The women 
 and girls appeared here, as almost every where, more head- 
 strong, and less easy to be persuaded, than the men. Perhaps, 
 also, corrupted by the Europeans, who had visited the island 
 before us, they knew that these strangers were good kind of 
 men, who are not accustomed, in the end, to decline the ad- 
 vances made to them. Suffice it, that the beauties of the island 
 were so extremely importunate to be permitted to come on 
 boaf d, and urged their importunities with so much noise, that, 
 merely for the sake of getting rid of them, and being left quiet 
 awhile, we were obliged to grant some of them free access to 
 the ship. , . , . 
 
 These graces appeared in general with all their charms ex- 
 posed; for though they never left the land without at leaat 
 
0# WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 SO much clothing as a large green leaf, yet this light covering 
 was generally lost by swimming any length of way. By a few 
 only were the leafy aprons preserved, and luckily for them we 
 had no sheep or goats on board ; since they might, perhaps, 
 have been no less eager to feast upon them, than we were toi 
 feast upon the bananas, cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit, which the 
 lovely creatures brought in their hands. We are told by Cap- 
 tain Wilson, in the account of his missionary voyage to the 
 South Sea, in the ship Duff, that an adventure of this kind 
 happened to some visitors who came to pay their respects 
 to himself and his crew. *' The knavish goats," he says, " were 
 guilty of a very great offence, with regard to the poor young 
 maidens, for they would not leave them even the little clothing 
 they had : they flocked round them to get at the green leaves, 
 till most of them were left entirely in their native beauty." 
 
 But however prodigal of their favours, and however ready to 
 follow any sailor that held out a hand to them, the fair sex were 
 still not without a certain degree of modesty. They seemed to 
 be considerably distressed when they had lost their aprons; and 
 crept about with their hands in the position of the Medicean 
 Venus, in attitudes which presented a beautiful spectacle to the 
 philosophic observer. Those who had not been deserted by their 
 garments were particularly anxious to adjust them properly. 
 We were not a little surprised to see girk, who seemed not more 
 than eight or nine years old, very free in their approaches to us^ 
 and appearing no less desirous of making a market of ■ their . 
 charms than their older companions. But we learned from Ro- 
 berts, that such is the precocity of nature here, in comparison 
 with what is to be seen incolder climates, that these diildren 
 
4^ 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. ^ 
 
 were now as forward as girls in the north of Europe are at nearly 
 twice their age. We saw a girl, who at the utmost did not 
 seem above eleven years old, and was already the acknowledged 
 wife of one of the islandei'S. 
 
 • ' T 
 
 ,V'|: 
 
 We were not, however, allowed a long time to make philo- 
 sophical observations upon our new Venuses ; for one after ano- 
 ther they vanished, hand-in-hand with the sailors, to the inte- 
 rior of the ship, while the goddess of night threw her dark veil 
 over the mysteries that were celebrated. Thus ended, with a 
 scene altogether new and extraordinary to us, the first day of 
 our stay in the harbour of Nukahiwa. Early on the following 
 morning, the beauties skipped one after another Upon deck, and 
 leaping into the water, swam away gaily, carrying with thtm 
 presents of various kinds, i' i^^ loi m < ij-cu) 
 
 The sailors, who were not rich in treasures to bestow upon 
 their nymphs, presented them with bottles, pieces of broken 
 china and earthenware, coloured rags, and other things of a like 
 kind, with which they seemed highly delighted. One sailor, 
 who was at a loss in what way to testify sufficient gratitude for 
 the favours he had received, tore out the lining from a pair of 
 old breeches, and wrapped it round the neck of his beloved. 
 This was so extraordinary a present, that the lady was no less 
 delighted with her new ornament, and no less proud of it than 
 a knight with the ribband of a new Order, and hastened home, 
 probably thinking to herself, Honi soit qui mal y pense. 
 
96 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 '. t: 
 
 ■■ 1 i ' i' ' ■d: 
 
 •u 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 . - • M .ill U -t. 
 
 4 
 
 
 Account of the Englishman Roberts, and the Frenchman Cahri.'^Cursory 
 View of the Oroup called Washington's Islands. — Description of the Island 
 of Nukahiwa.-^Its Situation, Climate, Productions, and Population.—^ 
 Particulars relative to the /nhabitants. 
 
 :,U-.'.'i 
 
 ■.i »■,< 
 
 '■ i/.r;;;r.^i.*^5/ J I'U'* <■ 
 
 .■inl 
 
 Instead of arranging the occurrences during our stay at 
 Nukahiwa under the form of a journal, I think it will be 
 better to put together, in one point of view, the result of my 
 observations upon the Archipelago of which this island forms a 
 part, and upon the manners and customs of its inhabitants. In 
 order to do this, it is necessary to premise the following 
 remarks. . _ . . . , . , 
 
 From the Englishman Roberts, who was our first acquaint- 
 ance in these parts, we learnt that we should also find a 
 Frenchman upon the island : he, however, represented him in 
 very dark colours, and warned Captain Krusenstern, earnestly, 
 not to entangle himself with such a man. If the Frenchman 
 had been so fortunate as to have been the first who visited 
 us, probably he would have said the very same thing with 
 regard to his arch-enemy Roberts. Be this as it may, not- 
 withstanding the eagerness of the Englishman to prevent all 
 intercourse between us and the Frenchman, the latter managed 
 matters with so much dexterity, that almost immediately after 
 
Wts 
 
\ 
 
 ?^/>^/ 
 
 /"•//// 
 
 l//^r/AA^/' ^'y/Al.^.^ 
 
/* 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 WASHINGTON^ ISLANDS. ' §7 
 
 oUr arrival he came to the ship in conip?ny with the king, as 
 he was called. This man was a native of Bordeaux, by name 
 Jean Baptiste Cabri. Through the friendly interposition of our 
 worthy commander, who was above all things anxious to re- 
 store peace and harmony between these rivals, they appeared at 
 least to be reconciled, and during our stay were both of great 
 assistance to us in a variety of instances. Roberts, in par- 
 ticular, in whom we found reason, from his orderly behaviour, 
 to pl^ce the greater degree of confidence, conducted himself 
 uniformly in the most disinterested and irreproachable manner, 
 and exerted his most strenuous efforts to promote our wishes in 
 every respect. ■'^' 
 
 These two Europeans l^ad now lived for many years some- 
 times upon one, sometimes upon another of these islands, and 
 both, particularly the Frenchman, learnt so much of the lan- 
 guage that they could serve as interpreters, and give us the best 
 information relative to the manners and customs of the inha- 
 bitants, as far as their understandings could enter into them. It 
 was much to be regretted that the shortness of our stay, which 
 was extended only to ten days, did not permit of our making as 
 ampl^ use as we could have wished of the opportunity thus 
 afforded us for becoming thoroughly acquainted with a descrip- 
 tion of people, and a country so entirely different from any to 
 be seen on our own side of the globe. ].. | <' 
 
 The remarks I have to offer are not, therefore, mere suppo- 
 f lixons formed upon taking a philosophical view of a group of 
 islands hitherto very little known ; they will contain a true re-^ 
 presentation of them, according to the assertions of two persons 
 
 t 
 
 
 ■\ 
 
* '4 
 
 
 JR 
 
 %v 
 
 98 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 who have lived upon the spot many years, who had not the 
 slightest motive in any way for misleading us, and who were 
 not sufficiently refined to have thought of giving us fictions 
 without any motive. I sought as much as possible to draw in- 
 formation separately from them, and only considered a fact as 
 fully established, when I found it in this way confirmed by the 
 testimony of two men who were in their hearts such decided 
 enemies to each other. 
 
 For the rest, I must confess that I placed more dependance 
 upon the testimony of the Frenchman than of the Englishman ; 
 because the former had lived much longer in the country, and 
 had so much lost the manners and habits of civilized life, that 
 little difference was to be discerned between him and the na- 
 livesj with regard to his habits and mode of living ; I might 
 also add, with regard to his modes of thinking. He had 
 almost forgotten his mother-tongue, and, at first, a repetition 
 of parhx frangais was the only proof he gave of his nationality. 
 His whole figure, not excepting his face, was tattooed: he 
 swam as well as any of the islanders, had married a daughter of 
 one of the inferior chiefs of the island, and lived with the family 
 of his wife, and the rest of the inhabitants, upon the most 
 friendly and confidential footing. Roberts, on the contrary, 
 lived much more separate from the islanders, and had not, as 
 far as we could judge, any thing like the same readiness in 
 speaking their language : he seemed much less acquainted with 
 the manners and customs of the people ; indeed, evinced a 
 great indifference with regard to them. He had, however, a 
 better natural understanding, with greater civilization in his 
 manners, and appeared by his more reserved behaviour to have 
 
 ^ 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. ^ 
 
 obtained a powerful influence over the people. Perhaps this 
 might be only a temporary effect, proceeding from the more 
 marked confidence which they saw placed in him by us ; from 
 perceiving that he was our principal agent in business, and 
 interpreter, and that Cabri was only occasionally employed in 
 our affairs. 
 
 The influence which the latter had obtained by his marriage 
 witb a native was very trifling, because the woman was not 
 of high descent, and he only lived under the protection of an 
 inferior chief. With this man he claimed relationship, although 
 he had only changed names with him ; a ceremony, which here, 
 and in many other of the South-Sea islands, creates a sort of re- 
 lationship, or rather religious compact, somewhat resembling the 
 tie created among us by standing as sponsor for any one at their 
 baptism. -^^ ' • ■ ' 
 
 The first part of the voyage of Captain Von Krusenstem has 
 at the moment of my writing appeared in print. His inte- 
 resting observations will be found to vary in some sort from 
 mine ; but the reason is, that he collected his information pnn- 
 cipally from Roberts, whereas I had mine chiefly from Cabri. 
 I beg to assure my readers that in this difference of opinion, with 
 regard to detached facts, I have no intention whatever of casting 
 the least reflection upon our excellent commander. Far be it 
 from me to think of charging with untruth one, without whose 
 support these observations would never have been laid before 
 the public ; nor would any candid judge, I trust, accuse me of 
 such designs. But that 1 may be rightly understood, and not 
 appear in a false light, I feel myself compelled thus publicly 
 
 o2 
 
 • ^ 
 
100 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 to assure the man to whom I owe so much, for whose friendshi p 
 I have the highest value, and towards whom I feel the warmest 
 gratitude, that it is not from any mean or unworthy views, or 
 for the sake of contradiction, that I differ from him ; wherever 
 we seem not to agree. I attribute it wholly to our having drawn 
 our principal information from different sources. 
 
 If, for instance, I say that the mothers suckle their children, 
 if I assert that matrimonial unions are formed among the 
 people of Nukahiwa, and that they are addicted to jealousy, I 
 must lay the blame of these untruths, if untruths they be, upon 
 Cabri. Trifles of such a nature are not sufficiently important 
 to stake upon them the friendship of such a man as Captain 
 Krusenstern, the object of universal respect, and whose services 
 are known to all Europe. For the rest, similar variations will 
 sufficiently evince to the public the difficulties under which 
 travellers labour to obtain truth, in a country and among a 
 people where they are total strangers ; and it remains at the 
 option of every one whether they will abide by the testimonies 
 of Roberts or of Cabri. 
 
 I proceed now to give a short view of the Marquesas or 
 Washington's Islands. This group was discovered in July, 
 1595, by Don Alvaro Mendana de Neyra, who gave them the 
 name of the Marquesas, in honour of the Marquis Mendc^a 
 de Canete, then viceroy of Peru, by whom he had been sent 
 with four ships to take possession of Solomon's Islands, which 
 he (the same Neyra) had previously discovered. The Marquesas 
 were afterwards, that is, in 1774, visited by Captain Cook, 
 when he discovered the island of Fetugu, or Fataugu, one 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 101 
 
 whicb till then had remained unknown, and to which he gave 
 the name of Hood's Island. Since that time, the group has 
 been visited in succession by Le Marchand in 1791* by Herges' 
 in March, 1792, by Brown, in June, 179«, by Captain Roberts 
 in 1793, by Captain Wilson in 1797, and by many other navi- 
 gators ; it has besides been frequently the resort of vessels 
 belonging to the United States of North America. 
 
 Captain Roberts, who was an American, remained three 
 months at Tahuata, or Santa Christina, where he built a small 
 vessel, and sailed with it to the north-west coast of America in 
 pursuit of the fur trade. Whoever is desirous of obtaining the 
 most accurate and interesting geographical information with 
 regard to the group in general, will find in the voyages of Le 
 Marchand, Vancouver, and Wilson, and more particularly in 
 that of Captain Krusenstem, ample materials to satisfy their 
 wishes. I content myself here with giving a very general and - 
 cursory view of them. 
 
 t 
 it- 1 . 't - • 
 
 : - I 
 
 
101 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 .-.i>i * 
 
 •■ \>1-'" 
 
 . ' .jii 
 
 Tabular View of the Old Marquesas. 
 
 True Names. 
 
 1. Fatuiwa 
 
 2. Montane 
 
 3. Tahuata 
 
 4. Hiwaoa 
 
 5. Fetugu 
 
 Old 
 
 Names. 
 
 Ohitatoa 
 
 Onatcaya 
 Ohitau 
 
 Ohiwana 
 Tihboa 
 
 Names given 
 
 By whom dis- 
 
 Place where they 
 
 South 
 
 Western 
 
 to them. 
 
 covered. 
 
 touched. 
 
 Latitude. 
 
 Longitude. 
 
 La Magdalena 
 
 Mendana de 
 
 Centre of the 
 
 
 
 
 Neyra, 1595 
 
 island 
 
 100 25' 
 
 1380 49' 
 
 St. Pedro 
 
 
 • • • w 
 
 QMr 
 
 1380 56' 
 
 Santa Christina 
 
 . • • > 
 
 Port Madre de 
 
 
 
 
 
 Deoi 
 
 9055' 
 
 1390 8/ 
 
 La Dominica 
 
 
 Eastern point 
 
 9039 
 
 1380 21*30" 
 
 Hood's Inland 
 
 Capt.Cook, 1774 The centre 
 
 9" 27' 
 
 138°29'30'' 
 
 ,''! .-,• ' 
 
 
 1 
 
 Ait 
 
 ■-•■ ^nlf: k 
 
 .?:A^»'T" 
 
 Tabular View of the New Marquesas., or Washington's Islands. 
 
 1. Nukahiwa Nuahiwa 
 
 2. U^huga 
 
 3. Uopoa 
 4.1 - - 
 
 g' ^ Motuaiti 
 
 7. } lliau and 
 8.$ Fatuuhu 
 
 Kuahuga 
 Ruapoa 
 
 • ■■ • 
 
 Federal Island 
 
 Isle Beau 
 
 Sir H. Martin's 
 
 Island 
 Adam's Island 
 Washington'slsl. 
 Massachuset's Is. 
 Riou's Island 
 Adam's Island 
 Isle Marchand 
 Jefferson's Island 
 Lincoln Island 
 Isle Platte 
 Resolution Isl. 
 LcTel Island 
 Franklin's Island 
 Blake Island 
 Knox & Hancock 
 Masse et Chanal 
 Freemantel and 
 
 Langdale 
 Robertas Island 
 
 Ingraham, 1791 
 Marchand, 1791 
 Hergest, 1792 
 
 Roberts, 1793 
 
 Ingrahaoi 
 
 Roberts 
 
 Hergest 
 
 Ingraham 
 
 Marchand 
 
 Roberts 
 
 Ingraham 
 
 Marchand 
 
 Roberts 
 
 Wilson 
 
 Ingraham 
 
 Roberts 
 
 Ingraham 
 
 Marchand 
 
 Roberts 
 
 Hergest 
 
 South-east point 
 South point 
 North-west point 
 
 Western point 
 The double peak 
 The centre 
 
 Northern point 
 
 80 57' 
 80 68' 40" 
 80 53' 30" 
 
 8" 58' 15"' 
 8" 55' 58" 
 8' 54' 30" 
 
 90 21' SO* 
 
 1390 32' 30" 
 1390 54' 30" 
 ISO' 49' 
 
 1S9»30' 
 
 139»9''30"* 
 
 13909'" 
 
 Southern point 
 
 ■» a ■ - 
 ■ w M • 
 
 9,29' 3(y' 
 
 80 37' 30' 
 
 r 37' 30" " 
 r 50' 
 
 • » « • 
 
 1400 20' 
 
 1400 IS- 
 1400 5' 
 
 « « w « 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 103 
 
 The shores of the island Nukahiwa, the principal one of 
 the New Marquesas, are in general steep, and present only 
 dark naked masses of rock, which no doubt owe their origin to 
 volcanoes ; they rise almost perpendicularly out of the sea. 
 The neighbourhood of the equator, from which it will be seen 
 by the above table that they are but a few degrees distant, pre- 
 sents immediately the idea of a very warm climate ; and, in- 
 deed, the thermometer is seldom lower than from eighteen 
 to twenty degrees. Le Marchand observed it in the month of 
 June at twenty-seven : and in the month of May, when we were 
 there, it was commonly, even on board the ship, from twenty- 
 three to twenty-five. The country must be extremely healthy, 
 and of this the two Europeans gave us a proof. Diseases 
 are scarcely known, except such as arise from wounds or 
 other casualties. Winter is characterized here, as in most 
 places between the tropics, by abundant showers of rain. If 
 it happens, as is sometimes the case, and unhappily was so the 
 year before we were there, that not a drop of rain falls for nine 
 or ten months, a scarcity is the consequence. This does not 
 occasion much mortality from the mere effects of hunger, but 
 it gives rise to the most frightful and horrible practices, of 
 which I shall speak more hereafter. -^ **■: 
 
 The prevailing wind at Nukahiwa is the easterly trade- 
 wind, which blows the strongest in autumn : it is called in the 
 country tiutiu. The so ith-west wind is called tuwatone. This 
 seems to be the prevailing wind in winter, and the inhabitants 
 avail themselves of it to visit the neighbouring islands. Their 
 navigation is in a very poor and low situation, for they 
 
104 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLAND?. 
 
 require three days to go to Sa ta Christina. In spring 
 and summer the north wind is very prevalent : it is called 
 tukuahu. There is no particular name for the west or north- 
 west wind, as these winds are said to blow very rarely. Thunder 
 storms but seldom intervene. 
 
 Nukahiwa is about fifteen German miles in circumference, 
 and consists chiefly of naked, craggy, and for the most part 
 inaccessible mountains ; among which are interspersed here 
 and there small, but very fertile and well-watered vallies. On 
 the southern coast are many secure harbours : in the first place* 
 the buy of Tayo-Hoae, or Taiohaie, or Tiohai, to which the 
 name of Port Anna Maria was given by Hergest •. Secondly, 
 Home, Hoome, Siume, Tscho-ome, the Comptroller's Bay of 
 Hergest. Thirdly the new harbour of Hapoa, called by Cap- 
 tain Krusenstern Port Tschitschagoff. Fourthly, Captain 
 Brown, of the Butterworth, says, that he found on the north- 
 west side of the island some good harbours, and that the parts 
 about them seehied to be very populous : as far as I know, 
 these districts have never l)een accurately examined or described. 
 Fifthly, the Neva, when she was here, remarked a bay nume- 
 rously inhabited on the north-east point of the island. Sixthly, 
 the south-west side presents, in some places, low and gently 
 rising land, where might very probably be found creeks that 
 would afford good and safe anchorage. 
 
 * It will be seen, from the TarUtioni in the nanei here pot down, how diificalt it \m 
 for a foreigner to gite the idea he meant to conrey of a name, for the orthography of which 
 he rests entirely on his own conceptions. According to my ideas, I shoaU write this name 
 Ti«hai| bat Captain Krusenstern gires it as Tayo-Hoat. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 105 
 
 As the islanders reciprocally make war upon each other, 
 iand live in a state of constant enmity, we could procure but 
 little information respecting the more remote parts of the 
 island. The boundaries of their habitations are fixed by rivers 
 and mountains. The most inhabited places in the neighbour- 
 hood of the bay where we anchored are the three first harbours 
 mentioned above, and the valleys by which they are bordered. 
 They may contain together about three thousand men capa- 
 ble of bearing arms. 
 
 The country about Home, or Comptroller's Bay, was 
 represented to us as one of the most populous parts of the 
 island, and consisting of three valleys. On the west, or south- 
 west side, where is the largest river of the island, lies a very 
 rich and populous valley, which was called to me Jacapa : it 
 contains twelve hundred men capable of bearing arms. Captain 
 Krusenstern calls this valley Hotty'Schewe^ bi^t I suspect that 
 the name w? > badly pronounced by the Englishman, since 
 that name ^oes not appear to me at all like a word of Nu" 
 kahiwa. The valley near the harbour of Hapoa, or Tschit- 
 «chagoif, is called Schegua, and another near it Thanahui. 
 The son-in-law of the chief of Tayo-Hoae, by name Maudai, 
 governed a valley in the interior of the country, which con- 
 tained also twelve hundred warriors. , . ,,, ^ 
 
 From these, and other detached uncertain data, the popula- 
 tion of Nukahiwa may, I should presume, be estimated at about 
 eighteen thousand souls ; though I know not whether, accord- 
 ing to the number of habitations we knew of, and the many 
 
106 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 more of which we probably never heard, this estimate "may not 
 be too small. War carries off fewer of the human race than 
 scarcity; since, in case of the latter, these people have recourse 
 to the horrible practice of feeding on human fiesh. By 
 this means, if we may rely on the account of our interpre- 
 ters, several hundred persons had been sacrificed the year 
 before in the valley of Tayo-Hoae alone, so that at the present 
 period there might be reckoned four men to one woman, and 
 scarcely any children remained. How far the modes of life 
 contribute to diminish the population will be examined as we 
 proceed farther in this description. j •; ; a;. ^.j^- 
 
 It is possible, nay, even extremely probable, that the island 
 was in former times much more populous, and it is not unlikely 
 that it may recover again in a course of years. Hergest, who 
 visited the harbour of Tayo-Hoae twelve years before 
 us, says, that he saw fifteen hundred inhabitants about the 
 nearest shore : at the time we were there, the number was not 
 above eight hundred, or at the utmost a thousand 
 
 The Washington Islands do not appear to differ essen- 
 tially in the natural productions of the country from the 
 rest of the Marquesas, or from the Friendly and Society Islands. 
 The bread-tree, arto carpus incisa, the fruit of which, accord- 
 ing to what Forster says, is here larger and finer flavoured than 
 any where else, cocoa-nuts, bananas, Indian kole, arum escu- 
 ientum, yams, dioscorea alata, and batatas, convolvulus batatas, 
 are the principal articles of food among the vegetable kingdom ; 
 sugar-canes are also in abundance, but no attention is paid to 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 iCW 
 
 cultivating them. Tlie Otaheitean burning-nut, tuscarpus Fors- 
 teri, is used here as well as at Otaheite, in the place of candles ; 
 and of the casuarina equisetifolia are made javelins, clubs, and 
 other wai'like weapons. The bark of the morus-papyrifera, made 
 after their manner into cloth, is the only clothing the people 
 wear. Their houses are built with bamboo canes, or with the cala- 
 bash-tree, and the shells of cocoa-nuts serve them for drinking 
 cups. Most of the plants which Forster mentions as having seen 
 at Santa Christina, I found also here : a few new species will be 
 mentioned in my botanical catalogue. The Otaheitean apple, 
 spondias, which the above-named celebrated naturalist did not 
 find at the Marquesas, I found at Nukahiwa, but it was some- 
 what scarce. 
 
 Besides the above common objects of food, there are a 
 number of other fruits and roots, which the inhabitants eat 
 in times of scarcity. As these are only to be found upon 
 high mountains, almost inaccessible, except when hunger urges 
 to finding a way of coming at their products, I could only 
 obtain the names of them. The mahinei, probably aniotum 
 fagiferum is a very good fruit, in flavour like a chesnut ; the 
 tefaht or tipahy is a red fruit never eaten but in times of great 
 want ; the tih is a thick root, which may be had the whole year 
 round, but,' like the tefaht it is only considered as a resource in 
 timesof scarcity : cape is a nourishing food, and is probably the 
 same as the Otaheitean fl/>e, and the cappe of the Sandwich 
 Islands, arum macorrhizon. The land, by a higher degree of 
 culture, would be capable of producing many very useful 
 objects, as, for instance, the sugar-cane. We gave Roberts 
 
 p2 
 
108 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 a great many seeds of oranges, trusting that he would use his- 
 endeavours to introduce the raising of this excellent fruit here. 
 
 Judging from the accounts of ail navigators who have- 
 visited the Friendly and Society Isles, I am inclined to think 
 that the people of the Marquesas and Washington Islandsr 
 excel in beauty and grandeur of form, in regularity of features, 
 and in colour, all the other South-Sea islanders. The men are 
 almost all tall, robust, and well made. Few were so fat and 
 unwieldy as the Otaheiteans, none so lean and meagre as the 
 people of Easter Island. We did not see a single crippled of 
 deformed person, but such general beauty and regularity of 
 form, that it greatly excited our astonishment. Mt-ny of them 
 might very well have been placed by the side of the most cele- 
 brated chef-d'oeuvres of antiquity, and they would have lost 
 nothing by the comparison. Their beards are commonly 
 shining, black, and thin, as they are very much in the habit of 
 plucking up the hairs by the roots. The hair is generally 
 long, curly , strong, and black ; among a few it wan somewhat 
 less dark. . :. .... .. 
 
 A certain Mau-ka-u, or Mufa4i Taputakava, particularly 
 attracted our attention from his extraordinary height, the 
 vast strength of his body, and the admirable proportion of his 
 limbs and )nuscle8. He was now twenty years old, and was six 
 feet two inches high, Paris measure*; and Counsellor TilesiuSj^ 
 who unites the eye of a connoisseur and an artist, said, he never 
 
 * A French foot measures thirteen inches, or one foot one inch Engli»h measure,— 
 Tramslatoh. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 m 
 
 saw any one so perfectly proportioned. He took the trouble of 
 measuring every part of this man with the utmost exactness, 
 and after our return to Europe imparted his observations to 
 Counsellor Blumenbach, of Gottingen, who has studied so 
 assiduously the natural history of man. This latter compared 
 these proportions with the Apollo of Belvedere, and found that 
 those of that master-piece of the finest ages of Grecian art, in 
 which is combined every possible integer in the composition of 
 manly beauty, corresponded exactly with our Mufau, an inha- 
 bitant of the island of Nukahiwa. We were told that the chief 
 of a neighbouring island, by name Upoa, with equally exact 
 proportions as Mufau, was a head taller, so at least Roberts 
 and Cabri both assured us ; if they were correct, this man must 
 be nearly seven Paris feet high. 
 
 I trust that this subject will be thought sufficiently inte- 
 resting to excuse my giving the measurements of Mufau, as 
 taken by Counsellor Tilesius, and detailed in Voigt's Maga*- 
 zine of Natural History, ie:- ..tvi 
 
 • ''.")■ 
 
 • Height, six feet two inches, Paris measure. i, /■ • - v \ 
 
 Breadth between the shoulders, nineteen inches two lineSn '> 
 
 In the periphery, forty inches. • " ■ 
 
 Breadth across the breast, fifteen inches. 
 
 Length of the arms, from the point of the shoulder to the 
 end of the longest finger, twenty-two inches four lines. 
 
 Length of the head, from the skull to the chin, ten inches^. 
 
 Circumference of the head, measured round the forehead^ 
 and just above the ears, twenty-three inches and a half. 
 
 Circumference of the breast, forty-two inches. ,; 
 
 ,^ 
 
110 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 Periphery of the lower belly about the spleen, thirty-two 
 inches. 
 
 Periphery of the great bason round the hips, forty-two inches. 
 
 Periphery of the upper part of the thigh, twenty-five inches. 
 
 Periphery of the calf of the leg, leventeen inches and a half. 
 
 Periphery of the ankle an inch above the foot, where it is the 
 smallest, ten inches. 
 
 Length of the foot, twelve inches and a half. 
 
 Greatest breadth of the foot, five inches and a half. 
 
 Circumference of the upper part of the arm, thirteen inches 
 and a half. v , ./ 
 
 Circumferenceof the arm above the elbow, thirteen inches 
 and a quarter. ' - r ly-r- ..-: ' , ■ «» fci.vt-v*,'-' /*,^. ;i .•».; ;• ? ■ i 
 
 Circumference of the hand, eleven inches and a quarter. 
 
 Length of the hand, nine inches. - . 
 
 Circumference of the neck, sixteen inches. 
 
 Length from the skull to the navel, thirty-one inches and a 
 half. 
 
 Length from the navel to the division of the thighs, ten 
 inches and a half. 
 
 Length from the division of the thighs to the sole of the foot, 
 thirty-eight inches. 
 
 The expression of countenance in these people is generally 
 pleasing ; it is open and animated, and their dark eyes are full 
 of life. Most of them have such prepossessing features, that 
 from them, as well as an appearance of natural bonhommie, we 
 should have conceived, with Cook and Forster, that we had 
 met with a friendly and kind-hearted race, if we had not been 
 better informed by our European interpreters. The women 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANWT. 
 
 are in general much smaller than the men, but are extremely- 
 well proportioned. Many of them, in form and countenance, 
 resembled very much the most distinguished women of Ota- 
 heite. ; 
 
 Captain Wilson, who visited this island in 1797. having pre- 
 viously heard the beauty of the females much celebrated, had 
 on board an Otaheitean woman ; but he says, •* though she 
 was tolerably handsome and well-made, she was entirely 
 eclipsed by the finely-proportioned v/omen of Nukahiwa, and 
 this she seemed herself to feel in no slight degree. She 
 was, however, much more amiable, and possessed much more 
 of the softness, delicacy, and tenderness of her sex." 
 
 The women have well-formed heads, their faces are rather 
 full and round than long, they. have large sparkling eyes, clear 
 complexions, very fine teeth, great expression and regularity 
 of features, and generally black curly hair. Among many of the 
 lower class, who were daily on board the ship, the body 
 was small without being compact, the belly out of all propor- 
 tion large, and their manner of walking slow and trailing. 
 Among the women of distinction, who seldom or ever came on 
 board, this was not the case : they were of a pleasing form, 
 with slender waists, and great vivacity, so that they had a 
 just claim to be called handsome. Of this truth I have been 
 convinced by my own eyes, since Major Friderici, Counsellor 
 Tilesius, and myself, in our walks about the vallies, have 
 sometimes met women and girls of the higher classes. They 
 were very different from the women who lived about the har- 
 bour, taller in stature, with more decorum of manners, and 
 
113 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 never without some kind of covering ; they would not enter 
 into conversation with us, but seemed altogether modest and 
 reserved. 
 
 Captain Krusenstern acknowledges that the daughter and 
 daughter-in-law of the chief of Tayo-Hoae, and Roberts's wife, 
 were so handsome that they must have been allowed to be 
 beautiful, even in Europe. He says, besides, that he found the 
 women in the valley of Schegua throughout perfectly well- 
 made, and many of them extremely pretty. None of these 
 were among the tribe of women who came to visit us on the first 
 day of our arrival. How much soever the navigators that have 
 visited the South-Sea islands extol the beauty of the women, 
 I am disposed to consider the men of Nukahiwa as far exceed- 
 ing them. Had I not been convinced from some solitary ex- 
 amples, that the women of distinction who kept aloof from us 
 were really handsome and well-formed, and that we were only 
 visited by the lower classes, it would have appeared to me 
 an almost inexplicable problem in physiology, how such little, 
 puny creatures, with bodies debilitated by premature licen- 
 tiousness, could ever have brought forth such gigantic and 
 finely formed men as Mufau, and many others. 
 
 It is highly probable that we saw a very few only of the 
 really fine and handsome women, and that most of those who fell 
 under our observation were the ladies of pleasure of the island. 
 I must, however, confess that in my opinion both the form and 
 countenance of a well-made negress are more pleasing and in- 
 teresting, according to our European ideas of beauty, than those 
 of the women in these islands. We certainly found in Nuka^ 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 lis 
 
 hiwa an Apollo of Belvedere ; but it may as certainly be made 
 a question, whether a nice observer would not sooner find the 
 original of the Medicean Venus upon the coast of Africa than 
 in the South-Sea. , 
 
 The natural colour of the skin in these islanders is almost as 
 white as that of Europeans ; but from the influence of the 
 climate, and the power of the sun's rays, it by degrees be- 
 comes brownish. This is particularly the case among people of 
 the lower classes, who have scarcely even a girdle of modesty as 
 a covering, and are obliged, perhaps, to work out in the open 
 air. Captain Wilson says, that many women who at his arrival 
 were nearly as white as Europeans, by coming perpetually on 
 board the ship in the burning heat of the sun, were after awhile 
 quite brown and sun-burnt : the new-born children are nearly as 
 white as in Europe. The women of the higher classes are scarcely 
 less careful of their complexions than our belles, and to pre- 
 serve them, live almost entirely in the shade, sheltered from the 
 effect of the burning sun-beams. They have a garment of cloth, 
 made from the bark of the paper mulberry-tree ; and if they go 
 outj hold a green bough, or a banana leaf, over their heads as a 
 parasol. In this way they preserve their complexions so well, 
 that many of them are not darker than an European brunette. 
 The desire to please, among the women, is here so strong that 
 they have even found a method, if they are very much tanned, 
 of bleaching their skin again in a few days. They have generally 
 recourse to this expedient before any great popular festival, or 
 public sports, th^t they may attract more admiration, and receive 
 more homage. The manner in which it is done is to rub the 
 whole body with sap extracted from the leaves of three ditferent 
 
114 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS, 
 
 plants, called here epapha, hoko-kuh, and ohue. The skin be- 
 comes at first entirely black, and for five or six days, the per- 
 sons undergoing the operation cannot leave the house ; they 
 then wash themselves well with fresh water, which takes off 
 the black sap, and leaves the skin its natural, nearly white, 
 colour. 
 
 t 
 
 Another custom which prevails, no less among the men than 
 the women, is to rub themselves all over with a sort of oint- 
 ment, made from the oil of the cocoa-nut, which they 
 consider as having a very fragrant smell ; it is mixed with the 
 sap of several plants, particularly the hibiscus popu-ieus, to give 
 it a yellow colour. This shining yellow dye, a^ i g to the 
 taste of the islanders, adds extremely to beauij, <ji person, 
 particularly in the male sex. It makes the skin very soft and 
 smooth, and prevents strong perspiration, which in these hot 
 climates very much weakens and injures the constitution : the 
 anointing the bodies in this way assists also in facilitating their 
 swimming. Though we Europeans could not acquire any taste 
 for such a mode of ornamenting ourselves, yet it was consi- 
 dered by the old women and young girls as a great addition 
 to their charms. They seemed to expect their conquests to 
 be much more numerous when thus adorned, and were ex- 
 ceedingly astonished when we endeavoured to make them com- 
 prehend that we thought them much handsomer with their skin 
 of its native colour. 
 
 The people of Nukahiwa also consider it as indisputable that 
 a totally smooth skin, entirely free from hair, is a great beauty ; 
 and under this idea pluck up the hair under the arms and upon 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. ijj 
 
 the breast : those who do not take this trouble are regarded 
 as very careless and negligent. The chief, or elder of the valley, 
 by name Katanuah, stood one day full of astonishment, looking 
 at one of our officers, and made him understand by signs that he 
 wished him to hold himself still, when with his nails he en- 
 deavoured to pluck out a hair from the inside of his nostril. 
 Hair in this part is considered as particularly unseemly ; per- 
 haps, because among all the South-Sea islanders, instead of 
 kissing, they join noses, as a proof of love or friendship. 
 
 Q2 
 
116 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Tattooing.— The Manner in which it is performed. — The Houses tabooed 
 during the Time. — Clothing of the Islanders. — Their Food.— The Bread- 
 fruit. — Their Dwellings. 
 
 The most remarkable and interesting manner which the 
 South-Sea islanders have of ornamenting their naked bodies 
 consists in punctuation, or, as they call it, tattooing. This 
 kind of decoration, so common, among many nations of the 
 earth, merits greater attention from travellers than it has 
 hitherto received; and I am much surprised that the acutenessof 
 a Foister has passed over the subject with so much indifference. 
 It is undoubtedly very striking, that nations perfectly remote 
 from each other, who have no means of intercourse whatever, 
 and according to what appears to us never could have had any, 
 should yet be all agreed in this practice. 
 
 Among the Europeans, that is to say the pilgrims to the 
 Holy Sepulchre, and the sailors of almost all the nations of 
 Europe, in the Alautian islands on the north-west coast of 
 America, in the Sandwic!., Friendly, and Society islands, among 
 the New Zealanders, and the people of Easter Island, in short, 
 among thfe nations both of the northern and southern hemis- 
 pheres, both of the east and of the west, in the old and in the 
 new world, are to be found traces of this custom ; in some places 
 
1^ 
 
 #- 
 
 # 
 
 ,♦.».- 
 
 
 -4» 
 
*?.. 
 
 « 
 
 .'4. ,<* 
 
 ,»•- 
 
 ;fe. 
 
 .4 
 
 F'liirutni Dv .~' Sttwtr 
 
 ^ I /' <■ Oi/itii''tiii/ •/ U'l- ' ',i',i//i' r/ ^ > ^'/; '/'//' ',r 
 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 117 
 
 more, in some less, but among all iii a cei tain degree. It seems 
 always clone with the idea of ornament, but it is also highly 
 probable that in the warmer zones it may have the farther 
 view by cutting through the pores of the skin so much to 
 diminish transpiration, and by that means supersede, in some 
 sort, the necessity of anointing the body. •.>;:: . . ; 
 
 Among all the known nations of the earth, none have car- 
 ried the art of tattooing to so high a degree of perfection as the 
 inhabitants of Washington's Islands. The regular designs with 
 which the bodies of the men of Nukahiwa are punctured from 
 head to foot supplies in some sort the absence of clothing ; for, 
 under so warm a heaven, clothing would be insupportable to 
 them. Many people here seek as much to obtain distinction 
 by the symmetry and regularity with which they are tattooed, 
 as among us by the elegant manner in which they are dressed ; 
 and although no real elevation of rank is designated by the 
 greater superiority of these decorations, yet as only persons of 
 rank can afford to be at the expence attendant upon any refine- 
 ment in the ornaments, it does become in fact a badge of dis- 
 tinction. •- .; .. ; ,• .'-- ; .-^' r 
 
 ■ * 
 
 The operation of tattooing is performed by certain persons, 
 who gain their livelihood by it entirely, and I presume that 
 those who perform it with the greatest dexterity, and evince 
 the greatest degree of taste in the disposition of the ornaments, 
 are as much sought after as among us a particularly good 
 tailor. Thus much, however, must be said, that the choice 
 made is not a matter of equal indifference with them as with 
 us ; for if the punctured garment be spoiled in the making, the 
 
118 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 mischief is irreparable, it must be worn with all its faults the 
 whole life through. 
 
 For performing the operation, the artist uses the wing bone 
 of a tropic bird, phaeton athereus, which is jagged and pointed 
 at the end after the manner of a comb, sometimes in the form of 
 a crescent, sometimes in a strait line, and larger or smaller 
 according to the figures which the artist intends to make. This 
 instrument is fixed into a bamboo handle about as thick as the 
 finger, with which the puncturer, by means of another cane, 
 strikes so gently and so dexterously, that it scarcely pierces 
 through the skin. The principal strokes of the figures to De 
 tattooed are first sketched upon the body with the same dye 
 that is afterwards rubbed into the punctures, to serve as guides 
 in the use of the instrument. The punctures being made so 
 that the blood and lymph ooze through the orifice, a thick dye, 
 composed of ashes from the kernel of the burning-nut, nleurites 
 triloba, mixed with water, is rubbed in. This occasions at first 
 a slight degree of smarting and inflammation, it then heals, 
 and when the crust comes off, after some days the bluish or 
 blackish-blue figure appears. 
 
 '.;'" 
 
 As soon as the inhabitant of Nukahiwa approaches towards 
 the age of manhood, the operation of tattooing is begun, and 
 this is one of the most important epochs of his life. The 
 artist is sent for, and the agreement made with him that 
 he is to receive so many hogs as his pay ; the number is com- 
 monly regulated according to the wealth of the person to be 
 tattooed, and the quantity of decoration bestowed is regulated 
 by the pay. While we were at the island, a son of the chief 
 
M 
 
 \ J 
 
 0»K 
 
 *' i 
 
 ^i 
 
 •a *' ^-l-: 
 
 w 
 
 -»i|b 
 
 % 
 
 .4*' 
 
 vir^ 
 
 4^ 
 
 •an' 
 
 '■* 
 
 •a^t," 
 
 ft***-- ,v*«i »«5.-« j^^;i§3i 
 
 ,^:: 
 
 K: 
 
 ^*'-i 
 
 '*Mh>>#. 
 
 '«»»viii» 
 
 tt* 
 
lUhiUfJ M^rl.lM liyMauyliSmmtim*it JW l$ J mim. 
 
tff 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 119 
 
 Katanuah was to be tattooed. For this purpose, as belongiiif^ 
 to the principal person in the island, he was put into a separate 
 house for several weeks which was tabooed ; that is to say, it was 
 forbidden to every body, except those who were exempted from 
 the taboo by his father, to approach the house ; here he was to 
 remain during the whole time that the operation continued. 
 All women, even the mother, are prohibited from seeing the 
 youth while the taboo remains in force. Both the operator 
 and the operatee are fed with the very best food during the con- 
 tinuance of the operation: to the former these are days of 
 great festivity. In the first year only the ground-work of the 
 principal figures upon the breast, arms, back, and thighs, i.. 
 laid ; and in doing this, the first punctures must be entirely 
 healed, and the crust must have come off before new ones are 
 made. Every single mark takes three or four days to heal ; 
 and the first sitting, as it may be called, commonly lasts three 
 or four weeks. v . .Ssl' <■. 
 
 While the patient is going through the operation, he must 
 drink 'ery little, for fear of creating too much inflammation, 
 and he u not allowed to eat early in the morning, only at noon 
 and in tie evening. When once the decorations are begun, 
 some addi ion is constantly made to them at intervals of from 
 three to six months, and this is not unfrequently continued for 
 thirty or forty years before the whole tattooing is completed. 
 We saw some old men of the higher ranks, who were punctured 
 over and over to such a degree, that the outlines of each sepa- 
 rate figure were scarcely to be distinguished, and the body had 
 an almost negro-like appearance. This is, according to the 
 general idea, the height of perfection in ornament, probably 
 
»♦ 
 
 180 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 because tlie cost of it has been very great, and it therefore 
 shews a person of superlative wealth. It is singular^ that the 
 men of distinction should place their gratification in acquiring 
 this dark hue, while the women place theirs in preserving their 
 original fair complexion uninjured. 
 
 The tattooing of persons in a middling station is performed 
 in houses erected for the purpose by the tattooers, and tabooed 
 by authority. A tattooer, who visited us several times on 
 board the ship, had three of these houses, which could each 
 receive eight or ten persons at a time.: they paid for their 
 decorations according to the greater or less quantity of them, 
 and to the trouble the figures required. The poorer islanders, 
 who have not a superabundance of hogs to dispose of in luxu- 
 ries, but live chiefly themselves upon bread-fruit, are operated 
 upon by novices in the art, who take them at a very low price 
 as subjects for practice, but their works are easily distinguish- 
 able, even by a stranger, from those of an experienced artist. 
 The lowest class of all, the fishermen principally, but few of 
 whom we saw, are often not able to afford even the pay 
 required by a novice, and are therefore not tattooed at all. 
 
 The women of Nukahiwa are very little tattooed, differing 
 in this respect from the females of the other South-Sea islands. 
 The hands are punctured from the ends of the fingers to the 
 wrist, which gives them the appearance of wearing gloves, 
 and our glovers might very well borrow from them patterns, 
 and introduce a new fashion among the ladies, of gloves worked 
 d la Washington. The feet, which among many arc tattooed, 
 look like highly-ornamented half-boots ; long . stripes are 
 
• r 
 
 I 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. ' |21 
 
 besides sometimes to be seen down the arms of the women, and 
 circles round them, which have much the same effect as the 
 bracelets worn by European ladies. Some have also their 
 ears and lips tattooed. The women are not, like the men, 
 shut up iti a tabooed house while they are going through this 
 operation it is performed without any ceremony in their ovn\ 
 house., or in tbose of their relations ; m short, wherever they 
 
 )ieasi. 
 
 . '.:»' 
 
 !>.• 
 
 Somet'-nJa a rich islander will, either from generosity, osten- 
 tation, 01 love t( his wife, make a feast in honour of her, 
 wl^ii i he has a bi'acelet tattooed round her arm, or perhaps her 
 eai ornamented; a hog if> hi ? killed, and the friends of both 
 sexes are invited to partake of it, the occasion of the feast 
 being made known to them. It is expected that the same 
 courtesy should be returned in case of the wife of any of the 
 guests being punctured. This is one of the few occasions whert 
 women are allowed to eat hog's flesh. If, in a very dry year^ 
 bread-fruit, hogs, roots, and other provisions, become scarce, 
 any one who has still a good stock of them, which com- 
 monly happens to the chief, in order to distribute his stores, 
 keeps open table for a certain time to an appoiiUed number 
 of poor artists, who are bound to give in return some strokes 
 of the tattoo to all who choose to come for it. By virtue 
 of a taboo, all these brethren are engaged to support each other, 
 if in future some happen to be in need, while the others are in 
 affluence. This is one of the most rational orders of Free- 
 masonry upon the globe, r 'i 
 
 Our interpreter Cabri, who \yas slightly and irregularly 
 
^'* 
 
 J 
 
 
 J2;3 W.\SHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 tattooed all over his body, upon one of these occasions got a 
 black, or rather blue eye ; and Roberts, who had only a punc- 
 ture on his breast, in the form of a long, square, six inches one 
 way and four the other, assured us that he would never have 
 submitted to the operation, if he had not been constrained by 
 the scarcity in the preceding year to become one of the guests 
 fed by the chief Katanuah. The same person may be membet 
 of several of these societies ; but, according to what we could 
 learn, a portion must always be given to the priest or magician,, 
 as he is called, even if he be not a member. In a time of scar- 
 city also, many of the people who have been tattooed in thia 
 way unite as an absolute troop of banditti, and share equally 
 among each other all that they can plunder or kill. 
 
 ■■ - ■" ^ ■* ■■• • " • ■ - ■ •• - 
 
 The figures wifeh which the body is tattooed are chosen with 
 great care, and appropriate ornaments are selected for the 
 different parts. They consist partly of animals, partly of other 
 objects which have some reference to the manners and customs 
 of the islands ; and every figure has here, as in the Friendly 
 Islands, its particular name. Upon an accurate examination, 
 curved lines, diamonds, and other designs, are often distin- 
 guishable between rows of punctures, which resemble- very 
 much the ornaments called d la Grecque. The most perfect 
 symmetry is observed over the whole body : the head of a man 
 is tattooed in every part ; the breast is commonly ornamented 
 with a figure resembling a shield ; on the anus and thighs 
 are stripes, sometimes broader, sometimes narrower, in such 
 directions that these people might very well be presumed to 
 have studied anatomy, and to be acquainted with the course 
 and dimensions of the muscles. Upon the back is a large cross. 
 
^w///^.v /Ai^y /// ■ ^y/Z/^y'/z/y 
 
 t^tuhtd M*\ J if^tS hy Hrtu\ iWhirit li'nJmt .Vrrnf. ZcHiAw 
 
'>**«w*i»' U'.- 
 
 ■■^t 
 
 >i*. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 123 
 
 which begins at the neck, and ends with the last vertebrae. 
 In the front of the thigh are often figures, which seem intended 
 to represent the human face. On each side the calf of" the leg 
 is an oval figure, which produces a veiy good effect. The whole, 
 in short, displays much taste and discrimination. Some of 
 the tenderest parts of the body, the eye-lids for example, are 
 the only parts not tattooed. 
 
 The clothing of these people consists of a piece of cloth 
 round the waist, which among the men is called tschiabu, but 
 among the women teweu or teuweu. The women have besides a 
 large piece of cloth thrown over them : this is done less from 
 modesty than to keep off the burning sun from injuring their 
 complexions. Many of them would very gladly have given us 
 their cloaks for a piece of iron, or a knife, if they had not 
 Ibeen too far from their habitations, and afraid of being tanned 
 by the sun in returning to them. A few of the men had a piece 
 of cloth hanging partly down the back, and fastened together 
 upon the breast or under the chin. 
 
 The bread-fruit, which forms so essential an article of 
 food among these people, is here, as in almost all the South- 
 Sea islands, what corn and potatoes are in Europe, what rice 
 is in India, and what the cassava root is in Brazil. This tree 
 appears indigenous in these islands, and was first known to 
 Europeans through the great English navigators, by whom 
 the vast Archipelagoes of the South-Seas were discovered. Its 
 importance and utility induced the English government, in 
 1787, to send out an expedition under the command of Cap- 
 tain Bligh, to carry a quantity of the plants to their West 
 
 b2 
 
 u 
 
124 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 India possessions. Notwithstanding the miscarriage of their 
 first attempt. Captain Bligh was ordered, again to Otaheite for 
 the same purpose, and in 1792, succeeded happily in trans- 
 porting this precious gift of Providence to the West Indies : the 
 plants have ever since flourished there exceedingly. The fruit, 
 in size and form, resembles very much a cocoa-nut or a melon. 
 The tree grows to a great height, is thick in the stem, and has 
 a very luxuriant foliage ; the leaves are much like those of the 
 oak, but a great deal larger, growing to the length of a foot or 
 a foot and half. The fruit is not eaten raw, but roasted or 
 broiled ; the taste is different according to the manner in 
 which it is dressed, but either way has a considerable similarity 
 with that of the banana, only less sweet and not so greasy. It 
 very much resembles a cake made of flour, butter, egg, milk, 
 and sugar ; it has more the appearance of being a composition 
 of flour than the banana. 
 
 The usual manner of cooking the fruit is to make a hole in 
 the ground, and pave it round with large smooth stones ; a iire 
 is then kindled in the middle, and as soon as the stones are tho- 
 roughly heated, the ashes are cleared away ; bamboo canes and 
 banana leaves are then laid over them, and the bread-fruit wrapped 
 in a banana leaf laid into the oven, which is covered with leaves 
 and hot stones. The fruit, when roasted in this way, and eaten 
 with milk pressed from the cocoa-nut, is called teaikai, and is 
 esteemed very delicious. The chief of Taioliaie once brought 
 us a present of this dish, as a specimen of the cookery of his 
 country, and we all liked it exceedingly. Another way of dress- 
 ing the bread-fruit is to take off the outward shell after it is 
 roasted, and mix it with water, or milk of cocoa-nut, Avith 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. \f^ 
 
 some of the nut scraped fine ; this is called kakuh, and is also 
 very pleasant. :» r; .■ • < '- * •-' . ; r 
 
 •■^-'•j./t>; 
 
 ! i. 
 
 The ripe bread-fruit will not keep good many days : in times 
 of great abundance, therefore, it is cut into small pieces, when 
 fi hole is made in the ground about eight feet long by four 
 broad, and five or six feet deep, which is paved with large 
 stones, and the pieces of fruit thrown into it. A strong fer- 
 mentation ensues, and forms a leaven, which will then keep 
 for months. This food is called popoi*. When it is mixed 
 with water, it makes a drink which has very much the appear- 
 ance and taste of butter-milk, and is extremely cooling and 
 refreshing. There are many other ways of dressing the bread- 
 fruit, mixed with taro, with yams, with bananas, or other fruits, 
 concerning which I could not obtain any accurate information. 
 
 The animal food of these islanders cpnsists in man's and 
 swine's flesh, in fish and poultry. The two latter are not held 
 of any great account ; but the flesh of swine, with, alas! that 
 of their fellow-creatures, form very essential articles in their 
 political economy. On the birth of a child, on a wedding or a 
 funeral, on the tattooing of a person of distinction, at any 
 dance, festival, or other ceremony, swine are always killed 
 in a greater or less number, according to the circumstances. 
 They are roasted in ovens- such as nave been described for 
 roasting the bread-fruit, and eaten without salt: the latter is 
 
 * Probably j)Oj}ot may signify /oo(/ in general ; for the eating.housc, as will be seen 
 in future, is called popoi.taboo^ even though not destined entirely to eating swine's flesh. 
 
its 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 unknown among these islanders ; it is only sometimes compen- 
 sated by the use of sea-water. Fish and shell-fish are not held 
 in any esteem, and fowls are rather kept for the sake of their 
 feathers than as an article of food. _■■■■■ 
 
 The want of variety in objects of animal food seems the prin- 
 <;ipal reason why a variety is made by eating slaughtered enemies, 
 and human flesh procured by other means. On account of the 
 importance of this subject, I propose in a future chapter to be 
 somewhat diffuse upon it. In the time of scarcity, the people 
 are glad to eat any thing, and content themselves with rats, and 
 different kinds of fish ; among others, medusa^ which are not 
 usually considered as objects of food, ^e did not observe here 
 the custom common among the other South-Sea islanders, of 
 extracting an intoxicating liquor fron the pepper plant, piper- 
 latifoliunty although the plant grows here, and the manner of 
 making the liquor seemed known to them. Probably much of 
 the beauty and good health of the men is to be ascribed to their 
 abstaining from a beverage so extifemely unwholesome. ^ 
 
 The habitations of the people of Nukahiwa are different in 
 size, though resembling much in their exterior European 
 houses of only one floor. They are commonly about twenty- 
 five feet in length, and six or eight in breadth, with a division 
 across the middle ; the hinder wall is much higher than that 
 in fi*ont, the former being ten or twelve feet high, the latter not 
 above three or four. They are made with four strong posts 
 stuck into the earth at the corners, to which are fastened 
 horizontal poles. The sides are composed of bamboo canes 
 of equal thickness, placed perpendicularly about half an inch 
 
 ,vX 
 
 - K M 
 
 
'-^^ 
 
 *■* 
 

 V 
 
 
"W" 
 
 1^^ 
 
 ■ ^'^ 
 
 .Ml. 
 
• I 
 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. J27 
 
 from each other, and lined in the inside with leaves of the 
 cocoa-palm, and some sorts of fern dried ^ The roof is 
 covered with several layers of leaves of the bread-fruit tree* 
 which keep out the heaviest showers of rain ; the entrance 
 is in the low wall in front. It has always appeared to me 
 extraordinary, that not only here, but in the habitations of 
 all uncivilized nations, the entrance should be so dispropor- 
 tionately low. In cold climates, inhabited by a pigmy race 
 of men, a good reason may be assigned for it, that the smaller 
 the opening, the more easily can the cold be kept out : but 
 it is incomprehensible how the custom can have become uni- 
 versal among tlie large and robust inhabitants of warm 
 climates, who must find the inconvenience of it very sen- 
 sibly. 
 
 '.•>:?. .. .1' 
 
 VI fit- 
 
 
 x^ 
 
 The best houses are built upon a platform made of quadran-^ 
 gular smoothed stones, which sometimes extends several feet 
 in front of the house : this undoubtedly makes the habitation 
 more dry, and gives it a handsomer appearance. In these 
 buildings one cannot but be very much astonished to see 
 with what dexterity the people put together such immense 
 Stones ; they are of a size scarcely to be moved by less thare 
 ten or twelve men, and are united without any kind of cement 
 whatever, so that they are absolute Roman walls : they would, 
 indeed, do honour to any European architect. In erecting a 
 new house, the neighbours reciprocally assist each other. 
 People often build houses merely for amusement, and those 
 who are in affluence have ft^quently houses or huts in several 
 parts of the valley they inhabit, which can be taken down^ 
 again, and removed in a lew days. •-< ; '• .;;:• 
 
 .-rf-ii^-- 
 
118 VTASIIINOTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 The building of the larger dwellings, in which a numerous 
 family can live all together, is the business of the men and 
 women conjointly. But when a man, without the assistance 
 of his wife, brings together the stones that are to serve for 
 the ground-plot of his house, the building erected upon it 
 is tabooed, that is, the women are prohibited entering it. 
 Every affluent islander has at least one such tabooed house, 
 which is commonly at a little distance from the dwelling- 
 house, lie suits it entirely to his own convenience, and has 
 above all a sniie-d-manger, where, removed from the presence 
 of his wife, he can eat swine's flesh undisturbed ; for this, as 
 has been already hinted, is a food of which the women are 
 rarely permitted to partake, and when 'they are, it is only by 
 special grace and favour of the men. Such a taboo-house it 
 called popot-taboo, 
 
 . Every new-built house must be consecrated by a priest 
 or tiiagician, or whatever he may be called; he makes an 
 oration jkpon the occasion, which is given in a language wholly 
 incomprehensible to the people at large. He must then be 
 feasted with swine and other good things, over which he 
 makes strange ceremonies, and sleeps the first night in the 
 new house ; by these means it is for ever protected from evil 
 spirits. Upon several occasions the women also have separate 
 houses allotted to them, particularly for the purpose of lying-in. 
 The interior of the houses is very clean, for the inhabitants are 
 bound by the laws, or by taboos, to a great degree of clean- 
 liness : it is divided by rafters into two unequal parts : in the 
 first, which is the smallest, there is nothing but the stone 
 pavement to be seen ; but the other is strewed over with a soft 
 
 ii 'h. 
 
 w 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. li^ 
 
 grasS) over which straw mats are laid, and on these all the inha- 
 bitants of the house, without distinction of age or sex, sleep. 
 The walls are hung round with domestic utensils, such as cala- 
 bashes of different sizes, cocoa-nut shells, fishing-nets, lances, 
 slings, stilts, battle-axes, hatchets, sundry ornaments, drums, 
 and a variety of other articles. 
 
 
 ..ife 
 
130 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 On the social Institutions among the People of Washington's Islands. — The 
 Chiefs, or Kings.^The Religion and Laws. — Recapitulation of Objects 
 tabooed y and of the Occasions on which they become so. 
 
 Op the social institutions, the wars, the religion, the cha- 
 racter, and the modes of thinking of these islanders, it was dif- 
 ficult, during our short stay, to obtaili accurate ideas, so that I 
 am almost afraid of hazarding any positive opinions with regard 
 to them. The knowledge and judgment of our interpreters 
 were besides so contracted, that very commonly, when we 
 endeavoured to establish any fact by minute investigations, they 
 contmdicted themselves. 
 
 
 We certainly could not discover that there was in Nuka- 
 hiwa, properly speaking, any form of government. Roberts 
 having, as an Englishman, always the idea of a king in his 
 head, distinguished the chief who resided in the valley of Tayo- 
 Hoae, by name Katanuah, with this title ; yet his power did not 
 appear to exceed what belongs to a chief, and to be very far indeed 
 from that of a sovereign. He was probably descended from 
 one of the oldest families, and as a distinguished head of a house, 
 had a numerous relationship and great possessions ; but he did 
 not appear to exercise any political supremacy. In his exterior 
 there was nothing either of clothing or badges of honour to 
 
WAfiHINGTON'S ISLANDS. >||i 
 
 distinguish him from the most obscure of his fellow-citizens, 
 excepting that he was very much tattooed ; but this was a dis- 
 tinction which he had only in common with many other rich 
 people. His body was somewhat corpulent and unwieldy, so 
 that he could not with advantage have been taken as a leader 
 in battle, in which activity is an essential quality. His com- 
 mands seemed only laughed at, and he had so little influence 
 over the inhabitants, that he could not, at the entreaty of 
 Captain Von Krusenstern, keep the people away from our 
 watering-place, or lay a taboo upon it. Sometimes he came 
 with other islanders in a canoe to our ship, but at other times 
 swam on board among the lowest of the people, without the least 
 appearance of distinction between him and them, or their 
 appearing to pay the least respect to his dignity. 
 
 Every district, and every valley of the island, has, according 
 to the assertions of our interpreters, its separate king ; so that 
 in a circumference of scarcely sixteen German miles, there must 
 be, by this account, fifteen or sixteen kings. These magistrates, 
 however, as far as we could judge, seemed not to have so much 
 power over their subjects as among us a village justice has OA-^er 
 his peasants. I may, therefore, well assert, that Roberts and Cabri 
 had made Katanuah a king, and that neither he or the rest of 
 the elders, neither the rich or the poor, have any idea of poli- 
 tical sovereignty, of government, or of a form of government. 
 This chief, the king of the valley as he is to be called, is in 
 possession, and probably the hereditary heir to several groves 
 of bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, and banana trees, and as such is 
 capable of feeding a number of persons ; they probably, for this 
 reason, consider themselves as under his protection, yet every 
 
 s2 
 
1st WASHINGTON'S KLAPfDS. 
 
 one still remains his own judge. The intercourse of the islanders 
 one among the other is regulated principally by the taboos. 
 
 When any one of them kills another, which probably 
 may happen not unfrcquently among a people so extremely 
 passionate, the whole family of the slain unite them- 
 selves against the murderer; an open strife commences, and 
 the injured party will not discontinue it till either the offender, or 
 some one of his family, is slain. But as soon as one is sacri- 
 ficed, no matter whether man, woman, boy, or girl, the enmity 
 ceases, and the most complete harmony is restored between the 
 antagonists. During the continuance of such a family 
 strife, many spectators from neighbo\iring houses will look 
 on, without any one thinking of interposing to effect a 
 reconciliation. 
 
 Every islander regulates himself in his behaviour according 
 to prejudices and customs, and his passions are kept in check 
 through deeply-rooted superstition, through fear of invisible 
 spirits, which is all comprehended in the word taboo. Hence 
 are derived their laws, and hence what may be termed religion 
 among them. A brief account of the objects of taboo will be 
 the best manner of explaining, in great measure, their institu- 
 tions, modes of life, manners, and customs. Had Roberts and 
 Cabri been persons of inquiring and enlightened minds, we 
 might probably have obtained such information as would have 
 afforded important matter for philosophical speculations; in- 
 stead of this, I must confine myself to some trifling observations 
 which I collected casually. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. J 53 
 
 First. The persons of the priests or Tauas*y and all their 
 possessions, that is to say, their household utensils, implements, 
 canoes, &c. &c. are tabooed. By this is meant, that they are 
 to be considered as holy, and must not be touched or used by 
 any body but the owner. At first, it was incomprehensible to 
 us why some islanders, who seemed otherwise not in the least 
 above the rest, would not, upon any account, giv^c us their 
 implements or ornaments in exchange for things we offered 
 them, and which they seemed very desirous of possessing, till 
 we afterwards fully understood the meaning of this word taboo. 
 
 Second. The persons of the rich, and of people of distinc- 
 tion, are tabooed ; that is to say, no one can strike or touch 
 them in any way that would hare the appearance of insult, 
 without oifending the invisible spirits, and exciting their utmost 
 rage against the offender. 
 
 Third. Every one, even the lowest person in the valley, who 
 kills the highest person, or one of the highest among the 
 enemy, for such a heroic deed is tabooed for ten days. During 
 this time he can have no intercourse with his wife : he has 
 hogs brought him a» presents, and fire is tabooed to him ; this 
 means, that another must make fire and cook for him. Perhaps 
 it is intended, by treating him with this distinction, to encou- 
 rage others to perform like deeds of valour. 
 
 * As the nams of priest or high'-priest naturally presents a religious idea, 1 shall calt 
 these magicians or enchanters, in the language of tht country, Tauas. It would hardly bt 
 giring a right idea of their office to applj the term priest to them. 
 
134 
 
 WASHLNGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 Fourth. The morai, or cemetery, is tabooed to women. No- 
 woman, therefore, can visit this place ; and when she goes 
 near it, she must have a very large piece of cloth thrown over 
 her. If she be naked, she must keep at a great distance. Every 
 islander has a morai near his house, near to which is the popoi- 
 taboo, or tabooed eating-house, where the men eat swine's 
 flesh uninterrupted by the women. The morai of the Tauas is 
 entirely remote from all other habitations ; and here, commonly, 
 slaughtered enemies are eaten. Through this taboo the women 
 are not only precluded from eating swine's flesh, but the still 
 greater enjoyment of eating human flesh. No person can 
 be present at one of these banquets who is not tabooed : they 
 are confined to the Tauas, to persons of distinction, their 
 relations by name, the hero of the fight, and others. 
 
 Fifth. Human flesh is tabooed to women; that is to say, 
 they are not allowed to partake of this feast. Some instances, 
 however, may occur in which the prohibition is relaxed ; but I 
 could not get any accurate information what they were. 
 
 Sixth. The wife of the chief is tabooed to her fiiendsj and 
 to all who bear her name ; that is to say, the friends and 
 relations by name would on no account permit themselves to 
 take any liberties with her. 
 
 Seventh. The head of every islander is tabooed. No one, 
 therefore, nay step over the liead of another as he lies asleep : 
 a father f ven may not step over the head of his son ; nor may 
 any oirj lay his hand upon the head of another. At our first 
 arrival we were very desirous of stroking our hands over the 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 135 
 
 heads of some of the handsomest men ; on which they betrayed 
 symptoms of great uneasiness and distress, and informed us of 
 the taboo. This ordinance appears to have its foundation in 
 personal security. No one ventures, in consequence, to fall 
 upon another in his sleep, or to seize another by the head. 
 
 Eighth. Every child from the moment of its birth inherits 
 from its parents at least one bread-fruit tree, and this tree is 
 tabooed even to the father and mother. If the parents are so 
 poor that they have not a tree to settle upon the child, one is 
 planted for it immediately : by this means a provision is made 
 for the maintenance of the child, since one or two bread-fruit 
 trees is sufficient to support a man the whole year round. 
 
 Ninth. The great calebashes, crescentia-cujetCy which serve as 
 vessels for holding water, are tabooed to each individual of 
 either sex. The women there;' re do not touch those that 
 belong to the men, even to hang them up in the house. 
 
 Tenth. If any thing be stolen from another, a hog for instance, 
 and the person robbed has a suspicion by whom the act was 
 committed, in revenge he taboos the hogs, or other possessions^ 
 of the supposed thief. He gives the swine or trees names, by 
 which, according to the ideas of the people, they are bewitched 
 or enchanted; and by this means the suspected person is 
 sometimes compelled to leave the place and all his possessions, 
 and settle elsewhere. The swine that have been thus be- 
 witched, natetu, must never be killed. Every person of either 
 sex can bewitch the finest of his trees, when they become 
 tabooed; their property is thus rendered secure. 
 
JS6 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 Eleventh. The cloth that is wound round the waist of every- 
 body is tabooed. This means that it must not be used by 
 another, or be hung up in the house with other things, but must 
 lie upon the ground, or be put upon a stick in a corner of the 
 room: an idea of cleanliness seems to be attached to this 
 regulation. ^ 
 
 Twelfth. The habitation is tabooed to water, or rather water 
 is tabooed to the habitation. Nobody, therefore, thinks of 
 washing in the house ; nor must a drop of water be thrown 
 upon the stones, or upon the mats. The house is by this m-^ans 
 always kept dry. 
 
 Thirteenth. The best runners on stilts, who perform at the 
 public dancing festivals, are tabooed for three days before ; they 
 do not, in consequence, go out, are well fed, and have no inter* 
 course with their wives. This is probab:*'^ with a view to 
 increasing their strength. ' 
 
 Fourteenth. That part of the dancing-place whicii is allotted 
 for the music, that is ior several drums, with c. number of singers 
 and screamers, is tabooed to the women, because these gay, 
 restless creatures might by their vivacity disturb the n.usic. 
 
 Fifteenth. The husband's fire is tabooed to the wife ; that is 
 to say, the latter must not cook at a fire m^de by the former, 
 or eat of the food cooked at it. The husband, oa the contrary, 
 may at his pleasure eat any thing cooked by the wife. 
 
 Sixteenth. If a husband in the evening prepares a mess of 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 13T 
 
 bananas and cocoa-nuts, and leaves it to roast all night in the 
 stone oven, he is tabooed, and must keep away from his wife, 
 or the dish will be good for nothing. 
 
 Seventeenth. If a swine happen to lie asleep across the foot- 
 path he is tabooed, and nobody must step over him, or wake 
 him, but must go round : this is probably because the rest of 
 so important an animal must not be disturbed, and that he will 
 be the fatter for sleeping. , • . 
 
 Eighteenth. Though swine's flesh is in general tabooed to the 
 women, if a husband presents his wife with a hog, which 
 happens very rarely, she cooks it herself, and may invite her 
 female friends to partake of it. Or if a husband presents his 
 wife with a sucking pig, and it is brought up by her entirely, 
 when it is grown up so that she kills and cooks it, the feast 
 is tabooed to the husband : she may then, without any farther 
 consent from him, dispose of it solely according to her pleasure. 
 
 Nineteenth. Almost all fish are at the time when the bread- 
 fruit is not ripe tabooed, and must not be eaten. A super- 
 stitious idea prevails, that by transgressing this law all the 
 young bread-fruit would fall from the trees, which must ine- 
 vitably occasion a scarcity. This connexion of fish with the 
 bread-fruit is wholly inexplicable. Perhaps fish may be 
 considered as unwholesome at this time of the year, and there- 
 fore the inhabitants are by such a taboo restrained from eating 
 then ; or it may be that this is their spawning time, and it is 
 intended hv such an ordinance to prevent their natural in' 
 bcinu; interrupted by their being taken at this period. 
 
198 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 strange, hovrever, that as soon as the bread-fruit is ripe, and 
 there is great plenty of it, the taboo upon the fish ceases, and 
 the people may catch whatever they please. 
 
 Twentieth. If a woman be preparing cocoa-nut oil, during 
 the time she is thus occupied, that is for five days, or perhaps 
 more, she is tabooed, and must have no intercourse with her 
 husband, otherwise no oil will be procured. The cocoa-oil 
 prepared by the wife is tabooed to the husband, and vice- 
 versa. 
 
 Whoever transgresses against a taboo is a kikino, that is, a 
 criminal, and cannot escape the just punishment of his offence : 
 this is the immediate or more remote influence of the evil spirit 
 Atuan, and the priest Taua; the certain consequences of which 
 are sickness or sudden death. If any one shall speak profanely 
 of the Tauas, they instantly impart the affront to the spirits in 
 their service, and a sudden death or curse is the inevitable con- 
 sequence. From hence it will be readily inferred that people 
 frequently die here suddenly, without any previous illness, per- 
 haps of apoplexies. This seems the more probable, as according 
 to the ideas of these people, and to what Roberts and Cabri 
 said, when a taboo has been transgressed, the faces are distorted 
 by the spirits, and lameness in the hands and feet is brought on. 
 
 Such, and similar prejudices and ideas serve as the foundation 
 of all the institutions, laws, and religion of the people of these 
 islands. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 ... -i 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 139 
 
 '* ifcjf 
 
 Continuation of the Manners and Customs of the People of Nukahiwa.-* 
 Their Anthropophagism. — Their Wars. -^Marriages. — Births.— Funeral 
 Ceremonies. — Magic. — Cifcumcision. — Dancing Festivals. — Music.—' 
 Running on Stilts. — Swimming. — Ornaments. — Household Utensils.— ~ 
 Playthings. — Canoes. —Miscellaneous Observations. 
 
 I COME now to some other manners and customs among the 
 people of Nukahiwa, and, by the description of particular facts, 
 hope to throw a farther light over their character and habits. 
 
 There is no creature upon the earth, in every climate, and 
 in every zone, who bears such an enmity to its own species as 
 man. Let us only cast our eyes over the history of the globe, 
 in the most barren wastes, and in the most fertile countries, in 
 the smallest islands, or on the most extensive continents, 
 among the most savage as well as the most cultivated nations, 
 in short, in every part of the world, man everywhere seeks to 
 destroy his own species : he is everywhere by nature harsh and 
 cruel. The observations we made upon the inhabitants of these 
 newly-discovered islands, who never, to the best of our know- 
 ledge, had any intercourse with civilized nations, and who may 
 be considered as children of nature, and in their original con- 
 dition, afford remarkable examples in confirmation of tliis 
 hypothesis. 
 
 T 2 
 
140 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 The sweet and tender feelings of affection and love, of friend- 
 ship and attachment, even that of parents towards their 
 children, and of children towards their parents, I have, alas! 
 very seldom found among a rude and uncivilized people. The 
 African hordes not only bring their prisoners taken in battle, 
 but their own children to market. The same thing is done by 
 the Kirgis, the Kalmuks, and many other inhabitants of the 
 north-west coast of America; and here, at Nukahiwa, a woman 
 would very readily have given a child at her breast, which had 
 been asked by us in jest, in exchange for a piece of iron. 
 
 Our passions are, through a higher degree of cultivation, 
 through reason, through more refined habits, and above all, 
 through religion, kept under some restraint; but where these 
 and conscience have no influence, man is hard-hearted, and 
 capable of the most horrible actions, without appearing to have 
 any idea that he is doing ill. In this point of view I can explain 
 very easily to myself how it is possible that the people of 
 Nukahiwa, as well as many other savage nations, eat their 
 enemies slain or taken in battle, or in a time of scarcity kill and 
 eat even their own wives and children. It is an old and deeply 
 rooted custom, which has been handed down from father to 
 son, and which they therefore regard with as little horror, 
 and think as little about, as we do of killing and eating 
 an ox : we are, indeed, regarded by several Asiatic nations 
 with scarcely less horror for eating the flesh of animals, than 
 cannibal nations are by us for eating human flesh. Before I 
 enter more particularly into the anthropophagism of these 
 islanders, X will hazard some general remarks upon the sub- 
 
WASniNGTON'S ISLANDS. ]41 
 
 ject, as it appears to me a matter of sufficient importance to be 
 investigated somewhat minutely *. 
 '■ ■■ .'*■.. 
 
 Many persons of speculative and philosophic minds doubt, 
 but upon insufficient grounds, the truth of anthropuphagisitn. 
 It is, however, incontrovertible, that almost all nations of the 
 world have at ohe period or other been guilty of this crime. 
 Incredible as it may appear, there have been, and are still, par- 
 ticularly in South-America, and in the interior of Africa, as 
 well as upon its western coasts, people who feed upon human 
 flesh merely on account of its delicacy, and as the height of 
 gourmandise. These nations not only eat the prisoners ^hey 
 take in war, but their own wives and children ; they even 
 buy and sell human flesh publicly. To them we are ind'^bted 
 for the information that white men are finer flavoartd than 
 negroes, and that Englishmen are preferable to Frenchmen. 
 Farther, the flesh of young girls and women, particularly 
 of new-born children, far exceeds in delicacy that of the finest 
 youths, or grown men. Finally, they tell us that the inside 
 of the hand and the sole of the foot are the nicest parts of 
 the human body. 
 
 * During my stay at Lisbon between 1797 and 1803, I had the opportunity of exa« 
 mining a manuscript of J. de Loureiro, the wcll.knovn author of the Flora CoMnm. 
 Chinensis, Some of the Tcry interesting and original remarlis made by )iim upon the 
 subject which I am about to investigate have remained strongly impressed upon my 
 mind, and I will venture to incorporate them with my own, as well as others taken from 
 the treatise of the ingenious Professor Meiiiers, of Gottingen, De Anthropophagia ei 
 diversis yui cauiit. ^ 
 
%, 
 
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 (716) 872-4503 
 
dS" ^fi 
 
 
U3 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 The motives that lead men to this unnatural practice appear 
 to be some one or other of the following : 
 
 First. Extreme scarcity, when there is so great a want of 
 food that no other means of supporting lifcj are attainable. 
 
 This motive is the most general one, and is the most excu- 
 sable, especially if only dead corpses are eaten ; for it must be 
 pretty indifferent to a lump of clay, whether it be devoured by 
 worms, by animals, or by its fellow-creatures. But although 
 such reasoning may appear very plausible, a reflection may be 
 made, which will shew that even upon this ground the practice 
 cannot be vindicated. Loureiro relates, that upon the occasion 
 of a great scarcity in India, when some hundred thousand per- 
 sons died of hunger, so that the streets and highways were 
 strewed with dead bodies, and there were hardly sufficient num- 
 bers left, or strength enough remaining in them, to bury the 
 dead, many persons took the desperate resolution of saving 
 their own lives by devouring those who had already fallen vic- 
 tims to the calamity. Some of these, when the scarcity was 
 over, and they were no longer urged to it by necessity, had 
 acquired such an irresistible desire for this food, that they 
 would even way-lay the living to kill and eat them. Among 
 others, a person who lived in a forest upon the side of a 
 mountain, contrived a sling, which he threw round the necks 
 of persons passing along, and drew them into the forest, where 
 he satiated his appetite upon them. He continued this prac- 
 tice for some time, till he was detected, when he was seized 
 and put to death. 
 
->^^' 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. \4S 
 
 On the same occasion, and urged by a similar appetite, a 
 woman used to carry away children who had strayed from 
 their parents, or the people who had the care of them. She 
 stopped their mouths and noses with clay, by which means they 
 were suffocated, and she confessed that she eat them. This was 
 done, as she declared, at first from hunger, but afterwards from an 
 insatiable longing : what she could not eat fresh, she salted and 
 kept for future eating. From these and other examples, it is 
 clear that human flesh is found so grateful, that those who 
 have once eaten it can with difficulty abstain from it ; and from 
 this circiimstance a strong conclusion may be drawn against the 
 morality of even eating a corpse in times of the greatest scarcity, 
 or pressed by the most gnawing hunger. . - 
 
 There are many undeniable instances of anthopophagism, 
 not only among barbarous, but even among civilized nations. 
 One of the most remarkable, as well on account of the antiquity 
 of the circumstance as of the number implicated in it, is to be 
 found in the third book of Herodotus. " Cambyses, King of 
 Persia," he says, " incensed at the contemptuous answer sent him 
 by the King of iEthiopia, on the subject of the Icthyophagi, 
 his ambassadors, put himself at the head of a numerous army, 
 determined to avenge the affront. He set forwards for iEthio- 
 pia ; but as his route lay over long sandy deserts, his army 
 began to be distressed for want of food. At first they appeased 
 their hunger by killing their horses and beasts of burden, and 
 then cat the plants that grew in the way ; but as the latter 
 were very thinly scattered over the deserts of Africa, they 
 were at last constrained to kill every tenth man for the nou- 
 rishment of the rest. In this way the greatest part of the army 
 
14^ 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 was destroyed i the king was in consequence compelled to aban- 
 don the euterprize, and return home with the small remains 
 of it." , n ; . 
 
 The men of Nukahiwa, as Roberts and Cabri assured us, 
 will, in times of scarcity, kill and eat their wives and ciiildren, 
 but not unless pressed to it by the utmost necessity. The rich 
 islanders, that is, those who possess a superabundance of pro- 
 visions, appear exempted from being made the sacrifice of such 
 a calamity ; at least, in that which happened not many months 
 before our arrival, no one of Katanuah's family had been slaugh- 
 tered. On the contrary, he, from his own stores, supported 
 twenty-six persons. It seems, therefore, a reasonable pre- 
 sumption that the tattooing and feasting societies had their 
 origin in an endeavour to suppress, as much as possible, this 
 horrid and unnatural practice. 
 
 Secondly. Another motive for anthropophagism is the un- 
 ruly and inordinate desires to which man is too prone to give 
 way. 
 
 The Americans, particularly in Mexico, certainly were not 
 in want of the means of living, yet they perpetually offered up 
 human victims in great numbers ; and although this was done 
 under the pretence of its being acceptable to their gods, the 
 principal end seems to have been to gratify their appetites. On 
 that account alone, without any pretence of religion, the Ta- 
 huyas of Brazil, and other South- American nations, used to 
 fatten the unhappy victims that fell into their hands for some 
 months before they were to be killed. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 145 
 
 The Jaygas, a savage nation of Africa, which are spread over 
 the sandy deserts as far as the Hottentot borders near the Cape 
 of Good Hope, have a similar custom. The Anzigos, like- 
 wise an African nation, who inhabit the borders of the kingdom 
 of Congo, kill and eat not only the prisoners they take from 
 other nations, but also their own countrymen, first feeding 
 them well, and even giving them dainties, that their flesh may 
 be the more delicate and fineiy-flavoured ; it is then publicly 
 
 sold in the market. 
 
 <>,rf ; .-4% 
 
 j i 't ;>.•!.->■>* I.,: 
 
 >t, li^iVf- 
 
 .< . J..,: 
 
 J/.i;i 'iv-' ■'■ 
 
 Pliny relates, that the greater part of the Scythian and 
 Tartar tribes in Asia were anthropophagists ; and we are assured 
 by the latest navigators that the same is the case with regard 
 to almost all the South-Sea islanders. In Europe it is true, to 
 the best of our knowledge, this practice does not now exist 
 any where ; but Pliny says, that in ancient times human flesh 
 was eaten by the Lestrigons, a people of Italy. The same is 
 asserted by Strabo of the Hibernians, whom we commonly call 
 Irishmen ; and Ccelius Rhodriginus says, that it was the prac- 
 tice also among their neighbours the Scotch. It is extremely 
 probable that all our forefathers, when they were at the lowest 
 step of civilization, were anthropophagists. 
 
 ji-,^i 
 
 ■is J 
 
 i-Vj.i-.>. 
 
 Thirdly. Another motive assigned for this practice, and the 
 most extraordinary of all, since it appears the most contrary to 
 nature and sound reason, is to be found among some ancient 
 tribes. Under the pretence of humanity, man becomes inhu- 
 man : in the persuasion that he is performing an act of love 
 and truth, he assumes the part of an enemy, of a monster of 
 cruelty. ..;-...> ..,...•)■;.,.;.,. 4-1. r^-^ 
 
 V 
 
140 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS^ 
 
 What is more valuable than life ? And whose lives ought we to 
 be so anxious to preseiTe as those of our parents and relations ? 
 Yet the Massagetae, an eastern nation of antiquity, inhabiting 
 the farther side of the Caspian Sea, against whom, according 
 to Herodotus, Cyrus undertook a campaign, were strangers 
 to a duty so implanted in our nature. Of these barbarous 
 people, Herodotus says, in the first book of his history, that 
 when any of them arrived at a decrepit old age, their sons and 
 other relations united to put the poor old people to death. 
 They then mixed their flesh with the entrails of other animals, and 
 made a great feast, at which they were extremely joyous, boast- 
 ing that they had interred their relation in their own entrails, 
 the most honourable and respectful manner in which he could be 
 disposed of. We find the same thing confirmed by other writers, 
 particularly Pomponius Mela. He says, speaking of a Scy- 
 thian tribe, whom he calls the Essedonians, and who lived upon 
 the borders of the Palus Maeotis : " Essedones funera parentum 
 lati et victimis ac festo coitu familiarium excipiunt, corpora ipsa 
 laniata et ccesis pecorum visceribus immixta epulando consumunt.*" 
 The Massagetae and Essedonians were therefore agreed in eat- 
 ing their nearest relations amid rejoicings at a jovial feast. It 
 may be made a question whether our German saying of " eating 
 any body through love" may not have arisen from a tradition 
 referring to those ancient times ; since it is certain that our 
 forefathers, equally with the above-mentioned tribes, followed 
 this custom. 
 
 * The Essedonians rejoice at the decease of their parents, and banquet upon their 
 bodies, with their acquaintance, at a festive meeting, catting them to pieces, and mixing 
 them up with the entrails of beastst 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 147 
 
 Fourthly. A farther motive for anthropophagisttt is hatred, 
 contempt, and a thirst of revenge. • ; 
 
 In Cochin-Cbina, it was ordered by law, that all rebels, 
 when their guilt was established, should be put to death, and 
 their flesh eaten by the faithful subjects, particularly those imme- 
 diately about the king. At the time when J. de Loureiro was in 
 the country, such an execution took place. The male culprits were 
 beheaded, the female ones were strangled, according to the sen- 
 tence passed ; the soldiers on guard about the palace then each 
 of them cut off a piece of flesh from the dead bodies, and stick- 
 ing it in an unripe lemon, swallowed it raw. As the size of the 
 piece of flesh was however not defined, and the nation seemed 
 to feel great horror at the sentence, the most cunning took an 
 opportunity of letting the piece of flesh slip out between their 
 fingers, and swallowed only the lemon. 
 
 I 
 
 Nearly at the same time the people of Cochin-China were 
 making war upon some mountaineers called Mois, who live to 
 the west of their country, and often make hasty inroads into it. 
 The general marched with an army to the mountains ; but as 
 he could not reach the enemy on account of the inaccessible 
 nature of the ground, from anger and revenge, he ordered two 
 prisoners, who had been taken, to be put to death, and com- 
 pelled his soldiers to eat them. The same Loureiro, being in 
 the year 1777 on board an English ship of war in the harbour 
 ofTeirao, in order to leave Cochin-China, a party of rebels 
 came down under the conduct of a celebrated leader, by name 
 Nhae, and having seized upon several persons, particularly one 
 who was much in the king's confidence, and who had been a 
 
]48 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 great enemy to them, as a proof of their hatred they tore out 
 his liver, and eat it. The Cochin-Chinese }»ive a proof how 
 much they are addicted to this kind of outrage, by saying, 
 when they wish to express their hatred of a person very strongly, 
 '• / xvish I could eat his liver or hisjlcsh." 
 
 Among many other nations, a common way of expressing 
 an eager desire of revenge is to wish that they could drink the 
 blood of their enemies ; and our German expression, to be 
 blood-thirsty, comes perhaps from the time when our fore- 
 fathers, out of revenge, literally assuaged their thirst with the 
 blood of their enemies instead of grapes. ' '«> 
 
 The Frenchman Cabri, whom we found upon the island of 
 Nukahiwa, and who indeed had lost all appearance of an 
 European education, asserted that he had never eaten the 
 enemies whom he had taken, only exchanged them for swine, 
 and Roberts supported his assertion. Notwithstanding this, 
 I am disposed to think that a man, who had in other respects 
 incorporated himself so entirely with the natives, who might 
 be said to be both morally and physically transformed into a 
 savage, who himself confessed that he went out hunting on 
 purpose to catch men, and exchange them for swine, and 
 thought this excellent pastime,— I cannot help, I say, being 
 much disposed to think that such a man was very capable, when 
 he had caught his prey, of eating it in company with his new 
 brethren. He would even have made himself an object of ridicule 
 if he had left this dainty, procured with so much labour, to be 
 eaten by his comrades alone; and though Roberts exculpated him 
 from such a crime, this is not convincing ; for Cabri was cua- 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 149 
 
 ning enough not to have informed his enemy of the banquet, or 
 invited him to it, and the thing might therefore be done with- 
 out his knowledge. •< 1 rn< >'v i^ 1 .. ,1.. ^ ., ; • ,o? i 
 
 It is a well-established fact, that the people of Kukahiwa 
 eat their friends if pressed by hunger, and their enemies from 
 hatred or custom. The Tauas, or priests, do still more: they 
 often regale themselves with human flesh merely from the 
 delight they take in it. For this purpose they make a sem- 
 blance as if they were under the influence of a spirit, and 
 after various grimaces and contortions, appear to fall into a 
 deep sleep. This they take care shall always be done in such 
 places and on such occasions as that there may be abundance 
 of spectators. After sleeping a short time, they wake sud- 
 denly, and relate to the people around what the spirit has 
 dictated to them in their dreams. The command sometimes 
 happens to be, that a woman or a man, a tattooed or an 
 untattooed person, a fat or a lean one, an old man or a youth 
 out of the next valley, or from the next river, must be seized 
 and brought to them. The people to whom this is related 
 immediately post themselves in some ambush near a foot-path, 
 or a river that abounds with fish, and the consequence is, that 
 the first person who comes that way, bearing > any resemblance 
 to the description given as seen in the dream, is taken, and 
 brought to the Taua's morai, and eaten in company with his 
 taboo society. It depends also frequently upon the Taua to 
 determine whether any enemies shall be taken prisoners, and 
 how many. . .. . . ... 
 
 If a Taua be ill, one, two, or three inhabitants of an enemy's 
 
l&d 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 valley, according to the degree of his illnens, arc taken pri- 
 soners, to be sacrificed as offerings to his luxurious appetite. 
 Does* the Taua recover, 'tis well ; if not, the sacrifice must be 
 repeated ; and if lie dies at last, the whole valley participate in 
 the event ; a war is commenced, and as many prisoners as can 
 be laid hold on are seized, not by secret ambushes, but by open 
 violence, being considered as enemies merely because they inha- 
 bited the other side of the river. If only a single man or woman 
 be taken, the victim is carried to the morai, and eaten there. 
 
 The conqueror, or hero, who kills an enemy, has the head as 
 his portion ; he cuts it off immediately, parts the skull asunder 
 at the sutures, and swallows the blobd and brains upon the 
 spot. The skull is afterwards cleaned from the flesh, orna- 
 mented with hog's bristles, and the under jaw fastened to it 
 ingeniously with threads from the cocoa-nut. It then serves at 
 future opportunities as a token of valour, being for that pur- 
 pose fastened to the cloth which is worn round the waist. 
 During our stay we had several opportunities of examining 
 these skulls. " ^ 
 
 Deeply-rooted prejudices, and the desire of human flesh, 
 seem the principal causes of the enmities and wars so frequent 
 among these people. I cannot, however, say that the conflicts 
 are in general very terrible, since the contending parties rarely 
 fight with equal numbers. Thirst of conquest, pride of ancestry, 
 claims upon a whole valley or a piece of land, seldom or never 
 seem to be the causes that occasions wars among them. 
 
 When they are going publicly to battle, they appear with 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. Ij^f 
 
 their hands and feet ornamented with feathers, and a sort of 
 veil on their heads made of cocoa-nut threads woven together, 
 which a stranger would rather suppose to be intended as an 
 article of finery than worn as a part of the accoutrements of 
 war. The most distinguished heroes have then the skull of the 
 enemy formerly slain bound to the hip or the foot. In their 
 hands they carry lances, javelins, and clubs of casuarini-wood. 
 During the fight, they spring and jump about, making many 
 movements, by which they endeavour to throw the javelins, or 
 sling stones, and often quit the field when they have Only slain 
 one of their adversaries. According to the account of our 
 Frenchman, from whom our principal information with regard 
 to the martial prowess of these people was derived, it appeared 
 as if their lights were very like the mock combats sometimes 
 performed by our youths. When they lurk after an enemy 
 singly, it is done commonly in bad weather, during a heavy 
 rain, as then a greater number of people are employed in fish- 
 ing, and the enemy cannot so easily see and hear the hero in 
 his ambush. Whether, in times of scarcity, they seek out 
 their enemies to prey upon them, I do not know ; but it would 
 appear wholly strange and inexplicable, if, when pressed by 
 hunger, they should rather sacrifice their own wives and children 
 than endeavour to seize neighbours with whom they are at 
 enmity. 
 
 When a woman is near child-birth, a small taboo-house is 
 built in the neighbourhood of the dwelling ; this custom seems 
 to originate in cleanliness. The mother, or some other near 
 relation, manages the business of the delivery, at which none 
 but women are allowed to be present. A large piece of the cloth 
 
152 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 which they mnUo from the paper-mulberry-tree is spread upon 
 the ground, and another piece is thrown over the person to be 
 deUvcred. The mother goes out immediately after the birth, 
 and the first place she goes to is the nearest stream^ the child 
 being carried thither also, but not by herself, and there both 
 are well washed. Decorum requires that a hog should be killed 
 upon this occasion ; and some days after, when the navel-string 
 falls, another is killed. The former is generally eaten by the 
 father alone, but the near friends are invited to partake of the 
 latter. ........ 
 
 The delivery is easy, and commonly takes place in half an 
 hour ; very rarely indeed does it last an hour. Some instances 
 do howeveroccur of severe labours, arising from the unnatural 
 situation of the child, or the opposition of some part of the 
 extremities. The mother almost universally takes care of the 
 child herself, though sometimes, when she is very much occu- 
 pied, she will consign it for a short time to the care of another. 
 No particular length of time is fixed for suckling it; in ge- 
 neral, children are not weaned till they can go alone, and 
 many not till they can speak. Some are early fed with other 
 food, which generally consists of popoi ; or in a few months 
 after the birth, raw fish is given them. 
 
 Young unmarried girls may unhindered, unpifnished, and 
 without dishonouring their families, yield to their propensities 
 to gallantry ; but as soon as they enter into the state of ma- 
 trimony, all intercourse with any other men, except their 
 husbands, is strictly forbidden. As the slave of her husband, 
 the infidelity of a wife is then punished with stripes, or she 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 15.7 
 
 U discarded ; the seducer is secretly puiiislied at the pleasure of 
 the husband, but never publicly. This is a plain proof that 
 real matrimonial compacts exist here, and that the hus- 
 bands are no strangers to jealousy ; that is to say, if Cabri's 
 information be accurate. 
 
 As soon as a m'ln and woman have reciprocally agreed to 
 live with each other, presents are exchanged between the bride- 
 groom and the parents of the bride. The marriage lasts as long 
 as harmony and good-will subsist between the parties ; but if 
 either wishes to be released from the compact, they are free. 
 The children are taken care of by both parties, and remain 
 either with the father or mother, as the matter can be arranged 
 between themselves. This point, however, I am inclined 
 to believe is seldom brought much into question, since the 
 most perfect indifference seems commonly to reign between 
 parents and children. 
 
 If the daughter of a person of distinction marries, a number 
 of swine are killed, and all the friends and acquaintance are 
 invited to the feast. Every guest at the nuptials has then a 
 right, with the consent of the bride, to share the pleasures of the 
 nuptial night with the bridegroom. The feasting commonly 
 lasts two or three days, till all the swine are eaten, and from that 
 time the wife must abstain from all intercourse with any other 
 man except her husband. If she transgresses obstinately in this 
 respect, the latter has a right to make himself amends by pre- 
 senting her, against her will, to any body who will take her. 
 Rich men may have at their pleasure as many wives as they 
 chuse, or can maintain, but it is more usual to have only one. 
 
154 VTAfHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 When any one dies, the corpse is immediately M^ashed clean, 
 and laid upon a sort of bier made of bamboo-canes, and covered 
 with a piece of new cloth ; the body is also covered with several 
 pieces of new cloth. At least half the swine belonging to the 
 deceased are then killed and roasted, the Taua and other of the 
 taboo-friends are informed of the death, and invited to the 
 funeral. Before the arrival of the guests, a large piece of cloth 
 is stretched out behind the bier, on which the corpse is laid, 
 and several stakes are stuck up with pieces of fine white cloth 
 upon them. These are to mark the taboo-place. 
 
 The Taua brings with him at least four large dnims, and per- 
 forms the funeral ceremonies. They consist in his babbling out 
 a long oration in a language perfectly incomprehensible, the 
 drums roaring during the whole time that he is speaking: pro- 
 bably this noise is made to prevent the evil spirits doing any 
 mischief to the deceased. The guests then begin to eat the 
 swine, the popoi, and the bread-fruit, and do not discontinue 
 the banquet till evfty morsel is dispatched. The Taua has the 
 heads of the swine for his portion, and the hind-quarter of a 
 hog must be reserved for the chief, who is invited to all funerals 
 in his valley ; if he does not attend the feast himself, it must be 
 sent to his house ; he commonly, therefore, finds it more for his 
 advantage not to appear. The nearest relations must, during 
 this time, watch by the corpse day and night, and rub it well 
 every day with cocoa-nut oil. This lasts sometimes for weeks, 
 but the oil preserves the corpse from corruption, and in the 
 end changes it to an absolute mummy. At length the body 
 is wrapped in cloth, which has first been steeped in this oil, 
 and is placed upon a bier in the morai or cemetery of 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 153 
 
 the family. This, it has been already observed, is tabooed to 
 
 women. 
 
 ■>i> i 
 
 i*U- 
 
 ^)f 
 
 \^ 
 
 ,t;ii 
 
 A similar care of the dead is to be remarked among almost 
 all sav^e nations, even among those where no traces of religion 
 are to be discovered, though the shewing such distinction to 
 the dead would almost lead to the supposition that they have 
 a kind of dark confused ideas of an hereafter. It is a great 
 object among the enemies from the neighbouring valleys to 
 endeavour to steal away a corpse, and they conceive that they 
 have performed a most heroic deed if this be accomplished. In 
 order to prevent it, if an irruption of the enemy be appre- 
 hended, the bodies are immediately taken away from the morai^ 
 iind deposited in the ground near it. 
 
 Among the many kinds of magic or enchantment prac- 
 tised by individuals here, as well as by the Tauas, one of the 
 most remarkable is the art of making another person ill. Fof 
 this purpose a preparation is required, called here a kacha, 
 the composing of which is one of the most important secrets 
 among them. The person who would fabricate one, must 
 first wash his whole body perfectly clean ; for three days he 
 must not eat, he must drink very little, and must have no 
 intercourse with the female sex. All the time he is preparing 
 the kacha he must live in a taboo- place, that is to say, a morai 
 or popoi-taboo house. The kacha itself is a little purse or bag 
 made with the threads of cocoa-nuts and other threads woven 
 together, in which the skin of a fresh-killed lizard, various sorts 
 of plants, a little stone of a particular form, a small piece of 
 bamboo-cane, and a number of other things, are tied up together. 
 
 x2 
 
156 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 But the principal thing is to seek out some one among the 
 enemies of the man they would afflict with illness, and pro- 
 cure from him some of his hair, the remains of something he 
 has been eating, and some earth on which he has spit or made 
 water, with a little piece of the cloth that he wraps round his 
 waist ; without these ingredients the kacha would have no effect. 
 
 Three of these enchanted bags are commonly made : when 
 ready they must be well perfumed, and buried separately 
 in the ground, in some remote spot. If in a short time after 
 the intended effect is produced, and the person is ill, he, who 
 always believes that his illness proceeds from enchantment, 
 endeavours to discover, but never without the assistance of a 
 Taua, who has done the mischief. Then the person upon whom 
 the suspicion falls is brought to confession by means of a taboo ; 
 that is to say, if he be really the composer of the charm, he 
 must when questioned acknowledge it, else he is guilty of trans- 
 gressing a taboo, and immediate death, according to his own 
 belief, would be the consequence. When the confession is 
 made, he is presented by the $ick man with one or more hogs, 
 to induce him to break the enchantment ;' this consists in dig- 
 ging up the kachas. If the first present of swine be not suffi- 
 cient, so that the patient does not recover, he must renew his 
 bribe ; and if the second will not do, he must try a third ; the 
 last kacha is then taken out of the ground. If the enchanter 
 be sufficiently paid, the patient recovers, if not, there is no 
 hope for him, for the spirit then supports the enemy, and no- 
 thing can appease him. 
 
 The fear of enchantment and the influence of spirits is the 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 157 
 
 great rein by which the passions of these people are kept 
 under any kind of restraint, Roberts assured us, that he often 
 threatened them with setting his spirit to work, and that by 
 such a menace he could generally make them do whatever he 
 wanted, because they were afraid that he would bring a number 
 of European ships among them, and put an end in a moment 
 to their very existence. 
 
 ■ 1 trru 
 
 .<'*'i 
 
 The Tauas, according to the popular belief, are, from their 
 vast knowledge of magic, enabled to discover the origin of 
 many diseases. When any one finds himself indisposed, he sends 
 for a Taua, who strokes his hand three times over the patient's 
 breast, and pretends as if by this means he forces away the 
 spirit. Cabri, indeed, assured me with the utmost seriousness, 
 so deeply had superstition taken possession of his mind, that he 
 himself had heard the spirit in the palm of the Taua's hand, 
 where he sometimes whistles very loud. He added, that when 
 the Taua asks why Le has made the man ill, the spirit answers 
 in a language only known to the Taua ; but, according to his 
 account, the reason given generally seems to be, that the man 
 has transgressed a taboo, perhaps taken some bread-fruit or 
 cocoa-nuts from a tabooed tree. It then remains for him to 
 dictate what number of swine must be given by the offender to 
 atone for his transgression, and to restore the taboo, without 
 which he cannot recover. These peace-offerings are carried to 
 the Taua's moral, where they are eaten to the restoration of 
 the patient. The number of hogs at which the fine is set is 
 commonly in proportion to the wealth of him who is to pay 
 them. 
 
i.>8 
 
 WASHlNGTOxX'S ISLANDS. 
 
 Circumcision, is universal among the men, and is generally 
 performed when the youth is just approaching the age of man- 
 hood. Till the parts are entirely healed, the person who per- 
 forms the operation is tabooed » and is feasted abundantly with 
 swine's flesh ; at the conclusion, he is pi'esented with a hog,. 
 This operation seems performed under the idea of cleanliness. 
 
 In days of plenty, these gay people have a variety of amuse- 
 ments of different kinds. At the time of year when the bread- 
 fruit is ripe, so that there is great abundance of it, the chiefs 
 and principal people of the valley make popular festivals : for 
 this purpose they collect swine, cocoa-nuts, bananas, and many 
 kinds of roots, so as to feast the people for some time. The 
 principal of these assemblies are the dancing festivals. The per- 
 formers in the dances make many springs and pantomimic ges- 
 tures, with quick movements of the hands and arms, without 
 moving much from one spot. It seems as if the people of 
 Nukahiwa, and the same may be said with regard to many 
 other uncivilized nations, mean to represent in their panto- 
 mimic dances most of the common actions of life, as fishing, 
 slinging stones, running on stilts, swimming, and the like. 
 
 i> I 
 
 At these balls, the company appear dressed in all their most 
 costly ornaments ; the principal of these are derived from the 
 tail feathers of the tropic-bird. Six rings are ornamented with 
 them which are put on each middle finger of the dancers, and 
 of some of these also, mixed with feathers of other kinds and 
 hair, a variety of ornaments are ingeniously made for the 
 hands, feet, hips, head, neck, and ears. Though the women 
 of rank, as I have remarked above, are never seen at other 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 159 
 
 times without at least the teuweu round the waist, yet at the 
 dancing feasts it is expected that they appear wholly naked. 
 This gives occasion to many violations of decorum, or at least 
 what in Europe would be esteemed so ; but they are, on these 
 occasions, considered as perfectly allowable, and contribute 
 much to the entertainment of the people. The same circum- 
 stance was observed by Captain Cook at the dances in Ota- 
 heite. Cabri assured us, that only those girls, wives, and 
 widows danced, whose husbands or lovers had been taken pri- 
 soners or conquered in combat, and that on these occasions 
 they cut their skins with little stones, considering the dancing 
 as a token of trouble and sorrow. When we consider that they 
 are obliged to appear naked, contrary to the usual custom, and 
 that they are made objects of sport and mockery to the people, 
 it does indeed appear very probable that the dancing is imposed 
 upon them as a sort of penance. 
 
 The place in which the company dance is in the most level 
 part of the valley : it is paved with large broad flat stones, put 
 together so close and even, that one could almost believe it to be 
 done by an European workman : the place is seldom less than 
 a hundred fathom long, and is tabooed. At the times of the 
 greatest festivity, all enmities with the neighbouring vallies are 
 laid aside, and the inhabitants are invited to participate in the 
 gaiety. Great circumspection, however, is used with the stran- 
 ger guests as to every thing tabooed. They, on their part, 
 never appear unarmed, and keep all together on one side of the 
 dancing place, that in case any unpleasant circumstance should 
 occur, they may be ready to stand upon their defence. They 
 commonly have Avith them a sling for stones, but it is bound 
 
160 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 about the head so as rather to have the appearance of an orna- 
 ment than a weapon of defence. It is indeed true, that these 
 guests are not always secure from an attack, since it is not un- 
 precedented to make use of a feast only as a cunning artifice 
 to draw the victims into a snare, and seize them the more 
 securely. If a Taua chuses to be influenced by the spirit, or to 
 fall into a trance, it is a sufficient reason for all conviviality to 
 cease, and for hostilities to be recommenced. 
 
 The music at these festivals consists of a wild sort of cry, 
 and the beating of several drums, some of them very large. 
 They havp the form of an upright cylinder or cask, and are 
 four feet, or four feet and a half high, with a diameter of a foot 
 and a half or two feet; over the top is stretched the skin of a 
 shark : the workmanship is extremely neat. The place where 
 the music is ranged, I have already observed, is tabooed to the 
 women. Counsellor Tilesius, who unites with extraordinary 
 natural talents great knowledge in many branches of the fine 
 arts, has favoured me with the following remarks upon the 
 music of these islanders. I am the more obliged to him for 
 them, since I am not myself a votary of Apollo. 
 
 It is very remarkable, he says, that almost all the songs of 
 uncultivated people, and even the music of European nations 
 not very far advanced in civilization, is composed chiefly of 
 semi'tones. It is the peculiar characteristic of the music of 
 Nukahiwa, that it dwells principally upon quarter-tones, not 
 going beyond the minor third from e to g, except that it 
 sometimes sinks into d. The same notes are sung by all, in 
 the highest parts not going beyond the voices of boys. The 
 
WASIIINGTONS ISLAiNDS. \Q\''; 
 
 music sounds throughout droning and humming, mournful and 
 melancholy, and concludes in the manner of our choral music. 
 It resembles strongly the melody of the Romish Kvpu ixitmy, 
 which is still sung in many German churches, in the same : 
 manner as the monotonous oras of the monks. The rising 
 from € to g, and sinking again from g to e, I have expressed ' 
 by half tones, that is, by / and / sharp ; but they must be 
 quarter tones, for though the notes are droned out, this dif- 
 ference is very discernible. At every pause in a word or a 
 strophe, which is expressed by this mark T" , the singers are 
 silent for some seconds, ai)d then begin again, the voices • 
 rising by degrees from e to g. This I have endeavoured^'^ . 
 express by a diagonal line. :•% 
 
 .«•>■ 
 
 4 
 
 .'iL 
 
 m 
 
 /7\ 
 
 iCrsL 
 
 •»^*f 
 
 •id' 
 
 
 This peculiarity in the cannibals of Nukahiwa, in these 
 rude and wild children of nature, who certainly have no 
 traces of musical or any other species of cultivation, that 
 they prefer the minor third, cannot undoubtedly proceed from 
 any other cause than that it appears to them easier and 
 more natural. How to account for the general preference 
 given to the minor key does not appear easy, and I have 
 never read any thing satisfactory on the subject from the most 
 scientific musicians. In the songs of the Russian sailors, which 
 sound so pleasant at a distance, I always observed a preiference 
 for the major-tones, in which they almost all fall three to four 
 bars. They are regulated, however, apparently by the same 
 art; since, although many are set to minor tones, here and 
 there evident transitions are observable into the major-tones to 
 
 W»i 
 
 ip;^' 
 
 .»><w 
 
..# 
 
 162 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 which they are allied ; and though after two or three bars they 
 return again to the minor- tones, yet the wliole produces a gay 
 and lively effect. But as these songs are composed with much 
 more art, and harmonized for several voices ; as they are always 
 set to a quick and lively time, and as the singers themselves 
 evince much more notion of musical science, they are not at all 
 to be compared with the rude songs of the savages, nor do their 
 minor- tones make any mournful or melancholy impression. 
 Their appropriate major-tones, and the animation with which 
 the songs are sung, give the whole much more life, and produce 
 cheerfulness and gaiety ; they arc, in fact, an effusion of gaiety 
 in the singers. The case is very different with the single me- 
 lody of the national songs of Nukahiwa ; it serves for deaths, 
 marriages, war songs, drinking, &c. and is sung on all 
 occasions. >■ 
 
 In what is here subjoined by way of commentary upon this 
 text, it i% merely intended to notice some circumstances which 
 may satisfactorily explain the above phenomena. In demon- 
 strating the contrariety of feelings which compose the cha- 
 racter of these savages, a clue may perhaps be furnished to the 
 nature of their national songs. But as many things, which I 
 shall presume psychologically with respect to them, may 
 appear to be included in the sense of the text, they will, in 
 case my remarks upon the national character and situation of 
 these uncultivated islanders be well founded, only be a con- 
 firmation of them. ' .^ . ' 
 
 Probably at first the people of Nukahiwa only sung their 
 songs on their return from the fight, particularly when they 
 
WASHING ON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 163 
 
 returned as victors, having not lost more than one or two 
 men, while the enemy had lost ten. Perhaps it was origi- 
 nally hunger or necessity, the want of recruiting their strength 
 after their exertions, the example of their enemies, revenge, or 
 the idea of availing themselves of the right of retaliation, thai 
 brought them to the resolution of eating human flesh. Their 
 Tauas, those crafty subtle refuse of the people, in the sequel, 
 requiring more frequent repetitions of like banquets, might 
 afterwards lead to their being introduced upon a variety of 
 occasions both religious and irreligious ; and encouraging the 
 simplicity and propensity to superstition and marvels among 
 their dupes, they might thus lead thdm to having recourse 
 perpetually to human sacrifices. Become in this way familiar 
 with them, the savages soon appeared under the horrible form 
 of cannibals. 
 
 At many of their assemblies and public festivals, the 
 songs are accompanied by a very loud measured sound, which 
 they produce by pressing the bare left arm hard upon the body, 
 and with the right-hand striking the cavity thus made between 
 the ribs and the inside of the elbow-joint. These loud strokes 
 fall in a certain measure for the most part thus : u * . 
 
 nmt t ;i 
 
 In the mean while, others strike the shoulder with the hollow 
 of the bare hand, while at the same time, particularly when 
 the feast and dance is upon a solemn occasion, drums are 
 added, and struck with the same measure as the hands. 
 After this grotesque music, which is followed by the solemn 
 
 y 2 
 
154 TrASIIINOTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 choral minor-tones, the wliole assembly begin to dance in a 
 place allotted for the purpose. , 
 
 The cylinder of the drum is made of the hollow trunk of 
 a tree, and it has holes at the lower, which is the smaller 
 end, like the sounding board of a stringed instrument. Accord- 
 ing to the greater or less degree of tension in the skin, and to 
 the size of the trunk, the tones vary in their pitch, but they 
 are not regulated upon any principle ; the drums arc used prin- 
 cipally at funerals, but never with the dancing. These drums, 
 and the war-trumpet, which, together with the cries of the war- 
 riors, urge the people on to battle, are the only musical instru- 
 ments in Nukahiwa. The war-truni(pet consists of a large 
 shell, the Triton's horn, mures tritonisy which is ornamented 
 with the hair of a slaughtered enemy ; at the small end is fixed 
 the shell of an oil-nut as a mouth-piece. It has very much the 
 sound of the herdsman's horn, and as far as I could learn, is 
 never uesd but in war. 
 
 The following remarks are made by Counsellor Tilesius 
 upon one of the songs of the people of Nukahiwa. *< The 
 subject of the song is atypical representation of a warlike scene. 
 One of the people sees in the night a fire upon an enemy's 
 island, and asks his comrade where the Jire is ? The other 
 answers, upon Tauata. This excites the idea of the right of reta- 
 liation exercised over enemies either captured or slain, and fire 
 is required to dress the repast intended to be made upon the 
 enemy. They rejoice in the valour of their heroes, with all 
 the circumstances attending it, but then intervenes a feeling of 
 compassion at the melancholy consequences, and the impres- 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 165 
 
 sion whicli the death of the slain must make upon his wife 
 and children, upon his parents and family. The number of 
 days desi<^i)ated at the close indicate perhaps the length of time 
 with which they are to be fed with human flesh. It appears to 
 me that this song displays much of the national character of 
 these people ; of the strange mixture of good and bad combined 
 in it, of desire of human flesh, of cruelty and compassion." 
 
 This song being sung in the night, united with the mea- 
 sured clapping, and the sight of the fire which forms the basis of 
 it, makes in the distance so wild, so half melancholy, so de- 
 sponding an impression, that any one might imagine he heard 
 his funereal knell. During a whole night that I was on shore, 
 such, and not more agreeable, were my feelings on hearing 
 this song unceasingly sung by these open-hearted appearing 
 men ; the striking upon the arm, and the hollow sounds from 
 the hand upon the shoulder, had exactly the effect of the 
 strokes of a passing-bell. 
 
 The song is subjoined, as I received it from the French- 
 man Cabri, and it may possibly be right as here given. When, 
 however, I afterwards occupied myself much with making a 
 translation of it word for word, and compared it with the 
 vocabulary of the language which I had collected, it appeared 
 to me in many parts erroneous. If my literal translation be 
 correct, the proofs •( which rest upon the critical remarks I 
 have subjoined, I cannot concur with Counsellor Tilesius as to 
 the mixture of good and bad, of cruelty and compassion, which 
 he finds in the national character as displayed by this song. I 
 am rather of opinion that they have no feeling of compassion. 
 
105 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 at least not in this case ; they do not seem to think they are 
 doing any thing wrong, and appear only to rejoice that they 
 have killed an enemy, and are in a situation to roast and eat 
 him, instead of being roasted and eaten themselves . 
 
 MVKAHIWA TBXT. 
 
 1. HU.t.eama ah? 
 S. I Tauata oh. 
 S. f eamailh? 
 4. tau enata oh. 
 S Hia ehihe ih ? 
 8. Tai eama oh. 
 
 7. Tau enata iUi. 
 
 8. enata oh. 
 
 9. ^tSm&o. 
 
 to. ah mate mate ah. 
 11. it&et&S'ah. 
 
 13. titi hel ah. 
 IS. mate moi ah. 
 
 14. Atahi ib, &c. 
 
 cAinri teamiljlxion. 
 Where is the light ? 
 On Tauata. 
 Wherefore the light? 
 To roast the enemy. 
 Let ui make fire. 
 We have fire. 
 We will roast him. 
 We hare him. ' 
 
 He would fly. 
 Now is he dead. 
 The sister weeps. 
 His parents weep. 
 His daughters weep. 
 1st, 3nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 
 
 CRITICAL TK4NILATI0N. 
 Where is the light? 
 On Tauata. 
 The light wherefore? . 
 Here is a man. 
 Where is fire? 
 Here light. • 
 
 Here is the man. 
 The man. 
 The flying.fish. 
 Is he dead? 
 Does he weep ? 
 Is he angry ? 
 Is the daughter dead ? 
 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th. 
 
 Critical Remarks upon the above. r 
 
 1. Jhetty ovhia, means where: eamOt the light. The /ap- 
 pears only to be inserted for the sake of the sound. Ah is often 
 the sign of a question. 
 
 2. Tauata is the island of St. Christina, one of Washington's 
 Islands. 
 
 3. Is in fact the repetition of the first line, and may also be 
 
 where is the light? or the ^ref 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. ifff 
 
 4. Tau mu§t mean to roast. Unfortunately I hare not the 
 word in iny vocabulary, and I therefore cannot ascertain it with 
 certainty : enata is a man, % human being. Perhaps tau and 
 tai are the same ; the latter means here ; therefore this may be, 
 here is already a man, or an enemy, taken ; and as soon as 
 these islanders have taken a man, the next idea that naturally 
 presents itself to them is to roast him. 
 
 b. Ilia should here, as in the first line, be ihea. „ , , « 
 
 6. Taif here ; eama, the light. 
 
 m 
 
 r ; ri 5 f* 
 
 .'It ^^. 
 
 7. Perhaps this tau ought again to be tai. Here is the fire ; 
 here is the man, who being taken, is naturally to be roasted 
 
 and eaten. 
 
 <^:.^ 
 
 8. This repetition is probably increase of joy. 
 
 i'if« ( '•■:« ' ^ 
 
 9. Probably figurative. As we have often taken the flying- 
 fish in their flight, so is this man our prey. 
 
 10. This may mean he is dead, or is he dead? The last in- 
 terpretation seems to me the most probable, on account of the 
 questions which immediately follow. 
 
 11. Ue, or uwdh, means to weep. It is more probable that 
 the question here i^ of the slaughtered enemy than of the 
 relations. Cabri translated this line different ways at different 
 times : once, the stone has hit, another time, the man is taken ; in 
 both cases it is very natural that the victim should weep. Of a 
 
168 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 sister, in their language toahine, there is no mention here, but 
 there certainly is of weeping, which most naturally refers to 
 the enemy, and thus stands properly enough as an antithesis 
 to the tenth line, which inquires, is ke dead? or, does he live? 
 If the stone had hit hard, it was very probable that weeping 
 would be the consequence. 
 
 p *■ i ■ f '. 
 
 12. Titi must be a man's name: hei means angry, incensed. 
 An enemy wounded by a stone or a lance, sometimes, as it 
 should appear, breaks away, and endeavours to save himself 
 by flight. " ;^ •; ,r .^ :'V. i ^,..i' .'1 
 
 13. Moi means the daughter, mdte, dead; ah may again 
 only indicate a question. Moi is, perhaps, properly applied to 
 the female sex, and the question meant, whether any one, 
 either man or woman, fell a victim to the combat. 
 
 14. Here follow the numbers from one to ten, according to 
 the fancy. The proper sense and signification of this I do not 
 know, unless the number of enemies slain or taken is indicated 
 by it. 
 
 
 ,*r 
 
 Next to dancing, one of the favourite amusements among 
 these people is running on stilts, and perhaps no nation upon 
 earth can do this with so much dexterity as the inhabitants 
 of Washington's Islands. At their great public festivals they 
 run in this way for wagers, in which each tries to cross the 
 other, and throw him down ; if this be accomplished, the 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 169 
 
 person thrown becomes the laughing-stock of the whole com- 
 pany. We were the more astonished at the dexterity shewn by 
 their r^s they run on the dancing-place, which, being paved with 
 smooth stones, must greatly increase the difficulty : children 
 are thoroughly habituated to this exercise, even by the time 
 they are eight or ten years old. Pleasure seems to be the prin- 
 cipal object of it ; or, if it should be alleged that the frequency 
 of inundations, and the necessity of keeping up an inter- 
 course with each other, has led them to it, I answer, that 
 people who always go naked, and are swimming about all 
 day long, have no great reason to be afraid of wetting their feet, 
 and cannot therefore make use of such a means of keeping them 
 dry from necessity. , ■i.-u 
 
 The dexterity of these people in swimming is another thing 
 that excited no small astonishment in us. It is not easy to 
 conceive, at least for Europeans to conceive, how men have 
 accustomed themselves half to live in the water. They seem 
 to be able to do just as they please there : they will remain 
 nearly in the same place for a long time together, as if they 
 were standing upright, so that the head and shoulders are above 
 the water, guiding themselves solely by the feet. They will 
 shell and eat a cocoa-nut in the water, or bring a number 
 of things for barter tied together at the end of a stick, which 
 they hold up high above the water, to keep them from being 
 wetted. I have seen them swim with little children on tlieir 
 shoulders, or throw themselves from high steep rocks into 
 the sea ; and they would much rather swim over a creek than 
 go a step round to get to the other side. Some of them would 
 swim about the ship for the greatest part of the day, without 
 
 z 
 
1^ WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 ever appearing tired. Mufau, who has been mentioned before 
 as such a particularly tall fine-made man, though he had 
 never till now been on board an European ship, has of his own 
 accord run up the main-mast many times together, and thrown 
 himself from it into the sea, to the great astonishment of the 
 spectators. He had actually gone up one day with the inten- 
 tion of throwing himself from the topmost gallery, but Captain 
 Krusenstern called him back, and would not permit it. It was 
 impossible to see, without equal shuddering and astonishment, 
 how he would spring from such a height, and balance himself 
 in the air for some seconds with his feet drawn up against his 
 body, so as to keep his head up : from the force of the falU 
 and the great weight of his body, he. came with so violent a 
 plunge into the water, that several seconds elapsed before he 
 appeared again upon its surface. 
 
 These people have a great variety of personal ornaments, but 
 none which appear worn as a particular mark of rank or distinc- 
 tion . The head is ornamented partly with a bandeau, partly with 
 feathers and mother-of-pearl wrought into different forms. They 
 often cut off all the hair, except from two small circular spots 
 just above the ears, and then tie the long hair from these spots 
 into bunches, which give them at a little distance very much 
 the appearance of having horns • ; the same custom is almost 
 universal among the Chinese children. Holes are made in the 
 ears so large, that a body of three or four lines in diameter 
 may be run through it. A muscle-shell of an ounce weight. 
 
 * The miinncr in which this is done may be seen by the plate to page 119, of a young 
 mail i)artial1y tattooed. 
 
WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS, 
 
 171 
 
 to which is fastened the fang of a hog somewhat polished, or a 
 light oval piece of bread-fruit wood, is the great ear ornament. 
 Large iron nails, a little wooden stick about two inches long, 
 and various other trifles, are also stuck into the ears. 
 
 A very favourite ornament for the neck is a sort of gorget, 
 which has the shape of a horse-shoe, and is made of several rows 
 of little pieces of bread-fruit wood strung together. To these 
 are fastened, by means of a sort of resin which comes from 
 the same tree, a number of those red and black seeds of th« 
 a^rus precatorius, whidi the ladies in Europe use so much for 
 necklaces. Hog's fangs or pieces of bone, or musde-shelU 
 of a particular kind strung together in rows with the threads 
 of the cocoa-nut, are very common as necklaces. For want 
 of some of these objects of art I have seen many of the 
 islanders hang about their necks, or sttok into their ears, a 
 little fish, a crab, a flower, a muscle, or perhaps any pieseut 
 they received from us, as a nail or a knife. 
 
 Red feathers, or feathers naturally mottled, for they seem 
 easily to discern any colour given them by art, are esteemed by 
 them of great value. Katanuah, who was not in general very 
 ready to part with his swine, yet gave us one for a small 
 parrot which we had brought with us from Brazil. The hope- 
 moa is one of the most favourite ornaments : this. is a bunch of 
 hair which the men cut off from the heads of their wives, and 
 fasten behind them. The featiier-rings made from the tail of 
 the tropic-bird, which are worn by the dancers, have beciv 
 already mentioned. To procure these feathers, the people 
 climb up the :steep rorks at night, and take the birds while 
 
 z 2 
 
m 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 they are asleep. They phick the feathers out of the tail with- 
 out killing the bird, that they may be able to repeat the same 
 operation when the feathers are grown again. 
 
 Their manner of preparing the cloth from the bark of the 
 paper-mulberry-tree differs very little from the description 
 given by Captain Cook as practised in Otaheite. This is done 
 entirely by the women ; the making the household utensils and 
 weapons of war is the principal business of the men. The latter 
 are wrought with great care and taste ; the lances, the spears, 
 and the clubs, are ornamented with carved work, or with the 
 hair of the enemy woven together very ingeniously. The slings 
 are made from the threads of the cocba-nuts and other plants 
 which did not come under my observation, perhaps a sort of 
 nettle, or the phormium tenax of Forster. About the morals 
 figures are to be seen, evidently intended to represent the 
 human form, but which shew that the carvers of them 
 have made no great progress in the art of sculpture. Much 
 more pains is bestowed upon fishing-nets than upon the hooks 
 for angling ; the latter are simple, and made out of the shell of 
 the mother-of-pearl muscle. The fans for the sun or wind evince 
 considerable neatness and ingenuity. The calabashes, which 
 are used for household purposes, are ornamented with human 
 and other bones, and with net- work. A sort of dishes, resem- 
 bling troughs, are made for the food ; on these are carved little 
 figures of human faces, offish, and of birds. 
 
 Under the title of playthings may be mentioned one which 
 consists of a stick about a foot long and an inch thick. A hole 
 is bored in it at one end, through which is run a peg five or six 
 
-m . 
 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 inches in length, and at the point of the peg is stuck a little 
 ball of cocoa- thread. The stick is then struck withanother, 
 so that the ball is thrown up into the air, and the dexterity 
 of the thing is to catch it again upon the point of the peg. 
 It is very probable that they have many other objects of amuse- 
 ment of a similar kind, which may be ranked as playthings, but 
 no others came under my observation. i 
 
 The people of Nukahiwa are, in comparison with other 
 South-Sea islanders, very backward in the art of boat-build- 
 ing. The canoes are from twenty to thirty feet long, but they 
 do not exceed a foot in breadth, and will not carry more 
 than six or seven men. To prevent their being overset, a 
 sort of balancing pole is used, such as is often to be seen 
 among other nations. The whole canoe is mean, and very 
 badly constructed. The planks to raise the sides are fastened on 
 with cocoa-nut thread ; the joints and crevices are then stopped 
 up close with moss, and rubbed well over with resin from the 
 bread-fruit tree. In case the boat is overset or is leaky, all 
 who are in it spring out, swim round it, and shovel the water 
 out with their hands, so that they can soon get into it again 
 without danger, and continue rowing. The oars and rudder are 
 of better workmanship than the canoe. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Whatever these people begged of us, as bread, biscuit, 
 sugar, they put to their noses, and smelt at it like apes. I had 
 many times occasion to observe that their smell seemed par- 
 
4# 
 
 174 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 ticularly acute. They were extremely fond of Augar, but dis- 
 liked the salted meat very much. 
 
 As they have no clothes, consequently no pockets in which 
 they can put things, they would often carry trifling articles in 
 their mouths. I was once observed by a man seeking for little 
 pocket crabs under the stones upon the beach, when he imme- 
 diately took six of them alive out of his mouth, which he had 
 absolutely caught with his mouth. 
 
 There are many other ways in which they display extraor- 
 d.niiry activity of body besides those that have already been 
 inoticed. They climb the highest trees with incredible celerity, 
 not as we do, with the knees pressed close to the trunk, but 
 rather like apes, with the toes spread out : probably their loirg 
 and strong nails assist them in this very much. They will climb 
 the steepest rocks with extreme facility ; in running, they are 
 not equally expert. 
 
 If they mean t6 give a refusal, or a uegative answer, they 
 stretch out their tongues. Pointing with the index finger is a 
 demonstration of friendship. When two friends meet, they 
 press the points of the noses together ; this stands with them in 
 the place of a kiss, to the sweet sensation of which they seem 
 entire strangers. 
 
 Tho people of ristinction here, as is the case in many 
 Asiatic nations, suffer the nails on the fingers to grow very long, 
 that it may be evident they are not accustomed to hard labour. 
 They use their toes with extraordinary dexterity. I have seen 
 
WASHINGTON'S ULAVm. Hfi 
 
 them on board the ship take up a piece of iron with their 
 toes, and hand it, if I may use that expression, to some of 
 their comrades who were swimming about the ship. 
 
 To make the cocoa-nut oil, they scrape the kernels of a 
 great number of cocoa-nuts, which they put upon banana- 
 leaves, and let it lie out in the sun for four or five days. They 
 then press the oil from an equal number of fresh cocoa-nuts 
 over the scrapings, and let it lie in the sun again for two or 
 three days ; by repeating this several times, a quantity of 
 good oil is procured. It is kept for use in the hollow of bamboo 
 canes. 
 
 The teeth from the upper jaws of the sharks serve here, 9>s 
 in the Sandwich and other South-Sea islands, for knives, or 
 even for razors ; those of the under jaw are used as a substitute 
 for gimlets and awls to bore holes, for which purpose they are 
 fastened into a wooden handle. 
 
 Small pieces of coral, of madrepores, and millepores, serve 
 to scrape and work the implements made of the hard casua- 
 rina-wood ; they have the effect of a saw ; the skin of the shark 
 is used to polish the wood. Bows and arrows, which are so 
 much used among many nations, seem liere to be wholly 
 unknown. 
 
 The father of Katanuah, a very old man, was reputed to 
 have a great deal of medical knowledge. Sea-water taken 
 internally seems to be one of their most favourite medicines. 
 
176 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLANDS. 
 
 Twin-births, as Cabri assured us, are by no means uncommon 
 here. 
 
 Swine and rats are the only domestic quadrupeds of these 
 islands ; the latter are caught by the people with their hands, 
 and given to the swine for food. In times of scarcity they are 
 eaten by the people themselves, and are very well flavoured. 
 We saw many hogs, particularly in. the valley of Schegua, at 
 large as European ones, but their owners would not exchange 
 or sell them, at least at the price we chose to offer, '- 
 
 Roberts had two dogs, which were called by the inhabitants, 
 who have no such animals among them, by the same appella- 
 tion they give to swine. A male and female goat, to which 
 probably they give the name of horned swine, had been brought 
 from Santa Christina to Nukahiwa, but as they were in a dis- 
 tant valley we did not see them. We never saw either wild or 
 tame cats, though it is not improbable that there may be wild 
 ones who feed upon the rats. 
 
 Poultry are not much in request as an article of food, but 
 those that have a beautiful plumage are highly valued for the 
 sake of the feathers : they are, from time to time, plucked 
 quite bare. Fleas seem to be wholly unknown here. 
 
 These are the principal observations I was enabled to make 
 during a stay of ten days at the island ot Nukahiwa. Who- 
 ever feels particularly interested in the group of islands to 
 which this belongs, will find in the voyages of Cook, Forster, 
 
t 'fWr 
 
 WASHINGTON'S ISLAND?^. 
 
 177 
 
 Le Marchand, Vancouver, Wilson, and Captain Krusenstern, 
 many very interesting particulars which I have omitted to avoid 
 repetition. 
 
 tf^*i' 
 
 .t « 7 
 
 With the assistance of Roberts and Cabri I had an oppor- 
 tunity, which does not often occur, of obtaining a tolerable 
 vocabulary of their language. This I have thought of sufficient 
 importance to subjoin at the end of the work. 
 
 
 
 
 ■..(-■'i. 
 
 :r 
 
 A A 
 
178 
 
 VOYAGK TO OWIIYHEK. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Departure from Nukahiwa. — Arrival at Otchyhce. — Remarks upon that 
 laland.—Jieunion with the Neva.—-Voyage to Kamschatka. — Arrival, 
 and Stuii there. 
 
 During our stay at Nukaliiwa, we had, to our great 
 regret, not been able to procure many swine by way of barter. 
 A part of the inhabitants set too high a price upon them, and 
 others would not part with them at any price, chusing to 
 reserve them for their own banquetings and revelHngs. We 
 provided ourselves, however, plentifully with cocoa-nuts, 
 bread-fruit, bananas, and nourishing roots, and left the island 
 in the best health possible, with the pleasing hope that in a few 
 weeks we should find at the Sandwich Islands ample compen- 
 sation for our present privation of animal food. 
 
 We had collected as large a stock of wood and good water 
 as Captain Krusenstern judged necessary : in this business, 
 Roberts, Cabri, and several of the natives, rendered us very 
 important services. The latter were richly paid by some pieces 
 of iron hoops from old casks of about an inch long each, 
 and the two former by some linen, knives, hatchets, and other 
 useful objects. From the first of our arrival we were upon the 
 best terms possible with the islanders, and had gained, as I dare 
 hope, their perfect esteem and confidence ; nay, I will flatter 
 
VOYAGE TO VIIYHEE. I79 
 
 myself that we even left u])on their minds impressions which 
 may be advantageous to future navigators visiting the island. At 
 our departure we had no reason to complain of the behaviour of 
 these men ; and we quitted them with the impression that if, 
 in some respects, they were to be regarded as cruel in their dis- 
 positions, and as just objects of horror, yet in others tliey were 
 friendly and kind-hearted. . , '; •.,■■'.. 
 
 The Neva, from which we had been separated on the twenty- 
 fourth of March in the neighbourhood of Cape Horn, to 
 our very great joy arrived at Nukahiwa on the eleventh of May. 
 The captain told us that he had waited for us three days at 
 Easter Island, but on account of the strong west wind was pre- 
 vented landed there; consequently, except some batatas and 
 bananas which the islanders had brought in a canoe, no refresh- 
 ment had been procured. 
 
 On the sixteenth of May, both ships prepared to put to sea ; 
 and on the seventeenth, in the morning, every thing being ready, 
 the anchor was weighed. The wind came in little gales from 
 the high hills that surround the harbour, and changed almost 
 every moment, so that the ship was often laid on her side, and 
 we made very little way. Towards ten o'clock, a brisk gale 
 came on from the sea, which impelled the waves with great 
 force into the harbour ; and our vessel, overpowered by them, 
 was driven by degrees more and more towards the south-west 
 shore. Carried, at leilgth, to within a hundred and twenty 
 fathom of some rugged rocks, our situation became extrtuiely 
 dangerous; happily, however, we found anchorage. This, 
 united with the extreme attention of our excellent commander, 
 
 A A 3 
 
ISO VOYAGE TO ovvifrnti.. 
 
 and the activity of the officers and crew, rescued us from the 
 danger of being driven upon the rocks we were now so near, 
 and of being wrecked upon an island of anthropophagists. Our 
 sheet-anchor was immediately thrown out, and the Neva, upon 
 a signal given, sent her boat to assist in placing us sooner in 
 security from the rocks. A great number of the inhabitants 
 assembled upon the shore, many of whom appeared to be armed. 
 Few, however, had probably an accurate idea of our danger, 
 for one of them, in company with a woman, threw himself from 
 a steep rock into the tossing waves, where the water dashed up 
 to the height of twenty feet, offering us, as usual, the favours 
 of the lady, who was most probably his wife. Another came 
 swimming merrily round the ship, but as nobody condescended 
 to pay attention to him, he soon turned back, with a bough of 
 banana in his hand, which had accidentally fallen overboard. 
 
 About four in the afternoon we were in the midst of the bay 
 safely at anchor, and rescued entirely from the danger with 
 which we had been menaced. The variable weather, the heavy 
 showers of rain, the continued strong gale of wind, and above 
 all, the reflection that the crew had been working very hard all 
 day in an atmosphere of twenty-two degrees of heat, deter- 
 mined Captain Krusenstern to give them a p'.jht's rest. 
 
 Towards evening, Cabri and Roberts cam:^ on board to bid 
 us once more adieu ; the former also begged some farther 
 European trifles for himself and his wife. He assured us that 
 he had seen the danger our ship was in from the eastern side 
 of the bay, and had immediately spread the news in tiie valley, 
 as he conceived our destruction inevitable, and, he had col- 
 
VOYAGP TO OWHYIIEE. |g| 
 
 ifctcd such a number of islanders with tlic sole view of placing 
 us and all our treasures in perfect security, in case of , the ex- 
 pected shipwreck. As the night closed in, llobcrts was sent 
 on shore in a little boat, and we advised Cabri also to avail 
 lutnself of the same opportunity for returning, since, if the wind 
 should prove favourable, we might perhaps sail in the night. 
 He, however, chose to remain on board, and assured us that 
 from the mouth of the bay he could at any moment swim to 
 the nearest shore. •^ 
 
 
 ',':: tii 
 
 Early in the morning of the eighteenth the anchor was 
 again weighed. We were scarcely between the two islands that 
 lie at the mouth of the harbour when there arose suddenly so 
 strong and unequal a gale, accompanied with rain, that the 
 whole crew were again in motion, more sail was spread, and the 
 cable of the sheet-anchor was cut, that we might gain the open 
 sea as fast as possible. At this critical moment Cabri begged 
 to be set on .shore in a boat, as it was impossible, while the sea 
 was so high, to reach the island by swimming. Every one, 
 however, was too much occupied with the safety of the ship to 
 pay any attention to his request, and he begged equally in vain 
 for a plank, by the assistance of which he might get on ^hore. 
 He was therefore constrained, between the rolling of the sea, 
 and the every moment increasing distance from the shore, to 
 remain with us, and leave this fairy island. Tlius was Roberts 
 freed from the object of his determined enmity, and Cabri 
 separated from his wife and children. He seemed, however, 
 soon to reconcile himself to his fate, and was extremely useful 
 as a sailor. For the vest, he was but a, mauvais-sujet, very 
 
182 VOYAOK TO OWHVIIEK 
 
 ready iti laying plans for sicaling, lyitigi and cheating, and not 
 less adroit, in the execution of theiu. 
 
 ' > 
 We now directed our course towards tlve Sandwich Islands 
 Xnd Kanischatka. The wind was brisk, and after a few days., 
 that is, on the twenty-fifth of May in the afternoon, we 
 crossed the Line in longitude 146" 31' west of Greenwich. 
 The heat was, during this day, at 22", in the night it fell 
 to 21". On the twenty-seventh of May, being then in 2* IC/ 
 northern latitude, and in 146" 50' western longitude, we re- 
 marked a Ijougli with green leaves floating on tlie water, and 
 at the same time saw an unusually large flight of tropic- 
 birds, as well as some other sea-birds, knd some fish; a trifling 
 change in the trade-wind was also perceptible. All these 
 things gave reason to suppose that we were in the neighlwur- 
 hood of some hitherto unknown island, but we were not so 
 fortunate as to discover it. 
 
 On the seventh of June, being in latitude 19° 34' north, 
 we came in sight of the eastern point of the island of Owhy hee,, 
 then at the distance of thirty-six sea miles. This island, the 
 largest of the group called the Sandwich Islands, is celebrated 
 from its having been the place where the great navigator Cook 
 so unfortunately lost his life. Vancouver, his worthy disciple, 
 gave the world a few years after a complete map of these 
 islands. 
 
 Captain Krusenstern was desirous of reaching Nangasaki, 
 a great trading town of Japan, before the end of September, 
 
ISLAND OP OWHYIIEE. 
 
 183 
 
 / 
 
 hoping, by thus hastening his voyage, to avoid the change of 
 tlie north-easterly monsoon, which often takes place about the 
 middle of that month. In order, therefore, to gain time, he 
 resolved not to anchor in Caracacoa Bay, but without any 
 delay to institute a traffic with the islanders for such objects as 
 he wanted, so that in a few days he might be amply provided 
 with swine and provisions of all kinds. With this view he 
 cruized till the tenth along the southern coast of the island ; 
 but to our very great concern, during that time so few of the 
 inhabitants made their appearance, and they demanded so high 
 a price for whatever they brought, that he resolved to leave 
 the island, and make the best of his way to Kamschatka. This 
 he was the better enabled to do from tire excellent state of 
 health of his whole crew. 
 
 The few islanders we had an opportunity of observing were 
 all niiked, dirty, of a middling stature^ not well made, and 
 with skins of a dark dingy brown ; they were covered with 
 bruises and sores, probably the effect either of drinking kava, 
 or of a well-known disease very common among them. Most 
 of the men had lost their front teeth, which they said had been 
 knocked out in battle by the slings. They were very good 
 swimmers. Their arms and sides were tattooed in figures of 
 lizards, goats, musquets, and other things, but by no means so 
 well executed as the figures we had seen at Nukahiwa. The 
 ill impression made upon us by these people was so much the 
 more forcible, as but a very short time before, only on the 
 seventeenth of May, we had left an island, the inhabitants of 
 which, as to their stature and admirable proportions, are cer- 
 tainly to be ranked among the handsomest people upon the. 
 
184 
 
 ISLAND OP OWHYHEE. 
 
 globe. For the rest, the Sandwich islanders, probably from 
 their more frequent intercourse with European nations, appear 
 to have much greater affinity with them than the people of Nu- 
 kahivva. Cabri was so little pleased with either the men or the 
 women, that he could not resolve to live among them, and 
 earnestly entreated Captain Krusenstern, who would have set 
 him on shore here, to carry him on to Kamschatka. The lan- 
 guage of Owhyhee seems to differ very much from that pf Nuka- 
 hiwa, since Cabri, who spoke tlie latter fluently, could not make 
 himself understood here. By the assistance of some English 
 words we succeeded better. 
 
 The canoes of these islands are Ir^ht, and very neatly con- 
 structed ; they prove that the people have made a much 
 greater progress in naval architecture than those of Nuka- 
 hiwa ; they go out to sea in them many miles. The coast, 
 in the part about which we cruized, is pleasant and well-culti- 
 vated : we observed many groves of bananas and cocoa-nuts. 
 Our attention was particularly attracted by the majestic moun- 
 tain Mowna Roa. According to former observations, its point 
 Should be two thousand five hundred and seventy-eight toises 
 abpve the level of the sea, but our indefatigable astronomer. 
 Doctor Horner, calculated it at only two thousand two hun- 
 dred and fifty-four. 
 
 This lofty mountain, which is between three and four hun- 
 dred toises higher than the Peak of Teneriffe, rises so gradually 
 from the sea-shore to its summit, that it has a very remarkable 
 and most pleasing appearance ; in no other place can any one 
 ascend to so great a height with so little difficulty. A part 
 
ISLAND OF OWBTHEC. 
 
 185 
 
 of this facility arises from the vrarmth of the climate ; since 
 notwithstanding its great height, even the very summit scarcely 
 reaches the snow mark at so short a di&tance from the equator. 
 At the time of year when we saw it, the summit was entirely 
 free from snow. How many unknown plants might here be 
 discovered, and what contributions might be collected towards 
 the -geography and natural history of plants I It were much to 
 be wished that some zealous naturalist would renutin at least a 
 year upon thi» island to study these subjects. 
 
 We quitted Owhyhee on the tenth of June, without having 
 been able to obtain the least information with respect to the 
 present state of the island. As I afterwards passed the winter of 
 1805 and 1806 upon the north-west coast of America, I had 
 then an opportunity of learning some particulars, which will 
 perhaps be better given in this place. 
 
 The group of the Sandwich Islands is very commodious for 
 all ships going to the north-west coast of America, to the Aleu- 
 tian Islands, or to Kamscliatka, to touch at ; it has very secilre 
 bays. Here may be procured abundance of swine, bread-fruit, 
 bananas, cocoa-nuts, taro, yams, batatas, salt, wood, water, 
 and other things particularly desirable for ship stores. The 
 ships of the United States of America touch here almost every 
 year, in their way to the north-west coast of their continent. 
 The object of these voyages made by tlie Americans is to col- 
 lect the sea-otter skins, which are so highly valued by tlie Chi- 
 nese, and carry them to Canton. For these skins they give 
 iron wares, cloth, knives, hatchets, kitclien utensils, rice, 
 molasses, biscuit, powder, and flints. This trade has been 
 
 B B 
 
186 
 
 ISLAND OF OWHYHEE. 
 
 carried on principally, since the English, as well as the Spa- 
 niards, have deserted Nootka Sound, and given up their former 
 establishments there. The exchange must be extremely profit- 
 able, since not less than seven or eight ships annually go to 
 Nootka, Queen Charlotte's, and Norfolk Sound. If they do 
 not get a good cargo of sea-otter skins for Canton, they go in 
 October or November to Columbo river, or more commonly to 
 the Sandwich Islands, and winter there, so that they may be 
 ready the beginning of March to go again to the north-west 
 coast, and complete their lading. 
 
 The number of ships that visit Caracacoa Bay, and the 
 intercourse that takes place between them and the natives, 
 has had already so great an influence upon the civilization 
 of these islands, that they may be said to have advanced in 
 it with giant strides, and Owhyhee is likely to take the lead 
 among the South Sea islands, in becoming a polished and civi- 
 lized country. 
 
 Their king, Tomoomah, from his constant intercourse with 
 the sea-officers of the American States, and particularly under 
 the instruction of Mr. Young and Mr. Davie, who have 
 already lived with him some years, and are, as it were, his 
 ministers, has introduced many European customs, and has 
 brought the English language so much into use, that most 
 of the inhabitants of the island of any rank or distinction can 
 now speak English. Tomoomah has found means to subject 
 all the islands to his jurisdiction, so that he is become sole 
 sovereign of the whole group. He was soon made to com- 
 prehend the value of silver, and to prefer selling the products 
 
> 
 
 ISLAND OF OWHYilEE. 18? 
 
 of his country to the ships that visited it for Spanish dollars 
 or piastres. As soon as he had got a tolerable sum together, he 
 bought a ship of an American merchant, and manned it partly 
 with his own people, and partly with foreign sailors, of whom 
 there are many now living in Owhyhee. The seamen of the 
 United States like so well to revel in a superfluity of the pro- 
 ductions of nature without much labour, and to have hand- 
 some young girls at their disposal, that a ship scarcely ever 
 touches here without leaving one or more of its sailors be- 
 hind ; the king, however, will not permit any one to stay 
 who has not a good character from his captain. Through the 
 instruction of these guests, the islanders are become very fond 
 of a seafaring life, and thej-- make excellent sailors. While I 
 was on the north-west coast of America, I saw and talked with 
 several natives of Owhyhee serving as sailors on board vessels fronjt 
 Boston, who received as pay ten or twelve piastres per month. 
 
 They have got to make cordage of all kinds, and fishing nets 
 in so much perfection in Owhyhee, probably from the threads 
 oi the phormium verax, that ships are supplied with them, and 
 they are considered as more durable for tackling than the 
 European cordage. - . ; 
 
 Tomoomah, in every thing he does, shews a strong under- 
 standing, and great activity of mind . He has increased his 
 power at sea so much within a short time, that in the year 
 1806 he had fifteen ships in his possession, among which were 
 some three-masted vessels, brigs, and cutters. In - the same 
 year he made known to the agent of the Russio- American 
 trading company, Von Baranoff, at New Archangel in Norfolk 
 
 bd2 
 
188 
 
 ISLAND OF OWHYHEE. 
 
 Sound, that he understood from persons trading to that coast 
 how much the Russian establishment had sometimes suffered 
 in winter from a scarcity of provisions ; that he would there- 
 fore gladly send a ship every year with swine, salt, batatas, 
 and other articles of food, if they would in exchange let 
 him have sea-otter skins at a fair price ; and thef^ he purposed 
 to send upon speculation to Canton*. 
 
 But the thing which more than any other occupies his at- 
 tention is ship-building, and he already can point out with 
 great accuracy and judgment the excellencies and faults in the 
 construction of a vessel. All tools and implements beloi^ing 
 to ship-building are therefore considered by him as of particular 
 value, and are the most advantageous articles of traffic that 
 can be carried to the island. Any sailor, who is at the same 
 time a ship-carpenter, is particularly welcome ; he is imme- 
 diately presented with lands, and almost any thing that he 
 wants. > 
 
 A few years ago a most extraordinary and valuable discovery 
 was made at Owhyhee, of a sort of wood growing there, which 
 it is said the worms, that do so much mischief in these 
 waters by boring into the ships, will not touch. This, if ever 
 duly established, will render the sheathing vessels with copper, 
 an otherwise absolutely necessary precaution, wholly super- 
 fluous. Among the products of Owhyhee is the sugar-cane. If 
 
 • Thi« interconse, as I haTe learnt sidce my rctura to St. Peteriburgh, has abso. 
 lutely commenced. Tht Imptrial Rusiiaa trading company not only i«rt a ship froM 
 Norfolk Sound to OwbyhM to trade with the kiag for pro*iiions, but erea boufht • 
 cutter of hiffl. 
 
ISLAND OF OWHYHEE. 139 
 
 tliis were cultivated to any degree of perf5ection, in time Kams- 
 chatka, and indeed all Siberia, might be supplied with sugar 
 from hence. >"■ i^ » i 
 
 The wars, and political relations of Europe, have of late 
 years so entirely engrossed the attention of all ranks and classes 
 of people, that even the f^peculative eye of the merchant has 
 been turned from other objects and chained to these alone. But 
 if ever the freedom of the seas be re-established, and ships of 
 all nations be allowed to range at targe as heretofore, then it 
 may be hoped that the advantages which Cook, La Perouse, 
 Meares, Portlock, Vancouver, Le Marchand, Broughton, Cap- 
 tain Krusenstem, and many others, have pointed out as easiljr 
 to be derived from trading witii these islands, will not remain 
 wholly neglected. 
 
 On the tenth of June, at six in the evening, we took leave 
 r . our companion the Neva, from which we were now to be se- 
 parated, with a reciprocal exchange of three cheers. Captain 
 Lisiansky was destined to sail with this ship to the north-west 
 coast of America. As he was not so much pressed for time as 
 ourselves, he determined to cast anchor for some days in Cara- 
 cacoa Bay to refresh his crew. Captain Krusenstern, however^ 
 judged it necessary to take a decisive resolution; and since 
 in four days we had not been able to obtain any provisions from 
 the coast, he determined to lose no more time in uncertain 
 attempts, but to make the best of his way without any &rtber 
 delay, to Kamschatka. 
 
 t 
 
 Nothing remarkable occurred during the first days of this 
 
190 
 
 VOYAGE TO KAMSCIIATKA. 
 
 idrt 
 
 voyage. Our kitchen was very simple ; for the table of the 
 officers, as well as of the sailors, was served only with salted 
 meat and biscuit ; to which was added, through the medium of 
 the latter, a sort of small beetle, the dermestes niceus. In fact, 
 these insects had nestled themselves in such abundance among 
 our stock of biscuit, that we were obliged to examine every 
 morsel very accurately before we could venture to put it into 
 our mouths. 
 
 The uncommon number of birds that we saw when we 
 were in 17' north latitude, and 169° 30' western longitude, 
 attracted our attention very much, and excited again a hope 
 that we might discover some unknown 'island: this hope, how- 
 ever, as in the former instance, proved abortive. The geogra- 
 phical sailor would render a very great service in taking for the 
 subject of his inquiries, the vast waste of sea between the 
 western coast of America and Japan, with the islands that lie 
 to the south of Japan, or in other words, between the twenty- 
 fourth and forty-fifth degrees of northern latitude; and in 
 giving rules whereby navigators might understand accurately 
 the signs of being in the neighbourhood of land. There 
 can be scarcely any doubt that not only here but elsewhere, 
 a vast many undiscovered islands still exist ; but where they are 
 must be the object of future examinations. I do not know of 
 any navigators going from the north-west coast of America to 
 Canton, that have not discovered, some in one place, some in 
 another, signs of land at no great distance: to the best of my 
 knowledge, however, nothing has yet been discovered in the 
 parallel between the eighteenth and twenty-sixth degrees of 
 northern latitude, but some low sand islands, which render the 
 
VOYAGE TO KAMSCIfATKA. 
 
 191 
 
 navigation very dangerous. From comparing the testimonies 
 of all who have hitherto run this course, deductions may be 
 made which will lead future navigators to take a different di- 
 rection, whence, doubtless, fresh discoveries will arise. In my 
 voyage from Norfolk Sound to the coast of New Albion, in 
 1806, from latitude 37° to 39° north, and longitude 217" to 
 228° west, I observed almost daily tokens of land not very far 
 off. But of this more in the sequel. . . , , 
 
 The twenty-seventh of June was in many respects a very re* 
 markable day to us. We crossed the Tropic of Cancer in 
 181° 50' western longitude, the sun being then in its zenith. 
 The degree of heat was from twenty-one to twenty-two. The 
 air being uncommonly calm, and the sea uncommonly smooth* 
 our worthy captain lent Dr. Horner and myself one of the 
 boats, for the purpose of making our respective observations ; 
 the Doctor's, upon the temperature, the transparency, the cur-» 
 rents, and the saltness of the sea ; and mine upon the natural 
 history of such objects as might come within my reach. , 
 
 According to the observations made by the Doctor, the warmth 
 of the sea upon its surface was then 20* 5'; but at the depth of a 
 hundred and twenty-five fathom it was only 13^ 3'. The dif- 
 ference in the temperature of the water, between the surface and 
 twenty-five fathom depth, was only 1" ; between the surface and 
 fifty fathom, 3° 9' ; and between the surface and a hundred and 
 twenty-five fathom, 7° 2'. 
 
 The nuoiber of zoophytes and mollusca, of heroes, of salpce* 
 of Medusse, of seasquills, of cyclops mulleri, of zoea htifer, of 
 
199 VOTAGE Ta RAMSCirATKA. 
 
 pehgka, and various other micrctscopic objects, yrbkh I ibtradj, 
 astonished me exceedingly. I also found innumerable shoals 
 of the physalis peiagka, and medusa vetelh ; whicb, ac- 
 fording to my ideas, varied only from those in the Atlantic 
 Ocean by their being so much smaller : they were scarcely ao 
 inch in diameter. 
 
 Early in the morning we saw a very large dog-6sh, aijuaius 
 giaucias, near the ship. Though it appeared to be hungiy, and 
 to follow us only to catch at any objects o« Ibod that mi^it 
 come in its way, it would not at first bite when we tlirew out 
 the angle: at length^ hoMrever, it could not resist the attiaction 
 of the bait, and was drawn on board, vritk many shouts, acd vast 
 delight. It measured seven feet and a hall in length, and 
 weighed two hundred pounds. While we were all standing 
 over our prize, contemplating it v;ith rapture, a secoiid was ob^' 
 served close to us. We had again recourse to the angle, and 
 the creature was so extremely hungry that he caught at it with 
 the utmost eagerness. We were so much the more rejoiced at 
 this capture, as we obtained by it a small supply of fresh food. 
 Altliough tl)e flesh of all the shark tribe is hard, dry, and 
 tasteless, yet we agreed unanimously, as we feasted upon it the 
 same evening, that it was extremely well-fiavoured. Some of 
 the sailors, however, were soon after taken with a violent vo- 
 miting: but I am rather inclined to ascribe tins to intemperance 
 in the quantity they had eaten, or to some other casual circum- 
 stance, than to the nature of the fish. I have very often seen it 
 brought to market, both at Lisbon and Teueriffe,, and sold to* 
 „the poor for food. 
 
VOYAGE TO RAMSCHATKA. |«f.f 
 
 In 21* northern latitude we lost the trade-wind, and with 
 it the pleasant sailing we had enjoyed between the tropics. 
 Cloudy weather with fresh variable winds, and constant 
 changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, accompanied us 
 the rest of the way to Kamschatka. On the last day of this 
 month, in latitude f^Oo, we saw such an immense shoal of 
 dolphins, that the foam occasioned by them appeared at a little 
 distance like the sea breaking over rocks. 
 
 o 
 
 On the third of July, when we were in latitude 36* north, and 
 in longitude 191*13* west. Captain Krusenstern directed his 
 course due M'est, in hopes of falling in with the Rica de Oro, and 
 Rica de Plata, or the Gold and Silver Islands : their situation is 
 variously defined even in the best maps, and they have many 
 times been sought in vaui. The atmosphere was cloudy, 
 and in the afternoon a strong east wind rose, which, though at 
 first favourable to us, soon increased to a storm. In a night so 
 extremely dark that we could scarcely see the length of the ship 
 round us, with reefed sails we went at the rate of nine miles an 
 hour ; so that we were very fortunate in not running upon the 
 rocks of any Gold or Silver shore. 
 
 On the following day, the fourth of July, the wind changed; 
 notwithstanding which the weather still continued cloudy ; and 
 as Captain Krusenstern thought the certain loss of time of more 
 importance than any uncertain pursuit, he judged it better to 
 abandon researches, the event of which was so extremely 
 doubtful. To what this experienced navigator says in his ex- 
 cellent account of our voyage, with regard to these islands, 
 I am enabled to add that the Dutcli interpreters at Nangasaki, 
 
 c c 
 
194 VOYAGE TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 whom I often questioned upon this subject, were extremely 
 well acquainted with the names, and represented tiieni as lying 
 about four ur five days sail from the south-west coast of Japan. As 
 the Japanese, however,, understand nothing at all of latitude or 
 longitude, it was very difficult to learn any thing definite upon 
 the subject. 
 
 On the fifth of July, in latitude SB'S?', longitude 194° 30', 
 we saw a turtle, without, however, any other signs appearing 
 of land being near. On the sixth, in latitude 40*34', longitude 
 195° 35', we observed a great many whales, and on the seventh, 
 some ducks, with an old trunk of a tree : every day the signs 
 of being not very far from land increased upon us. On the 
 eleventh, in latitude 49° 16', longitude 199° 49', we saw about 
 tlie ship a great number of sea-mews, larus, auks, alca, peterels, 
 procellaria, and albatrosses, diomedea exulans. The peterels in 
 their long slender wings, though not in the manner of their 
 flight, somewhat resemble larks or swallows. 
 
 On the thirteenth in the morning land was descried from the 
 mast-head : the sound had in it something heavenly to the ears 
 of people who had been five months upon the sea, with only the 
 variation of the few short excursions we made on shore during 
 the ten days we staid at Nukahiwa : the land we saw might, 
 moreover, in some respects be regarded as our native shores. A 
 calm prevented our making much way on the following day ; 
 and we contemplated with a longing eye the promontory of 
 Schibunskoy-Noss, which lay before us. We were in latitude 
 53° 6' north, and in longitude 200°, nearly the situation of the 
 harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul. 
 
VOYAGE TO KAMSCIIATKA. I95 
 
 The liii^h ridges of luoimtains, the peaks covered with eternal 
 snow, the flaming volcanoes, presented an appearance wholly- 
 new to us ; and as we were so far advanced in summer, we could 
 not help doubting whether it really was snow with which we 
 saw the upper half of the mountains covered*. How little 
 soever we were at Jirst j^leased with the prospect presented to 
 us, and how much soever our minds were prejudiced by the ill 
 reports generally made of this country, yet the nearer we ap- 
 proached to the coast, the more we were disposed to conceive a 
 better opinion of it. On the fifteenth in the morning a brisk 
 gale sprung up, and the green forests with which the lower 
 mountains were covered, surprised us with their beauty and 
 pleasant appearance. Since we quitted Brazil we had seen 
 no country which presentcu to us views so line as this ill-famed 
 peninsula. The fine woods of birch, and the grassy hills in the 
 foreground, resembled an European landscape so much, that 
 we really coald almost believe ourselves in our native country ; 
 even the high Alps in the back ground, which had made so 
 unpleasant an impression upon our minds the day before, were 
 now admired as grand features adding much to the general 
 effect. 
 
 Towards noon we had reached the entrance of the great bay 
 of Awatscha, in which, assisted by the excellent charts of Cook 
 and SaritschefF, we proceeded forwards without any difficulty. 
 
 * Ai the line of perpetual snow is 46", which gives in Europe fourteen hundred and 
 sixty toisss aboTC the level of the sea, I believe the medium height of these mountains ii> 
 Kamschatka may be taken at a thousand toiset. Suim- peaks in this peninsula, partlcti. 
 larly that of Glutscheffskaia, I should estimate at two tlioutuud toisos. 
 
 c c 2 
 
196 STAY AT KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 The clouds of sea-mews which covered the I'ugged rocks around, 
 seemed to give us a hearty welcome. As the cry of this bird 
 has a strong resemblance to the human voice, some of our com- 
 pany thought that it yvas the inhabitants calling to us from 
 the nearest hills. Besides the mews, there was an immense 
 number of auks, ducks, pelicans, and other birds not known 
 to us. 
 
 We had but 'just entered Awatscha bay, when we saw a boat 
 with an officer rowing towards us. As soon as he heard who we 
 were, he told us that they had some time before heard from St, 
 Petersburgh of our voyage, and of the probability of our visiting 
 this country. He immediately hastened back to the town to 
 give information of our arrival, so that when we entered the 
 harbour we were welcomed with the thunder of the cannon. 
 We returned the salute with the like number of guns from our 
 vessel. At one o'clock we cast anchor, after a voyage of thirty- 
 five days from the island of Owhyhee. 
 
 Petropaulowsk lies upon a creek in the northern part of 
 Awatscha bay. The harbour is separated from the bay by a 
 neck of land, which shelters and protects it from all winds. The 
 town stands in a small valley, at the northern extremity of 
 which is a large fresh-water lake. The houses, not more than 
 thirty in number, are all constructed of wood, and, as in all 
 other parts of the Russian empire, are composed of beams, or 
 trunks of trees laid one over the other. The garrison consists 
 of a hundred and fifty soldiers, a company of artillerymen, and 
 some Cossacks. Here live, besides, the commissary of the 
 Russio- American trading company, and a clergyman, though 
 
STAY AT KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 197 
 
 there is no church. The harbour, according to the testimony 
 of all seamen, is one of the best to be found upon the globe ; 
 and it is highly probable that by increasing industry, and a 
 more active intercourse with China, Japan, America, the 
 Aleutian Isles, and other islands in the South-Sea, St. Peter 
 and St. Paul, may in time become the centre of a very profitable 
 trade, and rise into a flourishing and populous town. The 
 climate of Kamschatka is better than what is to be found in 
 the same degree of latitude in Siberia; but about St. Peter and 
 St. Paul the air is colder than in some of the more northern 
 partg of the peninsula. ^ 
 
 The harbour is open for the ingress and egress of vessels from 
 April till November: the bay is but seldom even partially 
 frozen, never entirely. Snow, it is true, is universal in the 
 neighbourhood of the harbour, more than in any other part, so 
 that the low dwellings are entirely covered with it; but it melts 
 early, and is soon absorbed by the ground, which it protects 
 from being ever more than slightly frozen. At the end of April, 
 or in the very coldest seasons, at the beginning of May, spring 
 may be expected, and the cattle, of which indeed there is no great 
 abundance, are turned out to grass. Very little ground is tilled 
 here : it is pretended that the sea air is injurious to the growth 
 of corn, but I suspect this to be only an excuse for laziness. 
 Potatoes, turnips, radishes, and many other culinary vege- 
 tables, which thrive here extremely well, are, notwithstanding, 
 cultivated very sparingly. We were besides informed that hus- 
 bandry, as well as the breeding of cattle, has made a very great 
 progress in the interior of the country ; that is to say, about 
 Wirchnoi, Glutscheffskaia, and other parts. 
 
ll'S 
 
 STAY AT KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 Major Krupskoy, commandant of the place at Petro- 
 paulowsk, gave us the best reception which his situation 
 would permit. The commander-in-chief of the peninsula, 
 Major-General Von Koscheleff, Chief of Battalion, does not 
 live here, but at Nischney Kamschatka, the capital of the 
 province, seven hundred versts from hence. The ambassador 
 to the court of Japan, Von Resanoff, who wished most ear- 
 nestly for an interview with him, dispatched a messenger to 
 request that he would come down to the harbour as soon as pos- 
 sible ; this circumstance, which, from the distance, occasioned 
 a very great loss of time to us, m^rl^ gn essential difference in 
 the future progress of our voyag*^ 
 
 » 
 Captain Krusenstern immediately began to unload the stores 
 which were sent from Cronstadt for the use of Kamschatka, 
 that at our arrival in Japan there might be nothing on board 
 except the presents destined for that place ; thus, as he hoped, 
 obviating every appearance to this suspicious nation, of the 
 expedition being sent for purposes of trade. A part of the sol- 
 diers and inhabitants of the place assisted, that the unloading 
 might be the more speedily accomplished, and that the vessel 
 might sooner be ready to sail again. Another part, by the 
 orders of Major Krupskoy, applied themselves to fishing and 
 hunting, that we might be well provided with fresh provisions 
 of all sorts. 
 
 Counsellor Tilesius and myself had hitherto made very little 
 progress in learning the Russian language, and we felt now, for 
 the first time in our voyage, how great a disadvantage it is to 
 be in a foreign country without understanding the language. 
 
STAY AT KAMSCHATKA. |fj^ 
 
 How earnestly soever we entreated the ambassador to pro- 
 cure us a guide for the purpose of accompanying us in an 
 excursion into the country, we were never so fortunate as to 
 have our wishes fulfilled ; he had no power over the soldiers, 
 and they were besides for the most part employed on board' 
 the ship ; there were very few Kamschadales and Cossacks 
 in the place, and those few were sent out on fishing and 
 hunting parties. Alone, and without a guide, we could not 
 venture far from the settlement ; the number of bears and 
 wolves, the impenetrable grass almost as high as ourselves, the 
 bogs, the forests, all presented obstacles not to be encountered 
 with safety. We found ourselves, therefore, wholly discouraged 
 in our scientific pursuits, and were obliged to be contented 
 with visiting the little village of Awatscha, about twelve versts 
 from Petropaulowsk, in company with several of our seafaring 
 companions. This place consists of five houses and thirty 
 inhabitants, all Kamschadales, who live by fishing and hunt- 
 ing. The village of Paratunka, the clergyman and inhabitants- 
 of which are so well known from the voyages of Captain Cook 
 and La Perouse, and who lived at that time in great affluence, 
 were now no more : the name alone existed ; and this is a 
 fate which, alas ! has been shared by too many others in the 
 peninsula. • 
 
 The political situation of the country has indeed changed 
 very much since it was visited by these illustrious navigators. 
 Nischney Kamtschatka is now the principal town, instead of 
 Bolschoiretsk ; and instead of a civil government there is now 
 a military one. The Emperor Paul, desirous to restrain the 
 constantly increasing population of the peninsula, some ten or 
 
500 
 
 STAY AT KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 twelve years before ordered a battalion of eight hundred men 
 thither from the regiment of Irkutsk, as a sort of rural militia 
 to promote husbandry and agriculture. The intention was 
 good, butj as is often the case, it was frustrated by a variety of 
 tdverse circumstances. 
 
 These troops were carried to their destination at a very great 
 expence, and supported there at a still greater. They were 
 brought from Irkutsk, a distance of six thousand versts, well 
 furnished with clothes, arms, ammunition, and every thing they 
 could want, so that they had nothing to do but to mount guard 
 and watch their magazines. Dirty, slothful, negligent, and 
 entirely ignorant of husbandry, they haU been, ever since their 
 first coming, of much more prejudice than use to the country ; 
 they had become a heavy burden to the Kamschadales, had 
 drained them in every possible way, and laid the foundation 
 both of physical and moral depravity among them ; so that if 
 the government does not speedily interfere, the poor simple 
 natives, who are already reduced from ten thousand to three 
 thousand, will be soon wholly extirpated 
 
 On the twelfth of August, the long and impatiently expected 
 General Von Koscheleflf arrived at Petropaulowsk. He waj? 
 accompanied by his younger brother and Captain FoedorofF, 
 with six^^y soldiers whom the ambassador had desired to see. 
 The continuation of our voyage to Japan, which had been ren- 
 dered almost doubtful by the long stay we were obliged to 
 make here, and from the expected speedy change of the mon- 
 soon, was at length determined on, and our departure fixed for 
 the twentieth of August. Three of our company, Major Count 
 
STAY AT KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 SOI 
 
 Tolstoy, Lieutenant of the Guards of his Imperial Majesty, 
 Doctor Prikin, the Physician to the Embassy, and the** 
 Draughtsman lo the expedition, Mr. Kurlandzoff, being tired 
 of a seafaring life, chose rather to return by land than to be 
 any longer the sport of the waves. In their place, the brother '* 
 of General Koscheleff and Captain Foedoroff were taken as 
 cavaliers to the embassy, and it was determined besides to take 
 ^ eight soldiers as a military guard of honour. We had been 
 'much indebted to our draughtsman for many interesting 
 sketches which he took while he remained with us. 
 
 After the arrival of the General, the town was much more 
 gay and lively. Instead of living almost entirely upon fish, of 
 which we began to be somewhat tired, oxen in plenty were 
 now killed, and we had besides the flesh of wild sheep and rein- 
 deer. We were truly rejoiced to find in the General a man who, 
 enlivened our society, who gave us a great deal of interesting 
 information respecting the situation of the peninsula, and who 
 procured us provisions of various sorts with the utmost readi- 
 ness and dispatch. We obtained, through his interposition, a 
 number of live oxen and a large quantity of salt fish, among 
 which the tschawitscka was by far the best and finest flavoured ; 
 pulse, rein-deer, salted geese, and other productions, wei*e 
 brought us from the more distant parts. The quantity and 
 variety of things which we collected all together convinced 
 us that Kamschatka is not so poor and miserable a country a» 
 it is usually represented. 
 
 The General gave us a ball in a tent which had been set up 
 by the ambassador V»>n Resanoff. The female part of the 
 
 D D 
 
30S SVAY AT KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 company consisted of Madame Krupskoy, with tlie wives of 
 the subaltern officers and soldiers, and some Kamschadale 
 women ; the latter were dressed after the Russian fashion, in 
 silks, satins, and nankeens. We had here an opportunity of 
 seeing the Kamschadale dance, which consisted of imitations of 
 bears, dogs, and birds. We had indeed ample reason to en- 
 tertain the utmost gratitude towards General Koscheleif for the 
 readiness he evinced to render us every possible service, and for 
 all the politeness and attention he shewed us. 
 
 By the end of August every thing was in readiness to set 
 sail. The ship left the harbour for Awatscha Bay, where it 
 was detained by contrary winds and thiick fogs till the sixth of 
 September, but the weather then becoming more favourable, 
 on the seventh, early in the morning, we proceeded on our 
 embassy to Japan r . ' « « 
 
ML" 
 
 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 fOS 
 
 r.'' i .■■• 
 
 
 .J;*-;, 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 J . ,. -■ „ 
 
 Voyage to Japan. — Introduction to the Embasty thither, — Departure from 
 Kamschatka.— -Occurrences during the Voyage.— Festival of the Ctro-. 
 nation.-^Frightful Hurricane. — Arrival at Japan. 
 
 The embassy to Japan was, both in a political and geogra- 
 phical point of view, the most interesting part of our expedi- 
 tion. This island, which is very little known, and of which the 
 little knowledge we have is principally through Kaempfer, 
 Thunberg, and Charlevoix, has for near two centuries shunned 
 almost all intercourse with European and other nations : with 
 the Dutch alone have the Japanese carried on a very insigni- 
 ficant intercourse of trade. 
 
 As Japan has no other European neighbour excepting Russia, 
 this kingdom may be said to have, naturally, the strongest 
 claims upo]» its friendship ; and the importance of a regular 
 intercourse with this island did not escape the acute mind of the 
 Empress Catherine. No sooner was she informed that a mer- 
 chant of Japan, by name Kodai, together with some other 
 persons who had been wrecked some years before upon the Kurile 
 islands, were living in Siberia, than she eagerly embraced th« 
 opportunity of shewing them the utmost hospitality. She 
 invited Kodai to St. Petersburgh, and alter displaying to him 
 
 « o i^ 
 
204 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 all the pomp and splendour of her then brilliant court ; after 
 heaping upon him every possible token of respect and kindness, 
 gave him a vessel to return to his native country. Upon this he 
 repaired to Ochotsk, and in 1792 was conveyed by a sea officer. 
 Lieutenant Adam Laxmann, son of the celebrated naturalist, to 
 Atkis, a harbour in Matraai, on the north-east coast of Japan. 
 The Governor-General of Siberia sent a letter by Laxmann to 
 the Emperor of Japan, in which, in the name of his imperial mis- 
 tress, he made known the motive of the voyage, and proposed, in 
 order to promote a closer friendship and union between the two 
 nations, to establish a regular intercourse of trade. Some pre- 
 sents, not of very great value^ were also sent in her majesty's 
 name, to the !]£mperor of Japan, at his capital city of Jedo. 
 
 Kodai, who possessed great discernment and penetration of 
 mind, and had during his stay in Russia studied the language 
 very assiduously, now'took upon himself, partly from gratitude 
 to his Russian benefactors, partly with a view to his own in- 
 terest, to serve them during their stay at Atkis as interpreter, 
 in such matters of business as might occur between them and 
 his country. After the lapse of some months, Laxmann re- 
 ceived, instead of a letter, or an answer to the Empress, or the 
 Governor-General, a sort of paper of instructions, the contents 
 of which were nearly as follows : 
 
 •• That from the most remote times to that moment, the laws 
 of the kingdom of Japan had been fixed and irrevocable, and 
 never could be shaken : That he (Laxmann) had come from his 
 own country with people confided to his care, whom chance and 
 the accidents of weather had thrown upon a foreign coast, and 
 
TOTAGE TO JAPAN. (QS 
 
 from ignorance had not come to Nangasaki, bul to a part of 
 the coast of Japan, where foreign vessels were rtot permitted to 
 come: this was a thing never before known in the country. 
 
 t* 
 
 That it is a law that all ships coming to Japan, how nu- 
 merous soever they may be, are immediately put imder arrest ; 
 the rather if they happen to be armed. 
 
 t« 
 
 That from the oldest times, the Dutch, as a nation with 
 whom they had always lived in friendship, had been permitted 
 to come to Nangasaki, but never to go into the interior of the 
 country ; but he, without having the least acquaintance with 
 Japan, had ventured to come, with the Japanese entrusted to 
 him, in an armed vessel. ' n^ ,i i , ;* ;. -<i ■ * ., .> - <;i- - 
 
 ..-■.ii, 
 
 '^i; 
 
 *• The consequence, in strictness, ought to be that he should 
 be for ever prohibited returning to his own country ; but con- 
 sidering that he is a stranf^er, unacquainted with the laws, and 
 has not knowingly and intentionally acted in opposition to them, 
 his return will be permitted ; the rather as he has been de- 
 puted by his government, to convey thither some subjects of 
 Japan entrusted to his care, and has fulfilled his mission with 
 so much fidelity and kindness. Permission to return is, how- 
 ever, only granted on condition that he on no account again 
 attempts to run into a forbidden harbour. 
 
 f< 
 
 As Japan has never hitherto entered into any friendly 
 intercourse with Russia, and consequently is ignorant of the 
 degree of dignity at which the Russian empire is arrived ; and 
 as it is impossible by means of a letter to judge of its greater or 
 
205 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 less extent, or to know what -customs and usages prevail in the 
 country, no means are therefore presented of judging how far 
 the two countries are agreed in their ideas 
 respect or contempt being shewn by certain actions*. 
 
 with regard to 
 
 ** On this ground, and on account of this imperfect know- 
 ledge, no answer can be sent to tha letter from Russia, except 
 by receiving the people whom chance had sent thither, and on 
 whose account it was written : any &rther intercourse with them 
 is not desired. 
 
 ** As to what concerns future ties of friendship, no treaty 
 upon the subject can be carried on in the harbour of Atkis ; and 
 as little can any permission be given for foreigners to come to 
 the capital city of Jedo. Merchants of other nations, after 
 the establishment of friendly relations, can only come to the 
 places pointed out to them. 
 
 " For the rest, it is a law to treat all ships of war, let them 
 come to what harbour or landing-place they will, with the 
 utmost strictness, not to enter into any intercourse with them, 
 or receive any excuses they may oflfer." 
 
 * The govcrnmeat of Japap means here to liint, that according to their cuitoms, it is 
 pot allowable for any body to write directly to the Emperor. This law was inculcated 
 Tcry strongly upon Captain Laxmann before he left the country, cither verbally or by 
 letter. They hold that nobody, not even ihe greatest potentate in the world, should 
 ^drcsB the emperor htoiself : the minister of the foreign pawer vaatt. write to the minister 
 of Japa,n, and the latter must communicat* the business in question to his sovereign. That 
 the Governor.General of Siberia had therefore writtsn to the emperor, was a crime little 
 fliojt of high treason against the dignity of the latter. 
 
tOITAGE TO JAPAN. f07 
 
 As the last point of instruction, the paper concluded with 
 saying: " You, Laxmann, liave leave to come to the harbour 
 of Nangasaki, on producing our permission h re remitted to 
 you ; but without producing it, you are not permitted to enter 
 even tliere." 
 
 The permission ran nearly in the following terms. '* En- 
 trance to the harbour of Nangasaki is permitted to a ship of the 
 great Russian empire ; but, as we have already declared, it is 
 strictly forbidden to foreign vessels to land in any other place. 
 We also repeat that the Christian religion cannot be permitted 
 in our kingdom ; and we therefore make it «, condition that 
 during their stay no act of religious worship is to be performed ; 
 and in case any agreement should be entered into in future, that 
 nothing shall be done contrary to our laws as laid down in the 
 above schedule. As our authority for coming on these con- 
 ditions, we give this our act to Adam Laxmann." 
 
 The disturbed state of Europe was the principal reason why 
 so many years had been suffered to elapse, without any use 
 being made of the above permission. It was reserved for the 
 glorious reign of our gracious monarch Alexander the First, at 
 the suggestion of his illustrious minister Count Romanzoff, to 
 undertake a voyage of discovery round the world, and to unite 
 with it an embassy to the island of Japan. There was the 
 greatest reason to hope and expect that the latter would be 
 attended with the happiest consequences, as the permission to 
 enter the harbour of Nangasaki was still in existence. Besides, 
 a few years after the return of Captain Laxmann, that is in 
 .1796, another large vessel from Japan had been wrecked upoa 
 
208 VOTACE TO JAPArf. 
 
 the Aleutian isleinds, and a fresh reason for the voyage was 
 therefore furiiislieU, to carry back to their native country the 
 unfortunate sufterers who had been rescued from this disaster •. 
 It was under these circumstances that the Count Von Resanoff 
 was appointed to this embassy, for which ho was provided with 
 very rich and expensive presents of objects of European arts 
 and manufactures of various kinds. 
 
 Thus equipped, on the seventh of September, J 804, we 
 quitted the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul in Kamschatka, 
 and, full of pleasing expectations, directed our course towards' 
 Japan. • • , • . »• - •,■ " 
 
 During the first days of our voyage we had tolerably favour- 
 able weather ; but on the morning of the eleventh a strong east 
 wind rose, which by two o'clock in the afternoon increased to a 
 violent storm ; nor did it abate the whole night through. The 
 waves ran higher than we had yet seen them in any part of our 
 voyage, not excepting in the sailing round Cape Horn. On the 
 following morning the wind suddenly abated, but the waves 
 still ran high, and the ship was so tossed about and buffeted by 
 them, that she seemed like a cork : this we all found not a little 
 
 * These Japanese, who lired for some years at Irkutsk, were, at the tine when ''::* 
 •xpeditioD was in preparation, sent for to St. Pctersburgh, and receiTed there with great 
 hospitality. After they had been presented with money, clothes, and watches, all those 
 who had nof embraced the Christian religion were declared to be at full liberty- to stay In 
 Russia, or to return to their natire country, according to their own free choice. Out of 
 lifted), fivp only chohC to return ; the rest went Toluntarily back to Irkutsk. One of 
 them, by name Nicolauj Kolotichin, is now professor of the Japanese language at the 
 Gynoaiium there, and has six or eight pupik under kis initruction. 
 

 VOfAGE TO JAPAN. fl09 
 
 wearying. We had never experienced such a storm since we 
 quitted the shores of Europe ; and although the ship had been 
 carefully caulked while we were at Kanischatka, it leaked so 
 much, that we were obliged to keep the pumps constantly at 
 work. The partition of the cabin by the chimney fell down ; 
 and as there was a constant fog, with small rain, the water came 
 cJ. rough the breach, so as entirely to prevent our drying the 
 bo'^ks, papers, and clothes, which had been wetted : this made 
 our situation still more uncomfortable. We now saw almost 
 daily small land-birds, and whales in great abundance. 
 
 Oil the ^fteenth, at noon, we being then in 39" ^T northern 
 latitude, 2C: ' i ' 30' western longitude, to our inexpressible con- 
 solation the weather cleared, and we perceived very sensibly that 
 we had got into a warmer climate. Instead of the cold damp 
 fog, we had now clear dry days, and warm moonlight nights. 
 The thermometer, which had hitherto seldom been above 
 10', suddenly rose to 18% and an invariably fresh and favourable 
 north-east wind carried us on so fast, that we soon lost all 
 apprehension of our voyage being protracted so as to carry us 
 into the stormy season in these seas. We seldom went less than 
 eight or nine miles in an hour. 
 
 According to what is stated in numbers of maps, we ought 
 now to have been in the neighbourhood of Vulcan's island, 
 the existence and situation of which Captain Krusenstern was 
 anxious to ascertain with precision. From his researches, it is, 
 however, very clear that this island, said to be in the thirty- 
 seventh degree of northern latitude, and the two hundred and 
 fourteenth of western longitude, will there be sought for in vain. 
 
SIO 
 
 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 The same may be said of the Tslas Xuevas of 1716, of those of 
 1664, of Penia de los Picas, and others; if they exist at all, it 
 is not in the places hitherto assigned them in the maps* To 
 correct errors, and ascertain the non-existence of pretended 
 islands, is of no less importance in geographical concerns than 
 to discover new ones. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh of September, the coronation festival 
 of our beloved monarch, his Imperial Majesty Alexander the 
 Fir^t, was celebrated in these regions so remote from his capital. 
 The ambassador, who had the greatest possible command of 
 his native language, on this occasion made a solemn harangue 
 upon deck to the whole ship's company. To shew his powers 
 of oratory, I here give a translation of it, though I am sen- 
 sible that much of the strength of the original is lost by its 
 being put into another language. 
 
 •* Russians, 
 
 ** In our voyage round the world, we are at length arrived 
 in the waters of Japan. Love of their country, dignity of 
 soul, talents in business, defiance of danger, perseverance, 
 subordination, mutual esteem, gentleness and forbearance 
 towards each other, — these are the characteristics which distin- 
 guish the Russian seaman, these the virtues by which the 
 Russians in general are distinguished. 
 
 ** You, officers of the navy, approved conauctors of the 
 Hope •, well have you deserved the gratitude of your fellow-^ 
 
 * Kadefchda, which was the name of our ship, signifies Ilori 
 
VOYAGE TO JAPAN t|| 
 
 citizens •. you have already acquired a degree of renown, of which 
 jealousy itself can never deprive you. 
 
 ** You, cavaliers, and associates in the embassy, my wor- 
 thy companions and assistants, still remains to us the accom- 
 plishment of the brilliant objects on which we are sent, the 
 opening to our country new sources of wealth and knowledge. 
 — And you, sailors, cherished children of the sea service, re- 
 joice ! The happy end of your diligent exertions is almost 
 attained. , 
 
 '' Long have our hearts and minds been united in serving 
 with zeal and delight the excellent monarch by whom we ar^ 
 deputed to these parts, and may gratitude towards this beloved 
 ruler still strengthen and animate us in the pertbrmance of our 
 arduous task. The present is a solemn day to all the sons of 
 Russia, but to none so solemn as to us, who are touching the 
 borders of the Japanese dominions, who are the first to see the 
 glorious Russian flag wave in the harbour of Nangasaki. 
 
 " As representative of our most g-TScious £mperor, and as 
 witness of your great exploits, it was no less flattering to me to 
 share your toils and dangers, than it is now gratifying solenmly 
 to testify the gratitude which awaits you al} iji future in the 
 bosom of our dear native country. 
 
 " I solemnize the festival of Alexander the First's corona- 
 tion in the waters of Japan, and make it for ever memorable 
 to you as a reward of your services. You have here the like- 
 
 JS G <^ 
 
212 
 
 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 ness of our beloved Emperor : wear it as your greatest ornament, 
 as a testimony of the zeal and diligence in his service, through 
 which it has been acquired. Recollect always in beholding it, 
 that this imposes upon you still more strongly the obligation 
 of continuing true to those duties of which your forefathers were 
 so proud, and by which they arrived at the. highest pinnacle of 
 fame. You will learn sincerely to bless the times in which the 
 merits of the least among his subjects, even in the remotest 
 regions of the world, do not pass unrewarded from the throne 
 itself." 
 
 In repeating these last words, the ambassador decorated 
 every one of the crew with a medal which had been struck for 
 the Emperor's coronation, and on which was his effigy. The 
 ceremony seemed approved by heaven, as the day was more 
 than usually beautiful and serene. ^At a jovial dinner, the 
 health of our august Emperor was drank, when the sea of 
 Japan resounded for the first time with the thunder of the 
 Russian cannon. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth we saw the coast of Japan, then thirty- 
 six miles distant from us, but the wind rose somewhat towards 
 evening, so that we could not approach it. The promontory we 
 beheld, which, upon the best observation we could make, 
 appeared to be in latitude 3£° 38' 33' north, and longitude 
 226° 43' 15' west, seems to be the southern point of Sikokc*. 
 
 • This promontory, according to Klaproth, is called in the Japan language Sch«it. 
 sui.saki, that if, the Cape of Clear Water. 
 
VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 SIS 
 
 Contrary winds and a cloudy atmosphere, with heavy showers 
 of rain, prevented us getting nearer to the land. 
 
 That excellent seaman and geographer, Captain Von Kru- 
 senstern, was now incessantly occupied with endeavouring to 
 ascertain, as accurately as possible, various points relating to 
 the navigation of these seas, almost unknown to, and unfre- 
 quented by, European vessels. His contributions towards a 
 mor€ complete geographical knowledge of them is one of the 
 most important parts of his work, one which will be read with 
 particular interest. The maps of Mr. Arrowsmith, though 
 some of the best existing, we here found extremely defective^ 
 
 On the twenty-ninth, at day-break, we again saw land, but 
 this was a pleasure of short duration. A cloudy horizon, 
 heavy showers of rain which began to fall, and a brisk north- 
 east wind, made the neighbourhood of the coast so dangerous, 
 that Captain Krusenstern judged it expedient to keep as far from 
 it as possible, and to lie to during the night. Soon after, stormy 
 weather came on, which continued nearly twenty-four hours, 
 and only abated about noon on the thirtieth, when the sun, for 
 the first time during several days, burst out. For three days 
 it had now been almost constantly rainy and stormy, so that 
 we had reason, on the first of October, when the wind sunk 
 very much, to hope for a favourable change of weather. At 
 noon, the weather was become so fine, and the sun shone upon 
 us so revivingly, that our captain took a westerly direction, in 
 hopes of gaining the land. We were able to make observations, 
 and found the latitude 31" 7", the longitude 22T 4(y. 
 
SH 
 
 VOYAGE TD JAPAN. 
 
 Uncommonly high waves from the south-east, and a con- 
 siderable fall of the barometer, afforded us but an indifferent 
 prospect of good weather. Captain Krusenstern therefore 
 judged it more expedient again to take a southerly direction, 
 and set as much sail as the ship could carry to bear away from 
 the land. To this prudent foresight we probably owed our 
 preservation, as the sequel will shew. 
 
 About noon, a great change took place in the atmosphere*: 
 the barometer fell in a very remarkable manner* and the south- 
 cast wind grew stronger and stronger at every moment, so that 
 by one o'clock it blew with such violence, that it was not with- 
 out difficulty and danger the lower sail^ could be taken in, and 
 although nearly new, they were almost torn to tatters. With 
 undaunted resolution, however, the sailors defied the danger, 
 and wound them up, leaving the upper ones floating to the 
 masts. Till three o'clock, the storm-sail alone could be car- 
 ried, but with the increasing fury of the winds even that was 
 soon demolished. The barometer was at 28" 3'". The waves 
 rolled in frightful masses, rushing one over the other with the 
 swiftness of an arrow ; and the heavens were covered with black 
 clouds, so that by half after four we were involved in a dismal 
 dreary night. 
 
 i 
 
 The rudder had for some time been left loose, and without 
 any guide : it was wholly impossible to set even a double-reefed 
 
 * Here follows a concise description of an almost unparalleled hurricane. In order to 
 \Vi somewhat more complete, I hare judged it eipedient to join some of the observations 
 wtAe by Captain .Kruseastcru with my own. 
 
VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 21€ 
 
 Storm-sail, and we became the complete sport of the tossing 
 waves. At every moment we were afraid of seeing the totter- 
 ing and creaking masts blown overboard, and every stroke of 
 the billows seemed to threaten being the finishing stroke of our 
 existence. The wind rattled among the cordage, and the 
 motion of the ship constantly increased ; the water beat over it 
 on all sides, and the crew were almost worn out with incessant 
 pumping. 
 
 The barometer kept constantly falling, and about five 
 o'clock the quicksilver sunk entirely below the scale, which 
 was separated at 27" 6'". At first, with the rolling of the ship, 
 it appeared every now and then, but we were soon deprived 
 even of this consolation, nor was it to be seen even with the 
 greatest shocks : its lowest stand during the storm may there- 
 fore confidently be fixed at 27" ; it is possible that it m^ght even 
 be taken lower. At this period the raging of the elements was 
 frightful beyond expression : all nature appeared in commotion 
 and uproar ; no words, in short, can give any idea of the scene. 
 Neither officers or crew had any respite from their labours : 
 their utmost activity was necessary to steer the ship clear of 
 the repeated shocks it received. Large chests of arms floated 
 upon the deck : there was no end of the jostling and the noise : 
 the speaking-trumpet could hardly be heard at the distance of 
 three steps, and people were every where running backwards 
 and forwards with lanterns. The sea, rising into mountains, 
 seemed united with the heavens. It was impossibl<? to trace 
 the boundaries between the air, the clouds, and the water. 
 One monstrous wave after another filled t!ic ship, and seemed 
 sinking it into the abyss : all the household utensils lay about 
 
316 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 scattered and broken : the guns at the forecastle touched the 
 water, while every comfort or hope of our lives being saved 
 vanished in the idea that we were driving every hour three 
 English miles nearer to the coast, so that in case of the storm 
 continuing, we must in a short time be wrecked without a 
 chance of rescue. Every one seemed silently to take a last 
 farewell of his companions, and resign himself entirely to the 
 will of him in whose hands alone are life and death. 
 
 Soon after eight, when the storm was at its height, the 
 wind suddenly ceased for the space of five minutes : this was 
 employed in fastening a reefed storm-sail to the mizen-mast ; 
 but it was scarcely accomplished, wheh again the wind blew 
 with as much violence as -"er. Its quarter was, however, 
 changed from east-south-east to west-south-west. With this 
 sudden change a monstrous wave dashed directly against the 
 hinder part of the vessel, tore the gallery away from the left 
 side, broke through the double partition into the captain's 
 cabin, and inundated it so completely, that the water was 
 three feet deep. Expensive books, chairs, tables, maps, pre- 
 sents designed for Japan, mathematical instruments, clothes, 
 swam all together about the cabin, and seemed to give a 
 foretaste of what was soon to follow. It is true, that the sailors 
 were exhorted to take courage, and endeavour to stop the leak ; 
 but there was no one I believe who did not think within him- 
 self at the time, ** It it, however, in vain /" — ** We are notwith- 
 standing lost /" 
 
 Through the sudden and unexpected change of the wind, 
 which now blew with no less violence from a directly opposite 
 
VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 «17 
 
 point, we did indeed appear rescued from the danger of being 
 wrecked upon the coast ; yet the continued fury of the storm 
 seemed sufficienHy to pronounce our sentence. The wind still 
 roared, the masts still shook and creaked, and the billows still 
 rolled over the vessel ; however, to our no small joy, about ten 
 o'clock we could again, when the ship heaved very much, perceive 
 the quicksilver in the barometer. Every glimmering of the lamp 
 of life ready to be quenched excites hope ; and like the arrival of 
 an old friend, whose presence affords some consolation, we hailed 
 with delight the ray of comfort thus offered to us. It was the 
 most certain assurance that could be given of the declining rage 
 of the storm; and, m fact, by twelve o'clock it began perceptibly 
 to abate. We had, however, scarcely observed this reviving 
 change in the barometer, when we were deprived of our com- 
 forter : it was broken by a violent shock from a wave. This 
 loss prevented our seeing the gradual ascent of the quicksilver, 
 and comparing the progress of the variations with that of the 
 abatement of the storm *. The turbulent sea was now every 
 moment less and less furious, and the deathlike apprehensions 
 which had lately filled every bosom subsided gradually ^ the 
 elements grew more calm. 
 
 How transporting to every one was the sight of the sun, as 
 it rose majestically in the morning. Never did its golden rays 
 appear to mortals more noble than they now appeared to us : 
 their revivifying influence impressed our hearts so deeply with 
 gratitude for our preservation, that with one united voice we 
 
 * Dr. Horner took the first opportunity of repairing thii heary lost, by a ipare 
 tube, with which he had the precaution to proTidt himielf when we were ii England. 
 
 r F 
 
318 
 
 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 could not forbear exclaiming, as we beheld the orb just above 
 the horizon, •* Great and glorious are thy works, O 
 Lord !" 
 
 The vessel, on examination, had not suffered so much as 
 might have been expected : the tackling, however, required a 
 great deal of repair, and the effects of every soul on board were 
 more or less damaged. A great deal of furniture was broken to 
 pieces : clothes, ornamental works, maps, charts, and other 
 papers of importance, were completely soaked through with 
 the sea-water : many of the presents destined for the Empe- 
 ror of Japan, though in double chests, were wetted : the in- 
 struments and arms were injured : the costly gold cloths, vel- 
 vets, and silks, had not escaped. Such was the spreading out 
 of things to dry upon the deck, that there was scarcely a single 
 spot unoccupied. , , 
 
 It was not till towards noon on the second of October that 
 the sails could again be set : the wind blew gently from the 
 west, and we steered northwards. In the evening we once 
 more saw land in the west-north-west, at a distance of about 
 forty-five sea-miles. On the third, in the afternoon, we were 
 within fifteen or twenty miles of that part of the coast of 
 Japan called Kiusiu. Captain Krusenstern gave the name of 
 Cape Tschirikoff to a high foreland in latitude 32° 14* 15* 
 north, and longitude 228* 18' 30* west; to another, which lay 
 farther southwards, in latitude 31" 51', longitude 228" 33' 30' 
 he gave the name of Cape Cochrane. 
 
 The land we now approached appeared fertile, and afforded 
 some beautiful views. As night closed in, we saw a number 
 
VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 219 
 
 of scattered fires along the coast at no very great dyitance 
 from each other; we supposed them to be signals, and on 
 our arrival at Nangasaki we found this supposition con- 
 finned. . . .. . 
 
 On the fourth we passed Van Dieraen's Straits. The im- 
 portant geographical researches and points established with 
 regard to this part of the southern coast of Japan are given 
 at large in Captain Krusenstem's excellent work, and illus- 
 trated with maps. We coasted along the southern shore of 
 the provinces of Oosumi and Satznma, and were sometimes 
 so near the land that we could distinguish both the buildings 
 and the people. Among a very large number of .small fishing- 
 boats and other vessels, not one ventured to approach our 
 ship, notwithstanding that the Japanese we had on board 
 called to them many times loud enough to be heard. 
 
 The south-east side of Satzuma presented some very beau- 
 tiful points of view, appeared extremely well cultivated, and 
 uncommonly populous. We acquired a high idea of the in- 
 dustry and knowledge in husbandry among the Japanese : in 
 this respect the lands left nothing to be wished for. The hills 
 were cultivated in terraces up to the very summits, and ave- 
 nues of large spreading trejs gave the fertile landscape an un- 
 commonly beautiful appearance. On the sixth, M'e came to a 
 spacious bay : a calm, with a number of rocks and islets which 
 we perceived in the western horizon, determined us not to 
 make the experiment of sailing through it ; we therefore turned 
 back towards the south, and coasted round the island of Meac- 
 Sima. A number of boats which we saw in the bay, carefully 
 
 r F 2 
 
2S0 
 
 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 avoided, in conformity with the laws of Japan, approaching 
 our ship, or entering into any kind of conversation with us. 
 
 On the seventh we steered northwards. Early in the morn- 
 ing we saw the islands of Goto*. In the afternoon we had 
 approached the south-western coast of them within two or 
 three miles : they did not present near so woody an appearance 
 as Satzuma, but they were cultivated to the utmost possible 
 degree: not the least spot of uncultivated land was to be seen. 
 The south-western point of these islands lies in latitude 
 32" 34' 50* north, and longitude 231° 16' west. In the night the 
 wind permitted our steering to the north-east, and early in the 
 morning of the eighth of October we saw the mountain and the 
 part of Kiusiu, in the neighbourhood of which we knew was to 
 be found the long wished-for harbour of Nangasaki. 
 
 At daybreak we saw a fishing-boat, and hailed it. The 
 fishermen were naked, excepting a cap on the head, and a 
 covering round the waist : they had taken off their clothes that 
 they might not be spoiled. In defiance of the interdict, they 
 came up to us, drank some brandy which we gave them, and 
 informed us that four days before intelligence was communi- 
 cated to Nangasaki, by tires in the night, of a three-masted 
 vessel being off the coast; that at our appearance off the har- 
 bour, information of it was conveyed by a post of observation 
 
 * Goto, according to Klaproth, signifies, in the corrupt Chinese dialect commonly 
 used in Japan, the Five Islands; and, in fact, this group consists of fire large and sereral 
 rery small ones. The island of Firando, which lies the most to the north-west, ii 
 ■ot reckoned among them. 
 
VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 221 
 
 upon the nearest hill; and finally, that there were two Dutch 
 vessels in the harbour which had come thither in July. They 
 indicated to us the proper direction to take for entering the 
 harbour, and we proceeded slowly forwards with a faint breeze. 
 About one o'clock we arrived at its mouth. 
 
 Soon after, at a signal given, a little boat came out, carry* 
 ing a white flag with a blue cross, and a number of Japanese 
 characters upon it. Two officers, who were in this boat, seemed 
 inclined to come on board, but they first made a number of 
 very minute inquiries concerning us of our Japanese, descend- 
 ing into the most trivial circumstances. They had frank, open 
 countenances, and appeared to receive us with great friendship 
 and politeness. They inquired who we were? Whence we 
 came ? What were our views in coming? Whether the embassy 
 was directed solely to Japan? Whether we were armed, and 
 how many guns we carried ? How long we had been upon our 
 voyage, and from what port we came last ? Under what flag 
 we sailed? — with a variety of other things of a similar kind. 
 They required to see our permission ; and copying it over, 
 asked, why, having had it twelve years, we now for the first 
 time availed ourselves of it ? As it had been made known, they 
 said, over the whole kingdom of Japan, that such a permission 
 had been given, for four years after a vessel from Russia was 
 constantly expected ; even now, as they assured us, one of the 
 Japanese, who had been brought back by Laxmann, was living 
 at Nangasaki, with the intention of serving as interpreter at the 
 arrival of the Russians*. 
 
 * We did not in tbe sequel find this information confirmed. 
 
nit 
 
 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 But the principal end of all the inquiries seemed to be 
 the desire of ascertaining whether we really were Russians: 
 with this view, they requested at their departure to have a 
 billet written in the Russian language, the contents of which 
 might give satisfaction on this point. Towards two o'clock we 
 reached, with a still feeble wind, the entrance of the inner 
 harbour, on which stands Nangasaki. Between five and six 
 came another boat with two officers, to indicate to us, by order 
 of the governor, the place where we might anchor. They 
 remained with us till about six in the evening, when we cast 
 anchor in the bay of Nangasaki, in thirty-three fathom water, 
 in the neighbourhood of the Papen Mountain, of the Island of 
 Iwo-Sima, and of Cape Facunda, four miles from the nearest 
 land. 
 
 The officers sent by the governor would not leave us till we 
 had given them a written testimonial that they had fulfilled the 
 orders with which they were entrusted, and indicated to us the 
 anchoring-place. When we represented to them that we could 
 only write in the Russian language, they assured us, as before, that 
 there were people at Nangasaki who understood that language 
 very well. It appeared, however, subsequently, either that the 
 idea of some of the Japanese brought home by Lieutenant 
 Laxmann being still living at Nangasaki was merely presumed 
 on their part, or else these men were designedly kept out of 
 our way during our stay there. 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 8S3 
 
 CIIAPTETl X. 
 
 Statf at Japan. — Occurrences in the Hood before the Harbour of Nanga- 
 $aki. — Anchoring-Place before the Papen Mountain. —Change of the 
 Anchoring-P lace. —Occurrences therefrom the Eighth to the Seventeenth 
 of October. 
 
 The importance and rarity of a party of Russians staying 
 six months at Japan, will, I trust, plead my excuse, at least 
 with most people, if I am somewhatcncumstantial in the account 
 of what passed during this period— if I descend sometimes 
 even into minutiir. Though to some I may ap; .«; tedious, 
 I am persuaded that others will be deeply interest :d in ob- 
 taining a more enlarged acquaintance with the spirit and man- 
 ners of a nation at present so little known among us Europeans, 
 nor will think any circumstances too insignificant that 
 tend to illustrate the national character,. Deeply as 1 feel 
 how unpleasant it is 'r^ be lulled to sleep by a tiresome and 
 uninteresting narrative, and desirous, as I have been, to avoid 
 repetition, I am sensible that I have often been drawn into 
 it, but this has arisen from the very nature of the things I had 
 to relate. I can,' however, give the reader this consolation, 
 that he may, if he pleases, by turning over the leaves, arrive 
 in a few hours at the result for which we were constrained to 
 wait six long months. . . 
 
22* 
 
 VOYAGE TO JAPAN. 
 
 Scarcely had wc cast anchor about seven o'clock on the 
 eighth of Octol)er, when there appeared, as before, several 
 officers who came to question us anew. At night, not less 
 than twenty large and small boats stationed themselves about 
 our ship, which we could consider in no other light than as 
 guards. One after another, little paper lanterns of a melon- 
 like form passed us, which, numerous as they were, pro- 
 duced a very pretty effect. Towards ten o'clock we observed 
 several boats, some of which had lanterns, distinguished far 
 above any we had seen before by their size and beauty, by 
 having two very bright clear lights, and from being orna- 
 mented with transparencies representing coats of arms. 
 
 At first we began to think that the governor of Nangasaki 
 was about to honour us with a visit; but we soon after learnt 
 that it was a person of distinction who came on the part of the 
 governor, accompanied by his secretary, to welcome us, and 
 who requested our permission to come on board for that pur- 
 pose. This being granted, some inferior officers and Dutch 
 interpreters • came to see the cabin in wnicli the illustrious 
 guests, the Great Men-\, Opperbanjos, as the Dutch interpre- 
 ters called them, were to be received. Soon after a, speared the 
 Great Men themselves, with a numerous train, among which 
 were several Dutch interpreters. They were received by seven 
 
 ♦ The Dutch interpreters arc by birth Japanese, who are paid by the gorernment for 
 learning th« Dutch 'a jgiiage: they arc in number between sixty and seventy, and the 
 Dutch factory cannot transact any business without their interTeniion. 
 
 f In all > arts of Asia with which the Chinese have any concern, Great Man is a title 
 of high state distiactiun. In the Japanese language it is Daiiitij in the Chinese Doshiiif 
 kad in the Mandschariao Amban. 
 
STAr AT JAPAN. 
 
 S3S 
 
 men under arms as a guard of honour, and by beat of drum, 
 and were immediately presented to the ambassador in the cabin. 
 All the cavaliers of the embassy, with thie officers of the ship, 
 were assembled there to receive them. 
 
 The Opperbanjos* and the secretary immediately seated 
 themselves on the sofa with their legs crossed. Some servants 
 remained, although the cabin was extremely well lighted, hold- 
 ing lanterns, and an apparatus for smoking, which consisted 
 of a vessel with hot embers, another with tobacco, aiv! a small 
 one for spitting. The interpreters knelt in a semicircle round 
 the sofa. 
 
 We soon discovered that these Great Men did not come 
 upon any very particular business : they seemed rather sent 
 as a sort of reconnoitering party, than as being commissioned 
 to welcome the imperial Russian ambassador. They carefully 
 repeated the same questions already put to us, and our 
 answers were immediately committed to writing. Among other 
 things, they particularly inquired concerning the voyage from 
 St. Petersburgh to Nangasaki ; whether, in coming from 
 Kamschatka, we had passed between Corea and Japan, or had 
 sailed round the eastern coast of the island ; and in how many 
 days we had gone over this course. The answer to this last 
 question they seemed to consider as of particular importance. 
 They farther desired to see the original permission ; and ended 
 
 * The title of Banjos has the lamc signification as H Great Man, or a statesman of 
 high dignity. I could ucvcr clearly understand v^hence this word was derived, since, ai 
 fkr a« 1 know, it is neither Dutch, Japanese, or Mandschurian. 
 
 G O 
 
B2G STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 by making us acquainted with a custom in Japan, that all our 
 powder, cannon, muskets, and swords, should be given up 
 to be kept in trust for us till our departure. They promised, 
 moreover, that we should have a supply of refreshments the 
 next day. 
 
 The ambassador now entreated that he might have a speedy 
 audience of the governor, to shew him the permission himself; 
 and consented that the powder and fire-arms should be given 
 up, but not the side arms of the officers and soldiers. He also 
 entreated to have a safer anchoring-place assigned us within the 
 harbour, as we were there much incommoded by the wind. To 
 this request he was piomised an answer the next day. 
 
 After we had been fatigued with questions and answers for 
 more than an hour, the Opperbanjos begged that the chief of the 
 Dutch factory, Mynheer Doeff, and some persons belonging 
 to him, might have permission to visit us. We were not a little 
 surprised at this request, since it appeared to us that these 
 gentlemen, who sat in a boat near the ship, had morc reasou 
 to ask such a permission of the Japanese than of us. 
 
 Scarcely had the chief, with his secretary, and the captains 
 of the two Dutch ships then in the harbour, by name JVIusquc- 
 tier and Bellinar, entered the cabin, than the interpreters were 
 called upon one after the other to make a compliment i\oui 
 them to the G;rrt^ .\/rt«, or Opperbanjos. They were obliged 
 ♦;o bow the head during tlic ceremony, and to remain in this 
 inclined attitude iiil the iiilerpreter told them the compliment 
 wa* finished. When the interpreters, who, it has been already 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 227 
 
 said, were all kneelina; in the cabin, be^an a conversation with 
 one of tlie Great Men, they were oblige<l to throw themselves 
 upon their iiaiids as well as knees, and remain with the head 
 bent down till the conversation was concluded ; they then 
 drew in their breath with a kind of hissing noise. The Great 
 Man spoke so extremely low, that it seemed to us impossible 
 he should be heard or understood : it was such a gentle lisp, 
 that it scarcely made any impression upon our organs of hear- 
 ing. The usual answer of the interpreters consisted only in 
 ay, aij, which signified yes, or I understand. After midnight 
 the whole company returned home. 
 
 On the morning of the ninth of October nothing occurred 
 worthy of notice; we remarked upon the number of boats 
 ornamented with different flags that surrounded us. In many 
 of them were bows and arrows, and in some the imperial 
 Japanese sailors, who were distinguished by garments of 
 large blue and white check. In the afternoon a little boat 
 brought us fresh provisions, which consisted of fowls, ducks, 
 radishes, rice, and fish. Soon after came a Dutch interpre- 
 ter, and announced to us that some very Great Men were 
 coming : these were the treasurer, who was of equal rank with 
 the governor, a secretary of the governor, and a Banjos, who 
 were all sent to welcome us in the name of the Japanese govern- 
 ment. 
 
 About five o'clock in the evening, we observed a large boat 
 with a blue and white awning, decorated with many flags, and 
 other tokens of distinction, towed towards us by several others, 
 to the stroke of the kettle-drums, and to a loud, measured sort 
 of cry. At their arrival, the Great Men sent to say that they 
 
 G G 2 
 
228 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 could not come oii board our vessel till tlie ambassador, the 
 captain, and some of the officers, came out to welcome them. 
 To this the ambassador replied, that it would be inconsistent 
 with his dignity to go out himself to receive them, but that if 
 they required it, he would send some of his cavaliers to bid 
 them welcome in his name. After some messages backwards 
 and forwards, they said they should be satisfied if the ambas- 
 sador would only come out to the forecastle of the vessel to 
 meet them. Some officers then went and greeted the Great Men 
 with an European bow, and returned back to the ship. The 
 ambassador at the same time appeared at the forecastle, and 
 received the magistrates, while the drums beat, and other mili- 
 tary honours were paid them. The treasurer and secretary, on 
 their arrival in the cabin, seated themselves upon the sofa, and 
 the Banjos sat down in a chair, all three in the European 
 fashion, not with their legs crossed like our visitors the evening 
 before. They were attended, however, by people carrying the 
 same smoking apparatus, and the interpreters placed them- 
 selves upon their knees, in a semicircle round them, to wait 
 their commands. 
 
 The principal motive of the present visit was to regulate the 
 following points. First, the Japanese required, on the strength 
 of a very ancient law in thj country, that all tu'nis, that is to 
 say cannon, muskets, pistols, swords, and sabres, should be 
 delivered up immediately to the government, to be kept in 
 trust for us till our departure. 
 
 To this the ambassador consented, with the restrictions: 
 First, that himself and the officers should be allowed to retaiu 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 1K29 
 
 their swords, as a necessary part of the uniform, which could 
 not be laid aside without degradation to themselves; and 
 secondly, that a guard of honour, of seven men, should in like 
 manner be allowed to retain their arms ; the Emperor of Russia 
 having appointed such a guard for his ambassador, without 
 which he was not to appear- 
 To the first condition a ready consent wtis given, but the 
 second was the source of much difficulty. The interpreters 
 earnestly entreated the ambassador to forego this condition, as it 
 was absolutely contrary to the laws of their country : not even 
 the first princes of the land were permitted to appear anywhere 
 with exposed fire-arms ; they must always be shut up in a case. 
 The Japanese offered him the largest guard of honour after 
 their own manner; but they assured him that the people would 
 be very much astonished to see foreigners in their country with 
 arms in their imnds ; that such a thing was entirely unheard of, 
 and that it was request the court could not possibly aeceive. 
 As, however, notwithstanding these representations, the ambas- 
 sador adhered to his demand, no answer could then be given : 
 farther orders must first be received : most probably a courier 
 must be sent to Jedo for instr<uctions. 
 
 The original of the permission granted to Lieutenant Lax- 
 jnann, is required in the name of the governor. Granted. 
 
 The letter from the Emperor of Russia to the Emperor of 
 .Japan is requested, and the ambassador is assured that it is 
 impossible the ship can be admitted into the harbour of Nan- 
 gasaki till the governor is perfectly instructed in the contents 
 
aaa 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 of that letter. The ambassador, upon this request, gave a copy 
 of the letter to the Banjos and interpreters to read, that they 
 might make tiiemselvcs thoroughly acquainted with the con- 
 tents, and observed, that his sovereign had strictly enjoined 
 him to give the original into the emperor's own hands, and the 
 copy to the governor of Nangasaki. 
 
 The Great Men examined the letter attentively : it was written 
 in the Russian, the Japanese, and the Mandschurian languages; 
 but they soon assured the ambassador that they could not under- 
 stand a word of it, since the hand-writhig was very bad, and the 
 language only that in vulgar use ; that the governor himself must 
 have it, to make himself accurately acquainted with the contents, 
 and to obtain a complete knowledge of the views of the embassy. 
 Baron Von Resanoff then renewed his request to be admitted 
 by the governor to a speedy audience, assuring the Great ^fen 
 that he would then lully exp'ain the contents of the paper, and 
 the views with which 1 e had been sent by his master on the 
 cmbasr.y. As to the ver particular anxiety expressed with 
 regard to the contents of the lett. , he could only say that it 
 stated bricly the great de"I»3 entertained by the Imperial So- 
 vereign of all the Russias to enter into a strict union of friend- 
 shir, iud intercourse of trade vith th;' Emperor of J:>pan. The 
 ambassador was then asked what were to be the conditions of 
 thi^ alliance: to which he replied, that he was the efficient 
 representative of his sovereign, endowed \, ith full powers to 
 arrange the conditions accordiri^ to circumstance.^, and so as to 
 establish a firm and lasting friendship between the two coun- 
 tries. This seemed to make a strovig impression upon the 
 visitors. 
 
 ..m 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. Z3i 
 
 The request to have a more secure anchoring place allotted 
 for the vessel was accompanied with the assurance that if the 
 Japnese government had any distrust of the views and pur- 
 poses with which the embassy was sent, they v/ere very ready 
 to depart again immediately. They must only in that case 
 request, as an act of friendship, to have a place allotted where 
 the ship, which had been exceedingly damaged by the late 
 storm, could be repaired, so as to put to sea again with safety. 
 On this it was agreed that the vessel should be allowed to 
 anchor west of the Papen mountain, as soon as the powder and 
 arms were given up : they were accordingly surrendered at that 
 moment, as there were a great number of small boats about 
 ready to take charge of them. 
 
 As it was now dark, the state officers, during the time that 
 tlie powder was removed, went on board their own vessel to cat 
 their supper, giving orders that we should be towed to our 
 station by a proper number of boats. The niaiiiitr in which 
 this was performed excited ovu- utmost astonishment. Sixty 
 barks were divided into five rows, and each was tied to the 
 other with strong cords: thus was the vessel towcil along with 
 the utmost order and regulaiity, and in two hours carried to its 
 new station. 
 
 Permission was on this day given to the chief of the Dutch 
 factory, JNlynheer Doeff, and to the two Dutcli captains, Mus- 
 <juetier and Bellmai, with aDiilch traveller, Baron Von Pabst. 
 to conie a'ul visit us. They ottered us their services, as they 
 understood German, French, and Knglish, ^nd we could only 
 
tSi 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 speak broken Dutch, in any matters of business during our 
 stay, in which they could be useful to us. 
 
 As Mynheer Doeff entered the cabin, lie was immediately 
 turning to the ambassador to pay him the proper salutation ; 
 but the interpreters took him politely by the arm, turned him 
 aside gently, and said that he must first make a compliment to 
 the Great Men. This was done in a very demeaning manner, 
 according to our ideas, as he stood for some time before them 
 with his head bent downwards, and his arms hanging perpen- 
 dicularly by his sides, not daring on any account to raise 
 his head. As, however, he thought, after awhile, he had kept 
 it in this position long enough, he turned it half round on 
 one side, and asked the interpreter, Kan ik wederom opstaan ? 
 May I raise it up again ? A like compliment must also be paid 
 to the secretary and the Banjos ; and then he was permitted to 
 pay his respects to the ambassador. 
 
 Towards eleven o'clock, the treasurer and secretary took 
 their leave; but before their departure the Dutchmen were 
 again required to pay a compliment to the Great Men. Baron 
 Pabst, who before did not seem to think this attitude of sub- 
 mission altogether consistent with the Dutch character, wanted 
 to have stolen unseen out of the cabin, and escaped the com- 
 pliment; but the vigilant interpreters called after him : " Sir! 
 Mynheer Pabst! you cannot go till you have made the Great 
 Men a compliment." lie was therefore obliged to return, and 
 submit to the humiliating custom. This was the only oppor- 
 tunity we ever had of enjoying the society of these cultivated 
 
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 STAY AT JAPAN. ' 2S3 
 
 Dutchmen, though we had sufficient reason afterwards to be 
 assured that they were very excellent men : they were never, on 
 any future occasion, permitted to visit us About one o'clock 
 they left us, in company with the Baiyos. *^ ' Hi nut-mt 
 
 On the tenth, in the morning, we were at anchor at a little 
 distance to the west of the Papen mountain. The country 
 before us was extremely beautiful : the hills were cultivated up 
 to their very summits : fertile fields in the form of terraces 
 ornamented the entire declivity, and they were brv.kon by spots 
 of pasture, intermingled with little woods or groves. Many 
 villages and single houses added to the vfc ;iety of the scene, and 
 the activity of the industrious husbandmen gave it great life and 
 animation. On the nearest shce we observed several walls 
 •thrown up, which, with the hou'^t'S and gardens within them, 
 were decorated with flags of various colours: these we were 
 informed were batteries or fortresses. We had now thirty-three 
 guardships, or boats, about us: three of them had orders to 
 keep close to us, and be ready to receive our commands in case 
 we wanted provisions, interpreters, or any thing else necessary 
 to our comfort. ■ -'f.u-m;MK'\- .lu. - \ ^ 'i r-r-i A-i' , ■ , ■ 
 
 Towards five in the evening we again observed the Japanese 
 flotilla ; that is, a large boat ornamented with garlands, towed 
 towards us to the beat of the drum, and measured cry of the 
 rowers. In it was a Banjos, with his secretary and some inter- 
 preters. The train, upon the whole, did not consist of as many 
 persons as usual, i . . 
 
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 iJl ' STAT <AT JAPi«f . 
 
 The principal purpose of their visit -was to inquire a^atn 
 (Concerning the icontents of tlie paper addressed to the coiu;t of 
 Japan ; and, fiince the day before the fambasfiador had said that 
 he must deliver the cqpy Ihimself into the hands of the Go- 
 vernor of Nangasaki, the interpreters now requested that he 
 •would make them acquainted, with it-word for word, as a courier 
 "was about to be dispatclied to Jedo with tlie rintelligence of our 
 -arrival. Baron VonResanofF then gave the copy to the Banjos, 
 that he might read it ; but he said, as the Great Men had «aid 
 •the day before, that the writing was extremely bad, and the 
 language for the most part entirely unintelligible. 
 
 The interpreters then desired to be made acquainted with 
 the proper sense of the principal topics contained in it, that 
 all misunderstanding or ambiguity might be avoided; and as 
 each period was read to them, they repeated it three .or four 
 times over before they wrote it down, that they might give the 
 iwords with as much accuracy as possible. It imported, *• That 
 the Baron Von ResanofFwas sent by the most puissant Emperor 
 of all the Russias as his representative to the Emperor of Japan, 
 to thank him for the permission given to send a Russian ship to 
 Nangasaki, and at the same time to propose a lasting union of 
 friendship and good-will between the two countries ; that the 
 Russian Emperor, for the benefit of his subjects, particularly of 
 those in the neighbourhood of Japan, that is, the inhabitants of 
 his possessions on the western coast of North America, those of 
 Kamschatka, and of the Aleutian and Kurile islands, wished to 
 establisli an intercourse of trade with the Japanese, which he 
 trusted would also be of advantage to the latter, by giving them 
 the means of procuring objects of utility from his extensive 
 
STAT AT MPAN. ^n 
 
 dominions; be had for this purpose given orders> that mewaiyr 
 part of these dominions, and at all times-, the Japanese should 
 be received in the most friendly manner. That four Japanese^ 
 who had been wrecked upon the Russian territories, and 
 wished to return back to their native land, were now restoned ; 
 that the Emperor of Russia returns thanks to the Emperor, of 
 Japau) for the politeness shewn to Lieutienant Laxmann, ia 
 1^792, and sends* him some presents, whioh^ though not of any, 
 great value, yet, a» being objects of Russian manufactures, and 
 specimens of Russian industry, will furnish the means of judging: 
 of the situation of the arts in Russia, and what objects may bft 
 useful and agreeable to the Japanese." ' 
 
 *-/.j 'ilJ i.*^'.i*li 
 
 The principal of these presents- were a very curious chick, 
 in the form of an elephant, in the oriental, taste, ornamented: 
 with precious stones, and a great deal of costly workmanship ; 
 two very large looking-glasses, each plate being fifteen feet 
 long, and six broad, with a number of smaller glasses ; a very 
 expensive and nicely-selected black fox-skin cloak, and an 
 ermine cloak; vases of fossil ivory, made at Archangel; 
 beautiful muskets, pistols, and sabres ; a number of articles in 
 steel, manufactured at Tula; superb glass lustres and vases; 
 table services of fine glass and porcelain ; tapestries, and other 
 cai*petings ; the portrait of the Russian Emperor, by Madame 
 Le Brun ; marble vases, damasks, velvets, and other silk good» 
 of different kinds; fine furs, printed cottons, and cloths; 
 gold and silver watches ; a complete electrical machine * ; a 
 
 * This was the object which more than any other attracted the altcntion, and excited 
 the a<ituniKhmcnt of the Japaueie. Very rarely did a Banjos, or any other Great Mttn^ 
 come to visit ut, without desiring^to feel the effect of the electricity, of to sc&soac •>- 
 pcriments. 
 
 H H S! 
 
 '9tt 
 
33« 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 very fine microscope ; galvanic plates ; with many other objects, 
 valued upon the whole at about three hundred thousand 
 
 rOUDieS« - r» i," . ..•:jB/t,-jji IT ,<',!<!.' "L'jj-t »> I- : rvjf)rjirrm*5^» 
 
 ■m 
 After the letter had been read, an opportunity was taken to 
 complain of the conduct and behaviour of the Japanese we 
 bad brought with us, who, since we had been at anchor in the 
 bay, had refused all service. They were immediately sum- 
 moned before the Banjos, who reproved them very severely, 
 representing to them the extreme ingratitude of their conduct, 
 since they had been so many years fed and supported in Russia, 
 had received kindnesses in every possible way, and at last 
 had been brought back to their native shores at so great an 
 expence; that in behaving as they did they brought shame 
 upon the whole country. 
 
 "'l-'Huiti-'' 
 
 f.i./ 
 
 ^^>^:'?v^t .fV/*'l ♦' 
 
 .*--4iii>-''- rkif..'. 
 
 iS '>\<:<i 
 
 When the principal business was over, and the commission 
 on the part of the governor was fully executed, as the Great Men 
 had shewn much politeness and courtesy in their behaviour, 
 and in the manner they had preferred their request, the am- 
 bassador, not to be behind-hand with them in good manners, 
 voluntarily gave them the copy of the letter to the Emperor of 
 Japan, which the day before he had so positively refused, 
 that they might carry it to the governor to read. This ap- 
 peared to give inexpressible pleasure : the utmost satisfaction 
 was visible in the features of every one, and what before was 
 ceremony, seemed now to be converted into the confidence 
 of friendship. 
 
 The interpreters next made many inquiries concerning the 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 «S7 
 
 various objects of which the trade proposed iras to consist: 
 these were all written down in a little pocket-book. Whether 
 they were asked from mere curiosity, or in consequence of a 
 commission from the government, did not appear. Among 
 other inquiries made were the following. What productions 
 Russia could and would bring to Japan as objects of trade ? 
 Whether Russia could furnish sugar, rye, skins, medicines, and 
 many other articles? How many ships she could and would send 
 .annually to Japan ? whether four, five, or even more ? Whence 
 the ships would come, whether from Kamschatka or from 
 Europe ? How long the ships would be in coming ? What was the 
 best time of year for going from Japan to Kamschatka ? All these 
 questions were on our side answered only ia general terms. 
 The ambassador said that it was impossible to enter into such 
 a variety of matters all at once ; that they must be the sub- 
 ject of subsequent conversations. With this reply they ap- 
 peared satisfied, and changing the conversation, began to talk 
 upon indifferent subjects. 
 
 Among other topics introduced, they seemed particularly 
 anxious to understand the relative geographical situations of 
 Kamschatka and Japan. That Russia had possessions in America 
 appeared to them very extraordinary. They begged to look 
 over some of our maps, and evinced considerable knowledge in 
 geography. A general map of the world was produced, when 
 the Opperbanjos with his finger marked out the way we had 
 come as we ourselves described it : he was very inquisitive to 
 know why we had coasted round the eastern side of their 
 island, and had not come to Nangasaki through the i3ea of 
 Corea. i^i.a^'' -7 ■: v^^^v 'w; ^ ; 
 
 .•-S'it*; :ij)iJW '. 
 
 is-'i 
 
 <ia^i 
 
 tJW.V*' *T" 
 
•|g§, STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 The aitnbassador. on- this took occasion to produce a little 
 pocket globe, by Adams of London, which occasioned uncommon 
 pleasure among our visitors. Th^t the earth was round they 
 knew very well; but to see it represented in this mannev 
 Seemed wholly new to them. The Banjos was short-sighted, 
 and used very bad spectacles : an excellent English pair were 
 offered him, but he /declined accepting them, since he must 
 iirst, he said, ask permission of the governor ; without that, no 
 one could accept even the most trifling present. In the mean 
 time he begged the ambassador to lay the spectacles by till the 
 governor's pleasure upon the subject could be ascertained* 
 
 (>■.-< 
 
 Some of the interpreters, though not officially employed for 
 the purpose, were very desirous of learning the Russian lan*- 
 guage : the first thing they inquired was, how they were to ask 
 in Russian, What do jfou call this? On being informed, they 
 inquired the names of various objects, desired to know tlie 
 numerals, the Russian for good and bad, for good-morning, and 
 farewelly and immediately began to make use of the informa- 
 tion they had obtained. The inquisitiveness, the readiness at 
 learning, and the memory of these people, surprised usexGeedH 
 ingly. At length the Banjos told us that the next day waa 
 a great festival '(a kermes, as the Dutch call it), and on that 
 account nobody could come to us: on the following day, how» 
 ever, the Governor of Nangasaki would hope to have received 
 bis full instructions, as he expected the return of the messenger 
 from Jedo, but till then he must entreat that we would be 
 contwt to remain at anchor where we then were : all farther 
 deliberations and arrangements for the satisfaction of our wishes 
 must be deferred to that time. If, however, we would imme* 
 
STAY AT JArAN. 
 
 1t39 
 
 diately unpack and look over the presents that might happen 
 i;o be damaged, they could without del^ty bring a large boai 
 alongside the ship to receive them. To this pKopofiM no 
 Answer was made. Towards eight o'clock in th^ evening 'the 
 Sanjos said, that as they had disturbed us, and robbed ru« 
 of our rest for several evenings, they would not then incommode 
 us any longer. They accordingly returned to their boat, and 
 were towed back with the usual ceremonies. 
 
 •^^v The eleventh of October was, as they had informed us, a 
 great festival, so that we were left entirely to ourselves the 
 .whole day. We thought there were more watch-boats about u9 
 .than usual. We made our remarks to each other upon the 
 nation with whom we were endeavouring to form new con* 
 uexions, upon their excessive closeness, upon the circum- 
 spection with which every step was taken : it seemed as i£ 
 the least error would cost the life even of the persons highest 
 in rank. Every thought, every question, every word, was 
 weighed in the nicest manner, and appeared to liave some 
 particular aim in view. 
 
 At daybreak on the twelfth, five Chinese junks, which 
 4iad been at anchor on the other side of the Fapen mountain, 
 put to sea: they were towed out by Japanese boats nearly 
 to the place where we lay. The cries of the numerous crews, 
 their helplessness, the time and trouble it cost them to make 
 very little way, and to spread out a sail only of matting, as 
 well as the heavy wretched manner in which the vessels were 
 constructed, gave us a convincing proof how much the Chi^ 
 nese are behind-hand with ^ great many other nations in the 
 
240 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 art of ship-building. These vessels can only sail before the 
 wind, and they were obliged therefore twice, upon trifling 
 changes, which to an European would have been nothing, to 
 put back again into the harbour, till at length, by means of a 
 continued north-east wind, they succeeded in getting out to 
 sea. 
 
 About eleven o'clock this day we saw the boat of a Great 
 Man coining towards us with flags flying and drums beating, 
 and towed along by a great number of other boats. The gover- 
 nor had sent two secretaries of state, who, with many excuses^ 
 brought back the copy of the letter which, two days before, 
 had been received with so much pleasure, begging to have a 
 true and literal translation of it in the Dutch language. They 
 observed, that the letters and words were indeed Japanese, but 
 that it was impossible to understand the meaning*, nor could 
 the least connexion be made out by any means whatever. To 
 save ourselves any farther trouble and vexation about thia 
 matter, we explained every sentence as well as we could ; but, 
 unfortunately, not one among our whole party could properly 
 be said to understand the Dutch language. The great readi- 
 ness of comprehension, which I have already mentioned that 
 we had remarked among the interpreters, was now of the utmost 
 assistance to us. . 
 
 ' * This letter had been translated from the Russian language into the Japanew, by 
 one of the people of Japan already mentioned, who was living at Irkutsk. The tran. 
 slator, howeTcr, it must be confessed, had been formerly only a fisherman, from wboB 
 no great correctness of style was to be expected. 
 
^ . 
 
 STAY AT JAPAJPn^ Agk 
 
 f When the translation was completed, it wag evident the 
 Japanese had acquired a different idea of the views with which 
 our embassy was sent. For instance, in the Japanese transla- 
 tion of the letter, the ambassador was designated as a chamber- 
 lain, --.nd his office was represented as being similar to that of 
 a little country prince ; but when they learnt the real rank 
 and dignity of his person, they examined very attentively tl»e 
 key of his office^ and the ribband of bis order ; and asked with 
 great naivete whether the Emperor of Russia could confer 
 upon foreign monarchs, for example, upon the Emperor of 
 Japan, or the Governor of Nangasaki, such an order. But 
 though they had now a so much higher idea of the rank of our 
 ambassador, they expressed great surprise that the Emperor of 
 Russia should have written the letter himself, a thing never 
 done by the Emperor of Japan. Even the name of the reign- 
 ing emperor, they said, was in their country kept a profound 
 ^ecrdt ; the subjects never knew, till his death, how the person 
 whp -had reigned over them was called. 
 
 The Japanese whom we had brought with us were then pre- 
 sented to the Great Man, dressed in their silk clothes of Rus- 
 sian manufacture ; and each shewed the silver watdi and the 
 twenty ducats with which he had been presented by the Rus- 
 sian monarch. The interpreters begged us to instruct them in 
 the Russian language, and offered to instruct us without any 
 expense in the Japanese. We found the people of distinction 
 here uniformly polite and courteous in their manners: but 
 for their language and costume, we might have supposed 
 ourselves among the most polished Europeans, ij - 
 
 .'ji, ?j 
 
 'V.TV 
 
 I I 
 
24S STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 About five o'clock in the evening all business was concluded* 
 The next day, the thirteenth, they told us would be again a 
 festival or kermes, therefore nobody would visit us ; but the 
 following morning we might depend upon their bringing 
 answers to several of our questions. The Chinese junks, on 
 account of contrary winds, returned into harbour again this 
 afternoon. We were all the next day surrounded by a vast 
 number of boats; and we observed, that when the guard was 
 relieved, the crown sailors changed their clothes, and appeared 
 in their usual dresses, so that they evidently wore their uni- 
 forms only when they were in actual service. 
 
 '-' On the fourteenth, a strong north wind arose, which 
 increased by degrees very much. The little open boats were 
 constrained to quit their stations about our ship, and take 
 shelter behind the Papen mountain. From the great cries and 
 noise made by the boatmen, they seemed to have thought their 
 lives in imminent danger. Many trading vessels ran into the 
 harbour at this moment, perhaps also to seek shelter. On 
 account of this wind, we did not receive any fresh provisions 
 the whole day : we were obliged to be contented with our salted 
 ship meat. 
 
 In the morning of the fifteenth a supply was brought us, 
 with many excuses that they had not been able to come 
 the preceding day. It consisted of sweet potatoes, turnips, 
 radishes, pork, fish, bread, and rice. Ab<mt eleven o'clock, 
 the weather being calm, the Banjos, with his train, arrived. 
 The ambassador, wearied with so many ceremonials, and the 
 perpetual repetition of the same questions, received the Great 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. %iS 
 
 Man now somewhat coldly, and said he was not very well. 
 The Banjos brought information of the arrival of a new 
 governor at Nangasaki, who, together with the old, promised 
 that the vessel should soon be admitted , into the harbour, 
 and that in future we should never fail of having a supply 
 of provisions : they both assured the ambassador of their high 
 esteem and friendship, and entreated him to have patience 
 yet for a short time. If he had been an insignificant personage, 
 like Lieutenant Laxmann, he would have been in the harbour 
 long ago; but for so Gnat a Man they must wait the com- 
 mands of the court as to the manner in which he was to be 
 received, and make the necessary preparations, that every 
 thing might be suitable to his rank and dignity. The ambas- 
 sador pressed earnestly, partly on account of his own indispo- 
 sition, partly for the sake of repairing the ship, to have a safer 
 anchorage allotted as soon as possible, and the interpreter pro- 
 mised to bring an answer to this request the next morning. 
 
 In the general conversation that ensued, thfe interpreters 
 said that both the governors hail a just idea of the greatness 
 and dignity of the Imperial Russian representative, and on that 
 account had given orders to all the princes of the country, as 
 well as to the inhabitants of Nangasaki and the neighbour- 
 hood, not only to make known the arrival of so distinguished a 
 personage froi^P^ussia, but had also strictly commanded that 
 this Great Man and all Russians should be received with the 
 utmost respect and esteem, and that every occasion of giving 
 them displeasure should be carefully avoided. All the princes 
 and people of distinction of the country, they said, had been 
 
 summoned to Nangasaki, to be present at the reception of the 
 
 I I 3 
 
 f 
 
f44 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 ambassador, and the town itself was to be cleaned for the occa- 
 sion*. At the sainetiine they gave us to understand that the 
 boats by which our ship was always surrounded were intended 
 as a guard of honour. Towards noon they left us, repeating 
 their promise that an answer should be brought the next day 
 respecting the change of anchorage. 
 
 It was now very fine clear weather, and an immense number 
 of pleasure boats, without flags, were rowing about, most of 
 them filled with women, who appeared, as we thought, to be 
 of rank: they seemed attracted by curiosity to come and exa- 
 mine our sliip. They were obliged, however, to keep without 
 the line of our guard of honour. The Chinese junks, which 
 had endeavoured this day once more to put to sea, did not suc- 
 ceed any better than before, and returned again into the harbour. 
 Very unexpectedly, the half-feigned indisposition of the am- 
 bassador produced a most happy effect ; for this evening, abou 
 nine o'clock, came the interjjreters with the joyful intelligence 
 from both the governors, that the next morning early we should 
 have a better anchoring-place. They M'ere sent that evening, 
 they said, with the information, that the ambassador's mind 
 might be at ease upon the subject ; and they were moreover 
 commissioned to say, that both the governors were extremely 
 
 concerned at the ambassador's indisposition. 
 
 -*• 
 
 ^v: 
 
 On the sixteenth, about eight o'clock in the morning, we 
 saw coming towards us not leiss than a hundred of the little 
 
 * I do not know what was meant by this, since the streets, not only of this town, 
 'kut of all the towns io the island, are always kept remarkably clean. 
 
 IE-- 
 
STAY At JAPAir. 
 
 fl4ft 
 
 towing boats, all with the same flags. They stopped by one 
 or other of our guard boats, there to wait further orders. At 
 ten o'clock came some Banjos with the usual ceremonies, who 
 lamented very much, in the name of the two governors, the 
 ambassador's indisposition, and offered him every possible ser- 
 vice, even the attendance of the Japanese physicians, if that 
 would be agreeable to him *. At the same time they informed 
 us that the ship wotild be that day removed to a safer anchor- 
 age on the eastern side of the Papen mountain ; and as an 
 excuse for not carrying it into the inner harbour, which the 
 ambassador had earnestly requested, they said that it would be 
 by no means shewing proper respect to an Imperial Russian 
 ship of war, with a person of so much distinction on board, 
 that it should be anchored among trading vessels ; that the 
 Dutch ships would, however, leave the harbour very soon, and 
 our ship should then be anchored alone where they were now 
 
 V 
 
 As we could not perfectly enter into this reasoning, as it indeed 
 seemed only laughable to us, one of the interpreters added, that 
 some of the great princes of the country, who had been sum- 
 moned to meet the ambassador, were not yet arrived. He 
 was going to have proceeded farther, when a very remark- 
 able sign being given by one of the others, he stopped short. 
 It may here be mentioned by the way, that at almost every 
 visit made us, new people came. Great Men as well as inter- 
 preters. This is most probably to be ascribed to the suspi- 
 
 * This circumstanc*, as will be explained in the sequel, is well worthy of remark. 
 
246 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 cious nature of the government, which thinks it is by this 
 means more secure, tliat no secret intelligence shall be carried 
 on. Every new officer and interpreter is a sort of check upon 
 the former, and by comparing the answers, the fidelity of each 
 reporter is ascertained with the greater certainty. a ;. » • 
 
 fM 
 
 About twelve o'clock the anchor was weighed, and we were 
 towed to the other side of the Papen mountain : here, for the 
 first time, we saw the town of Nangasaki at the distance of 
 some miles. The Banjos remained on board during this change 
 of place. Geography appeared particularly to attract their 
 attention: they were very desirous, as had been all our 
 former visitors, of obtaining all possiole information respecting 
 the situation, extent of territory, and population of the great 
 Russian empire ; they followed our route upon the maps, and 
 inquired very minutely into the distances from one plac6 to 
 another. They begged to see the little pocket globe, which 
 had been so much talked of in all companies at Nangasaki, and 
 made a great many inquiries respecting the arts and manufac- 
 tures in Russia, specimens of which were shewn them. They 
 admired the astronomical instruments: and, notwithstandins; 
 that they had no idea of the use of them, from curiosity would 
 see the sun. I the rather mention this circumstance, in order 
 to correct an erroneous idea which prevails very generally, that 
 the Japanese, from a religious prejudice, will not look either 
 at the sun or the stars. 
 
 Having come to an anchor in our new situation about one 
 o'clock, the Banjos took their leave. An incredible number of 
 
'■p^ -it*«4-^ 
 
 *■',* 
 
 ■ii- 
 
 w. 
 
 "fcrisT'*!*' ' 
 
 ,ia;:>^# 
 
 
 *"-% 
 
 t- 
 
 >4fiwfc iS,- 
 

■-.•JTrf-r-f; 
 
 j,ft 
 
 ;a^«Jf.: 
 
 ■5lSf. 
 
 fflAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 917 
 
 bofttfl of all sizes, full of company of both sexes, but |>articu- 
 larly of the £iiir sex, came out from the town in the afternoon 
 to satisfy their curiosity with a sight of the great Russian ship, 
 but none were allowed to come within the line of our guard of 
 honour. On the declivity of a neighbouring hill we saw a house 
 surrounded with palisades, and with a screen before it, which 
 we were told was an imperial guard-house. At night this guard- 
 liouse, with the boats around us, were lighted with a great 
 number of lanterns,, which made a very briUiant illumination. 
 
 'ii 
 
 'I 
 
 ■.)•■! 
 
 .*v 
 
 *. 
 
 . ••il 
 
 :. Ir 
 
 •/ H"*. i 
 
 V 
 
 V 
 
 
 •a:::5,.< 
 
 i 
 
 ■■:u?.i^j,l T. . 
 
 » ■ 
 
 
9IS 
 
 OTAkT AT JAPAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Road behind the Papeti Mountain. — Occurrences therefrom the Seventeenth 
 . of October till the Ninth of November. •—Anchoring-Plaoe hefort the 
 Jhkperial Gudrd'Hotue^ ai^ N'egovicttiom there.— Beparturt from the 
 Anchoring-Place, and Entrance into Megasaki. 
 
 From the seventeenth to the twenty-first nothing particular 
 occurred. Parties of pleasure came every day from the town 
 to contemplate the Russian ship. The boat of the Prince of 
 Fisi was distinguished above all the others for its superior 
 splendor. As an indication that he was himself on board, it was 
 decorated with a variety of flags, staves, bows and arrows, 
 muskets, and other insignia of honour : the muskets were all 
 in ornamented cases. A large drum, with a sound as if muffled, 
 and the measured cry of the rowers, were to be heard at a 
 considerable distance. 
 
 ■*/ 
 
 The number of people thus attracted to stare at us were 
 no less entertaining to us than we were to them. Some- 
 times we saw a boat filled with children, from ten to 
 fourteen years old, so that it seemed as if a whole school had 
 been brought out to be treated with a sight of the Russians. 
 In others were women, who, to judge by the richness 
 of their clothing, must have been of high rank.- There were 
 
STAY AT ^APAN. £49 
 
 mothers with infants at the breast, and young girls with stringed 
 instruments : in some of the boats the people had telescopes, 
 which were handed from one to the other ; in short, old and 
 young, married and unmarried, all came to gratify their curio- 
 sity. Among the women, the married were easily to be distin- 
 guished from the unmarried by the black front teeth, which, 
 from their exceeding delight, and laughing so frequently, were 
 often shewn to our great disgust. As long as a girl remain* 
 unmarried the teeth are not blacked. 
 
 '^^ 
 
 The neighbouring country, too, was become exceedingly 
 animated. Numbers of parties were made from the town to the 
 shore near the part where we lay, and a little temple at the foot 
 of a hill close by was the perpetual resort of company. It was 
 no less amusing to observe these land parties than those on 
 the water. The company would sit in groups to eat rice or 
 other provisions which they had brought with them, then 
 visit the temple, or walk about, and this for the greater part 
 of the day. The provisions were commonly brought in beau- 
 tiful little japanned boxes, and were eaten with a couple of 
 little sticks instead of forks. 
 
 |ss 
 Ire 
 
 On the twenty-first the thermometer was as low as !()•; and 
 accustomed as we had been for some time to a much greater 
 degree of heat, we found this very cold. Although the weather 
 was fine and clear, few boats were to be seen. Towards 
 the afternoon an interpreter came to the ship, but as he had no 
 Banjos with him, he did not dare to venture on board. In 
 order, therefore, to discharge his commission, he begged that 
 
uo 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 somebody from us would come into his boat. He then drew 
 a paper from his bosom, containing tlie following instructions 
 and propositions on the part of the governor. 
 
 First. As the Dutch vessels would leave their anchoring- 
 place the next day, and as it was an ancient custom that all 
 Dutch ships at their departure should salute the imperial Japa- 
 nese fortress, the governor thought it proper we should be 
 informed of it, that we might understand the reason of so many 
 cannon being fired. 
 
 Secondly. We were requested not to send any boat or bark 
 either to the Dutch ships or to the neighbouring uninhabited 
 isl^md. A like request was made to the Dutch. 
 
 ■■■'»■'''' 
 Thirdly. All provisions that we wished to have should he 
 Scsnt us free of cost. It was not allowable for any one to sell 
 things fov money, and the governor therefore had to beg pardon 
 of the ambassador, that the Japanese tobacco-pipes, which he 
 had requested some days before, had not been sent to him. 
 According to his instructions from the court, he could not per- 
 mit any stranger to purchase the most trifling article ; he must, 
 therefore, entreat our patience till he received his farther in* 
 structiona from Jedo. 
 
 Our patience, however, us it appeared from the interpreter, 
 would not in this instance be very slightly taxed, since lie re- 
 ported that the courier might very possibly not return for five- 
 a«id-twenty or thirty days. The ambassador availed himself of 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 S51 
 
 the interpreter to send a message to the governor, requesting 
 that he might be permitted to dispatch letters to his own 
 country by the Dutch ships that were about to sail. 
 
 These Dutch ships quitted Desima the same day, and came 
 to anchor nearer to us. They each saluted the imperial Japa- 
 nese fortress with a hundred and fifty guns, fired at unequal in- 
 tervals, but not a single gun was returned by the fortress. This 
 led us to presume that the Japanese really have no cannon. The 
 fine weather, and perhaps also the movement of the Dutch 
 ships, again brought out parties to the amount of some thou- 
 sands of persons as we judged, and the neighbouring temple 
 was crowded, particularly by handsome women. In the dark- 
 ness of the night, the illumination of the harbour, and the 
 guard-house upon the shore, was really a very beautiful sight. 
 I counted within the circle more than four hundred lanterns. 
 
 On the twenty- third the ambassador sent a message to the 
 governor, requesting to speak with a Banjos. Accordingly the 
 next day towards noon two came, accompanied by two inter- 
 preters, to hear what he wished to say. The ambassador then 
 told them, that he was very anxious to have an interview with 
 the commanders of the Dutch ships ; at least, he begged* that 
 Captain Krusensteru might be permitted to visit them before 
 their departure, as he held it his duty towards his own sove- 
 reign not to omit such an opportunity of informing him that 
 the vessel was happily arrived at Japan. 
 
 In the second place, the ambassador said, he could nofc 
 perceive, without some displeasure, that the Dutch ships, whicb 
 
 K K 2 
 
S52 
 
 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 were only trading vessels, vrere allowed to fire a gun every 
 morning and evening, and that this privilege was denied to a 
 Russian ship of war, under the pretence that it was contrary to 
 the laws of Japan. That this was an offence to the Russian flag, 
 and he therefore demanded the same privilege allowed to the 
 . Dutch. 
 
 With regard to what had been said of supplying our ship 
 with provisions free of expense, he had many acknowledgments 
 to make for such an instance of liberality. He did not, how- 
 ever, wish this to be done, and the rather, as our supply of 
 provisions had been brought very irregularly ; the day before^ 
 for example, we had not received any supply at all. He would, 
 therefore, consider it as an act of friendship to be permitted 
 to purchase provisions, and to order them at regular stated 
 periods. • , , ' • 
 
 He said, moreover, that he was exceedingly hurt at find- 
 ing himself for a week past totally neglected ; he had not 
 experienced the friendship which his Imperial Russian Ma- 
 jesty, whose representative he was, had a right to expect from 
 the Japanese ; and neither himself, nor any otlier Russian, 
 would have come to Japan, if they had expected such treat- 
 ment. After having overcome great toils and dangers to arrive 
 there, he was now not received as a friend, but rather de- 
 tained as a criminal and state prisoner. During fourteen 
 months that he had been at sea, he had led a kind of life 
 to which he was wholly unaccustomed, and his health had suf- 
 fered by it very much ; he must, therefore, earnestly entreat 
 that himself, and some of his officers, might be permitted occa- 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 353 
 
 sionally to go on shore, though it were only on an uninhabited 
 island near, to walk about and take the exercise essential for 
 his recovery : this his physician had said was absolutely neces' 
 sary. He also again repeated the request that some house on 
 shore might be allotted him, where he could inipack and put 
 in order the presents destined for the Emperor of Japan, and 
 that a convenient place might be allotted for repairing the da- 
 mages done to the ship in the violent storm we had experienced. 
 
 To this lat<"er clause the interpreter answered, that he was 
 commissioned by both the governors to say, that the ambas- 
 sador must surely think they had no ears. His wishes to live 
 on shore, to unpack the presents, and to repair the ship, were 
 sufficiently known to them, but they were themselves in the 
 greatest embarrassment, and could not do any thing contrary to 
 the established laws. They must therefore once more entreat 
 him to have patience till the answer from Jedo could arrive, 
 when they hoped for the most ample instructions upon every 
 point that had been brought into discussion. 
 
 All these representations were faithfully written down by 
 the interpreters, and the interview concluded with the ambas- 
 sador expressing a wish to be visited from time to time by 
 some of the Japanese, if it was only for the pleasure it aflbrded 
 him to hear of the governor's health. The interpreters seemed 
 to feel that the ambassador had not expressed so much dis- 
 pleasure without just cause, and endeavoured to excuse all by 
 urging the singular constitutions of their country, and the 
 unchangeable nature of their laws. On being questioned far- 
 ther as to the time when the answer might be expected from 
 Jedo, they frankly owned that the couriers had been dispatched 
 
WAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 on the eleventh and the thirteenth, and that it must be at least 
 from twenty-seven to thirty days before the answer could be 
 received. The length of time astonished us exceedingly, and 
 made us so much the more urgent to have permission some- 
 times to go on shore in the neighbourhood of our anchoring- 
 place. 
 
 Among other things, the interpreters now asked when the 
 ambassador would give up the Japanese he had brought from 
 Russia } To this he replied, that at the first audience granted 
 him he should deliver them up with his own hands to the 
 governor, conformably to the commission he had received. 
 With regard to the letters the ambassador wished to send 
 to Europe, they begged to know the size and number of 
 them. 
 
 On the same day in the afternoon we observed a very large, 
 high, and handsome boat, with thirty-six or thirty-eight rowers, 
 and towed by a great number of boats, coming towards our ship. 
 It had only one very deep red flag, with a round white pattern in 
 the middle, and was besides decorated with some staves of 
 honour. The rowers were all in garments of dark blue, with a 
 blue and white check over the breast and back. Our guard- 
 ships said that it was the boat of Prince Tschingodsi, nephew 
 to the Emperor of Japan, with his Highness himself on board: 
 it was accompanied by several other boats : the measured cry of 
 the rowers was to be heard at a very great distance : the ap- 
 pearance of the whole together was really grand and com- 
 manding. 
 
 About eight o'clock in the evening came a supply of pro- 
 
STAY AT JARAN. f&9 
 
 lusions, but not till we had «ent after them to Nangasaki, 
 desiring at the (uime time to speak with an interpreter. Many- 
 excuses were now made that the things had , not been sent 
 earlier in the day ; but the people said that Prince Tschingodsi 
 had arrived in the morning, and it was necessary to prepare for 
 his risception : this had put a stop to all other business. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth, about two o'clock, the interpretera 
 came, accompanied by two officers, who brought the answers 
 to some of the ponits which had been mentioned the day 
 before. To that about sending letters to Europe by the Dutch 
 ships, the answer was, that although it was entirely contrary to 
 the laws of Japan to admit of any interchange of letters 
 between foreign nations coming into the harbour, and conse- 
 quently that no Chinese had ever been allowed to send letters 
 by Dutch vessels going from thence to China ; nor had any 
 Dutch been permitted to send letters by vessels from China, 
 going to Europe ; yet the governor, out of particular respect 
 for the Russian ambassador, would permit him to send two 
 unsealed letters by the Dutch ships. This proposal was not 
 very well received by the ambassador, and he represented in 
 strong terms the impropriety of sending his Emperor un- 
 sealed dispatches. It was, therefore, at length agreed that the 
 letters were to be submitted to the inspection of the Governqgr 
 uf Nangasaki, who, after he had read them, sluiuld send them 
 back by a Banjos, when they might be sealed by the ambas- 
 sador in his presence, and then returned to the go<vernor, to be 
 by him remitted to the Dutch officers. If these letters were 
 prepared by the morrow, they might be submitted immediately 
 to the governor, who would return them the same jday. 
 
t36 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 As to the request for permission to go on shore, the answer 
 was, that it was strictly forbidden to any «tranger to land 
 without a special permission from the Emperor: the illness, 
 however, of the ambassador should make an exception to this 
 rule ; and the governor, out of particular respect and esteem for 
 him, would appoint a place on the nearest part of the shore, 
 where he might walk. With this view the interpreter indi- 
 cated two places which could be seen from the ship, giving the 
 ambassador his choice between them. The choice being made, 
 a delay of a few days was requested, that the place, which was 
 upon a large island, might be made ready, and a small house 
 run up for shelter to the ambassador in case of rain, and that a 
 pallisade might be formed of bamboo danes, to keep the populace 
 off from incommoding his excellency : the true reason of this 
 was, however, evidently to prevent the Russians going beyond 
 the narrow limits prescribed to them. 
 
 With respect to the delay in sending provisions, many excuses 
 were made, concluding with a promise that there should not in 
 future be any reason for complaints on this subject. We, how- 
 ever, afterwards learnt that the pretence of every body having 
 been occupied with the arrival of Prince Tschingodsi was a 
 mere fiction ; that his court only had arrived ; he himself was 
 not expected of some days. An answer to the requisition o^ 
 being allowed to fire the morning and evening gun was promised 
 the next day. In the meantime we observed that this evening 
 the Dutch did not fire as before. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh at day-break we saw a great many 
 men at work at the place destined for our walk. In the after- 
 
ITAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 wr 
 
 noon the interpreters came for the letters, when they inquired 
 very minutely into the contents, writing down the translation ai 
 they were informed of them. They promised at the same time to 
 bring them back the next morning, that the ambassador might 
 seal them in the presence of the Banjos •. We were also informed 
 tliat the place where we were to walk would be ready for us 
 on the morrow, and we should have perraissioo to go on 
 shore. . . '•( '■' ■ ■:;*■■ •,;■"-.■; * ." l ri^a^ > *■ ^f-^i ■ 
 
 • 
 
 On the following day, in the afternoon, came two Banjot 
 with some interpreters, and brought back the ambassador's letter 
 to be sealed. It was inclosed in a little box made expressly for 
 the purpose, extremely neat, bound round with a silk ribband, 
 and fastened with a clasp. A little strip of paper over the 
 clasp marked the place where the seal was to be affixed, and 
 the clasp could not be opened without tearing it. The letter 
 was sealed in presence of the Banjos, and consigned again to 
 him to be forwarded to the Dutch Captains. The Great Man 
 said, before he departed, that our walk would be ready that 
 evening or early the next morning, and assured us that the per- 
 mission to go on shore was a deviation from the common rule, 
 granted solely out of respect and esteem for the ambassador, 
 because the indifferent state of his health required it. 
 
 • A single letter only wai therefore teat by hi from NangMtki to Europe, and that 
 with much difficulty, and before we had set our feet on Japanese ground. A year after, 
 howcfcr, letters dated from Japan, purporting to be from us, and giving an account of 
 -the manners and customs of the Japanese, appeared in several German publications. But 
 these fictions, imposed upon the public as originals, were compilations from Charlefoix, 
 Thunbcrg, and Kaempfcr. This was carrying the licenlia pottka somewhat too far. 
 
 L X. 
 
^8 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 We had remarked people constantly at work upon the place 
 for the last two days, nay even all night, and saw, to our great 
 astonishment, early this morning, a small wooden house run 
 up, which had been entirely completed in the night. The 
 officers were permitted to wear their swords on shore, but were 
 forbidden to carry a gun with them to shoot birds. This last 
 prohibition appeared to us very curious, since as we were 
 already deprived of our powder, there would have been no 
 particular utility in carrying a gun. 
 
 On the twenty -ninth, about four o'clock in the afternoon, 
 came two Banjos with the interpreters, to impart the joyful 
 tidings that the walk was ready for the ainbassador, and that they 
 were ordered to conduct him thither: for the future, they added, 
 he would be at liberty to go whenever he chose, only giving 
 notice beforehand to the officer upon guard, that he might 
 first examine whether the walk was clean and fit for his reception : 
 in fact, this notice Avas required that time might be given to 
 order the proper guard to the place. Another condition, clothed 
 in the form of a request, was, that the ambassador would never 
 take more than nine officers on shore with him, and that none 
 of the sailors should be allowed to go: also, that nobody should 
 think of staying on shore during the night. The Banjos 
 moreover brought a letter from Mynheer Doeff, the Dutch 
 factor, to the ambassador, acknowledging the receipt of the 
 dispatch for the Russian Emperor, and promising to forward it 
 from Batavia to Europe by the first possible opportunily. 
 
 On Uiis the anibassador with some officers descended into the 
 boat, to tread lor the first time on Japanese ground. Tiie 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 «59 
 
 shrouds were manned for the occasion by the sailors, who gave 
 three cheers as the boat moved off. The Opperbanjos, with 
 several guardships and a number of little Japanese boats, 
 followed us. As we drew near to the destined place, which we 
 reached in about ten minutes, we found it small beyond all 
 idea. It was a walk not more than twice the length of our ship, 
 inclosed with a pallisade of bamboo canes : every plant and> 
 blade of grass was torn away ; the soil was perfectly levelled, 
 and it was strewed over with sand. A small wooden summer- 
 house, open in front, was to serve as oyr shelter in case of rain ; 
 the inner room was raised about two feet, and was covered 
 with thin red carpeting. 
 
 According to custom, the ambassador had the Russian 
 standard with the double eagle carried before him, and he 
 sat down in the house upon a chair which had been 
 brought from the ship. Some of the Banjos welcomed him 
 in the name of the governors, and in conformity with Japanesef 
 politeness, made him a compliment as from them. This con- 
 sisted in a strip of white paper about three fingers broad, folded 
 up, and tied together with smaller strips of red and white 
 paper, from each end of which hung little bits of fish, or of 
 catgut. At the same time they brought a small sealed box, 
 containing a number of preserves and other things as refresh- 
 ments for the ambassador. A number of people had assembled 
 upon a neighbouring hill to stare at us. The Banjos soon took 
 their leave, repeating their request that we would not continue 
 there during the night; and as we should not have found any 
 particular pleasure from taking our repose in a little confined 
 ploughed field, watched on all sides, we were no way disposed 
 to transgress the injunction, but readily returned to the ship. 
 
 L l2 
 
uo 
 
 STAY AT JAPAX. 
 
 On the third, the whole day was so cloudy and rainy that 
 we had no visitors from the town, and nothing particular 
 occurred. 
 
 It was agreed, that when we wished to go on shore a red flag 
 should be hung oat as a signal to the commanding officer 
 on guard. On this day, upon the signal being given, some 
 officers, among whom I made one, went on shore without 
 the ambassador. A number of workmen were extremely busy 
 in building up another small house, adjoinfng to the former, 
 for our use in a particular way. Boys of only twelve or 
 thirteen years of age were working as carpenters, and were 
 already very expert in their business. The planes, saws, ham- 
 mers, and other tools used here, are in form and make very 
 different from our European ones, and for the most part much 
 superior to them. The principal object among the Japanese, 
 in all their constructions, is not to waste the wood. We 
 found the people very friendly and courteous. Dr. Horner 
 took the altitude of the suji with an artificial horizon, which 
 the byestanders observed with particular attention ; but they 
 remained at a respectful distance, lest they should incommode 
 him. After lie had done they had permission to look at the 
 sextant, with which they were extremely delighted. Many 
 of them brought us their fans*, requesting that M'e would Avrite 
 our names upon them: by way of acknowledgment when this 
 
 / 
 
 * A Japanese always carries about him a fan, with i, tobacco.pipc, wpitiiig implements) 
 ami paper. The latter is used instead of a pockct-handkcrchiuf ; since thev hold it Tery 
 indelicate, and not cleanly, to carry a linen handkerchief in their pockets, as wa do, for 
 luch a. purpose. 
 
 ^\ 
 
STAT AT JAPAIf; 
 
 t6t 
 
 was done, they held the fan to their foreheads, making a low 
 bow. Many of them gave us to understand by signs that they 
 wished the letters made large enough to cover the whole fan. 
 They told us the Japanese names of several objects that w^ 
 wished to know ; and we in return called them by their Russian 
 names. * ■ , 
 
 After a stay of some hours we returned on board, when 
 we heard that in the meantime some Banjos, with their inter- 
 preters, had been making a visit to the ship. They came 
 commissioned by the governor to ask why the ambassador did 
 not go oftener on shore^ hoping that nothing had displeased 
 him ; they were afraid that the people about had been trouble- 
 some, or something might perhaps be wanting. To this the 
 ambassador replied tliat he bad nothing to say against the 
 place, but that he should have been glad if they had left a little 
 grass, that he might have had some enjoyment of the beau- 
 ties of nature. The principal reason, however, 'why he had 
 not been again on shore was, that he was exceedingly fatigued 
 with the great length of his former walk. The interpreters 
 smiled, made excuses for the governor upon the place being so 
 confined, and immediately offered to do every thing in their 
 power to procure, if possible, a little more liberty for us. 
 
 Immediately after dinner came two other magistrates with 
 interpreters. They said that the governor promised all possible 
 assistance in repairing the damages our ship had sustained ; he 
 at the same time desired we might be hiformed that six years 
 before a large Dutch ship had been repaired at Kibatsch ; and 
 as the answer from Jedo might now be expected very soon, and 
 
268 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 he had not the power of suflfering the ship to be repaired at 
 Nangasaki, he wished to know whether it could not be repaired 
 at Kibatsch. He was ready in this case to give us a number of 
 Japanese vessels, in which the presents, the lading, and stores, 
 might be lodged, and another in which the ambassador might 
 live during the time. Every thing might be well considered by 
 us, and the answer deferred to another time. 
 
 The Banjos then inquired again what was the reason that the 
 ambassador went on shore so seldom ? Whether he would have 
 liked the house better inclosed every way, instead of being open 
 on one side ? Whether, in short, he had any faults to find with 
 it, or remarks to make ? The ambassador replied, that he would 
 have preferred the little uninhabited Island of Nesidesima, or 
 Rat-Island, which was first offered us, as there was some grass 
 and wood upon it, if he had then known what sort of a place 
 Kibatsch was, which he had chosen : he should be very glad, 
 therefore, of the permission sometimes to visit Nesidesima. To 
 this the Banjos answered, that it had occasioned the governor 
 much difficulty to grant us the place made for us at Kibatsch : 
 he was forced to consult previously with the Princes Fisi and 
 Tschingodsi, before he could venture upon such a step. That 
 must be the case again, and they doubted very much whether 
 the request could be granted, as the trees must be cut away 
 there also, and the place strewed v/ith sand. 
 
 On the first of November Captain Von Krusenstern went on 
 shore with some of his officers, and Dr. Horner, to take the 
 altitude of the sun, and to examine whether the Creek at 
 Kibatsch would be convenient for repairing the ship. He found 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 269 
 
 the greatest depth to be from five to six fathom. The Japanese 
 did not oppose his sounding, but looked on with eager curiosity. 
 Since the day before, the workmen had been extremely busy in 
 ornamenting the summer-house: shutters had been made to the 
 side that was open ; they consisted of paper glued tOi>ether, and 
 were done with a neatness and accuracy that could scarcely 
 be equalled in Europe. 
 
 The interpreters came to us on the second, with the infor- 
 mation that the governor was afraid such numbers of the lower 
 people who were ill-dressed, coming about the walk out of 
 curiosity, was unpleasant to the ambassador ; he had therefore 
 given orders that nobody should in future go near it. This 
 order seemed even to have been extended farther, since for two 
 days no more pleasure-boats had come about our ship; we 
 were therefore deprived of the amusement we had received from 
 the perpetual contemplation of objects wholly new and strange 
 to us. As the ambassador had no inclination to go on shore 
 this day, the Japanese inquired whether he could not give 
 any orders by which the place might be made more to his 
 taste. 
 
 Several of our officers went this day to Kibatsch, and 
 found the Japanese very friendly, and appearing to treat them 
 with great confidence. They fully explained the manner in 
 which their guns are fired : this is not with a flint and steel, but 
 with a lighted match. They drew out their pocket-books, and 
 exhibited maps of the neighbouring country : they shewed theni 
 their medicine-chests, and many other things that they thought 
 might be interesting and entertaining to them. 
 
264 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 On the third, the ambassador went on shore, accompanied 
 by a few Japanese barks, in which were only some subaltern 
 officers. As there was nothing new to be seen in Kibatsch, and 
 as it was impossible to walk much, his excellency did not stay 
 above half an hour, and then returned on board. No visitors 
 of curiosity ventured to come near the ship. Though it was 
 very cloudy and somewhat rainy on the fourth, I went on shore 
 with some of the officers. The intercourse with the Japanese was 
 colder than usual, and their number was small. A young man, 
 who alone appeared at all disposed to be sociable, was called 
 away : we concluded from this circumstance that orders had 
 been given not to keep up any confidential intercourse with us. 
 
 On the fifth, the interpreters came with the intelligence that 
 the Dutch ships were at length ready to sail, and that we 
 might take their place in the harbour as soon as they were 
 gone. As to repairing the ship, they said, that perhaps the 
 loading the presents upon several Japanese vessels would occa- 
 sion too much trouble and loss of time, the governor therefore 
 proposed a Chinese junk, on board of which the ambassador 
 could transfer all the presents and stores, and where he could 
 live himself. To this it was agreed, that as soon as the Dutch 
 ships wfere gone an answer should be sent ; for, as they were not 
 to be later than ten days before they sailed, the ambassador said 
 he would prefer waiting, as there was reason to hope for an 
 answer from Jedo by that time, when he expect 'd permission 
 to live on shore. 
 
 With respect to the island of Nesidesima, mentioned on a 
 former occasion, we received on this day a positive refusal of 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. g($5 
 
 the request made by the ambassador to be allowed to walk 
 there. As we had observed for several days the manners of the 
 Japanese to be extremely cold towards us, and saw no more 
 boats come out with parties of pleasure, the ambassador alluded 
 to this circumstance, observing that we were deprived of 
 the entertainment we had received from the sight of them : this 
 the interpreters ascribed entirely to chance. On the sixth and 
 seventh nothing occurred worthy of remark. 
 
 On the eighth, early in the morning, the Dutch vessels 
 weighed anchor. We cheered them as they passed us, wishing 
 them a prosperous voyage ; they did not however answer us, and 
 we had afterwards an apology on this account from the chief o^ 
 the Dutch factory. Mynheer Doeff, with the assurance that 
 this apparent want of attention to our civilities was to be 
 ascribed entirely to the strict injunctions to this effect which 
 the captains had received from the governor. The ships had 
 but just got round to the other side of the Papen mountain, 
 when, on account of a calm, they were obliged to drop the 
 anchor again. 
 
 This afternoon the interpreters brought us intelligence 
 that the next day, about noon, a proper number of towing- 
 boati would be sent to convey us to the place the Dutch had 
 left, and that all possible assistance would be given by the 
 governor in repairing our ship. On the ninth, in the afternoon, 
 came two Banjos, with several interpreters, to attend us to the 
 new anchoring-place just before the imperial guard-house. We 
 were accordingly drawn thither by the towing-boats, and an- 
 chored in fifteen fathom water, about three versts from the 
 
 M M 
 
366 
 
 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 town of Nangasaki. On the next morning, for the first time, 
 we saw this town very plain. The Banjos, who accompanied 
 us, were very polite, pleasant, and sociable ; they occupied 
 themselves the greater part of the afternoon with examining 
 maps and prints, which seemed to afford them great entertain- 
 ment. On the tenth, preparations were at length made for 
 repairing the ship. It was agreed that the masts, yards, beams, 
 and other materials, should be carried on shore to Kibatsch, and 
 the governor promised that they should be placed under the 
 care of an extraordinary guard. 
 
 The interpreter sent to us on this day spoke more freely 
 than any who had come before : he considered all the strict 
 regulations of the Japanese goveri.n.ent as extremely ridicu- 
 lous, lamented that he was himself a Japanese, and wished 
 very much to travel and see foreign countries. He regretted 
 the short-sightedness of his countrymen, imputed it to the edu- 
 cation of the emperor and the great magistrates, and said that 
 the subjects must be blind when the rulers had no clear ideas, 
 and were not in a situation to acquire any. Men, he said, are 
 not born merely to eat and drink, but also to instruct and en- 
 lighten themselves. His philosophical dissertation was inter- 
 spersed with several Japanese proverbs ; as, for example, 
 *• The age of man is a hundred i/ears, but his fame is eternal." — 
 •' The life of man is short, his name is without end " He lamented 
 the many disagreeable circumstances to which the ambassador 
 had been subjected, and endeavouring to console him, likened 
 a man of understanding to water, saying, '• A reasonable man 
 must know hozv to accommodate himself to all situations and cir- 
 eumstanceSy like water which takes the form and figure of every 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 «67 
 
 vessel into which it is poured." This day the Dutch ships sailed 
 out of the harbour. 
 
 On the eleventh, the masts and yards of the vessel were, 
 according to agreement, carried on shore : they were conveyed 
 to Kibatsch in our own boats, with our own sailors on board, 
 but were towed by the Japanese. Although more than forty 
 of our people landed on this occasion, they were not attended 
 by a greater number of guards than usual. On the twelfth, 
 several officers went on shore without seeing a single native 
 during the whole time they remained there. The weather was 
 very fine, and for the first time during many days some plea- 
 sure-boats with women, attracted by curiosity, made their 
 usual excursions to contemplate the Russian ship. 
 
 In the afternoon of the thirteenth some interpreters came 
 on board as we had requested, when we desired permission of 
 the governor to have some of the rye meal we had brought with 
 us made into bread, and baked at Nangasaki. To this request 
 our guests promised an answer in a few days. They announced, 
 that in two or three days a Chinese junk, as had bean suggested 
 before, would be ready to take our stores on board ; that the 
 next high tide was only waited for, to set it afloat. In the night 
 so strong a wind rose, that the water was swelled very much, 
 which set the junk at liberty. The interpreters came about 
 four o'clock to bring the permission we had requested with 
 regard to our bread, and begged to have one of our anchors for 
 the junk, as the Chinese had only wooden anchors, and they 
 were not by any means to be trusted to. One was accordingly 
 sent, and we were promised that the junk should be broug;ht 
 
 M M 3 
 
t68 ^TAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 the next day. As Kibatsch was now at some distance from US;^ 
 we requested that a place might be assigned in the neighbour- 
 hood, where the cannon and other heavy articles might be 
 deposited. 
 
 On the thirteenth the junk was brought alongside of us, 
 when Captain Krusenstern was requested to go on board, and 
 examine whether it would answer our purpose. Several officers 
 accompanied him, and were not a little astonished to see the 
 cabin destined for the Russian ambassador : it was a little mean 
 apartment without a window, so that it had no light except 
 from the door ; — for the presents, stores, and other things, 
 there was ample room. Captain Krusenstern expressed his 
 dissatisfaction very decidedly, and said he was surprised 
 how it could be possible for reasonable people like the 
 Japanese to offer the Russian ambassador such a habitation : it 
 was scarcely fit for one of their own domestic servants. He de- 
 clared further, that the repairs of the ship could not be begun 
 till the presents were unloaded, and a proper habitation was 
 assigned to the ambassador : the junk could positively not be 
 accepted for this purpose. Some farther answer relative to 
 these things would therefore be expected from the governor. 
 As to what had been said the day before respecting the distance 
 of Kibatsch, and the consequent inconvenience of sending the 
 cannon and heavy stores thither, a reply was now brought, 
 that the governor would assign a good place for the purpose 
 near the ship, and would provide for a proper guard being 
 appointed to take care of them. 
 
 Several officers went on board the junk, to have a nearer 
 
STAT AT JAPAJf, 269 
 
 view of this heavy, clumsy, helpless kind of vessel. The inter- 
 preters came to inform us that it was not in the power of the 
 governor to assign the ambassador a habitation at Nangasaki, 
 or in any other part, before he had an answer with permission to 
 that effect from Jedo ; this, however, he hoped to receive in 
 seven or eight days. It was hereupon determined to send away 
 the junk, and wait on board the ship for this long expected 
 answer, in the hope that then a proper habitation would be 
 assigned us, with a convenient place for stowing the presents. 
 Next morning, therefore, the seventeenth, the junk was towed 
 away, and a short time after, the anchor which had been lent 
 for it was restored. 
 
 Till the twenty-fourth nothing worthy of notice occurred. 
 The cold of approaching winter increased daily, and we were 
 sensibly affected by it : the temperature of the air varied from 
 4' to 12°. The poor Japanese in the fishing-boats, and the 
 sailors in the guard-boats, appeared to feel its severity not a 
 little. Their only covering was a thin cotton garment, and 
 they slept at night in their open boats, upon a straw mat, with 
 nothing to defend them from the cold, except this slender 
 clothing. In the day-time we saw many entirely naked, except 
 the covering round the waist. 
 
 This afternoon the interpi-eters came to us of their own 
 accord, a thing which had not happened of some time : their 
 errand was to inquire, in the name of the two governors, after 
 the ambassador's health. At first they talked only upon indif- 
 ferent subjects, and their visit seemed to have no particular 
 object : the principal topic of conversation was the coldness of 
 
:g70 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 the weather. 1 licy assured us that in a short time it would be 
 much colder, and gave us to understand that at such a time of 
 year it was not healthy to remain on board a ship. The arrival 
 of couriers from Jedo was, however, a subject much nearer to 
 our hearts than the coldness of the weather; we therefore ques- 
 tioned them upon it, and were not a little struck at hearing 
 that one had arrived the day before; he had not, however, 
 brought any intelligence respecting our concerns; indeed, at 
 his departure from Jedo our arrival at Nangasaki was not known. 
 The interpreters concluded with imparting the unwelcome 
 tidings, that it was probable the instructions respecting us 
 might not arrive till a fortnight or three weeks from that 
 time. . ' 
 
 As the ambassador was somewhat impatient, the interpreters 
 made him the following proposal. They said, that according 
 to what appeared, his excellency would prefer a small habitation 
 at the very end of Nangasaki, to remaining on board the ship, 
 and they presumed that if he really would be satisfied with this 
 till the arrival of the courier, it would be better to remit a 
 representation upon the subject to the governor. The advanced 
 season of the year, with the coldness of the weather, the ambas- 
 sador's indifferent state of health, the expediency of unpacking 
 the presents, and the repairs wanting to the ship, might all be 
 urged as reasons for pressing him so much to permit our coming 
 on shore. Upon these grounds, they said, they thought it not 
 improbable that the governor, from his high respect and esteem 
 for the Russian Court, might consent to assign him a habitation 
 without the town ; and they were convinced, that as soon as 
 the answer was received from Jedo, a spacious dwelling in the 
 
8TAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 171 
 
 town would be assigned him, consistent with his rank as the 
 representative of so great a monarch. It was not difficult to 
 see that they were instructed to circumvent the ambassador, 
 if possible, on the subject of hig guard ; for they added that 
 he would much sooner attain his purpose, if he would leave 
 the soldiers, for whom he had contended as a part of his 
 suite, on board the ship, or suffer them to follow him on shore 
 without arms. The ambassador only replied, that this was a 
 proposal to which he could never consent: he would on no 
 account relinquish the attendance of the guard of honour : the 
 utmost to which he could condescend waj^, that they should 
 carry their muskets without bayonets. 
 
 The interpreters on this quitted us, promising that our pro- 
 posals, with the conditions annexed, should be faithfully repre- 
 sented to the governor. From all that passed, there appeared 
 very great reason to suppose that the courier who had arrived 
 brought very unsatisfactory answers, and that the governor 
 therefore sought to gain time till the arrival of another The 
 proposal now made by the interpreter, as if originating entirely 
 with himself, was exactly what we had repeatedly desired, and 
 which the governor had alleged, only a week before, it was 
 not in his power to grant without the emperor's consent. 
 
 On the twenty- fifth in the afternoon the interpreters brought 
 the governor's consent to the amlf^^sador's proposal : they ob- 
 served, however, that in this he took upon himself a very great 
 responsibility. He begged, therefore, for his justification, that the 
 ambassador would make a statement in writing of the necessity 
 of repairing the damages the ship had received in the storm, 
 
271 
 
 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 and of his being allowed a habitation on shore, on account of 
 ^•he indifferent state of his health. This was done, and it seemed 
 to give the interpreters great satisfaction. The only difficulty 
 now remaining was the military attendance: again the intef'- 
 preters repeated that this was contrary to all the laws of Japan ; 
 that even the greatest princes of the country never appeared 
 armed before the governor ; they must therefore once more entreat 
 that the guard might be omitted, or at least that the number 
 might be lessened. The ambassador was, however, inflexible : 
 he said he would positively not go on shore unless attended by 
 his guard of honour ; that it would be no less degrading for him 
 to appear without it, than for the officers to appear without 
 side-arms ; it was an indispensable lappendage to his rank and 
 dignity. The interpreters shook their heads, and said they 
 would impart his determination to the governor. They then 
 drew out plans of the house assigned to him, and of the maga^- 
 zines for the presents, with which he was very well satisfied. 
 Before they departed, he desired to know what number of 
 persons would be permitted to live on shore. 
 
 The following day no interpreters appeared: with the 
 assistance of our telescope, however, we examined the place 
 destined for the ambassador, and saw a great many people 
 at work upon it. For several days they were very busy in 
 cairying on their preparations, and by the thirtieth we could 
 perceive a high inclosure made round it with bamboo-canes. 
 The long absence of the interpreters made us somewhat impa- 
 tient, and our ill-humour was increnred by very cold, stormy, 
 disagreeable weather. 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 273 
 
 On the first of December we saw a grand illumination at 
 Desima, the part inhabited by the Dutch : it consisted of 
 several hundred paper lanterns, which, as far as we could judge, 
 were arranged with a good deal of taste : they produced a very 
 good effect. The Dutch factory, as the interpreters assured us, 
 never omit any opportunity of displaying the grandeur of 
 their East India Company, though their trade hither is very 
 inconsiderable. On the second we still saw the people on shore 
 very busy in preparing the ambassador's house. We anxiously 
 expected the interpreters, to announce that it was finished ; and 
 as they had never been near us since the twenty-fifth, they were 
 now invited on board. In the evening Desima was again illu)« 
 minated. All day, on the third, the interpreters were anxiously 
 expected by us, but they did not appear. Uii, .5 ;;.*;:<; 
 
 At length, on the fourth, one arrived, and was as usuait 
 extremely polite and courteous. He brought many inquiries 
 from both governors respecting the health of the ambassador^ 
 and the other gentlemen, and said that the memorial sent by 
 the ambassador, stating the grounds on which he desired to 
 come on shore, had been faithfully delivered. He assured 
 us also that the courier from Jedo was expected every day, 
 and had been a much longer time than usual in returning. 
 
 Having observed, as I said above, the inclosure round the 
 house, we could not help asking somewhat sarcastically whether 
 the place we were to inhabit was, like our walk at Kibatsch, to 
 be surrounded with a bamboo fence, that the Great Man might 
 not be disturbed by the people. The interpreter could not help 
 gmiling, and said he did indeed think that all these regula- 
 
 N X 
 
S74 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 tions of the governnient were very pitiful ; but in fact they were 
 established customs, and must be complied with. He finished 
 by making many inquiries respecting the domestic economy of 
 the house ; among others, whether we would have the kitchen 
 furnished with Japanese utensils, or whether we would bring our 
 own from the ship : he observed that they had no chairs or 
 tables, and that we must therefore bring our own. At his de- 
 parture we entreated him to expedite the business as much as 
 possible, and free us from our long and tedious captivity. 
 
 Again several days elapsed without seeing any interpreters, 
 or, consequently, hearing any thing more concerning the arrival 
 of the courier, or the state of preparation which the house had 
 attained. At length, on the 'tenth, some appeared, and we 
 were all in eager expectation of being satisfied upon one, at 
 least, if not both these points. They began, as usual, with 
 many inquiries from both governors into the state of the am- 
 bassador's health, and at length, to our infinite mortification, 
 expressed their extreme sorrow that the house was not ready, 
 nay, they believed that it must be yet four or five days before 
 it could be so. To the question whether no courier was ar- 
 rived, we received for answer the customary negative. At a 
 former visit of the interpreters, some planks for repairing the 
 ship had been requested: instead of the planks themselves, 
 however, they now brought specimens of different kinds of 
 wood, for the captain to choose which would best suit hi& 
 purpose. 
 
 There was scarcely a soul on board the Nadeschda who did 
 «ot feel great impatience and indignation at being thus trifled 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 375., 
 
 witht even the ambassador could not refrain from giving vent 
 to his feelings, and saying td the interpreters that we had lost a 
 great deal of time very unnecessarily by these repeated delays ; 
 that we must leave Japan in four months at the very farthest, in 
 order to revisit Kamschatka. If we were not returned to- 
 Europe by the month of July in the following year, it would be 
 believed in Russia that we had experienced some misfortune, 
 and ships would, probably, be sent out in quest of us. In case 
 they went on lingering in such a way, no time would remain 
 for the embassy to proceed to Jedo, and he should be con- 
 strained to demand his dismission. To this one of the interpreters^ 
 answered, that he comprehended all these things perfectly, and 
 had often represented the same to the governor ; but the latter 
 really was* not able to take any step without instructions from 
 the Court. ** It is laughable," he added, ** that Japan, tlii$ 
 little country, this little island, makes so much ceremony, and 
 contrives so many difficulties ; that in all her manners, even iu 
 her ways of thinking, she is little ; while Russia, which is a 
 very extensive country, is in all her ways and manners, in aU 
 her thoughts and actions, great and noble." 
 
 Upon our observing that it was scarcely possible in such 
 a lapse of time that no courier should have returned from 
 Jedo, and that it was well known to us from the descrip* 
 tions of Japan given by Kaempfer and Thunberg, that a cou- 
 rier could go from Nangasaki to Jedo, and return again, in 
 twenty-one days ; the interpreter answered that this was very 
 true, but it must be considered, that in a case of such import-^ 
 ance as the present, the whole council of state must be assenv* 
 bled, and the courier could not be dispatched again so hastily. 
 
976 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 The interpreter did not leave us till it was quite dark, reite- 
 rating at his departure the usual empty promises : assuring us 
 that the house would 3oon be ready for our reception, and that 
 the planks requisite for mending the ship should speedily be 
 provided. ,. -./icr -;' - '> ^ • •, 
 
 ';i. 
 
 From the eleventh to the fifteenth of December nothing 
 particular occurred. On the fifteenth we were informed by 
 the interpreters that the house was ready, and that the ambas- 
 sador would be expected on shore the next day but one. He 
 was commissioned, however, he said, to inquire in the first 
 place whether his excellency would go in one of his own boats, 
 or whether he would accept the boat of the Prince of Fisi for 
 the occasion. 
 
 ;' '• 
 
 Answer. The latter will be preferred. 
 
 Question. How many officers and other persons does the 
 ambassador propose to carry on shore ? 
 
 Answer, About ten officers, and about fifteen other persons, 
 among whom are included the seven soldiers of the guard of 
 honour, and the four Japanese brought from Russia. ' 
 
 vti. 
 
 Question. What goods and chattels the ambassador wishes to 
 have with him ? 
 
 Answer. None, excepting clothes, and the presents for the 
 Emperor of Japan. 
 
 \.. 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 37^r 
 
 Question. When the presents will be carried on shore ? 
 
 Answer. As soon as the place where they are to be deposited 
 is ready for them. 
 
 Question. In what boats will they be carried ? ; 
 
 . / . • •» -^ . 
 
 Answer. The assistance of the Japanese ones will be re- 
 quested. ■ - ■: ■■^'' ;:>, ■.*:'^'^ '' ■'' ■ '- -■ ""; - '. 
 
 When these inquiries were concluded, the ambassador pro- 
 posed that some of his officers should go in the morning and 
 see whether the house was made tolerably convenient, or whe- 
 ther it might not in some soi't resemble the Chinese junk. 
 No farther mention was made of the soldiers, but that they 
 might come with the ambassador. In the afternoon we saw 
 a great number of men upon a hill, who were very busy in run- 
 ning up several small houses with screens before them near 
 our dwelling. As these are the fortresses of the country, we 
 conjectured that they must be intended for a Japanese land- 
 jiuard of honour. 
 
 ' ' " * ■ • • f 
 
 According to their promise, the interpreters came toward* 
 noon on the sixteenth, and brought word, that the next morn- 
 ing at seven o'clock the officers would be welcome to go 
 and see the house, and if they found every thing convenient 
 the ambassador would be expected in the evening. To this his 
 excellency objected, that he should scarcely be able to go the 
 next day, since tables, chairs, kitchen utensils, and other fur- 
 niture, must be carried from the ship, and he must remaiii 
 
 ■^ 
 
$79 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 on board till every thing could be arranged. These observa- 
 tions confounded the interpreters not a little. They said 
 that the governor had made preparations for receiving the 
 ambassador the next day ; that all the gentlemen of the country - 
 and of Nangasaki were informed of it, and that they would 
 consequently be extremely embarrassed if his excellency's land- 
 ing should be deferred. The ambassador observed in reply, 
 that he had for a long time been extremely embarrassed with 
 the delays made in granting him permission to go on shore. 
 The observation seemed to be felt very keenly, and the interpre- 
 ters entreated very earnestly, as a particular favour, that he 
 would not disappoint the governor. T'hey added, that in the 
 bope of his compliance, the governor had ordered a boat to be 
 in readiness \. tin sixty rowers, and a proper retinue of smaller 
 boats to tow it. 
 
 It was at length agreed, that at seven the next morning some 
 Banjos should come to accompany five officers to the habita- 
 tion, that they might inspect every thing, and that the Ja- 
 panese should be ready immediately on their return to carry thi- 
 ther the furniture and whatever else was wanted by the ambas- 
 sador, so that he himself might be able to go at the appointed 
 time. In the following days boats were to be furnished to 
 bring the presents on shore, and deposit them in the maga- 
 zines prepared for their reception. 
 
 At day-break, a great number of lairge and small Japanese 
 boats assembled about our ship^ and about eight o'clock came 
 two Opperbanjos and the interpreters. In the first place, the 
 usual ceremonies must be performed : they were conducted into 
 
STAT AT JAPAIf. %iff 
 
 the cabin, where they turned in due form to the ambassador^ 
 and said, that the governor had, upon his ovn responsibiKty, 
 without any instructions from Jedo, solely from the respect lie 
 felt for the representative of Russia, and because the latter 
 found himself not in good health, assigned him a dwelling on 
 shore, with magazines for other purposes. The place waft 
 indeed small, and lay near the water ; but this could not be 
 otherwise, since all foreigners coming to Japan must, accord- 
 ing to the Japanese laws, be so placed : as soon, however, as 
 the answer from Jedo should be received, a better and more 
 spacious habitation he trusted would be assigned. 
 
 Some officers whom I was permitted to accompany were 
 now sent, conformably to the armngement made the day 
 before, to visit the house. We went in our own boat, at- 
 tended by some Japanese barks, to Megasaki, for this was 
 the name of the place where the house was ; and here we 
 were received by several interpreters, who shewed us about. 
 It was a wooden building, consisting of nine apartments. The 
 floors were all covered with new straw matting, but there was 
 no furniture except some large copper biusiers, intended to 
 serve instead of stoves. The windows were of thin paper, not 
 oiled, and stretched over a very poor and mean frame-work. 
 The magazines for the presents were so spacious, that the 
 half of one made a very convenient habitation for the soldiers 
 and the four Japanese. After we had examined everything, 
 and expressed our satisfaction in the governor's name to two 
 Banjos whom we also met here, we returned again to the 
 sliip. All the things intended to be carried on shore were 
 now sent off, and immediately after dinner the ambassador 
 
V80 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 with his trainband the military guard of honour, went on hoard 
 the Prince of Fisi's barge. Though it was made to carry sixty 
 rowers, not an oar was used : it was towed by other boats, 
 since, according to the customs of the country, this was more 
 respectful. 
 
 The barge was a hundred and twenty feet long, and was 
 divided in the length by two partitions, forming, as it were, 
 three apartments. The centre one was considered as the room 
 of state ; the partitions by which it was divided were hung 
 within with lilac silk, ornamented with the arms of the Prince 
 of Fisi : the outside of the partitions was canvas ornamented 
 with different paintings. The sides' of the room within were 
 lacquered, and had the prince's arms inwrought in gold in the 
 manner of mosaic-work : over the room was an awning of very 
 handsome tapestry ; and the floor was partly varnished, partly 
 covered with costly carpeting. The whole made a very hand- 
 some and shewy appearance. Here sat the ambassador in a 
 chair brought from the ship, and a table before him, on which 
 lay his credentials. The Russian soldiers, one of whom carried 
 the Imperial standard, were in the outer apartments of the 
 barge, where a sort of gallery or deck was raised. 
 
 In this way we proceeded to Megasaki, surrounded by an 
 immense number of Japanese barges. As we passed the 
 guard-house and fortifications near which we had lain at an- 
 chor, we observed them hung with new cloth, and the usual 
 number of hangings increased. A vast number of soldiers were 
 ranged on the hill above the guard-house : some of them car- 
 jied muskets, others flags, others standards : all bad insignia of 
 
STAr AT JAPAN. 2S\ 
 
 honour of some kind or other in their hands. The interpreters 
 pointed this out to the ambassador, and assured him it was all 
 intended to shew him respect. The neighbouring shore was 
 covered with some thousands of spectators, who followed the 
 barge to the place of its destination ; but thei'e they were care- 
 fully kept off from pressing upon his excellency, so as to in- 
 commode him. 
 
 The water was so shallow in the neighbourhood of Mega- 
 gaki, that the ambassador was obliged to descend into a smaller 
 boat ; it was, however, very handsome, and was lackered. The 
 guard of honour and officers of the embassy went first on shore, 
 and were followed by his excellency : he was received by seve- 
 ral Opperbanjos and interpreters, with the Japanese guard of 
 honour, and a number of Japanese, who had filled the littU 
 place before the house, to shew him all possible deference. The 
 ambassador found his new residence tolerably to his satisfaction, 
 and sent his thanks for it to the governor. The kitchen had been 
 furnished against our arrival: there was a good fire, and venison9 
 with fowls, ducks, and rice, were ready prepared for us. 
 
 About an hour after the Great Men of Japan, with the 
 interpreters, had left us, and some of the officers of the ship^ 
 who accompanied us, had returned on board, the doors of 
 our new habitation were close shut and locked, and we were 
 surrounded with a guard on all sides. 
 
 oo 
 
98i 
 
 ITAir AT JAPAN. 
 
 I k*t,\' 1 
 
 f- ;■'.-■. 
 
 L.J^k*4 J>v • 
 
 . , '4 
 
 
 .!l^ 
 
 'L'-»!f''4':i 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Stay at Megasaki. — Description of the Habitation there.— Permission given 
 for the Ship to be carried into the Harbour.— One of the Japanese 
 attempts to cut his Throat.— A Balloon sent upy and the Alarm 
 
 ' y occasioned by it.^-Jllneia of the Ambassador, 
 
 £».i 1 .r 
 
 tii> :: 
 
 y ii\fy,yiiu%'bii. 
 
 Our party were now separated ; thd ambassador, Major Von 
 Friderici, Counsellor Von Fosse, Captain FoedorofF, Lieutenant 
 Koscheleff, Monsieur Schemelip, commissioner of the Russio- 
 American trading company , and myself, with the guard of honour, 
 .and the four Japanese whom we had brought from Russia, lived 
 on shore, while the rest remained on board the Nadeschda. The 
 place we inhabited was surrounded with water on three sides ; 
 r on the fourth it was joined to the land, forming in this way a 
 sort of quadrangular peninsula. The buildings were ranged 
 round three sides of a court, which might be about fifty paces 
 in length and. forty in breadth : on one side was the dwelling- 
 house of the ambassador, on the other two were magazines. The 
 fourth side, by which we might have had a fine prospect upon 
 the sea, was closed by a high double palisade of bamboo-canes, 
 which effectually shut out all prospect. 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 X ! 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 .^ 
 
 . Two doors led into the court, one of which opened upon 
 the side to the water : this was guarded by the barge of the 
 
^ ♦ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 N. 
 
 -N 
 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 .^ 
 
STAT AT JAPAN. 283 
 
 Prince of Fisi, already sp well known to us; before the other, 
 M'hich led to the town, a double guard was placed, namely, an 
 imperial civil guard, and a military guard of the Prince of 
 Omuru. The first was stationed about three paces from the 
 entrance to our court, and watched also another door at some 
 distance ; the second was placed upon a hill which rose behind 
 the station of the civil guard, and commanded our whole court 
 like a tower ; it was not, indeed, above a stone's throw from 
 it. Both doors of our habitation were regularly locked and 
 bolted upon us every night. r i»-;)iii., ;. / 
 
 Nothing particular occurred before the twenty-first. The 
 presents were by degrees carried on shore, the ship continuing 
 at anchor before the imperial guard-house. Every cargo of things 
 brought to Megasaki was inspected by some Banjos and inter- 
 preters, and an accurate list taken of them, that no frauds 
 might be co»rimitted, and that nothing might be stolen. 
 
 On the twenty-second, the interpreters announced to us 
 that an answer had been received the day before from 
 Jedo, and that a Great Man would come that day in the name 
 of the governor to communicate it to the ambassador. Several 
 discussions had already taken place how this man was to be 
 received, because, as the interpreters said, he was to impart the 
 determinations of the emperor. The ambassador put an end 
 to all further discussion upon the subject, by saying that he 
 would receive the Opperbanjos with all possible politeness and 
 distinction, and not omit any of the customary tokens of 
 friendship and courtesy. It was consequently decided that the 
 Great Man should be received according to our European 
 
 00 2 
 
 
884 
 
 ST iY AT JAPAN. 
 
 customs, the ambassador during the conversation sitting upon 
 a chair, the Opperbanjos upon a sofa. 
 
 At the same time the interpreters mentioned, as if casually, 
 in speaking upon the subject of the ceremonies to be observed 
 when the ambassador had his audience of the governor, that 
 all ambassadors from the most ancient times had, according to 
 the oriental usages, knelt to the governor. As a proof that 
 they spoke truth, copies were produced of several official 
 accounts of audiences granted to the oldest Portuguese ambas- 
 sadors, by which it appeared plainly that they had complied 
 with the custom. The ambassador then said, that it was 
 entirely his wish to return in the most proper manner every 
 instance of politeness he received from the governor, and to 
 regulate his conduct according to the established customs of the 
 country. 
 
 . Tlic Great Man at length appeared with a very consequential 
 air, and announced, in the name of the governor, the arrival of 
 a courier from Jedo, who brought the important permis- 
 sion from the EmjTerorof Japan for the ship, which had arrived 
 from Russia, to come to Nangasaki. The next day it was in 
 consequence towed iiito the harbour, and anchored at the 
 distance of a verst and a half from our habitation at Megasaki. 
 At the same time, the guard stationed upon the hill above u» 
 was removed : this, as we afterwards learned, was done at the 
 express command of the emperor. 
 
 Notwithstanding the number of guards and guard-ships 
 attending upon us, difficulties were still made in allowing a 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 2g5 
 
 free communication between those of our party >viio lived on 
 the land, and those who remained still on the water. We were 
 obliged to notify to the governor when any one wished to come 
 on shore from the ship, or to go on board the ship from our 
 habitation. We made many remonstrances against such a 
 troublesome arrangement, and at length obtained permission 
 for an unrestrained intercourse between the different divisions 
 of our party. A regulation was however made, that in the 
 case of any one wishing to come on shore, or to go on board - 
 notice should be given to the officer on guard by hanging out 
 a red flag, that the double fastenings on the doors, that is to 
 say, those both within and without, might be unclosed. It 
 was besides made an express condition, that neither more 
 nor less than the number of persons originally agreed upon 
 should ever sleep on shore ; for this reason it was necessary that 
 we should all pass in review before the officer every evening. 
 On the twenty-fifth. Lieutenant Koscheleff having business 
 on board the ship, which made him wish to remain there 
 all night, we were obliged to send for a sailor to supply his 
 place, that the proper number might appear at the review. 
 
 On the thirtieth, the ambassador sent for some inter- 
 preters, and informed them that we should want plates of 
 copper, nails, planks, beams, and various other articles for 
 the repair of the ship ; he also requested of the governor a 
 small place on the neighbouring shore, where the tackling 
 might be repaired. The interpreters promised every thing tliat 
 was required, and said the government considered it as a duty 
 to furnish us with whatever was necessary for repairing the ship, 
 free of all expence. 
 
S86 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 On the thirty-first, the Dutch solemnized the conclusion 
 of the old year. Tlie interpreters were almost all feasted at 
 Desima, and in the evening we saw a grand illumination there. 
 At Megasaki we were obliged to pass the night with our 
 customary patience and philosophy, and to content ourselves 
 with listening, over a quiet glass of punch, to the daily music 
 of locking up our doors. In the night between the first and 
 second of January, the thermometer fell to one degree below 
 the freezing point. 
 
 On the third, the interpreters brought us specimens of 
 plates of copper for sheathing our vessel, with copper nails, 
 and other things that we had mentioned for repairing the ship. 
 They told us in confidence, that an order had been issued the 
 day before by the governor for all the boats belonging to 
 Prince Tschingodsi to return home, as Japan was upon the best 
 terms possible with Russia. We indeed saw at least forty 
 boats which had lain before the harbour now under sail, and 
 observed that the arms of the guard-boats of Fisi were laid aside. 
 To the question why we remained still without any answer as 
 to the embassy being admitted to an audience, the interpreter 
 said, that the temporal sovereign alone could not determine any 
 thing with regard to it, that he had therefore consulted the 
 Daui, or spiritual sovereign, but the latter had not as yet given 
 any answer. 
 
 Another half month passed without our hearing any thing 
 farther on the subject nearest our hearts. The cold dis- 
 agreeable weather proved exceedingly injurious to the health 
 of the ambassador; and Mynheer Doeif, who heard how 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 «8T 
 
 snnch he suffered, had a very handsome wadded Japanese 
 nightgown made for him. As, however, it was a Japanese 
 production, he was obliged, before he could send it, to ask the 
 governor's permission : instead of granting the permission, the 
 latter reimbursed the merchant for the expence of the night- 
 gown, and then sent it in his own name to the ambassador. ' 
 
 ni'u I n 
 
 On the sixteenth, early in the morning, there was a very 
 unusual bustle and confusion in our house; when, on inquiry 
 into the occasion of it, we were informed that one of the Ja- 
 panese whom we hi* 'i>rought with us had attempted to destroy 
 himself. With tl . i-jw he had thrust a razor through his 
 mouth into his throat, but was seen in time by the bystanders 
 for them to prevent his completely executing his purpose. A 
 quantity of blood streamed from the mouth of the wounded man, 
 but the Japanese civil officer on duty would by no means con- 
 sent that I should examine the wound, or give him any medical 
 assistance. The event was announced by the guard, and a 
 Banjos with a physician was sent for, who did not arrive till the 
 afternoon : they then entered into a very minute investigation 
 of the affair, and took down a proce^-verbal of it, which was 
 carefully sealed up. The wound did not appear to be danger- 
 ous. A very handsome lackered chest was carried before tlie 
 physician, and he took out of this portable apothecary's shop 
 whatever was wanted for his patient. He made a gargle of 
 various kinds of plants, putting into it a powder which imme- 
 diately dissolved. 
 
 In consequence of this event, the ambassador sent to request 
 the governor that he would take all the Japanese, and so prevent 
 
^ga STAY Kt JAPAN. 
 
 the recurrence of any circumstances equally unpleasant. Tlie 
 governor, however, answered, tha* he could not comply with this 
 request, because, when on a former occasion^ application had 
 been made to the ambassador to give them up, he had declined 
 it: he must now, therefore, wait for instructions from Jedo, 
 before he could take any steps in the matter. The ambassador 
 upon this wrote himself to the governor, but with no better 
 success. The Banjos and officers instituted a very minute 
 inquiry into the affair, but nothing more was to be learned ex- 
 cepting that the man had possessed his mind with the idea 
 that in returning to his native country his liberty was for- 
 feited. • ^ 
 
 At eight o'clock in the evening our doors were very un- 
 expectedly unlocked, and we were visited by a great many Ja- 
 panese. The interpreters who came with them said that the 
 Banjos only wished to see whether every thing was in ordcr^ 
 and that they often made similar visits to the Dutch and 
 Chinese. We could not, in fact, by any means account other- 
 wise for his coming at so unseasonable an hour. 
 
 Since the eighteenth, the second door under the care of the 
 civil guard had been left unlocked : it led to a small open place, 
 some hundred paces long, inclosed with bamboo canes on the 
 side towards the town. We availed ourselves of it to walk 
 where we had a freer air, and an extensive view over the water, 
 ascribing the additional liberty thus given us to the ambassador 
 having observed to a Banjos, some days before, that our habi- 
 tation had rather the appearance of a prison than of the abode 
 of an ambassador from a mighty potentate. On the nineteenth. 
 
STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 23f 
 
 late in the evening, a Banjos came again, the same as two days 
 before, to examine our habitation. This time he honoured the 
 ambassador with paying his respects to him, which he said he 
 did by order of the governor, to inform him that the Japanese 
 who had attempted to destroy himself was out of his mind. 
 . ■ , i ■ '■•,'■ ■ •■ , , ' ' 
 
 On the twenty-second an interpreter was sent for, to take an 
 account of many things requisite for repairing the ship : among 
 other things, we said we were extremely rejoiced that we had 
 for some days been allowed to breathe the fresh air, and walk 
 in the little place before our door. He assured us that this 
 was done without the consent of the governor, and that such a 
 freedom, which we had taken entirely of ourselves, might be 
 extremely injurious to him as well as the officers upon guard. 
 He promised, however, to mention the thing to the gover- 
 nor, and procure us, if possible, a regular permission to walk 
 there. The next day he brought word that we should have 
 every thing mentioned for the repair of the ship, and that the 
 ambassador with his train, and the officers, had leave to walk in 
 the place, but not the soldiers and servants. 
 
 The wounded Japanese was now daily visited by a physician 
 and a surgeon, or some of their assistants. The first was dis- 
 tinguished by his head being entirely shaved ; the second by 
 having very thick hair: the other civil and military people 
 have the head shaved only upon the crown, but have hair upon 
 the sides of the head and neck. 
 
 The interpreters at the same time said that the governor 
 hoped to be able very shortly to rejoice us by the commu- 
 
 P 9 
 
S90 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 nication of agreeable nevrs. On the other side of our new walk 
 we now often saw people who came to look at us through the 
 trellis, in the same manner thatr in £urope we look at wild 
 beasts carried about for a show. Men, women, and children, 
 of all ranks and ages, were gaping on every side. Among 
 others were a number of mendicant monks : they, as well 
 as the physicians, had their heads entirely shaved. Some of 
 the interpreters, who came to us on the twenty-fourth upon 
 business in a variety of ways, told us in confidence that the 
 answer from Jedo was so long in coming, because the Emperor 
 had sent one of his first counsellors to the Da'iri, and they not 
 being agreed about the reception of the ambassador, both were 
 practising intrigues to carry the point after their own way : it 
 was hoped, however, that in fifteen or twenty days the decisive 
 answer would arrive. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh the ambassador sent for some inter- 
 preters, and commissioned them to make known to the 
 governor that his patience and forbearance had reached their 
 highest point. He insisted, he said, upon having a decisive 
 answer, or knowing why he was kept so long waiting for one, 
 and was put off from day to day, from week to week, from 
 month to month, with empty promises. The interpreters told 
 us, as a profound secret, that a council had been assembled at 
 Jedo, who were commissioned by the Emperor to consult 
 together upon the expediency of establishing an intercourse of 
 trade with Kussia, and that this was the cause of so many 
 delays. 
 
 As the next day was the beginning of the Japanese new year. 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 391 
 
 on this day, that is the twenty-ninth, two fir-trees were planted 
 before the door of every house, which were surrounded with 
 wooden benches. Over the entrance of the doors was placed a 
 trophy of platted straw-work, representing a lobster, an orange, 
 or a cabbage; many consisted of dried fruit, or of two parti- 
 cular coins, with some salt and rice, a piece of sea-weed, fucm 
 saccharinusy or bamboo-canes with the leaves, or fern. The 
 lobster, on account of its powers of r production, since a whole 
 claw, if torn off, will grow again, and of its fine red colour, is 
 considered by the Japanese as the emblem of health. The 
 orange is called in their language dai-dait the same word which 
 signifies posterity, the increase of which is to be looked forward 
 to in the new year. A cabbage is called in Japanese sumiy and 
 the same word signifies riches, of which it is intended as the 
 emblem. The others are things of indispensable necessity to 
 the Japanese, and probably have all similar allusions attached 
 to them. 
 
 In the evening the ambassador received a very fine new-yeaif s 
 gift in the Japanese taste : similar presents are sent from one 
 Japanese to another, according to their rank and character. 
 That which the ambassador received was rare even in the 
 country, since similar ones are only sent between the most 
 ilUistrious and most distinguished people. On a very neatly- 
 made new wooden chest were two large round dishes of cooked 
 rice, and over them a lobster, an orange* a piece oifucus sac*" 
 charinus, some salt chesnuts, figs, grass, several different sorts 
 of leaves, some straw, and, at the top of all, a paper with a 
 
 •ompliment, such as was described above*. 
 
 " ■ ■ — "" • 'I *■ ■» ■ — - — I ■ ■ . .■ ■ II — 1 1 ■ I < 
 
 * Sue page 259.. 
 
 F p2 
 
293 
 
 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 Towards evening eame an interpreter with the answer to the 
 questions sent two days before. He assured the ambassador 
 that the governor was inexpressibly concerned at his having 
 been so often deceived in his expectations. He could only 
 supponc that the delay of a decisive answer from Jedo arose 
 from the Emperor's having summoned his uncle, his brother, 
 and anotlier near relation, who lived two hundred miles 
 from the capital, to consult with them about the reception of 
 the embassy : he, however, considered this delay as a favour- 
 able omen for the happy issue of the business, as a refusal would 
 probably have been sent long before. 
 
 The thirtieth of January was the Japanese New-year's Day. 
 People were making visits to each other till very late in the 
 evening. This lasted for three days. On these and other 
 solemn occasions, the Japanese wear a dress of ceremony ; that 
 is to say, from the emperor to the poorest subject, every one 
 has a particular dress worn over the usual one. It is made of a 
 pale blue cotton, and is of the same quality, colour, and make, 
 for every body of all ranks and degrees. 
 
 On thefirstof February an interpreter came in the costume of 
 ceremony : he was sent by the governor, to wish the ambassador 
 a happy new year. He told us that another courier had been 
 dispatched to Jedo the day before, to hasten the answer. On 
 the second, as the last festival-day, a little box was brought full 
 of roasted pease, which Avere strewed about every corner of the 
 house, to drive away the devil and all evil spirits. On the 
 fourth, the ornaments of the new year were taken away, and 
 little boughs of fruit were set before the entrance of the doors, 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 393 
 
 as a sign of approaching spring. As the recovery of our 
 wounded Japanese appeared very uncertain, on the fifth a third 
 physician was called in. ■ i 
 
 The paper of this country being very thin, light, and 
 strong, consequently well adapted to the construction of a 
 Moiigolfier, I determined on making one : it was about ten 
 feet in diameter, and fifteen feet high. Some interpreters and 
 several Japanese officers came to us on the sixth, and were 
 highly gratified with the .spectacle of the first balloon ever 
 sent up in Japan. It rose to a considerable height, ^but then 
 got a little rent in the upper part, so that it fell in the town of 
 Kangasaki. From the burning spirit attached to it, the globe 
 began to take fire soon after it had fallen, and so great a 
 quantity of smoke issued from it, that the people had the 
 idea of its being a fire-ball. They immediately extin- 
 guished the flame, and carried it to the governor, when the 
 interpreters explained the matter to him. If he had been a 
 less reasonable man, the affair might have been attended with 
 very disagreeable consequences ; as it was, he only desired that 
 if I sent up a balloon again I would chuse a time when the 
 wind would carry it towards the sea, and not towards the 
 land. 
 
 On the eighth, several interpreters came to take leave of 
 us : they were going to Jedo, to carry the emperor some pre- 
 sents in the name of the Batavian Company. Either these 
 merchants find the journeys too expensive any longer to go 
 themselves on such occasions, or the permission to do so has of 
 late yearft been refused them. 
 
894 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 Infurmation was at this time sent us from the gpvernor. 
 that a very clistint^uished civil magistrate i^ad set out from 
 Jedo, who would be at Nangasaki in a month, and would 
 bring a decisive answer with respect to the embassy. Suffi- 
 cient reason was here given to doubt very much whether out* 
 expected journey to Jedo would take place. All possible 
 assistance was given us in repairing the ship, and we were 
 even offered voluntarily a more roomy place for cariying on the 
 work in case it was necessary. 
 
 On the twelfth and thirteenth, the different articles of the 
 new year's gifts were burnt, and a figure was hung in the 
 middle of the door of every house, which was. to prevent the 
 entrance of illness. 
 
 Nothing particular occurred till the twentieth. The am- 
 bassador found himself much indisposed, complaining of rheu- 
 matic pains and oppression upon the chest; he was besides, 
 very naturally, chagrined and mortified, as the representative 
 of a great monarch, to find himself so confined and restrained, 
 as if he had been a state prisoner ; this not a little increased 
 his malady. The governor often sent interpreters and Banjos 
 to inquire after his health. His continued indisposition induced 
 him at length to consult the Japanese physician who came 
 every day to visit his wounded countiyman ; be gave him a 
 faithful account of his ailments, and begged his advice as to 
 the remedies by which they might be cured. 
 
 The physician immediately entered upon an examination of 
 his new patient. The most striking part of it was, that he felt 
 
 
STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 S05 
 
 his belly very much, and instead of applying to the pulse, neld 
 his head hard against the breast to feel the beating of the 
 heart. The Japanese officers were present, and consented that 
 the physician should give the ambassador some medicines from 
 his chest; they were simples, of which a sort of tea was made 
 to promote perspiration. The same evening some other officers 
 arrived, sent, as they said, by the governor, with a request 
 that these medicines might be returned, and that the ambassa- 
 dor would intimate in writing his wish to be attended by a 
 Japanese physician. 
 
 The next morning came an interpreter, to whom the ambas- 
 sador had the day before given a verbal commission, to request 
 permission of the governor to be attended by a Japanese physi- 
 cian. The answer he brought was, that the person of the 
 ambassador being of so much importance, it was necessary to 
 proceed with caution, lest, if the illness should terminate un- 
 happily, the Russian emperor shoul i demand satisfaction of the 
 Emperor of Japan. He must request, therefore, that the wish 
 to be attended by a Japanese physician should be signified in 
 writing. 
 
 Upon this. Major Von Friderici wrote a letter in the name 
 of the ambassador, apologizing that his illness prevented his 
 writing himself. In the evening came several officers and 
 interpreters, who did not require to see the ambassador, but 
 oiily^to speak with some of the officers belonging to the embassy, 
 and with me as principal physician. They were commissioned 
 by the governor to say that he was much surprised at finding 
 the ambassador desirous of consulting a Japanese physician. 
 
t% 
 
 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 «ince it wax universally known how much the Europeaiu 
 were considered as superior to the people of Japan in me- 
 dical knowledge, and that there were three doctors in medi- 
 cine attached to the expedition, (he meant Doctor Espen- 
 berg. Doctor Tilesius, and myself.) lie must, therefore, 
 suppose the danger to be very great, and could not posiiiblj 
 give the permission desired, unless the ambassador's physician 
 and all the cavaliers of the embassy would declare in writing 
 that it was to the last degree necessary. Neither I nor any 
 other person could say this with a safe conscience, besides it 
 would occasion no small delay, especially as the interpreters did 
 not know, even supposing it done, what answer would be given 
 by the governor. On my assurance, therefore, that a crisis 
 must be expected the following night, and that it would be too 
 late to wait for the morning, they were satisfied. 
 
 The next day his excellency found himself so much better, 
 that the attendance of the Japanese physician was no longer 
 desirable. Some of our oflficers with much diflficulty obtained 
 the use of their fowling-pieces for a short time, to clean them, 
 and ^. reserve them from becoming entirely rusty. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh some interpreters came on board the 
 Nadeschda, ostensibly to inquire after the health of Captain 
 Krusenstern ; but the real motive of their visit seemed to be 
 that they wished to know how the repairs were going on, and 
 to see whether the ship would soon be in a state to sail. They 
 afterwards came to make inquiries after the amba^ador. 
 Among other things, they now said the governor had received 
 Uitelligence by a courier just arrived from Jedo, that a dis« 
 
STAT AT JAPAN. 297 
 
 tiiiguishcd civil magistrate would bo dispatched by the empe- 
 ror to Naiigasaki upon our business, who would set out un the 
 eigiiteenth of February. At this the ambassador could not 
 refrain from expressing iiis astonishment tliat he was so repeat- 
 edly put off with untruths, since on the eighth of FebrLAiy he 
 had been told that this Greai Man was already upon hib > outc, 
 ftnd would be at Nangasaki in a month. 
 
 Ou the first of March the remainder of the fowling-pieces 
 "were brought to us spontaneously to be cleaned, without our 
 having given even a hint upon the subject. From a private 
 conversation with the interpreters, we were led to suppose that 
 every thing respecting the future trade with Russia was already 
 determined upon, and that the magistrate from Jedo would 
 bring with him all the necessary documents, so that no hope 
 seemed to remain of our going ourselves to that capital. 
 
 We Had. now for some time had Starcely any intercourse with 
 the Japanese : some interpreters only came from time to time» 
 to inquire after the ambassador's health, and to see the pro- 
 gress made in repairing the ship; but we could learn i>'ithing 
 with respect to the event of our embassy. At length, on the 
 twelfth of March, an interpreter told us that he doubted much 
 whether our journey to Jedo would take plar<:: it seemed 
 probable, he said, that the Great Man whv^ vvas on his route 
 to Nangasaki, and who would arrive in ten days, would be 
 empowered to conclude the business with us, so that we; 
 might be ready, conformably with our wishes, to sail in ApriU 
 or May. 
 
 Q Q 
 
ig9S STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 Ih the following days pieparations for our departure were 
 »et about very seriously : the men began to carry the tackling 
 en board, and put it in order for sailing. With regard to pro- 
 Tisions, an interpreter told us that we might have plenty of 
 biscuit, rice, and salt^ free of expencc, as the government con- 
 sidered it a duty in some measure to repay us for the quantity 
 of provisions we must have consumed in coming from Russia 
 to Japan. On the twenty-sixth a very heavy storm came 
 pn, accompanied with showers of rain. The west wind was 
 so powerful, that though our ship was moored with two an- 
 chors, it was driven fifty £cithom from its place, and was in 
 great danger of running upon a sand-bank. A third anchor 
 was thrown out, when the wind abated,' and a smart thunder 
 storm concluded the series of foul weather. It seemed indeed 
 the time of year for tempestuous weather in these parts, as 
 we had had four very stM'my days since the seventeenth of 
 March. ■. ■ 
 
 i'tr'f:'^'' 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 m 
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 Recapitulation of what had passed at Nangasaki. — The Arrival of the 
 Great Man from Jedo announced to the Amlmssadtr.^^DiscussioTW 
 concerning the Manner in which the Ambassador was to he received.-^ 
 His first Audience of Ceremony, — His second Audience for Bvsinesa.—^ 
 His third Audience to take Leave. 
 
 In this way did we pass several months in the place assigned' 
 us at Megasaki, shut up under locks and bolte. We had 
 scarcely any intercourse with the Japanese, for even the inter- 
 preters could not visit us without a special permission from the 
 governor; they came therefore but seldom, and not unless 
 urged to it by particular business , Our principal occupation 
 during this time was to clear the ship, to bring the presents on 
 shore, and to unpack and set them in order. The repairs of 
 the ship besides occupied our attention ; and, strange enough, 
 whatever was wanted in this way we might ask for freely, and 
 it was brought immediately. As to every thing else, provisions 
 excepted, we could not make any purchase without asking 
 permission of the governor, and this was often refused, or if 
 granted, not without great difficulty ; even such trifles as a live 
 bird or a tobacco-pipe were sometimes lefused. !Pro visions of 
 every kind were furnished us free of expence. We were put off" 
 with fair words from one month to another. All possible free- 
 
 qq2 
 
Sm 
 
 STAT AT JkTAK. 
 
 dom \ras promised us as soon as the answer should be re- 
 <^eiTed from Jedo, with a free intercourse between the two na- 
 tions. , , 
 
 * t 
 
 After waiting about two months, the arrival of a Great Man 
 (ft messenger from Jedo was announced to us, when the whole 
 matter seemed immediately to assume a hew face. Our hopes 
 of a journey to the capital diminished every day ; the inter- 
 preters examined more minutely than before into the progress 
 made in repairing the ship, and at length nothing remained 
 but the hope of being able to establish a friendly intercourse of 
 *i'ade. 
 
 He who would put himself in our place can yet have but a 
 very imperfect idea how disagreeable we found our situation. 
 After encountering many storms, and experiencing much in- 
 convenience, we had at last reached an interesting foreign coun- 
 try, where we hoped to be received, if not as friends, at least as 
 strangers of distinction, entitled to all possible deference and 
 respect. Instead of this, we were treated as criminals or state 
 prisoners, confined in a place at the utmost not exceeding a 
 hundred paces in the square, where we were locked up and 
 watched on every side. This was equally hard and unjust. 
 
 Spring was now coming on : all nature began to be alive, and^ 
 we were shut out entirely from the view of so charming a spec- 
 tacle by immense barricadoes of bamboo canes ;— being deprived 
 besides of our arms, we were wholly at the mercy of this suspi- 
 cious nation. All means of exerting ourselves for the promo- 
 tion of science and knowledge were precluded, ,so that the 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 301 
 
 mind grew contracted for want of freedom and a wider range 
 
 in which it might expand itself. The fish alone brought to us 
 
 as provisions afforded an object for scientific investigation, and 
 
 by secret promises we at length prevailed upon our caterer ta 
 
 bring us every time different kinds of fish : with these. Count 
 
 seller Tilesius and myself sometimes entertained ourselves Itery 
 
 agreeably. We were not only precluded from all purchases, '* 
 
 but were equally prohibited making the most trifling present to 
 
 any Japanese. Some insignificant objects, such as Indian ink, 
 
 a couple of pictures, some fans, tobacco-pipes, &c. were 
 
 brought us secretly by such of the interpreters as were the most 
 
 in our confidence ; but in so doing they incurred the risk of aa 
 
 examination ; and if they had been detected their lives would 
 
 probably have atoned the misdemeanour. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh of March, to our great joy, it was 
 announced to us in due form on the part of the governor, that 
 the Great Man from Jedo, with the emperor's answer, was ex- 
 pected at Nangasaki in two days. From our guards We learnt 
 on the thirtieth that this bearer of bis master's pleasure had 
 been in the town several days, but it was not till the second 
 of April tlmt the intelligence of his arrival was communicated tp 
 us. We also remarked that it was a long time since we hadij 
 seen any interpreters. At length, on the third, some appeared, 
 who, besides announcing the arrival of the Great Man, invited 
 the ambassador to an audience the next day at the governor's 
 house : they said, moreover, that they were xonnnissioned to. 
 regulate the ceremonies proper to be observed upon tlie occa^ 
 sion. 
 
 ■>ul 
 
802 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 Oil this subject they informed the ambassador that the 
 next moniing, at eight o'clock, an Opperbanjos would come 
 to conduct him to the governor's house. As the way, by 
 water was the shortest, it was proposed that he should go in 
 the Prince of Fisi's barge to the great stairs of Ochatto (the 
 Muscle), where he would be received by a civil and military 
 guard, and from thence he would proceed to the governor's in 
 a, large Norimon or Sedan-chair, accompanied by several Great 
 Men. This distinction, however, must be confined to him 
 alone, the officers of his tjrain must go on foot. They assured 
 him, that the Norimon was very roomy and convenient, and 
 that this mode of conveyance was confined entirely to the 
 Daimios, the most distinguished persbnages of the country. 
 When arrived at the governor's house, he would be intro- 
 duced into a separate chamber by himself, and the officers of 
 his train into another, there to rest till the opening of the 
 audiciice. We observed that they avoided making use of the 
 terra xoait. This was all, they said, done from particular re- 
 spect, as it was the custom of the country that Great Men 
 should at all times be separated from the inferior servants of the 
 government. The ambassador, however, begged to decline 
 this distinction, and requested that his officers might be in the 
 same apartment with himself. 
 
 In the Hall of Audience, the interpreters proceeded, the 
 ambassador alone could be permitted to enter, since this was a 
 place sacred only to the very greatest people of the country ; 
 and the Dutch never were allowed to come farther than the 
 antichamber. To this the ambassador made many objec- 
 tions, and after much discussion, this point, together with the 
 
STAT AT JAPAN. 30S 
 
 request not to be separated from his officers, were committed 
 to writing, and reserved for the governor's decision. 
 
 A» to the question of compliments, the Japanese required 
 that the ambassador, according to the customs of their country, 
 should kneel to the governor and to the representatives of the 
 emperor, and then bow the head, in the manner that h'ls been 
 mentioned, as a customary token of respect. Both these things 
 the ambassador refused, and declared that he would salute these 
 Great Men only after the European fashion, and in the same 
 manner that he would pay his respects to his own emperor. 
 With much difficulty, and after a good deal of discussion, this 
 point was conceded to him. The interpreters farther desired to 
 know in what position the ambassador would remain during the 
 audience. As, according to the oriental custom, the use of 
 chairs was unknown in Japan, and the people sat, or rather 
 knelt, upon the capets and mats, they hoped he would find it 
 convenient to comply with this f ishion, one which the greatest 
 princes in the country were bound to observe, and that he 
 would, like the Great Man from Jedo and the governor, kneel 
 upon soft stuffed straw mats. This the ambassador at first re- 
 fused, saying, that he would stand in the same manner as he 
 would do in the presence of his own emperor : on being repeat- 
 edly urged upon the subject, however, and on being assured that 
 this would be the most disrespectful thing he could possibly do, 
 he consented to lie down with his feet stretched out sideways. 
 The interpreters also intreated that the ambassador would not 
 think of wearing his sword in the Hall of Audience, assuring him 
 that notwithstanding the Great People, as he had seen, usually 
 wear two swords, they were always laid aside in that place. 
 
S04 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 After many animadversions, the ambassador yielded this point, 
 assuring the interpreters that he did so only as a proof of his 
 great respect for the Emperor of Japan. 
 
 The persons selected to attend the ambassador to the audience 
 were Major Von Friderici, Counsellor Von Fosse, Captain 
 Foedoroff, Lieutenant KoschelefF, and myself. It was impos- 
 sible to make the Japanese consent that the guard of honour, 
 with their muskets, should attend : the utmost to be obtained 
 was, that a soldier should carry the Imperial Russian standard 
 behind the ambassador as a mark of distinction. In the even- 
 ing the interpreters came with the governor's answer, that the 
 cavaliers of the embassy should be allowed to remain in the 
 Rarae apartment with the ambassador; and two of them should 
 be admitted with him into the Hall of Audience. 
 
 On the fourth of April, at eight in the morning, the Banjos 
 and interpreters appeared. The Prince of Fisi's barge, deco- 
 rated with flags and hangings of silk and cotton, received the 
 ambassador and his train. A number of smaller boats, all 
 carrying the flags of Fisi, accompanied it. 
 
 Arrived at the stairs of Ochatto, we landed, and his excel- 
 lency was received by several Japanese of great distinction. A 
 numerous civil guard was in waiting here, bearing many insig- 
 nia of honour, and all were kneeling in rows one behind the 
 other. The houses, as well by the water-side as all round the 
 place, with the fortresses and guard-houses, were covered with 
 hangings, on which were the imperial arms and those of Fisi, 
 BQ that we could see nothing of the houses or the people, nor 
 
;ii;.-' •! 
 
 ^lir 
 
 « 
 
 t 
 
♦ * 
 
 '^ 
 
 Vx 
 
 >c 
 
 ^^ 
 
 '■~X 
 
 scr 
 
 K 
 
 S 
 
«TAT AT JAPAN. 305 
 
 could they see any thing of us : here and there only we saw a 
 head, urged on by irresistible curiosity, peeping from be- 
 hind the hangings. We were, however, in the main, unsej^n by 
 the inhabitants, v/hile our own eyes were equally restrained 
 ft-om making our observations upon them or their town. This 
 was not only the case at the landing-place, but in all the prin- 
 cipal streets through which we passed ; and if, in some of the 
 cross streets, the hangings did not cover the houses entirely, 
 their place was supplied by straw mats or trellis- work. The 
 reason of this, the interpreters told us, was, that the common 
 people might be kept off, since they were not worthy to see so 
 Great a Man as the ambassador face to face. 
 
 " When we had landed upon the great place of Ochatto our 
 procession was arranged in the following order. First marched 
 about forty persons of various ranks> among whom were several 
 Banjos, every one followed by an attendant: next followed 
 six Imperial soldiers without their muskets, but carrying 
 long staves : after them came the Norimon^ in which was the 
 ambassador : it was carried by four persons, and followed by 
 the standard-bearer carrying the Imperial Russian standard : 
 then came the cavaliers of the embassy, with a number of civil 
 magistrates and interpreters : aft' rwards a guard of sixteen or 
 twenty Japanese soldiers, with an officer on horseback : and 
 lastly, a great number of inferior officers of state and magis- 
 trates, with a long train of servants. .". ' ;' 
 
 :•*.. 
 
 The procession passed through several streets, the names of 
 which were, taking them in the order that they came, Hokowra 
 Mass, Omuru Mass, Mottofacata Mass, Foru Mass, Honkose 
 
 R R 
 
J06 STAY AT JAPAW. • 
 
 Mass, Bungo Mass, Satura INIass, Kaschijamma Mass, Jooscha 
 Mass : at the end of the latter is the governor's house. In all 
 the streets were guard-houses ornamented with garlands, some 
 smaller, some larger, some with a civil, some with a military 
 guard. The streets are broad and clean, with wide kennels on 
 each side to carry oflf the water, but are not all paved. Some 
 have a single row of small stones, others of .large square ones, 
 down the middle. Of the houses, as 1 have already said, we 
 could see little or nothing : they are chiefly of wood, only one 
 story high, and with a great deal of trelUs>work about the win* 
 dows and doors. 
 
 At the door of the governor's house we were all obliged, the 
 ambassador not exceptetl, to take off our shoes, that we might 
 not diity the straw mats or the finely varnished floors. This 'i% 
 an universal custom, and did not now appear surprising to us, 
 as we had been so long accustomed to sec the Banjos and 
 interpreters come into our room at Megasaki without their 
 shoes. 
 
 A vast number of officers were in attendance at the governor's 
 house, both within and without. We were carried through a 
 long and wi le corridor, the floor of which was highly var- 
 nished, into an apartment, which, like oar's at Megasaki, was 
 covered with fine straw matting: the walls were ornamented 
 with landscapes extremely well executed, but there was no 
 kind of household furniture, such as tables, chairs, benches, or 
 the like : all the wood-work about the doors and windows was 
 finely polished and varnished. The light came tlirough the 
 adjoining corridors. Glass windows are a thing not to be seen 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 307 
 
 in Japan ; thin paper stretched over tiie window-frames supplies 
 their place. In the midst of the apartment to which we were 
 now conducted, were implements for smoking, consisting of 
 pipes, tobacco-boxes, pans for lighted coal, and spitting vessels. 
 A large porcelain spitting vase stood in one corner of the room. 
 When we had finished smoking, tea was brought us without 
 sugar: the<cups were of porcelain, but massive, heavy, of ugly 
 forms, and. ill-painted ; the tea was, according to the general 
 judgment of our company, by no means good. 
 
 After a short half-hour the ambassador was introduced into 
 the Hall of Audience, whither he was accompanied by Major 
 Von Friderici and Lieutenant Koscheleif. The representative 
 of the Japanese Emperor, and the governor, were kneeling nearly 
 in the middle of the hall, and behind them were several persons 
 holding their swords crossed, high over their heads. Thus it 
 appeared that an untruth was told to the ambassador, when he 
 was assured that no swords were allowed at the audience. The 
 ambassador and the officers saluted the Great Men according 
 to the European fashion, after which they retreated about six 
 paces, and the interpreters knelt on each 3ide of them. All round 
 the hall were ranged some of the most distinguished persons oC 
 the country. 
 
 The first questions asked by the governor of the ambassador 
 were, Why, and for what purpose, he had come to Japan? Why 
 the Emperor of Russia had written to the Emperor of Japan, 
 since Lieutenant Laxmann had been explicitly infoimed that 
 this was forbidden, as contrary to the customs and laws of the 
 country, and as absolutely inconsistent with propriety ? Whe- 
 
 R B 2 
 
308 
 
 STAY AT JAPAIf. 
 
 ther Lieutenant Laxmann had failed in makin(T this known, 
 and whether he was still alive? The governor then remarked, 
 that though in the permission that had been produced leave was 
 given for a trading vessel from Russia to come to Nangasaki 
 for mercantile purposes, no mention whatever was made of an 
 embassy. He concluded with asking the reason why no use had 
 been made of this permission till after such a lapse of years ? 
 and why, having been so long neglected, it was at last brought 
 forwards? The audience broke up about one o'clock, when 
 we returned to Megasaki in the same order that we had 
 come. 
 
 In the evening some interpreters came to tell the ambas- 
 sador that he might have a second audience the following day 
 if he wished it. The proposal was accepted ; but at half-past 
 seven in the morning it rr.ined so hard that we all thoui^ht the 
 audience must be postponed. About nine, however, the weather 
 began to clear, and some Opperbanjos, with the interpreters, 
 came to escort us to the governor's. We were ready to accom- 
 pany them ; but the ambassador thought it right to remark, 
 that his officers could not go on foot, as the day before, since 
 the streets would, in consequence of the heavy rain, be ex- 
 tremely dirty, and the governor's house was quite at the other 
 end of the town. To this the Opperbanjos at first made many 
 objections, but at length they dispatched some persons to the 
 governor, to lay the matter before him, and to desire that Nori- 
 mons might be prepared for the cavaliers of the embassy, while 
 we were going by water from Megasaki to Ochatto. At the 
 latter place, however, we were obliged to wait two hours on 
 board the barge before we were informed that the five Nori- 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 mons were ready for the officers. A very heavy shower had 
 fallen in the mean time, accompanied by thunder ; but the barge 
 was so well sheltered that we felt no inconvenience from it : we 
 very tranquilly partook of the tea and pipes which had been 
 prepared for us. . 
 
 The captain of the barge was extremely polite and courteous. 
 He wrote down the names of his guests, to keep them, he said, 
 as a lasting memorial in his family of the honour he had re- 
 ceived. We were not less observant of every thing around than 
 the Ja])anese were of us, and remarked, among other things, a 
 mnu who concealed himself behind some of his countrymen, 
 au'i Ml ined occupied in drawing. We endeavoured to inspire 
 him with confidence, and entreated him to shew us, without 
 fear or diffidence, the interesting objects on Avhich he was 
 employed. He ventured, upon this, to exhibit his works, and 
 we were not a little surprised at the talents displayed in them. 
 He had in a short time taken a sketch of every thing remark- 
 able which he saw about him ; as, for instance, the three- 
 cornered hat with feathers, worn by the ambassador, his star, 
 and the ribband of his order, with the different insignia about 
 the uniforms of the officers ; their sabres, their swords, and the 
 scabbards ; their buttons, scarfs, and keys of office as chamber- 
 lains, their watch-strings and seals. The celerity and address 
 with which he sketched, almost at a glance, so many objects 
 entirely new to him, was beyond the talents of most European 
 artists ; for they were done with Indian ink, on the fine Chinese 
 silk-paper, as it is called ; and what steadiness in the strokes* 
 what lightness of pencil must be required, to give the proper 
 expression in drawing with such materials ! The time that we 
 
310 STAY AT JAPAN 
 
 yrere detained here must have been of the greatc§t value to t hi 
 man. 
 
 I.; 
 
 About twelve o'clock we were informed that the Norimons 
 weie all ready ; the procession, therefore, immediately began 
 to move forwards, precisely in the same order as the day before, 
 with the exception of the officers being in these vehicles 
 instead of going on foot. The place, the houses, the streets, 
 were also all in like manner hung with tapestries and matting. 
 
 I 
 
 Scarcely had we arrived at the governor's house before the 
 ambassador was invited to the audience, whither he went, ac- 
 companied by Counsellor Fosse and Captain Foederoff. He 
 soon returned to us, bringing in his hand a large roll of paper, 
 which had been given him with great ceremony, and with a 
 request that he would have it explained by the interpreters* 
 These latter held up the roll to their foreheads, boving their 
 heads with profound respect, and then opening it with a sort of 
 awe, said : '* This is an extraordinary instance of favour shewn 
 by the Emperor of Japan to the Russian ambassador : the paper 
 contains nothing but friendship ; but since it is written m the 
 Japanese language, we are commissioned to explain, orally, the 
 principal articles of its contents. In the sequel all will be iaith- 
 fuUy translated, and committed to writing, that it may be un- 
 derstood with the utmost accuracy. This will be no trifling or 
 easy task ; for the paper is full of deep thought, and written 
 with much attention and profound learning." 
 
 They then proceeded to make known to us the principal 
 articles, which were as follows. *'• In former times, ships of all 
 
iTAT AT JAPAN. 311 
 
 nations were allowed to come freely to Japan, and the Japanese 
 were in the habit of visiting foreign countries with equal free- 
 dom. A hundred and fifty years ago, however, an emperor had 
 strictly enjoined his successors never to let the Japanese quit 
 the country, and only to permit the Chinese, the Dutch, and 
 the inhabitants of the Island Riukiu^ with the Coreans, to come 
 to Japan. For many years the trade with the latter had been 
 broken off, and only that with the Chinese and Dutch had been 
 kept up. Since that epoch several foreign nations had, at 
 various times, endeavoured to establish an intercourse of friend- 
 ship and commerce with Japan ; they were always, however, 
 repulsed, in consequence of the long-established prohibition, 
 and because it was held dangerous to form ties of friendship 
 with an unknown foreign power, which could not be founded on 
 any basis of equality." 
 
 The interpreters here made a pause, and then proceeded. 
 " Friendship,** tliey said, ** is like a chain, which, when des- 
 tined to some particular end, must consist of a determined 
 number of links. If one member, however, be particularly 
 strong, and the others disproportionally weak, the latter must 
 of necessity, by use, be soon broken. The chain of friendship 
 can never, therefore, be otherwise than disadvantageous to the 
 weak members included in it. 
 
 *' Thirteen years before," they continued, *' a Russian sliip, 
 with Lieutenant Laxniann, came to Japan, and a second was 
 now arrived with an ambassador from the great Russian Em- 
 peror. That the one should be received witii forbearance, and 
 the other with friendship, could be permitted, and tlie Emperor 
 
.513 
 
 STAY AT JAPAIf , 
 
 of Japan would gladly do whatever was in his power, con- 
 sistently with adhering to the laws ; he could and would, there- 
 fore, consider the arrival of the second Russian ship as a proof 
 of the great friendship borne him by the Emperor of Russia. 
 
 " This powerful monarch had sent him an ambassador with a 
 number of costly presents. If they were accepted, the Emperor 
 of Japan must, according to the customs of the country, which 
 are considered as laws, send an ambassador with presents of 
 equal value to the Emperor of Russia. But as there is a strict 
 prohibition against either the inhabitants or the ships quitting 
 the country, and Japan is besides so poor, that it is impos- 
 sible to return presents to any thing like an equivalent, it is 
 wholly out of the emperor's power to receive either the ambas- 
 sador or the presents. 
 
 " Japan has no great wants, and has therefore little occasion 
 for foreign productions : her few real wants, as well as those 
 that she has contracted by custom, are richly supplied by the 
 Dutch and Chinese, and luxuries are things she does not wish 
 to see introduced. It would besides be very difficult to esta- 
 blish an extenf.>ive trade, since that must, almost of necessity, 
 occasion frequent intercourse between the common people 
 and the foreijin sailors; and this is a thing strictly prohi- 
 bited." 
 
 The ambassador now made many protestations that he did 
 not come with any idea of receiving presents in return for what 
 he had brought ; and added, that if the Emperor would not 
 accept any presents, he must insist upon paying for the pro- 
 
I 
 
 STAT AT JAPAN. 
 
 315 
 
 visions, and materials for repairing the ship, with which we 
 had been furnished. To this the Japanese answered, that these 
 were not presents : the provisions were necessary for the sup- 
 port of life, and the other was only assistance imparted in a case of 
 need : to give both freely was a duty of the government. At the 
 same time they informed us, that the emperor had issued a par- 
 ticular order to supply the ship with provisions for two months 
 of every sort that we deemed expedient or desired. He 
 had ordered besides two thousand sacks of salt of thirty pounds 
 each, and a hundred sacks of rice of a hundred and fifty pounds 
 each, with two thousand bundles of the finest Japanese raw silk, 
 to be given us ; the two former were for the crew, the latter for 
 the olhcers. These the ambassador refused, saying, that if the 
 emperor declined accepting his presents, he could not possibly 
 accept the articles offered. 
 
 While these discussions were going on, pipes had been 
 brought us, and tea without sugar, with some sugared things 
 as refreshments. The latter were upon separate sheets of paper 
 for each person, and consisted of a vaiiety of articles bound 
 together with a sugar- work, which had all the appearance of a 
 very pretty striped ribband. 
 
 After the interpreters had explained the emperor's pleasure, 
 they brought a small roll of paper, which was addressed by the 
 governor to the ambassador. Its principal contents were, to 
 recommend that our ship, immediately on leaving the harbour, 
 should stand out to sea to a considerable distance, as the coast, 
 upon account of the rocks and frequent storms, was extremely 
 dangerous; and to request, that if in future any Japanese 
 
 SI 
 
914 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 should be thrown upon the Russian coasts, they might be con- 
 signed to the Dutch, who would transport them to Batavia, 
 whence they might easily return to Japan. 
 
 Our audience being now at an end, about four in the after- 
 noon we were carried back in the Norimons to Ochatto, but 
 without any train, and thence proceeded by water to Megasaki. 
 The whole day was very cloudy, with some heavy showers of 
 rain, which only contributed to increase the gloom in our minds 
 created by our disappointment. As it was doubtful whether our 
 audience might not be protracted to a late hour in the evening, 
 preparations had been made for illuminating all the streets 
 through which we were to pass : at every four or five paces a 
 post of about two feet high was stuck into the ground, to which 
 was fastened a paper lantern. 
 
 On the sixth, the interpreters came to talk once more with 
 the ambassador, in the name of the governor, about the provi- 
 sions and the silk. They assured us that the governor could 
 not do any thing in the affair from his own judgment ; he must 
 ol)ey the emperor's orders ; and if the ambassador persisted in 
 refusing the thhij^s offered, he must send a courier to Jedo to 
 signify as much, which would prolong our stay at least two 
 months. In order, therefore, to obtain our liberty, his excel- 
 lency was obliged to accept the silk and provisions. The inter- 
 preters then asked whether it v/ould be agreeable to him to have 
 his audience for taking leave the next day, or whether he would 
 defer it for some days. The ambassador chose the first, that he 
 might quit Japan as soon as possible. 
 
STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 315 
 
 Towards noon, therefore, on the seventh of April, we passed 
 again through the streets of Nangasaki ; they were ornamented 
 as before with hangings, and beset with guards. As it rained 
 very hard, we were each provided with a new umbrella when 
 we arrived at Ochatto, and were carried in our Norimons. 
 
 The audience consisted in a reciprocal exchange of compli- 
 ments and friendly adieus. We were then conducted into an 
 adjoining apartment, where M'ere the two thousand bundles of 
 silk sent by the emperor. The interpretei-s assured us that 
 it would have been an extraordinary piece of ill-fortune to them 
 if the ambassador had not permitted the officers to accept this 
 present, since they would have been supposed to have ill-inter- 
 preted the emperor's orders, and this is a very heavy crime ; 
 they were therefore eloquent in their acknowledgments for the 
 ambassador's condescension. 
 
 Thus ended our extraordinary embassy to Japan, Nothing 
 now remained for us but to repack the presents destined for the 
 emperor as soon as possible, and return them on board the 
 ship, and to proceed with the utmost dispatch in all other pre- 
 parations for our departure. While we were proceeding in them, 
 we once more madt an attempt to gain permission for visiting the 
 Dutch at Desima, and one of the temples in or about Nanga- 
 saki, but we could not succeed in cither. 
 
 After very urgent and repeated solicitations, the ambassador 
 did at length obtain leave to make seven of the principal inter- 
 preters a trifling present in acknowledgment of the trouble we 
 Jiad given them ; and the governors at lengtb consented to 
 
 ua2 
 
316 
 
 STAY AT JAPAN. 
 
 accept, as remembrances, the little pocket globe, with some 
 maps and sketches of the different nations that compose the 
 Russian empire. 
 
 The utmost exertions were now made to get the ship ready 
 for sailing with all pot^sible dispatch , and it was evident that the 
 Japanese were not a Utile ^iifo.'i shed, when on the sixteenth we 
 announced that evtry Ibi' wufj wady for our departure. 
 
 ■'A_ 
 
X 
 
 \ 
 
 » I <ai 
 
 ^v 
 
DEPARTURE FROM JAPAN. 
 
 317. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Departure from Japan. — Voyage from thence to Kamschalka. — Cape and 
 Straits of Sangaar. — Description of the West and North-West Coasts of 
 Matmai, or Jusso. — Stay in Aniwa Bay.— 'Description of the same, with 
 the Soulh-East Coast of Sachalin, or Tsc/ioka. — Departurefrom Tsckoka, 
 and Arrival in the Harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul. 
 
 The presents we had brought with us being once more 
 returned on board the ship, the water casks being filled, the 
 provision of rice, salt, and biscuit allotted us by the emperor 
 being safely stowed, and the Japanese documents, with the 
 translation of them into Dutch, being remitted to the ambas- 
 sador, nothing remained but to bid adieu to our irksome 
 imprisonment at Megasaki. On the seventeenth, therefore, 
 we went on board. Several cf the interpreters and civil officers 
 appeared to be really affected at our departure, and to lament 
 sincerely that all hopes of an intercourse of trade being esta- 
 blished between their country and our's must be finally relin- 
 quished. 
 
 Our departure was without any pomp and ceremony. Prince 
 Tschingodsi had, some days before, entered upon his office of 
 guardian of the harbour of Nangasaki for the ensuing year, and 
 the embassy was conveyed to the ship by one of his barges of 
 state. No sooner were we arrived on board, than the anchor was 
 weighed, and we were towed by a hundred little boats to the 
 
 •..•*).. 
 
SW VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 western side of the Papen mountain. We were accompanied 
 by the Banjos who were upon guard, and some interpreters ; 
 and the powder and arms which we had been constrained to 
 deliver up on our arrival were faithfully restored : the latter 
 were in a very rusty condition. The imperial guard-house was 
 now, as we passed it, but scantily decorated, and not with 
 new hangings ; nor did we see at our departure, as at our en- 
 trance, soldiers, with their muskets and standards, assembled 
 to do us honour. Even the barge of the Prince of Tschingodsi 
 was very inferior in splendor to that of the Prince of Fisi. 
 
 Early in the morning of the eighteenth we quitted the bay. 
 Our hasty departure must have given the Japanese no ill opi- 
 nion of the nautical talents of the Russians : for we learnt 
 from the interpreters the day before that they expected we 
 should, like the Dutch, linger in the bay for at least a week 
 before we were ready to proceed. They had therefore, un- 
 solicited by us, promised, in the name of the governor, that 
 we should be furnished daily with fresh provisions to the mo- 
 ment of our departure, even though it sihould not take place for 
 several weeks. The sails were set late in the evening of the 
 seventeenth ; and early in the morning, before the guard-boats, 
 which had never quitted us, could fairly see what was going on, 
 we were under sail. Many of them, when they perceived it, 
 strained every nerve to keep us company, but a brisk gale from 
 the south-south-east carried us on so fast, that they were soon 
 l§ft at a distance, and obliged to return. 
 
 i'ff 
 
 Captain Kruscnstern had for some time determined upon 
 returning to Kamschatka along the western coast of Japan^ 
 
 'Mi^. 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA; 
 
 di» 
 
 through the sea of Corea, and passing the straits of Sangaar, 
 to examine the west and north-west shores of Matmai or Jesso, 
 with the eastern coast of Tschoka. By this course he would 
 be enabled to prosecute farther the discoveries made by the 
 unfortunate and ever to be lamented La Perouse. The voyage, 
 therefore, which I am about to describe, will be found well 
 wortliy of attention, since very few Europeans have at any 
 time navigated the sea of Corea ; and our excellent captain is 
 the first who ever thought of making the parts above-mentioned 
 a principal object of their scientific researches. 
 
 Geographers, and those who wish to obtain an accurate 
 knowledge of our globe, are consequently under considerable 
 obligations to him ; and we, who were the sharers in his voyage, 
 must for ever feel grateful in reflecting, that through his exer- 
 tions we were enabled to become acquainted with a part of the 
 world so rarely frequented. Although the second part of Cap- 
 tain Krusenstern's work on this subject is, at the very time I 
 am writing, already in tlie press, yet I trust that I shall not b« 
 condemned if I am here somewhat diffuse in my geographical 
 descriptions, or if I interweave with my own remarks the nau- 
 tical and astronomical questions he has so ably decided, refer- 
 ring my readers to his maps for tlie elucidation of my descrip- 
 tions. 
 
 On the eighteenth, in the evening, a brisk south-east wind 
 rose, and in the night, amidst cloudy and rainy weather, we 
 passed a strait, thirty-two miles over, between the little island 
 called Asses-ears and Cape Gotto. A strong wind and high sea 
 carried us rapidly forwards on the nineteenth in a north-north- 
 
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SSO VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 easterly direction, and in the evening we were already in the 
 neighbourhood of the island of Tsus *, At day-break on the 
 twentieth we saw it to the north, and determined its northern- 
 most point to be in latitude 34" 40' 30" north, longitude 
 230° 30' 30" west. . • 
 
 Contrary winds, fog, and rain, prevented us following the 
 opposite coast of Japan, which we saw in the east towards 
 evening. VVe could still however catch a glimpse of it at inter- 
 vals on the twenty-second and twenty-third, at the following 
 degrees: latitude 35» lo*", 35" 45', 36° F, 36" 14^ north, longi- 
 tude 227° 40', 217° 10' west. On the thirtieth of April we 
 again approached the western coast of Japan, to seek for Cape 
 Sangaar, and ascertain its situation ; and the following day we 
 discovered a very high cape in latitude 39° 50', longitude 220' 16* 
 
 * This island is called by (he Japanese Tsus-simai by the Chinese, TuLma-tao^ that 
 is, island of the opposite standing horses. It has a very deep bay on the western side, 
 which begins at the (wo promontories of Kukuissaki and Ossaki, and runs very far into 
 the island. This br.y is joined to the sea on the eastern side of the island by meang of 
 a canal, which is culled the Ship^s Canal, and by vrhicli the island u divided in two. The 
 usual way taken by (he Japanese (o arrive at the harbour of Kokuyannoura, on (be 
 north side of the inland, is to sail from ihe harbour of Karazu, in the province of Fist, 
 to the island of Iki, which is thirteen Japanese miles or Ri, from whence to the bar. 
 bour aboTe.named on Tsus.sima is forty.cight miles. From ihence to the harbour of 
 Touscha («) in Corca, at the mouth of the river Fusan, is ngalii forty.i'ight miles. The 
 principal place in the island of Tsus-sima ia at the 8outh.east point, and is called Jata, 
 very near to which is the spacious and commodlouB harbour of Ooura ; bo(h are at (he 
 foot of a pretty high hill. The southernmost promontory of Tsui.sima is called Ooi» 
 «aki, and the northernmost Toyos.saki : the latter lies between the itlands uf Kaito and 
 OonoKhetOt— Juuus Vom Klapbotu. 
 
 (a) The Ttboian of Captain Kmicnttn't map. 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCIIATKA. 32 1 
 
 To thi« Captain Krusenstern gave the naiiup of Promontory of 
 the Russians*. • ■ ■ 
 
 On the second of May, the weather being very clear, we 
 were pretty near the land, so that we could plainly distin- 
 guish a town in latitude 40" 50' north, longitude 219° 54' 
 west ; w^ could also see several little boats lying at anchor. 
 A large bay is here formed round a flat and sandy shore, 
 which is bounded by two high hills, forming very prominent 
 land-marks. The town seemed tolerably large, and the coun- 
 try round, to judge by the colour of the ploughed lands, by 
 the meadows, and by the woods, must be both fertile and 
 beautiful. The harbour, if there be one here, may very pro- 
 bably be formed by the mouth of a river, and may be pre- 
 sumed useful to vessels, which,, like those of Japan, do not 
 require any great depth of water. At three miles from the 
 shore the water was no more than twenty-five fathom deep. 
 In the back ground of the fine landscape before us high 
 mountains reared their snow-clad summits. We saw a number 
 
 * This great peninsula is called by tho Japanese Votoko-issikas-simi ; that is, th« 
 Stages Island ; the hill upon it has the name of Joo.moto, and the south-western pro* 
 montorjr that of Nankaba or Komo (a). On the second of May the ship was opposite 
 to the plain and forest at the issue of the Rossiro>gaw», which in some Japanese maps 
 is called RoJai. The snowy mountains which were seen from this spot separate the pro. 
 vinces of Dcwa and Ouschin, and have no particular name. On the western side of the 
 prorinceof Ooschin, which the ship passed on the third of May, are the two striking 
 promontories of Nangasaki and Toriis.saki, the latter being the northernmost. Behind 
 these is a high mountain called Twaki. jama ; a,nd eastward from the latter is the striking 
 town of Jumenai, on a river which flows into the sea almost at the north-west point of 
 Japan. — Julius Von Klaprotu. 
 
 (a) The latter it called in Captain Kruienitero's map the Prrman^orjf of tfit fivniani, 
 
 T T 
 
3SS 
 
 YOYAGE PROM JAPAN TO KAMSCBATKA. 
 
 of whales, and daily collected sea-weed of various kinds, par- 
 ticularly in the neighbourhood of the land. 
 
 •Towards evening four boats, each carrying fifteen or twenty 
 liien, came towards us ; but though we invited them in a very 
 friendly manner, and in the Japanese language, to come on 
 board, they would not venture. The construction of these 
 boats, and the form of the oars, as well as the manner of row- 
 ing, was so different from what we had seen at Nangasaki, that 
 we should scarcely have supposed them Japanese. 
 
 The next morning the wind was very favourable, and we ran 
 along the coast at the rate of eight knots an hour. We saw se- 
 veral creeks and bays, and at length in the north perceived a 
 high point of land projecting very far into the sea in latitude 
 40° S7' 40' north, longitude 220° 11' 30" west; to this was given 
 the name of Cape Gamaley. A very high mountain, covered 
 with snow, not far from the cape, in latitude 40° 40' 40", longi- 
 tude 219° 49', was named Peak Tilesius. In tlie afternoon, after 
 much expectation, we at length came in sight of Cape Sangaar. 
 Thiji cape, with another now lying directly in the north, and 
 which is the southernmost point of Jesso, form the entrance to 
 the straits of Sangaar. To the latter was given the name of 
 Cape Nadeschda after our ship. Cape Sangaar lies in latitude 
 41" 16' 30" north, longitude 219" 46' west ; Cape Nadeschda in 
 latitude 41° 25' 10", longitude 219° 59' 30*. The distance be- 
 tween the two capes is eighteen miles. 
 
 Later in the evening we approached the south-western coast 
 of the island of Jesso, and remarked, in a very open insecure 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 323 
 
 bay, the considerable town of Matzumai *. We could distin- 
 guish the houses and temples very clearly with the assistance of 
 our glasses ; it lies in latitude 41° 32', longitude 219' 56'. Some- 
 what to the south-west of this town are two islands, the west- 
 ernmost and largest of which is called Oos-sima ; tlie other has 
 the name of Kos-sima, or the Little Island ; the former is in 
 latitude 41" 31' 30", longitude 220" 40' 45", the latter in latitude 
 41° 21' 30", longitude 220° 14". They are the never-to-be-mis- 
 taken marks of the entrance of the straits of Sangaar. 
 
 The land of Jesso is here pretty high, and most of the 
 mountains about were covered with snow : they have a volcanic 
 appearance, are naked and barren, and are full of rugged irre- 
 gular clefts. It is very probable that in the interior of the coun- 
 try, in parts sheUcred from cold and strong winds, there may be 
 pleasant and fertile vallies ; but about the town of Matzumai 
 the country is so desert and sandy, that it would have been 
 
 * Matzumai is the name of the principal town upon the island of Jesao ; it signifies 
 the Tozen of Firs. The island itself is never called Matmai, but by the Japanese Jesso, 
 and in the Chinese language Chia.y, which signifies crabs (a). The harbour of M ateu. 
 mai is inconvenient and insecure even for Japanese vesaels. Before it lies the little island 
 of Besaite ; this is considered as holy ground by the Japanese, for which reason they 
 have built a temple upon it. To the soutI)>east of the town lies Ssirakamis-saki, th« 
 most southern promontory of the island ; and eastward of that are two convenient har.« 
 bours for small ships. Farther east is the harbour of Chakotade, near which are several 
 Japanese farms ; and some way farther within the land is the habitation of the Knrillaa 
 interpreter. Along the whole south-west side of the island are a gtcAt number of Fuci, 
 particularly that called by the Japanese KombiCy and which (hpy make use of as food.— r 
 Juuus VoN Klaprotu. 
 
 (u) Chia are a isrt at mall lea-craDs, called io GennaD Carjicefen, la Spairiih CtnttlfanUt ■>' la 
 Euglisb Shrimpi. 
 
 T T 2 
 
324 
 
 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 difficult to conceive how the numerous population could find 
 wherewithal to sustain their existence, if we had not previously 
 learnt at Nangasaki that the whale-fishery was the principal 
 support not only of the whole island of Jesso, but of Nipons 
 to the north of it. We observed many little vessels under 
 sail in the bay, and many more at anchor before the town, 
 without being able to determine where the harbour could be. 
 
 Early in the morning of the fourth we still saw the straits of 
 Sangaar, though from the force of the current we had been car- 
 ried in the night to some distance from them. We directed our 
 course to Oos-sima, the westernmost of the two small islands, 
 which is about six miles in circumference, and steered north- 
 wards between that and Kos-sima through a channel about 
 twenty miles over. Both islands are steep, rugged, and not ha- 
 bitable, appearing to be of vplcanic origin. Towards noon we 
 perceived a third island, Okosiri, which is much flatter than 
 the others : it lies westward of Jesso, and to the north of Oos- 
 sima, in latitude 42° 9', longitude 220" 30'. It is considerably 
 larger than either of the others, being eleven miles long and 
 five broad : at the south-western end it rises gently above the 
 sea. It has a pleasant and fertile appearance, being well co- 
 vered with wood, but appears notwithstanding to be uninhabited. 
 We did not perceive boats, houses, or smoke, along any part of 
 the coast. 
 
 After we had sailed round this island, early in the morning 
 of the fifth we approached the island of Matmai, on which we 
 discovered in the fore-ground a thick smoke ascending from a 
 valley behind a hill, and far back in the perspective a chain of 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 St5 
 
 mountains covered with snow. A high promontory in the neigh- 
 bourhood, in latitude 42° 38*, longitude 219" 69' was called by 
 us Cape Kutusoff *. It was almost a dead calm, and the wea- 
 ther being very fine, we had an opportunity of comparing the 
 face of nature here at this time of the year with what is to be 
 seen at the same time in Europe. There every thing is in flower, 
 and excellent fruits of various kinds are now to be found : 
 here even the lowest mountains and the fields were covered 
 with snow. 
 
 On the sixth we came in sight of another lofty promon- 
 tory, which we called Cape Novosilzoif; behind it was a very 
 deep bay, which appearrd almost as if it would afford a passage 
 through it f . Under the idea of this possibility, and with high- 
 raised expectation, we began to examine it. On the southern 
 shore we saw a volcano sending up vast columns of smoke, and 
 several other hills with rounded summits : it appeared singular 
 that the smoke was ascending from a very inconsiderable hill. 
 
 * This proraontory is called in Japanese Chokossinossaki. On the south side of it 
 arc the last Japanese habitations on the west side of the island ; northwards from thence 
 the farms of the natircs, Jinu^ begin. Still farther north lies the promontory to which 
 Captain Krusenstera gave the name of Cape NoTOsilzoff, but which is here called Ko. 
 moinossaki. 
 
 + According to the Japanese maps there is no passage through here; but at the end 
 of the bay is a large river, which comes from a lake called Issikari, four Japanese miles 
 or Ri in circumference. This lake is formed by the junction of several small rivers. It 
 is separated from two other lakes by a low ridge of hills, and these lakes have a com. 
 munication with the sea on the eastern sido of the island. South of this bay is 4hc high 
 Peak Ssiribetsu, at the foot of which rises » little river which falls into the sea north of 
 Cape Chokossinossaki. To the north.west of this is another peak collud Yuubon, whiih 
 lies on the eastern i;ide of the island. — Jti.ivs Von KtiPROTic. 
 
326 
 
 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCIIATKA. 
 
 v'hile a high peak close by gave no indication of being a volcano. 
 To the highest and most considerable of these hills the name of 
 Peak RuraofFski was given : it lies in latitude 42" 50' l.V north, 
 longitude 2 IS" 48'" 30" west. We could not proceed far into 
 the bay, but were obliged, on account of the adverse south- 
 winds, to tack about there the whole day. 
 
 In the morning of the seventh a favourable south-west wind 
 rose, which enabled us to penetrate farther iuto the bay ; but it 
 was soon obvious that the hope of a passage through must be 
 abandoned. The land kept constantly approaching nearer and 
 nearer to the south-east, the depth of water decreased at every 
 sounding, and its saltness was sensibly diminished: nothing 
 therefore remained but to return, deceived in our expectations. 
 We now steered towards the northern promontory which borders 
 this gulf: to this was given the name of CapeMalespina : it lies 
 in latitude 45" 42' 15', longitude Sfl8» 41' 30*. 
 
 On the eighth, in the forenoon, we observed two small islands*, 
 Teurire and Janikeseri, in the north-east, about ten miles from 
 the island of Matniai or Jesso: theone lies in latitude 44* 27' 45", 
 longitude 218° 43' 15*, the other in latitude 44" 88' 45", 
 longitude 218" 37' 45*. We continued to follow the coast of 
 Jesso at a distance till the tenth of May, when we reached its 
 
 * I'hc westernmost of these islands is called, in the language of the country, Tcu. 
 iDUs.siri, and the other Ankcs-siri. Thoy are, according to the Japanese maps, ten 
 miles, or fit, asunder. Some of the Japanese maps call the first island Feurty perhaps 
 this is the Japanese name for it. Eastward of these islands, upon the island of Jcsto, is 
 a high peak callud YuUbetiiu. — Julius Von Klapkotii. 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 327 
 
 north-western point : here we saw a high peak, which we after- 
 wards recognized to be the Peak De Langle •, mentioned by La 
 Perouse as on the north-west coast of Matmai. This round- 
 headed hill, with its snowy head, which appears so remarkable 
 at a distance, now lay directly before us. It is not, as La Pe- 
 rouse believed, upon the island of Matmai, but forms a separate 
 island of itself. 
 
 The wind being extremely favourable, before noon pn the 
 eleventh we reached the most north-western point, called by the 
 inhabitants Soya, but which Captain Krusenstern named Cape 
 Romanzoff: it lies in latitude 45" 23^ 50* north, longitude 
 218° 23' 30" west. Scarcely had we perceived that it was 
 inhabited, before a little boat came out from the land and 
 approached us. It contained four pei'sons, who had coarse 
 lank hair upon their heads, and long thick beards, with dirty 
 white garments. Though they rowed directly up to the 
 ship, they would not come on board upon our invitation, 
 but after having contemplated us awhile, row> '1 back again to 
 the shore. Towards ten o'clock we discovert I behind Cape 
 Romanzoff a large bay open to the north : here we cast an- 
 chor in ten fathom water, about two miles from the shore. A 
 thick fog had a short time before shut out the Peak and the 
 
 * Peak dc Langle is called by the iobabitants of Jcsso Riis-siri : it is twenty miles, 
 or Ri, distant from Tcumus-slri, Opposite to Peak Oe Langle, on the western side of 
 Jesso, is the high peak Akaouno. North of Peak De Langle lies the island of Ncbii. 
 nus.siri, or Rifunos>siri ; and north.west of it another island called Issigorotan, or Js<:. 
 chorotan ; and to these follow the south-western point of the island of Tschoka. Thi» 
 point is called by the inhabitants of Jesso, Ssari, and the south-east point is called Kara. 
 futo : the latter is considered by them as a separata island. — Julius Yon Klafuotu. 
 
328 
 
 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCIIAXKA. 
 
 iieiglibouring country from our view. It was not loug before 
 several boats, like the first, came to us. Some of tlic people, 
 with our consent, immediately came on board. They saluted 
 us by rubbing the palms of their hands together, and then rais- 
 ing the hand slowly several times towards heaven ; after M'hich 
 they stroked their beards from the chin to the bfeast, and then 
 threw themselves on their knees exactly in the Japanese fashion, 
 repeating a compliment in like manner. The expression of 
 their countenances was friendly and benevolent : they had tole- 
 rably large eyes, rather high cheek-bones, a somewhat broad 
 and compressed nose, and among most the cheeks and chin were 
 overgrown with long thick black beards. They had a language 
 of their own, but understood some Japanese words, and as far 
 as we could comprehend them, seemed to disavow being Japa- 
 nese, or belonging to Japan. They called themselves A'ino or 
 A'imt*. 
 
 When we asked them about Matmai, they pointed towards 
 the south ; hence we concluded that they did not give this name 
 to the whole island, only to the town of Matmai or Matzumai. 
 They drank the brandy offered them without any hesitation. 
 
 * Aiiio, or A'inu, signifies, in the language of all the people who belong to the Kuri. 
 )ian tribes, 3/an, and is the name they give themselves. The Kurilians at Kamschatka call 
 themselves Ainu ; those on the Kurilian islands call themselves Ainuh ; and those at Jcsso 
 and Tschoka Aino; those in the neighbourhood of the river Amur sayAinuh. According 
 to my invcsiigations as a linguist, the Kurilian tribes seem to be spread from the southern, 
 most point of Kamschatka to Japan, over all this range of islands, and the whole coast 
 of what is falsely called Chinese Tartary below the Amur, to the place where the Ussuri. 
 Uka falls into the sea. The Giljaki of the Russian maps, the Yuibi and Gedsheum of the 
 Chinese, belong to these tribes ; the country therefore is improperly called Tungusi. 
 The Kurilians inhabiting the continent call theingehes and their language Fiatta. — 
 Julius Von Klapuotu, 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. * JtO 
 
 and without making a wry face, emptying tiie last drop into 
 the palms of their hands, which they then raised towards hea- 
 ven, and again stroked their long beards. When they had been 
 presented witii some tritles, such as knives, nails, looking- 
 glasses, &c. they returned to their boats, and made signs to 
 us to come and visit them on shore. A boat with a party 
 accordingly put off from the ship ; but as the amateurs of a 
 lan<l party were very numerous, and all could not go, I waa 
 obliged for once to control my inclinations, and remain on 
 board. Scarcely had the boats, by which we had been visited, 
 landed on the eastern shore of the bay, when another very large 
 boat, not much unlike the Japanese ones, came out from the 
 western side, and made towards our ship. In fact, there were 
 four Japanese on board, who, to judge by their external appear- 
 ance, were of the very lowest class of the people, probably 
 fishermen. * 
 
 * 
 
 They were extremely free and sociable in their behaviour, 
 inquiring who we were, and telling us the names of the islands 
 and country round. Shortly after came a better dressed Japa- 
 nese in another boat : he was no less frank in his intercourse 
 with us ; and after what we had experienced at Nangasaki, this 
 surprised us very much. lie gave us to understand that he was 
 a merchant, and offered us several Japanese things for sale, or 
 rather for barter ; among them were lackered wooden drinking 
 cups, razors, tobacco-pipes, books with wooden cute, which the 
 Japanese are forbidden, on pain of death, to sell to strangers, 
 but which are tolerably well known in Europe under the name 
 of Chinese bibles. 
 
 u u 
 
VOYAGE PROM JAPAN TO RAMSCIIATKA. 
 
 On the following morning I went on shore with another 
 party. The surf was so strong upon the Hat sandy beach, that 
 our boat could not get over it, and an Ainu, whose habitation 
 lay very near, came out with his little boat, into which we re- 
 moved, and were landed in safety. Our conductor then led us 
 to his miserable hut : it was constructed with trunks of trees as 
 the main supports, the walls and roof being covered with straw. 
 Behind the. house, and before the entrance of it, were a number 
 of poles and trees decorated with a sort of garlands, probably 
 with some religious view. The inside of the hut consisted of 
 only one apartment ; in the middle of it was a fire, round which 
 the whole family, consisting of an old woman, a young girl, and 
 several men, were sitting. Over the fire hung an iron kettle, 
 in which they were dressing fish. 
 
 I soon quitted this company to take a walk along the shore. 
 Here I found various sorts of sea-weed, as the Fucus sacchari- 
 trnsy Fucus perforatus, Fucus graminoides, and Fucus siliquosus, 
 with many others wholly unknown to me. Among the remains 
 of different sorts of shells I found those of the Nautilus papijra- 
 ecus. I also found several large nuts, which resembled very 
 much our Italian nut, Nux juglans : where they grew, however, 
 or how they came there, or indeed what claim they had properly 
 to be called nuts, I could not discover. The principal stone on 
 the shore was a hardened argile, into which the Pholasses had 
 penetrated in great abundance. The plants were very back- 
 ward in their growth. I saw the Caltha paiustris, Angelica of se- 
 veral sorts, Fumaria, Equisetum, and Allium. A bog, in which 
 grew a reed of no great strength or size, stretched along the 
 shore to the foot of the nearest hill. This hill is steep, but 
 
TOYAGU I'ROM JAPAN 10 RAMSCHATRA. 
 
 931 
 
 not very \w^h. Patilu ,s of snow were lyiuj^ about in different 
 parts. Firs ami birches were tlie principal trees that fell under 
 my observation. The shore was in many places intersected by 
 crystal streams, on the banks of which the habitations were 
 placed . 
 
 I saw every where a great many dogs, which seemed of 
 the same breed with tiiose of Kamschatka, only much smaller. 
 I afterwards learnt that here, as well as there, they are made 
 use of as draught animals, and harnessed in the winter to 
 sledges. Bears were to be seen, domesticated, about almost al^ 
 the houses : they are taken when young, fed carefully, and at 
 length, when arrived at a proper age, killed and eaten as 
 dainties. Among the furs worn by these people, I observed a 
 small silver-grey skin of an animal wholly unknown to me. The 
 inhabitants make their winter clothing of these as well as of bear 
 and dog skins. During my absence from the ship, some sea- 
 otter skins had been carried thither for sale ; it is therefore to be 
 presumed that this animal is common here as well as at the 
 Kurile islands. 
 
 The habitations do not lie at any great distance from each 
 other : I counted seven large ones in the space of not more than 
 a German mile, each of which seemed to have from fifteen to 
 twenty grown men belonging to it. Most of the women ran 
 away when I came near a house ; a few only stayed, concealing 
 themselves behind their husbands, for the purpose, as it appear- 
 ed, of gaping at me. The men were little, at the utmost not 
 more than five feet and a half in height, but strong built and 
 muscular ; the women were still smaller, with coarse black 
 
 u V 3 
 
$3% VOYAGE FROM JAFAN TO KAM8CHATKA. 
 
 lank hair hanging from their heads, and bluish lips. I could 
 not discover whether this was their natural colour, Mhether 
 it was produced by tattooing, or was the effect of some kind 
 of tint given them. Some of our party insisted upon it that 
 they had seen women with their arms tattooed. 
 
 At Soya, the most western point of land, some Japanese are 
 established under a civil officer. They are here by order of the 
 Japanese government to watch the coast ; and the officer, with 
 two sabres at his side, came in virtue of his office on board our 
 ship to inquire who we were, and with what views we were 
 come. At first he would not believe that we were Russians, 
 because we had short unpowdered hair ; whereas the Russian* 
 who came with Lieutenant Laxnmnn, whom he had known, 
 wore their hair dressed and jK)wdered. 
 
 He entreated, or rather commanded us, as soon as the wea- 
 ther was clear, to proceed on our route, since in case we did 
 not, he must be under the necessity of sending information 
 of our arrival to the government, and this migjit occasion us 
 much embarrassment. He Avould not accept the smallest 
 present, nor would he even drink a glass of the Japanese wine 
 made from rice, called Saki, which wc had brought with us from 
 Nangasaki. He appeared to be a sensible man, and, as far as 
 we could judge, well-informed ; he shewed a good deal of geo- 
 graphical knowledge, and gave Captain Krusenstern some use- 
 ful information respecting the names and situations of the neigh- 
 bouring islands. He knew the name and situation of Kams- 
 chatka, and talked about Ochotsk and America. 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 333 
 
 Tschoka, or Sachalin*, he called a Tartarian island ; and 
 assured us that it was different from Karafuto, an island 
 separated only by a narrow strait from the north of Jesso. 
 Karafuto, he said, was only inhabited in the southern part, 
 and that by some Japanese. From him Ave learnt that the 
 part of Jesso inhabited by the Japanese, that is the southern 
 part, is alone properly called Matmai, or Matzumai ; per- 
 haps he even meant to confine that name to the town. The 
 proper name of the island, he said, is Jesso, and the mha- 
 bitants are called Ainu. It is very probable that in ancient 
 times Jesso was the name given to the whole island; but since 
 the Japanese have driven the Ainu to the north, and pos- 
 sessed themselves completely of the southern part of the 
 island, the northern part only has retained its original appella- 
 tion. 
 
 During my excursion, I came to the habitation of the Japanese 
 merchant, as he called himself, who had visited us the day before. 
 All about it were several hundred thousand herrings lumg up to 
 be dried. According to what he told us, he brings hither every 
 year lackered wooden eating and drinking vessels, tobacco and 
 tobacco-pipes, rice, kitchen utensils, coarse cotton cloth, and 
 
 * It is Tcry improper to call this island Sachalin, since the inhabitants cull UTsihoka. 
 The Mandschus, not knowing its name, might very probably call it Saglialin.uitn'gu. 
 choda, that is, the island with the black mouth, becanse it lies opposite the month of the 
 Amur, n'hich is calk-d by them Saglialin.ula, or tha black river. Saghalin signiiics 
 black, and is not the name of the island : people are wrong in circulating such errors. 
 This island is not under the dominion of the Mandschuriau Chinese, as was once sup. 
 posed, for in the great Chinese government gsographical work called Fai.zinn-y-lunn. 
 (Itchi, wlijch appeared under Kin.hsnm^ it is entirely omitted.— J Lfcus Vo.n Klapuoti!. 
 
33i 
 
 TOYAGR PROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA . 
 
 other things wanted by the Ainu, for which he is amply paid 
 in dried fish and furs. He assured me also that he visited most 
 of the near and distant islands, even the Kurilian islands Urup 
 and Iturup. By all that fell under my observation, it appears 
 as if the Japanese took but little care of the Ainu, for they 
 are very ill clothed, and possess scarcely any even of the most 
 necessary kitchen utensils. Some knives, a kettle, tobacco 
 and pipes, fishing nets, a little rice, and some coarse cotton 
 cloth, appear to constitute the whole of their possessions. 
 
 They shoot wild animals with poisoned arrows. The poison 
 they use for this purpose is the thick sap of some plant, pro- 
 bably of a species of aconite which grows here in abundance. 
 It is so subtle in its nature, that in a few minutes after the 
 animal is wounded the blood rushes out of the mouth, nose, 
 and ears. In this way they kill bears, wolves, foxes, sea-otters> 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Although the Japanese visit the northern parts of Jesso, the 
 southern of Tschoka, Karafuto, and the southern Kurile islands, 
 and maintain a very close union with the Ainu, the latter seem 
 as little as any other nation to venture upon visiting any of the 
 Japanesie possessions. They are even precluded all intercourse 
 with the principal town of their own country, Matmai, or Mat- 
 zumai. The climate is much colder here than in many other 
 countries in the same latitude. At this advanced season the 
 plants were but just beginning to shoot, and very few firs were 
 in blossom : the snow lay in many places at the foot of the hills, 
 and the tops of them were covered with it. Oil the twelfth of 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 S35 
 
 May, in the mornings Reaumur's thermometer was only two 
 degrees above the freezing point, and at noon only six. ^ .< 
 
 On the thirteenth, at daybreak, we weighed anchor. The 
 weather had become clear, and we could see all the points and 
 islands around very plainly. Our principal attention was di- 
 rected to the island of Karafuto, as it is called in the Japanese 
 maps, and which we could see in the horizon. We had scarcely 
 quitted our anchoring- place, when all doubts as to our situa- 
 tion were cleared up ; it was evident, both from the testi- 
 monies of the unfortunate La Perouse, and from our own ob- 
 servations, that the island of Karafuto, now seen in the north, 
 was. one and the same with Tschoka or Sachalin. What had 
 been at first only presumption, was towards noon, when we 
 observed the situation of Cape Crillon, and compared it with 
 that of the rock La Dangereuse^ reduced to a certainty. 
 
 The woather was fine, and the wind brisk, so that we soon 
 approached Cape Crillon ; but as night closed in we rather 
 bore away from it again, in order to avoid the formidable 
 rock La Dangereuse. It was now about five sea miles to the 
 north, and we observed a capacious passage between that and 
 the cape : on the morning of the fourteenth we indeed saw a 
 Japanese vessel come through this passage. The rock lies in 
 latitude 45° 47' 15" north, longitude 217° 51* 15" west. 
 
 As we approached this rock the next morning, we heard 
 a very loud and continued noise, which we concluded at first 
 to be the breakers dashing against it ; but we afterwards, by the 
 assistance of our glasses, discovered an innumerable quantity 
 
Jd6 VOTAOE FROM #APAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 of sea-lions, sea-dogs, and sea-calves, Phoca, from which we 
 had no doubt it proceeded. At that distance it was impossible 
 to determine the species of any of these animals. Some of them 
 lay upon the rock, others had their heads only raised just above 
 the water, making a most frightful howling. 
 
 Cape Crillon, which lies in latitude 45" 54* 15', longitude 
 217" 17*^ 21"*, was now to the west of our course, while at a 
 mnch greater distance in the eastern horizon we could discern 
 Cape Aniwa, the south-eastern point of the island of Tschoka. 
 At first we thought this cape appeared a separate island, since 
 the northern part of the land is much lower than the southern, 
 ccmsequently was not so soon seen by us. The wind had 
 somewhat freshened, so that we ran at the rate of seven or eight 
 knots an hour towards the Gulf of Aniwa. 
 
 Towards four in the afternoon we could at length discern the 
 low land, by which the two promontories that form tiie gulf are 
 united, and towards evening we cast anchor in nine fathom water 
 in the north-western part of the gulf, in the creek called by the 
 Dutch Salmon Bay. Not fa from us lay a one-masted Japa- 
 nese vessel, and upon the land we saw several buildings entirely 
 in the Japanese taste. The Japanese ship which we saw early in 
 the morning pass by Cape Crillon had anchored in a little creek 
 upon the eastern promontory . 
 
 Late in the evening I learnt that Lieutenant Ratmanoff pro- 
 
 * The Translator has Tcntured here to mark the longitude as above. In the original 
 it stands 217° 71' 21'. As the 71' must be a mistake, the probability is that it will be 
 yrrected by transposing the figures. 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. SS7 
 
 posed going on shore the next morning by four o'clock, in 
 hopes of being able, if possible, to throw the nets. I begged, 
 therefore, to be permitted to accompany him ; and accordingly, 
 on the fifteenth, nine of us set off in a boat upon our expedition. 
 We steered towards the north and north-east part of the bay, in 
 hopes of finding a river, but when we were got several miles from 
 the ship, the surf was still so great ail along^ the shore, that it 
 was impossible to land ; our boat had indeed, in making the 
 attempt, been in the utmost danger of being dashed to pieces. 
 
 We followed the whole northern, and a great part of the 
 north-eastern coast, at the distance of about a sea mile from 
 the shore, and found in general from two to three fathom 
 and a half of water. On the northern coast we passed the 
 mouth of a river, but on account of the surf could not enter 
 it. We had constantly about us a great number of whales, 
 sea-mews, ravens, and wild ducks. We were already eight 
 sea-miles from our ship, and had reached the northern part 
 of Cape Aniwa, when, to our great joy, we arrived at a spot 
 which we could wade through without any danger. And now, 
 since we had gone so far, we resolved to visit the habitation 
 before which we had seen the Japanese vessel at anchor the pre- 
 ceding day. Our sailors were ordered, therefore, to continue 
 their course with the boat along the coast till they came to this 
 spot. 
 
 The shore was very flat, but not far from it the hills rose so 
 steep that they were wholly inaccessible. In our way we passed a 
 number of habitations. The huts were very poor, and scattered 
 about at no great distance. Probably, however, these are only 
 
 X X 
 
S38 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMf^HATKA. 
 
 summer residences of the fishermen, since most of the people 
 we saw were full-grown labouring men:' there were very few 
 women and children. This supposition seemed much strength- 
 ened by perceiving a number of foot-paths, which led through 
 the plain, and over the nearest hills, into the interior of the coun- 
 try. The few women to be seen were occupied with cutting up 
 and cleaning the fish preparatory to their being dried ; in doing 
 this we observed that the entrails were thrown away, but the 
 roes were preserved and cured. The people were all sitting out 
 in the open air, only sheltered on the side towards the wind by 
 straw mats fixed to poles stuck into the ground. Their clothing, 
 like that of the people of Jesso, was a long full gown open in 
 Iront, a sort of night-gown. ' < . 
 
 As we passed their habitations, or the places where they were 
 at work, the men generally rose up, and coming some steps to- 
 wards us, saluted us with a friendly half-smiling mien in the 
 mantier of the Ainu of Jesso : the women, however, remained 
 sitting behind their straw mats. Although our appearance 
 raust have l)een wholly strange to them, their manner was 
 such that they did not appear at all struck, but as if the sight 
 was quite familiar to their eyes. Someofthe men, apparently out 
 of courtesy, accompanied us a few paces, and then left us, so that 
 we pursued our way unmolested by their curiosity. After walk- 
 ing about a German mile, we arrived at the spot to which our 
 course was directed, where the Japanese vessels were at anchor. 
 There was much variety in the walk, Mid we were not fatigued 
 with it, as we found all along the coast a very good foot-path, 
 which we followed. The soil of the wooded hills seemed for 
 the most part argillaceous. Here and there pleasant vallie* 
 
VOYAOB FROM JAPA^ TO KAMSCHATtiU SSI 
 
 Opened upon us, watered by little streams, which ran into the 
 "bay; over three of the principal of these were laid broad 
 planks, instead of bridges, for the convenience of foot-pas- 
 cengers. 
 
 As we approached the habitations, we saw two Japanese 
 officers dressed in silk, and each with two sabres, coming 
 towards us. They saluted us with a fiiendly demeanour, and 
 then sat down in the open air, upon a straw mat which 
 was spread for the purpose. Without asking us to sit, they 
 began questioning us officially who we were, and why we and 
 the ship had come thither. The answers to these questions 
 being written down, they rose up ?nd invited us to take some 
 refreshment in their habitations close by. Such an invitation 
 was the more agreeable to us as it was now near noon, and 
 from four in the morning, when we sat out on our expedition, wa 
 had not taken any thing. 
 
 This Japanese hamlet consisted of six large and several 
 smaller houses, round a sort of court or open place, so that 
 the whole was not very unlike an European farm. Most of 
 the buildings served as a sort of warehouses. We were intrcv* 
 duced into the first house: it was built of wood, one story 
 high, and after the Japanese fashion, that is, with a gallery aud 
 trellis, and instead of windows, paper over a frame-work. 
 
 The first room was large, and surrounded with a &ort of littlf 
 chambers of divLsiana open to it: in these ky merchandise 
 of various kiiMls. Next to this was a spacious ftpartixient raised 
 one step. abcKve iK vbichi seened to seive a» a bitchea. hx tb« 
 
 X x2 
 
3(0 
 
 TOTAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA . 
 
 midst was a fire, and near it were spread some fine straw mats, 
 on which we were invited to sit down. On our apologizing 
 that we should dirty the mats with our boots, in which we 
 had been walking so long, the upper mats Mxre taken away, 
 and we were desired to sit upon those underneath : they were 
 very clean, though not so fine. Since, however, we were little 
 accustomed to the oriental mode of sitting, and seated our- 
 selves rather awkwardly, with our legs stretched out sideways, 
 our host ordered some little barrels to be brought, and laying 
 a plank over them, made us a bench, on which we sat very 
 commodiously after our own fashion. We were then each pre- 
 sented with a square wooden trencher, upon which was a 
 small lackered plate full of excellent cooked rice, with 
 another sort of saucer, in which was cooked fish : we were 
 also furnished with two little wooden sticks, such as they 
 themselves use instead of forks. Thus, after having been six 
 months at Japan, we now, for the first time, upon the Island 
 of Tschoka, eat our dinner with a Japanese family. 
 
 While we remained here our hosts endeavoured to obtain 
 information from us upon several subjects, ami we were not 
 sparing of our questions to them. One of the Japanese oflficers 
 said he had lived six years, the other said he had lived eight 
 upon the island: both called it Karafuto. They considered it 
 as about half the size of Jesso ; but from what they said, we 
 inferred that the northern part was entirely unknown to them. 
 They seemed to have very little knowledge of Russia, though 
 they talked a good deal about Kodai and Lieutenant Laxmann : 
 they did not appear to be acquainted even with the name of 
 Kamschatka. As we had our fowling-pieces with us, they 
 
VOYAGE FROM JaFAN TO KAMSCRATKA. 34I 
 
 begged permission to examine one, and were in great astonish« 
 ment at the lock, which was quite new to them. It has been 
 mentioned before that the Japanese fire their guns with lighted 
 matches. They inquired with evident apprehension whether 
 the piece was loaded, and seemed so much afraid of gun- 
 powder that they would not even burn some grains of it which 
 had shaken out at the touch-hole. I am almost convinced that 
 they have no other arms for the defence of their settlement 
 than, perhaps, some bows and arrows. The original inha- 
 bitants of this island are also called Ainu : they are evidently 
 of the same race with the natives of Jesso and the Kurile 
 islands. 
 
 I counted two-and-tw€nty Japanese, who observed us and 
 all our movements with the utmost curiosity. As I am of 
 opinion that several of tliem were only sailors who had come with 
 the ships now at anchor, whose stay was, therefore, confined to 
 some days, or perhaps weeks, it is probable that at another 
 time, especially in winter, very few Japanese would be found 
 here. The first large apartment was filled with a great many 
 of the natives, who were all upon their knees in token of sub- 
 mission : by this it should appear that they are kept in very 
 strict obedience by the unarmed Japanese, disproportionate, 
 beyond all conception, as they are in their numbers. Scarcely 
 had these poor creatures remained a quarter of an hour thus 
 seeking to satisfy their curiosity, when they were again driven 
 away to their work. They were employed in cutting up, 
 cleaning, and salting the fish for drying, in hanging up the fresh 
 ones, and turning those that were already partially dried. 
 Among some hundred of the Ainu that we saw, one or twO' 
 
9i8 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 only had a good deal of coarse hair growing about their bodiei, 
 as may, perhaps, occasionally happen among Europeans ; but 
 that this whole race of men are covered all over with h»ir, is 
 one of the poetical flouriahes in which travellers will ijK>m#* 
 times indulge themselves. 
 
 Kear the hamlet, on a little hill, stands a Japanese temple, 
 which we were told we might visit, on the condition of first 
 taking off our boots. This we should gladly have done if w«> 
 had not been afraid that it would take up too much time. It 
 w^s already four o'clock in the afternoon,- and our boat with the 
 sailv>rs, which we had long expected, was not yet even in sight. 
 The wind and tide were both against them, and Lieutenant 
 l^j^tmanoff was under considerable anxiety lest they should 
 hav<^ met with some accident; we therefore agreed to go in 
 search of them without farther delay. So taking leave of ouc 
 hosts, with many acknowledgments for their hospitality, we 
 returned along the shore, and i,n half £.n hour m^t with them. 
 
 Though the wind was brisk, and not favourable, we sailed 
 directly across the bay to ouf &l?,ip, then ^t the distancf of four- 
 teen miles from us. Scarcely had we Uft the shore, when th9 
 wind increased so much, and the >|ifaves ran sio higfe, th^t our 
 little bark, loaded with nine peifMons, had gres^t difficulty to 
 get on. We, however; fought tiirgmgh, ^11, ouv dilficulti^a, and 
 arrived safely at the ship abput eight o'clock, \ majr truly say, 
 to the great joy of our cotiipanion;»:. they h^d wit^iiessied, nqt 
 without very great anxiety and appj:ehensiou, our long and 
 arduous struggle with the elemeutsi. The ship M(as M]tQ,hQi-^4 
 in latitude 46" 41' 15' HQrtfe, iQugvtude S417' 2^' v^t. 
 
1 
 
 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAM8CHATRA. 343 
 
 On the sixteenth, at day-break, we once more weighed 
 anchor, and having a fresh south-east wind, towards evening 
 reached Cape Aniwa, which Captain Krusenstern determined 
 to be in latitude 46" 2' 20", longitude 216" 29' 40*. On the fol- 
 lowing morning we doubled it; but soon after the wind sunk, 
 and by noon a dead calm came on. The whales sported in 
 great numbers about the ship, commonly in companies of two 
 or three together. Towards evening we saw a boat with six 
 persons put off from the land at seven miles distance, and row 
 towards us. Neither the appearance of the boat or the men 
 differed in any way from those we had seen before. Night 
 coming on, probably, induced them to return. !• :p*^ 
 
 We continued to pursue our way along the coast, and on the 
 nineteenth approached a bay in latitude 46° 50', longitude 
 216»£7', bounded to the south by tlie Cape Tongu of tl>e 
 Dutch. From the anchorage being very indifferent, this 
 can only serve as a temporary asylum in cases of extreme 
 necessity : it affords very little shelter against the north and 
 north-east wind. The distance from hence to Salmon-bay 
 is between twenty and thirty miles: the two bays are separated 
 from each other only by a low ridge of hills. This bay is thinly 
 inhabited, but there is a superfluity of good water and fire- 
 wood. In the afternoon we came in sight of a high rounded 
 hill, in latitude 47" 33', longitude 217» 14', which we believed 
 to be the Spenberg of the Dutch, and the Peak Bernizet of 
 La Pcrouse. 
 
 The coast that we passed on the twentieth afforded a pleasing, 
 smiling aspect : the weather was rough, and we had some 
 
344 VOYAOK FHOM JAPAN To RAMSCUATKA. 
 
 showers of snow: the following day was cloudy. On the 
 twenty-second we were in the bay called by the Dutch the Gulf 
 of Patience, and the next day we observed the moulh of a river. 
 As it was a perfect calm, Captain Krusenslern resolved to 
 drop the anchor, and examine the coast somewhat nearer : it 
 was low, woody, and had a very inviting appearance. 
 
 A boat was therefore hoisted out, in which several of the 
 officers went on shore. At their return in the evening they 
 brought a great deal of tattered sea-weed, a great many broken 
 shells, and some dried Ashes' roes, a large salmon, and a thorn- 
 back, with the information that they had found a river very 
 full of fish, fine woods of fir and birch, abundance of juniper 
 bushes, and very jGli^ inhabitants. The weather wus still trou- 
 bled, ai;d seemed to threaten being stormy ; and as the northern 
 boundary of the gulf is fixed by navigators in latitude 49° 19', 
 Captain Krusenstern thought it prudent to return southwards. 
 It is considered as very dangerous to be too near the land 
 here in stormy weather. Seal Island, as it is called by the 
 Dutch, is particularly to be avoided, and from this we could 
 not now be far distant. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth, towards noon, we saw the dangerous 
 reef of rocks that surround Seal Island, on which we turned 
 to the south and south-west, as well for the purpose of avoid- 
 ing them as of doubling Cape Patience. Captain Krusenstern 
 determined the latitude of Seal Island to be between 48° 28' and 
 48° 36', the longitude between 215*27' and 215° 50'. On the 
 twenty-sixth vrc were presented with a spectacle no less new 
 than unexpected : this was a considerable quantity of floating 
 
VOYAOfi FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCIIATKA. 3|5 
 
 ice in the west, sonic in small pieces, some in large islands. We 
 were constrained, in conscijnence, to tnke an easterly course, 
 tliat we nught not run the hazard of gettint; tot) much into the 
 neighbourhood of such danj^erous company. • ' ' ■ » 
 
 On the folIowin<* niornini*, at four o'clock, we saw a<rain in 
 the north-west vast fields of floating ice. Under these cir- 
 cumstances it seemed impossible, at the present tin»e of the 
 year, to sail farther, in order to examine the north-eastern cot^st 
 ofTschoka. Nothing, therefore, remained, but to choose be- 
 tween cruizing about farther to the soutii for some weeks, to 
 wait the melting of the ice, or sailing away innnediately for 
 Kamschatka. In tlic latter case the ambassador, who was not 
 very ninch interested in geographical researches, would be 
 released, and at a more favourable period, those to whose tastes 
 they were better suited, could return and prosecute them where 
 they were now broken oft". This was the thing resolved on» 
 and we accordingly steered directly eastwards, towards the 
 Kurile islands. r ' « 
 
 In the afternoon of the twenty-eighth the wind freshened 
 exceedingly, and towards evening it encreascd to a violent 
 storm. Our situation this night was by so much the more dis- 
 agreeable, as we could not be far from the Kurile islands. The 
 whole night through the wind was extremely boisterous, the 
 waves ran very high, and the rolling of the ship was almost 
 insupportable. 
 
 On the twenty-ninth, at day-break, we vsaw land in the 
 south-east, but it was soon lost again in a thick fog: later in 
 
 Y Y 
 
S46 
 
 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 the day, when the weather was somewhat clearer, a high peak 
 was discernible in the south-south-east. While we were 
 cruizing about in order to steer our course eastward in these 
 unknown regions with more accuracy, and were waiting the 
 dispersion of the fog, which concealed all the surrounding ob- 
 jects from our view, we were carried some miles nearer to the 
 peak, for the wind was so trifling that we were almost entirely 
 at the mercy of the currents, which siit to the west. During the 
 whole day we could perceive a clear, yellowish grey smoke as- 
 cending from the peak, very distinguishable from the dark grey 
 of the fog ; the crater of the volcano, which was on the western 
 point of the hill, was also clearly to be discerned. The summit 
 of the peak, at the distance of three sea-miles from its foot, 
 was observed to be two degrees above the horizon. In the 
 evening came on a heavy fall of snow, and the air was extremely 
 cold. The thermometer, during the day, was for the most part 
 a,t 6% but in the night it fell to only 1°. 
 
 Early in the morning of the thirtieth we perceived an island, 
 which we supposed to be the tenth or eleventh of the Kurile 
 islands. We steered north-east, and expected as soon as we 
 had turned our backs upon this to be in the waters of Kams- 
 chatka ; but towards noon we saw another little rocky island, 
 and farther in the north-east we still discerned another through 
 the fog. A strong east wind so ii)creased the thickness of the 
 atmosphere, that Captain Krusenstern could no longer venture 
 to tack about among unknown islands and reefs of rocks ; he 
 resolved, therefore, rather to return to tlie Sea of Ochotsk, 
 where M'e were within our knowledge. The wind was now so 
 strong that it carried us at the rate of eight miles an hour, and 
 
VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO fcAMSClIATKA. J4Y 
 
 continued to blow with considerable violence the whole ni"ht. 
 In the morning of the thirty-first, after a very heavy snow 
 shower, the thcrmometei!' was only half a degree abj\ 2 the 
 freezing point ; and it was with no small astonishment, when we 
 awoke on the first of June, that we found the deck of the ship 
 covered some inches deep with snow. The weather cleared, 
 however, in the day, and we steered once more to the north- 
 east, towards the Kurile islands. Several whales, some of them 
 very large, were our companions all this day. 
 
 A thick fog began to disperse towards noon, when we could 
 see the high Peak of Onntkotan, one of the most northerly of 
 the Kurile islands, not very far from us. Towards evening the 
 atmosphere was so much cleared that we could discern I he lower 
 parts of the shore of these islands very plainly, though some of 
 the ridges and peaks of the mountains were still enveloped in 
 mist ; we could only occasionally see the high round hill, of 
 which we had first caught a glimpse in the morning. 
 
 With the assistance of a fresh breeze, which rose towards ten 
 in the evening, we sailed through the channel between Onneko- 
 tan and Charaniukatan. This channel is only eight miles over. 
 Early in the morning of the second we were in the open sea 
 of Kamschatka. This day was clear, and permitted us to see 
 the greater part of the coast ofPoromuschir and the snow-clad 
 mountains with which the island abounds: we were now 
 steering directly for Kamschatka. On the following days we 
 ran along the south-eastern coast of this peninsula, in which 
 we saw and admired some very high peaks. 
 
 T Y 2 
 
348 VOYAGE FROM JAPAN TO KAMSCHATKA. 
 
 On the fourth we perceived in the offing the lofty Peak of 
 Awatscha: the neighbouring shores had not now the same 
 pleasing appearance as when we arrived within sight of them 
 the year before ; for the hills were all covered with snow. On 
 the following day, ^bout five in the afternoon, we came to an 
 anchor happily in the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul. Here 
 we were rejoiced with receiving letters from our friends and re- 
 lations, and news from Europe; but of all that we received, 
 none was so important and so unexpected as that Bonaparte 
 was declared Emperor of France. 
 
I ■ . .. ; t 
 
 VOCABULARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LANGUAGE OF NUKAHIWA. 
 
 • UB8TANTIVE8. 
 
 A"»" Enata. 
 
 ^w*"""" Wahine. 
 
 A married man, a husband Medua. 
 
 A ma led woman, a wife Mahui, Wehanna. 
 
 AnfJdman j^^^y^^ 
 
 An old woman Bachaio. 
 
 Afathcr Motua. 
 
 ■*• "mother Ekuhi. 
 
 l''»'''^"ts Teamutu. 
 
 Aboy, asoD Ejama. 
 
 Alittlcboy Etamaiti, 
 
 ■A^ ^"■o^''" Tuuane cteino; 
 
 A girl, a dauglitcr , Moi. 
 
 •^s'»ter Toahine. 
 
 A handsome girl Pohotu. 
 
 A t**" '"!»» Enata hoa. 
 
 ^ ''""' ""»" Enata mocca. 
 
 Afatman Enata nui. 
 
 A'"»"-'='"«r Kainata. 
 
 '""^*'''" Kuko. 
 
 '^''"'' '''='"* Oopocho, obogo. 
 
950 VOCABULARY OP THE LANGUAGE OF NUKAHIWA. 
 
 The forehead Hai. 
 
 The eyes Matta. 
 
 The eyebrows Juke hie. 
 
 Theears BuaTna. 
 
 Thechin Cohuai. 
 
 The jdw.bone Coufai. 
 
 Themouth Henatu. 
 
 The lips Ki„m„, 
 
 Theteeth Kiho. 
 
 Thetongue j^^^^ 
 
 Thebeard Kumi. 
 
 Thehair Whn.oho. 
 
 The shoulder Bowhei. 
 
 Thearm, the hand Eima, ehiraa. 
 
 Th'e'how j,i„^ 
 
 ^'•"''"8"» Magamagaima. 
 
 The finger nails jyiahigu. 
 
 T'"' ""'^'^ Kaki.kakgihe. 
 
 The breast Huma.huma. 
 
 The bosom of a fcmaU Tehu.ehoa. 
 
 Theheart T8.».te. 
 
 The back Matetua. 
 
 Thehelly Roopu, or Ecopu. 
 
 Theltgs Waiwai. 
 
 Thcthigh pu„^^^ 
 
 Theknee jiog. 
 
 The foot Tewai.wai. 
 
 l^"^^'^ Tuki.te.Waiwai. 
 
 B'«»'' Toofo. 
 
 The kidneys Coma*; 
 
 A leader, or chief ^jj^j 
 
 A friend ^ _ ry. •• 
 
 A friendly man \] ^ Euata.mitai. 
 
 ^"♦'""Ser Man«hih. 
 
 ^^^''^ Ekamu. 
 
 * Buaka.Duji)h8. 
 
 f"* Potu. 
 
 ^••"S Buac 
 
I • • • • a • I 
 
 VOCABULABT OP THl LAIfOVAGB OP KVRAHIWA. 
 
 Fish, In general TanMk.. 
 
 ^^'^ Ik.. 
 
 A particular kind of black fish Pahu* 
 
 fy'"»fi"' '. M5«.»tema». 
 
 ^'^"^ Mono. 
 
 ^"*«* Pnchi. . 
 
 ^^•'*" Uchl. 
 
 Asortofcrab ^pooto. 
 
 Another sort of crab Pehu. 
 
 Tu.tt.ai. 
 
 Emanu. 
 
 Moha. 
 
 Teubu. 
 
 Ekaba. 
 
 Tika-ue.' 
 The bread-fruit i^j^^g 
 
 The bread-fruit tree .' T«ina.mei. 
 
 Fermented bread-fruit j^^^ 
 
 The leaf of a tree ''.*.*.'.;;;;; TehoV 
 
 Niu.aehie.t«ehi. 
 Meiga. 
 
 Tckuma. 
 
 The ^gar.cane ij.g| 
 
 A sort of root (Arum macorrhizon) Happeh. 
 
 Puamomono; 
 
 5^1 
 
 A muscle 
 
 A bird 
 
 A hen 
 
 Hen's feathers 
 A lizard ... . 
 Flies 
 
 Cocoa-nuts 
 
 Bananas 
 
 Batatas. 
 
 A flower 
 
 Beans 
 
 A bush 
 
 Grass of different sorts 
 
 Wood 
 
 The bark of a tree . . . 
 
 The sun 
 
 The moon 
 
 The stars 
 
 ' Boniu. 
 
 Teita. 
 
 Mugu, totoe, buaga. 
 
 Wahie. 
 
 • • Eipau. 
 
 Umati. 
 
 , Mahin* 
 
 „,. Eretu. 
 
 I he new moon (the moon that will come) Mahine etamai 
 
 The full moon C<Acgrea<OToo»; Mahine nui. 
 
 The earth, land v 
 
 .„., , , Keunua. Whoonua. 
 
 An island, a rock ^ooto. 
 
 ^'''" Pufi. 
 
552 VOCABULARY OP THE LANGUAGE OF NUKAHIWA.. 
 
 A rircr, a stream (much water). . . . ^ Wai.nui. 
 
 The sea TSi. 
 
 Fire Eachi, eahi 
 
 Water Ewai, ewahi 
 
 The wind , Mchini. 
 
 The north wind Tukuahu. 
 
 The east wind Tiutiu 
 
 TJiunder Hatu-piki, hatuti 
 
 Lightning '. Tcu.i.ia. 
 
 Rain Euii. 
 
 '••on Toki 
 
 ^»y Uateii, wate* 
 
 -^•'ousc OhSai, tchaS. 
 
 A boat, a canoe ," Waga. 
 
 A fishing hook Mcdau. 
 
 ^naxo Toki. 
 
 The cloth worn round the waist Eute. 
 
 Glass beads pj-j 
 
 A dagger coho 
 
 A'"'»" Tahi. 
 
 A fan with a carved handle Tahikatu. 
 
 Fire-arms , pQj, 
 
 An ornament of feathers for the head Bcuc. 
 
 Another sort of ornament ileigua. 
 
 An ornament of feathers for the back Hopcmoa. 
 
 A flute of two reeds Buchoche. 
 
 ▲ calebash, as used to hold w ater Hue. 
 
 A battle, a fish t Tona. 
 
 ^''oiUh.., Mrmai, mamai. 
 
 A woman's waist-biiidcr Teiweu. 
 
 '^'»^™""' Wahine'hai-. 
 
 A spirit, a i>lia>)(o-n Tctua. 
 
 A nccklacf of red ^laus Xy|,a^ ^^f^ 
 
 A lie rp. ,.. ^. 
 
 I ichoe, tiwawa. 
 
 ^'"""^ Koheu. 
 
 A club, for fighting ;. . KSiu-toa. 
 
 Ahcarylonglauce pa,^,.^^^ 
 
 A lighter sort of lanco Kebu. 
 
VOCABULARY OF THE LANGVA6B OF MUKAHIWA. 
 
 Astrawmat Moica. 
 
 ■^'"'''■« • Koche. 
 
 ^'""""s Puipui. 
 
 ^P"""* Taua, ctua. '' 
 
 S'"""^^ Uwai. , 
 
 ^"«" Ehoh. 
 
 S"* Tai. 
 
 |*J^^ Enutai 
 
 _ Kakanai 
 
 C°"^ Vhau 
 
 Thin packthread Itiltivhau 
 
 nT'VT""u Ehakatta,Uha«a 
 
 Cloth, made from the paper-mulberry.tree Kachu 
 
 Stone _, . 
 
 A«ii ......;;.;;; Te-r"** 
 
 tr"'"* '•.••'•'''.'.[['.'.][,'. TaUai 
 
 A drum n . 
 
 . , £pachu 
 
 An orphan child w . ,u . 
 
 Twins Enatatubendt 
 
 An European ship, a large canoe Tewaka nui 
 
 Initrumeots for cutting, as ouster or muscle shells . . Uchl 
 
 PRONOUNS. 
 
 mc Aujorwa* 
 
 Thou,oryou q.. 
 
 He or she ^.. 
 
 ^•- ••■ ..:::;.:::::::':: Z 
 
 ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, &C. 
 Black 
 
 Red ...;..*.*].7.;: ku^ 
 
 Yellow, and, probably, also the root thatdies yellow Jega mo.. 
 
 Good -^ 
 
 Wicked ;.;; ^t\ • 
 
 B Whahai. 
 
 f oor, or a poor creature, or a wretch j^jk j 
 
 Handsome ■»,..* 
 
 Dirty .... ^''*'"- 
 
 Z 2 
 
 3dS 
 
3i4 
 
 TOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE OF NUKAHIWA. 
 
 High, tall 
 
 Very high, rery tall 
 
 Great, much 
 
 Very great, very much 
 
 Great, long, or large 
 
 Little • : 
 
 Very little 
 
 Light, nut heavy • • > 
 
 To-duy 
 
 Yesterday 
 
 This evening ., 
 
 This morning 
 
 Early morning 
 
 Yes. This is often used as a question — Is it so ? . 
 
 No 
 
 Still, silent 
 
 A piece, or a p; i }f any thing 
 
 How much 
 
 Both of us, us two 
 
 Both 
 
 Soon " ■ ■ 
 
 Principally 
 
 Where 
 
 Wherefore, why 
 
 Come hither • 
 
 Enough ' 
 
 An exclamation, un expression of astonishment. 
 
 Lame 
 
 Cold 
 
 04. 
 
 0& nui. 
 
 Nui. 
 
 Nui.nui. 
 
 Hoa. 
 
 Iti. 
 
 Ki-iti. 
 
 £araa. 
 
 Kubo. 
 
 Encnabr. 
 
 Achi.achi. 
 
 Oi.oi 
 
 Oi.Oi tika. 
 
 Ah. 
 
 Aoe. 
 
 Tuitui. 
 
 Footonoa. 
 
 Ehia. 
 
 Tchua. 
 
 Tau. 
 
 Eppo, or heppo. 
 
 A-i-ki, or cuki, 
 
 Thea. 
 
 Ehata. 
 
 Itaniai, bimai, lutamai. 
 
 Etoc. 
 
 Ehoooh. 
 
 Cowi. 
 
 Eanu. 
 
 VERBS, AND VKUBAL EXPRESSIONS. 
 
 To bring, bring me Tukukumai. 
 
 To burn, to set on fire Etutu teahi. 
 
 To fasten, to tie on Ahumu. 
 
 Fasten <he skull to the hip Ahumu te opogo tehob)!. 
 
 To eat Akai. 
 
 GiTc me to cat Akai ma'i. 
 
VOCABULARY OP THE LANGUACK OP NUKAHIWA.. 
 
 9SS 
 
 Is itiof Is it true? 
 
 To catch, as in a stiaro or trap 
 
 To make fire, by friction 
 
 To fight 
 
 To catch with tho hand ... 
 
 To join noses, the substitute for liissiing 
 
 To laugh 
 
 Lt't us see 
 
 Let mo aloup, said in anger 
 
 To love 
 
 To ileposit in tho earth, to inter 
 
 To fetch, fetch it fur mo 
 
 To cough 
 
 To I)e hungry 
 
 To scratch 
 
 To fly 
 
 Let us be friends 
 
 To be afraid, to liave fear 
 
 I am not afraid 
 
 Follow nie 
 
 To give . 
 
 Giro mo something 
 
 To bear, to bring forth a child 
 
 To bo lame 
 
 This is good 
 
 To hold as a vessel holds water 
 
 To take hold of 
 
 To descend a hSll 
 
 To ascend a hill 
 
 To break 
 
 To break any thing in pieces 
 
 To cut down 
 
 Let us cut down trees or make wood . . 
 
 To bite 
 
 Bito a piece of swinc's-flesh 
 
 To cool, to make an air with a fan ... . 
 
 Take a fan to cool yourself 
 
 To icrape to pieces 
 
 Ehoi. , , .,. , , 
 
 Amu. 
 
 Eittka tcalii. , ; ,/ , 
 
 ToQa. / . 
 
 Ahekc. ;,/ ,> , 
 
 I'lhoni.teihu, Onaichu. », 
 
 Uucata, VVhucata. , ;. 
 
 Tiime aha. , i 
 
 Nau 
 
 Etomi. 
 
 Atu ulio-oii. 
 
 Ehapu. 
 
 Eone. 
 
 Tube. i ,, ; 
 
 Eohna. , ; , 
 
 Mitai ane-u.ttu. 
 
 Ilamctau oe. 
 
 Aoehametau aii. 
 
 Mamui mai. 
 
 Tukemai. 
 
 Tukcmai taitit. 
 
 A'ia tcaina. 
 
 Mohoi cowi. 
 
 Mei tahi mitaki. 
 
 Koiteima. 
 
 Akaia. 
 
 Amai ahcke. 
 
 Amai ahiti. 
 
 Wiwah. 
 
 Wiwah laoe. 
 
 Koti. 
 
 Koti to wahie.' 
 
 Ane.nahu. , 
 
 Ane.nahu tc buacB o'e. 
 
 Tahi te tukuanu. . 
 
 A(a oe tahi mai oe t« tqkuaav. 
 
 Awau. 
 
 ^^».H^ri_ Jp: 
 
 Z 2 2 
 
$56 TOCABVIARY 01- THB LAKCUAGE OF NUKAHIWA. 
 
 Scrap* cocoK.nuU, and pren out the juice \wru oe teehi ooe toco ehl. 
 
 To sail Wate.e. 
 
 The ihip hai iailed away « Tc waka wate-e. 
 
 To ihorten, to cut a piece off Koko oti pootonoa. 
 
 To undress, that is, to unbind the cloth worn round 
 
 the waist Ato te kachu. 
 
 To arrive at a place Watata. 
 
 A ship is arrived To waka nui Watata. 
 
 Answer me Apca ma'i oe. 
 
 To be hot Kai.kai. 
 
 To awaken ^ U.a.ai. 
 
 Toeutout Ehu: 
 
 To hang np against the wall Ahiki tiuka. 
 
 To strike a light Apubi teima. 
 
 To extinguish the light Matte teama. 
 
 To bathe, to wash Kaukau. 
 
 To iaToke, the spirit of a person, to which some. 
 
 thing is offered Natetn. 
 
 To make, what do yot^ make Ehata oe. 
 
 To make or build a house Ehata tehae. 
 
 To come near Auhahaga piinai. 
 
 What is your name Oaitoiehoa, oaitouhoa. 
 
 To join cloth together, to sew Tuitui kachu. 
 
 Take this away Akawe. 
 
 Take this, accept this Ai'-ia. 
 
 Open the cocoa-nut Wahi teehi. 
 
 Pack off, get you gone Ata oe. 
 
 To pack up Appa. 
 
 To clean, to make white TawaihS. 
 
 To call Apcwau. 
 
 Call the man. . .\ ^. . . . Apewau.t.enata. 
 
 To smell sweet, as a flower Kekau. 
 
 To say Pcau. 
 
 IteKyo" ^ Peaumaioe 
 
 Isay Eataoe. 
 
 Tell me the name of the country Ahaki mai oe te hennuali Sh. 
 
 Bringmesand T.iki.miii enutal. 
 
 To be pregnant Etubutaraa. 
 
TOCABVLARY OF THE LANGUAGE OF NUKABIWA* 
 
 357 
 
 Tostrik Pohi.pehi. 
 
 To deep • Emoe. 
 
 Sleep with me Emoe tau« 
 
 To snore Matekiilihiemo4. 
 
 To cut Kokoti. 
 
 To cry out Wewan. 
 
 To sweat Tuchuaou. 
 
 To swim Ekau. 
 
 It gives me pain Hemima'i. 
 
 To sit, sit down < Nolio oe. 
 
 To see Tioclie. 
 
 Let us see Tioclie ai.ai. 
 
 To sing Caba. 
 
 Sing sometliing Caba mai oe. 
 
 To sing as tlic priests over tlie dead Ewanahna. 
 
 To spring, to leap Hobu. 
 
 To die Mate.matle. 
 
 Tosteal Makamu. 
 
 Don't make a noise Mai nia te buaKna. 
 
 To stink Tuchia. 
 
 To tattoo Pipikatu. 
 
 To dance Ehaka, wehaka. 
 
 To drink Aigu, einu. 
 
 To be dry, free from moisture Wa'i wci. 
 
 The earth is dry Hennuah Waiwei. 
 
 To be married jjoho te wabanna. 
 
 What would you have Ehata oe. 
 
 To grow, to thrive Uatubu. 
 
 ■ 'it 
 
 To wash 
 
 To wrep .-. 
 
 To hurt, to give pain 
 
 To go away 
 
 To draw, to drag away 
 
 I will 
 
 t wiUnot Koenui. 
 
 I will drink ' £!„„ „u5. 
 
 To will, to be willing Teaki. 
 
 To be wounded , , , , fiohobe. 
 
 Ookau. 
 
 Uwah. 
 
 Hemima'i. 
 
 TahatSchoB. 
 
 Uakawe, wahio. 
 
 Nui. 
 
 / 
 
938 
 
 VOCABULARY OF THE LANCUAOK OF KUKAIIIWA. 
 
 . NUMERALS. 
 
 One .,......' Botahal. 
 
 Two Bohu» 
 
 Three Botoii. 
 
 Four Boha, bofa. 
 
 FIto Boliiraa. 
 
 Six Bohuno. 
 
 ScTcn , Bofiddo, fiddii. 
 
 Eight Bowahu. 
 
 Nine Bohi wa. 
 
 Ten fioohii, ongofulu. 
 
 Twenty Itua.fulu. 
 
 Thirty Tolii ongofulu. 
 
 Forty ••••.. Fa ongofulu. 
 
 Fifty Hima ongofulu: 
 
 A hundred Tchau. 
 
 Two hundred Uatchau. 
 
 Three hundred Tou-tchau; 
 
 A thousand A fei. 
 
 / 
 
SPECIMENS OF THE LANGUAGES SPOKEN AMONG DIFFERENT 
 
 TRIBES OF THE AINU; ' 
 
 THOSE WHO INHABIT THE SOUTHERN PART OF KAMSCHATKA, THE KURILK 
 
 ISLANDS, THE NORTHERN COAST OF JE8S0, THE SOUTHERN PART 01' 
 
 T8CH0KA, ANO THE NORTH-EAST POINT OP T8CH0KA. 
 
 Eagtlih. 
 
 Ainu of 
 Kouibcliaika. 
 
 Ainu of the 
 Aurilu :«laod8. 
 
 Ainu of JcHo. 
 
 Aiau of the floalhern 
 Cuaitnf Ttchuka. 
 
 Ainu of thi 
 
 Nurth-enit 
 
 Point of TichoU. 
 
 Difii . . . ; . .kandtt ; . . . nischiuro • • • • 
 
 ■) .... tonotschu tombi,t«chukfkaraol 
 
 Uchuppu . .tichupUh 
 
 J .... tschu tombi, tschukf 
 
 Tlic Stars kcta kltU nodschu kcda, nodsi 
 
 A Cloud iiuriiir ur&tftk nisch'i, nischikuri. . urari 
 
 ssirugen . . . .ssyruyhn,. . . apto apto, apftu - 
 
 kaukaih kawukawu kawukawu, kaukau. 
 
 bass : 
 
 ipasch upass uba-'-hi. ...... iipaschi, obass . . . nlto 
 
 kei-ra rahra diua d rra, rcra 
 
 uni kamiiigkumph kannokJmoi .... kiiniiakamoi 
 
 Lightning kamui-ssiuune ka.noinibigi . 
 
 Firo ap'i ap8h uniUhi, abe abc, undshi. .... undihi .. 
 
 pi pill waka waka wachkaa. 
 
 k.viii kiidin . . . . toi toi, tui. 
 
 otliiir tapkiip. . . . nuburi kinda, noburi 
 
 s--::nija; .- . .ssupujah . . . pa sschubuja . ; 
 
 poinA polnilh • schiuma 
 
 oti Ota : . . . Ota, oda 
 
 icinitoi . , . .doi. ..... toi ; ... toi 
 
 atiiika adilikS. . . . atui atui, adui 
 
 MO ....;.. to> 8«"^> 
 
 Heaven 
 
 Tlie Sun 
 
 The Moon 
 
 Haia 
 Hail 
 
 Snow 
 Wind 
 Thunder 
 
 Water 
 Earth 
 A Hill 
 Smoke 
 Stone 
 Sand 
 Argilc 
 The Sea 
 A Lake 
 
360 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE LANGL?AOES OF THE AINli 
 
 English. 
 
 A river 
 A man 
 A husband 
 A w'> 
 A fat; iM- 
 A mother 
 A son 
 A daughter 
 The head 
 The ear 
 The eye 
 The nose 
 The mouth 
 The tongue 
 A tooth 
 The hand 
 The foot 
 Flesh 
 Blood 
 Fat 
 
 The heart 
 The back 
 A nail 
 A house 
 A knife 
 An axa 
 A plant 
 A seal 
 A sea otter 
 A crab 
 A dog 
 A mousa 
 A fox 
 A bear 
 
 Ainu of 
 Kamsclmtka. 
 
 pet, uiem . . . ■ 
 
 aiuit. ....... 
 
 kokaio 
 
 kamtsthi. . . . 
 
 mitschi 
 
 uapu 
 
 kpuhu 
 
 k|i6mmai9chi, 
 
 papop 
 
 ksar 
 
 ssik 
 
 etil 
 
 tschar 
 
 achu 
 
 imak 
 
 tek 
 
 kcmil 
 
 l;am 
 
 Aiini of tlio 
 Kurilc liilands. 
 
 Ainu of Jessn. 
 
 Ainu of (lie Soullirrn 
 Coast of Tschoka. 
 
 Ainu flt' (lie 
 
 Nortli-Cint 
 
 Point of Tschoka. 
 
 ssampc. 
 Bsetur. . 
 
 tsche 
 epira . 
 
 mun. 
 
 stapu 
 
 crmu .... 
 kimutpe . . 
 kamui . . . 
 
 potli piz pcz, bcz 
 
 aiiiuh aino aino, guru uru 
 
 mam^thkorgur chobu ,,,. chobu, chogu 
 
 gmatschi .... mati mati, maz 
 
 grupnainu eischiwa 
 
 grupnitschimlt chabu tschqkkara. . 
 
 oltilij6i»6bomp6 poo 
 
 matiigb^mpS mazpu, mazenebu 
 
 gpii nana nanu, schaba 
 
 gsahr kifschara kischara toko 
 
 ssik schiki schiki, schigi kercroante . . 
 
 iihdu.n ito idu tencschi. .. . 
 
 tschar zaro paro, paru 
 
 auch barumbi au 
 
 jumaki nimaki 
 
 dek amoini undi, tegi kcma.tike... 
 
 kehiamii .... uzkami kema kamko 
 
 kam naschi kam , 
 
 kehm kern to, kim 
 
 pTjep , ke ke, kiii, schium 
 
 sampgh schambi 
 
 ssedur schedru schedaru, scheduru , 
 
 ahm am am, ami 
 
 z'sse kee 
 
 epy^rS magidc magiri bakiro 
 
 miika'" niukar ukari 
 
 muha mun mun kiu 
 
 thoar tukari 
 
 kjakko, kothonlp raku 
 
 chau Tng .... takaki. takaki 
 
 stahpu chcta scheta, scheda scheta 
 
 armiih irimo irimo, pon irimo 
 
 kymothpgh.. schumari schumari,schiumari 
 
 kamiii . . hippari chugujukf, aira 
 
 mandi 
 
SPKCIMENS OF 'Ulli KANCiUAHES OP THE AIM;. 
 
 liiii 
 
 Engli<b. 
 
 A wolf 
 A bird 
 A gooso 
 A (luck 
 All egg 
 A fish 
 A ray 
 A tree 
 A leaf 
 A root 
 Birch 
 Salt 
 Milk 
 Large 
 Little 
 High 
 Low- 
 White 
 Black 
 Red 
 To cat 
 To drink 
 To sleep 
 I 
 
 Thou 
 He 
 One 
 Two 
 Three 
 Four 
 Fit* 
 
 Six 
 SeTcn 
 
 Ainu of 
 Kumschatka. 
 
 A'inuaf llir> 
 Kurilt! Islands, 
 
 Ainu of Jciiit, 
 
 Ainu of the Southern Ainu of the 
 Coast of Tschoka. N orth - east 
 
 Point of Tschoka. 
 
 orgiii storkhyg 
 
 tschirpu tschika ... 
 
 kuitdp .... kill tup 
 
 tschirpu kobcttscha. 
 
 noki nohk nuki 
 
 ssuttschip, . . tschep tschep .... 
 
 omil hoina 
 
 ni nyh 
 
 nien 
 
 ni 
 
 abi. 
 
 ssiurit 
 
 tanni. .... tah.nyh. . 
 
 ssippii 
 
 toopi dopSh 
 
 porogo. . . . buruktir .... poro 
 
 moiogo. . . . mSfjop pon 
 
 triiva. .... rih'arujewa . . ri 
 
 oramua tain ....... 
 
 retanoo dctara 
 
 ekururoko kunnc 
 
 iiratatkiwa . . hurSp kurc 
 
 ischama. . . . TppS,h amama .... 
 
 kpckrcigina. . pehkuh ogauni, . . . , 
 
 kmokonrossivamokSr mogoro. . . . 
 
 ka . . . . : . ganu , 
 
 €i canny , 
 
 ..:.... t^lngur , 
 
 ssinep ssyhnap .... schinep .... 
 
 tuup diiph toopu 
 
 rep. , . . . : rich reepu 
 
 in^p ..... yhnap inepn 
 
 assik ahssik aschiknepu . 
 
 , tischi kanioi 
 
 tschikupu zkapf 
 
 guitu 
 
 kobcttscha , 
 
 zapfnuku 
 
 tschep, zma, zcpf . , iroki. 
 
 chuma, zcpfchuma 
 
 ni, nil appcc . 
 
 ni.chamu 
 
 schyndshiz 
 
 karTmba>nii 
 
 schippo, schipo 
 
 too 
 
 poro 
 
 ponno, pon 
 
 ruino, riuwa 
 
 chaukino, uramua. 
 tetara, tedari 
 
 ivan yhgttiihn .... iwanebe.. 
 
 arau^n. . . . ariiahn aruwanbc. 
 
 kunni 
 
 furi '. 
 
 cbe, annuwa 
 
 •k", igu kagai. 
 
 mokuru,moguru 
 
 tschogai 
 
 itschogai 
 
 tada ogjii 
 
 ichincni, schncpf 
 
 toni, tup 
 
 reni, rcpf 
 
 ine, inipf., 
 
 aschikinc, aschiki 
 
 nipf..... 
 
 iwanbe, j u wambi 
 
 aruwanbe, aruwam. 
 bi 
 
 A AA 
 
a62 
 
 Engliib. 
 Eight 
 Nine 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE LANGUAGES OK THE AINU 
 
 Aluu of Jesio. 
 
 Ainu of Ainu of the 
 
 Kainichatko. Kurilc Islandi 
 
 Ten 
 
 Eleven 
 
 Forty 
 Fifty 
 
 tubis dulipyhs.. .. (obischanbc 
 
 Ainu >ir the Southern A inu of the 
 
 Coast of Tschoku. N oith - en<i 
 
 Point of Ticbuka. 
 
 .. tobischanbc, tubls. 
 
 chambi 
 
 isincpis. . . . ssyhnapyhi.. schiiipischanbc . . . . schinpischaiibc, 
 
 sclincbisciiainbi. . . 
 
 "wp>s upyhs waiiak warabe, wambi 
 
 Esiiicp.ikamua ssynaplkas . schinopii ikaschiina schncpu, igaschinia 
 
 ma&il waiibe wambi • 
 
 Twelve tuuptsch ika. duphikasmaua toopu ikaschima tupu ikaKchlma 
 
 Biua .... wanibc wambi 
 
 Twenty tuamp^. . . . duampitschi, 
 
 hoth chozu schnechoz, choz ... . 
 
 Thirty reuamp6 . . . rauampitsch . wanbeitozu wambi idochoz 
 
 incuampi. . . duguth togozu tochoz 
 
 assikncuamp^ uampohrii hoth* wanbcnircgozti . . . wambi irichoz 
 
 A hundred ufinuampc. . . ahssikniih8th+ aschikcncgoiu. .. . ascliikinichoz..- 
 
 A thousand uanotnekaroi)e aschikinischine. wane 
 
 choz 
 
 JvLiva TOK Klapuotii. 
 
 * That is to »aj ten less thau three timei (weNijr. 
 
 t- Fi»e times tirenljr. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ' 'A. 
 
 ji'inoy or A'inn, a tuimbcr of tribos on <lio 
 ■Wfntcrn coast of Asia, so culled, 328, 
 and noto — A mild iiiul benovolcnt rare, 
 f'A. — K»'pt ill grpiit siibjoction by the J:\. 
 pniicsc ictdcrs, 341. 
 
 American Seamen, numbers settled in Owhy. 
 hoe, 187. 
 
 American Vessel, great mistake made by one 
 in the longitude, IT. 
 
 Anitca Bay, in the itiand of Tschoka ; the 
 ship anchors thcrc,330,7- Dinner of a party 
 that went on shore w'^h some Japanese 
 merchants, 339. 
 
 Anthropophagism, the nations that haro 
 been guilty of it, 140 — Motives that lead 
 to it, 142 — Particular and extraordinary 
 instances of it, ib. 
 
 Atomeri, a small island ofTSanta Catharina, 
 3% and 34. 
 
 Aluan, an evil spirit so called at Nukahiwa, 
 138. 
 
 Audience, the first given to the Rnsiian Am. 
 bassador at Japan, 307— The second, 
 308— The (hird, 314. 
 
 Aurora Borealis, a very uncommon one 
 seen upon the voyage, 'i. 
 
 Author, the, goes to Portugal with Prince 
 Waldcck, Introduction, vii — His love of 
 Natural History, ib, — Settles at Lisbon 
 as a Physician, viii — Appointed Surgeon 
 to an Knglish corps, ib. — Returns to 
 Germany, ib. — Applies for an appoint, 
 ment in the Russian expedition, ix.— Is 
 disappointed of obtaining it, ib. — Re. 
 ■olves to meet the ship's company at Co. 
 pcnhagen, x. — Obtains the ambassador's 
 consent to his joining them, ib. 
 
 Ajcatschu, the bay ofi in Kamschatka; arri. 
 vai of the vessel there, 195. 
 
 B. 
 
 liallooH, one sent up by the author at Ja. 
 
 pan, 293. 
 BiUls, shot from bows instead of arrows, 
 
 45— Extraordinary instances of dexterity 
 
 in shooting with them, ib. 
 Bananai, various ways of dressing them in 
 
 Braiil, 53— The leaves of the tree used as 
 
 parasols at Nukahiwa, IIS. 
 
 A A 
 
 lUinjos, or Opprrbanjos, a title given to * 
 
 certain class uf persons in Japan, 224— 
 
 The llnssiaiis on their arrival questioned 
 
 by th«m, 225. 
 Bird.Spidcr, nu insect in Brazil, curious 
 
 account «r ii, 72. 
 Ilotunic (Harden, account of one at Tenc- 
 
 rift'e, 15 — Plan of the establishment to fa. 
 
 miliarizu the plants of hot countries with 
 
 colder.ones, ib. 
 Botes, a particular sort used al Santa Ca. 
 
 tharina, 45. 
 Brazil, Continent of, beauty of the country, 
 
 55 — Variety and beauty of the natural 
 
 productions, 56. 
 Bread-fruit, one of the most essential arti. 
 
 cles of food at Nukahiwa, 123 — Descrip. 
 
 tion of it, 124 — Principal modes of cook. 
 
 lag it. ib. 
 ButterJliet,numheTi seen at sixty miles fron\ 
 
 the coast of Brazil, 20 — Various kinds in 
 
 that country, and particularly beautiful, 
 
 32, 64, 55, 68, 73, 74. 
 ButterJly-netSf the proper ones required ia 
 
 Brazil. 
 
 C. 
 Caboecolot^ the native inhabitants of Santa. 
 
 Catharina, 38 — Their inroads upon the 
 
 settlers, ib. 
 Cabri, Jean Baptiste, a French sailor found 
 
 on the island of Nukahiwa, 07 — Almost 
 
 naturalized there, 08 — Slightly and irre. 
 
 gularly tattooed, 121 — Suspected of eat. 
 
 ing human flesh, 148 — Superstitions im. 
 
 bibed by him, 157 — Carried away by ac. 
 
 cident from Nnkahiwa, 181 — He refuse* 
 
 to remain at Owhyheo, 184 — Goes to St. 
 
 Pctersburgh, Introduction, xi— Exhibits 
 
 the dances of the savages there, and at 
 
 Moscow, xii — Appointedjto be teacher of 
 
 swimming atCroustadt, ib. 
 Cadeirinhas, a spccioi of chair used at Santa 
 
 Catharina, 47. 
 Cassava-root, or Tapioca, a material artlcia 
 
 of food at Santa Catharina, 36. 
 Catilina-crameri, an extraordinary species of 
 
 butterfly that emits froth, 74. 
 Cattle, a great number bred at Santa Ca. 
 
 tharina, 38— Suffered to run wild, ib,— 
 
 Manner of catching them, ib, 
 A 2 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ChUiMrth at Nukahitrs, enstomi obserTed 
 
 on the occasion, 151. 
 Children at Japan, long garments worn by 
 
 them, Introduction, zviii. 
 Ciiinetejunkty Tcry heary clnmsy vessels, 
 
 339 and 268. 
 Circumcision, a custom obserTed at Nuka. 
 
 hi Via, 158. 
 Compliments^ the manner of making them in 
 
 Japan, 236 — All persons compelled to 
 
 make them to persons of distinc(ion, 232 
 
 — Description of one made to the Russian 
 
 ambassador, 259. 
 Copaiva-balsam, or balsam of Tolu, culti- 
 
 vuted at Santa Catharina, 43. 
 Coral.snakey a very venomous reptile in 
 
 Brazil, 70. 
 Cornish minerals, a complete collection of, 
 
 possessed by Counsellor Klaproth of Bcr. 
 
 lin, 3, nofe. 
 Coronation, festival of the Russian Empe. 
 
 ror's, celebrated, 210. 
 Cofton-zcool, inconvenient machine used by 
 
 the Brazilians in preparing it, 63. 
 Cuova del Gelo, a curious cavern in the Peak 
 
 of Tcneriffe, 19. 
 
 D. 
 
 Da'iri, the spiritual sovereign of Japan, his 
 intrigues, 290. 
 
 Dances, those of the negroes at Santa Catha- 
 rina, 47 — Those of the Nukahiwans, 158 
 — That of the Kamsthadales, 202. 
 
 Dangereuse La, a rock mentioned by La 
 Pcrouse, 335. 
 
 Dog.Jish, two very large ones caught in tho 
 Pacific Ocean, 192. 
 
 Dominicans, a convent of, at TencrifTc, 12. 
 
 Dragon's-blood tree, a very remarliable one 
 in the island of Teneriife, 16. 
 
 E. 
 
 Earth.nut, much cultivated at Santa Catha. 
 
 rina, 36. 
 Easier Island, extravagant account given of 
 
 the natives by the first discoverers, 85. 
 Ecclesiastics, very few atSanta Catharina, 44. 
 Eleclriml machine, the Japanese particu. 
 
 larly intcrchtcd by one, 235. 
 Emhassi/, the Russian to Japan, circum. 
 
 stances (hat led to it, 203. 
 
 Equator, the, passed for the first time by a 
 Russian ship, 23 — Ceremonies observed 
 on the occasion, 24. 
 
 Empe) -1" of Japan, his name never knovrn 
 during his life, 241. 
 
 F, 
 
 Falmouth, description of that town, i— 
 Fish brought to market there, 3. 
 
 Fingers, used very much in eating at Santa 
 Catharina, 61. 
 
 Fish, great abundance brought to market at 
 Santa Cruz, 9 — Different sorts eaten at 
 Santa Catharina, 76 — Not eaten at Nu- 
 kahiwa but in cases of necessity, 126. 
 
 Ft.y{,Prince of, at Japan, his boat particular, 
 ly splendid, 248— Description of it, 280 
 The ambassador goes in it to Nangasaki, 
 304 — The town hung partly with his arms, 
 305. 
 
 Foot-baths, very much used at Santa Catha. 
 rina, 46 — The author's delight in one, 53. 
 
 Fortresses, the constructions in Japan so 
 called, 233. 
 
 Froth, emitted by an extraordinary species 
 of butterfly, 74. 
 
 Funeral ceremonies, those observed at Nu. 
 kahiwa, 154. 
 
 Garaehico, harbour of, at Teneriife choakcd 
 
 with lava, 20. 
 Geography, very much attended to by (he 
 
 Japanese, 237 and 246. 
 Glanih, two remarkable ones in the heads of 
 
 (lie Nukahiwans, xiv. 
 Globe, a pocket one, very much admired by 
 
 the Japanese, 238. 
 Gold anil Silver Islands, so^ight for in vain 
 
 by Captain KrHsemtern. 193. 
 Grottoes, fe»eral amoP:; tlic mountains of 
 
 TcntTiHV, 10 — Supposed (o have been (he 
 
 ancient haliUations of thctiuanclies, ib, 
 Cuanches, the original inhabitants of Tene. 
 
 riffe, 11 — Some genuine descendants of 
 
 them slill existing, ib. 
 Guns, (ho!>e of Japan fired with lighted 
 
 matches, 263. 
 
 If. 
 
 Harbours, several good ones enumerated in 
 the island of Nukahiwa, 104. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 HerringSf immense quantities dried on the 
 
 island of Jesso, 339. 
 Horner, Dr. his merits as an astronomer, 33. 
 Houses, manner of building them at Nuka. 
 
 hiwa, 130. 
 Human Jlesh, eaten at Nukahiwa, 138, and 
 
 148. 
 
 I. 
 
 Ice, a quantity of floating, seen from the 
 
 ship, 345. '■'{) 
 Interpreters, a number of official ones at 
 
 Japan, 324, note. 
 
 ' J. 
 
 Japanese, some wrecked on the coast of 
 Kamschalka, 203— Carried home by Lieu- 
 tenant Laxmann, 204 — Others wrecked 
 on the same coast, 207 — Four of them 
 carried home by Captain Krifsenstern, 
 308 — First visit of some to the Russian 
 ship, %2i -^Particular attention of thtse 
 people tomakinjg; compliments, 226— The 
 Russians required by them to give up 
 their arms and powder,, 228 — Those car. 
 ried home by the llussians reproved for 
 misconduct, 236— Great attention of the 
 Japansse to Geography, 246 — The boys 
 early expert at mechanical occupations, 
 260 — One of the Japanese interpreters 
 wishes much to travel, 266 — One of those 
 brought from Russia attempts to destroy 
 himself, 287 — Some settled upon the island 
 of Jcsso, 329 — and upon the island of 
 Tschoka, 339. 
 
 Jesso, island of, appearance of the country, 
 323. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kacha, a sort of charm used at Nukahiwa 
 described, 155. 
 
 Kakuh, a sort of food made from the bread, 
 fruit, 124. 
 
 Kamschutka, aspect of the country in ap. 
 preaching it, 195 — Difficulties found by 
 the author in explorini; the country, 199 
 — its political situation, ib. — Not so poor 
 a country as is generally imagined, 201. 
 
 Kermes, the Dutch name for a Japanese fes- 
 tival, 238. 
 
 Klttproth, Connsellor, of ^erlin, bis collec- 
 tion of Cornish minerals, 3, note. 
 
 Kombie, a sort of food eaten at Jesso, made 
 from a species otfucut, 333, note. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lanterns, small paper ones rery much used 
 
 in Japan, 324, 247, 273. 
 Lava, the houses at Santa-Cruz built, and 
 
 the streets paved with it, 10 — A quantity 
 
 of vitrified lava about the Peak of Tene. 
 
 riffe, 17, 
 Lobster, the, considered at Japan as the 
 
 emblem of health, 291. . 
 
 M. .'.= '., 
 
 Mandioca, another name for tapioca, or cas. 
 
 sava-root, 36. 
 Marriages, form of them at Nukahiwa, 153. 
 Mechanics in a very low state at Brazil, 63 
 — Inconvenience of all the implements for 
 
 mechanical trades, ib. 
 Medusa;, a great number in the Pacific 
 
 Ocean, 191. 
 Megasaki, description of the ambassador's 
 
 house there, 279, and 282. 
 Minerals, the various sorts in the mountains 
 
 of Teneriife, 10. 
 Mollusquw, a great variety seen by the au. 
 
 thor in the Atlantic, 29 — Also between 
 
 Owhyhee and Kamschatka, 191. 
 Mongolfier, one made by the author at Ja. 
 
 pan, 293. 
 Monks, two convents of at Santa-Crui, 9 — 
 
 A monastery of Dominicans in another 
 
 part of Teneriife, 12. 
 Mufau Taputakava, an inhabitant of Nuka. 
 
 hiwa, his extraordinary stature, 108 — >His 
 
 proportions the same as the Apollo of Bel. 
 
 vedere, 109 — The particulars of them, ib. 
 
 — Shorter by ahead than another Nukahi. 
 
 wan, ib. — His extraordinary dcAlerity in 
 
 swimming, 170. 
 Mummies, curious dried ones found in the 
 
 island of Teneriife, 11 — Some nearly simi. 
 
 lar found in London, ib. note. 
 
 N. 
 
 Nangasaki, a town and harbour at Ja^ 
 pan, 220 — Arrival of the Russian rcssel 
 
INDEX. 
 
 thcrc,220— It anchors in the outer harbour, 
 222 — 'Vhti town first seen by the Russians, 
 246 — They at length anchor very near it, 
 266 — Procession of the ambassador to the 
 governor's iiouse there, 305, 
 
 Naturalist, obstacles to his pursuits at Santa 
 Catharinu, 39 — The author meets with an 
 expcriiuiced one in Brazil, 51 — Dificrcnt 
 excursions made with him, 54. 
 
 Nava, Marquis de, his botanic garden at 
 Tcneiiffe, 15 — His plan for familiarizing 
 plants of hot countries vith colder ones, 
 id. 
 
 Negro-slavea, a great number at Santa Ca- 
 tharina, 41— VVhenco imported, ib. — The 
 prices at which they are sold, ib, — Often 
 join the natives in their inroads upon the 
 settlers, 42 — Their dances, 47. 
 
 Nctat/ear, rianucr of celebrating it in Japan, 
 2!)0, and 292. 
 
 .Vejcw/crt/'* gifts at Japan, account of them, 
 291 — A splendid one sent to the Russian 
 ambassador, ib. 
 
 Norimon, a sort of Sedan. chair used in Ja- 
 pan, 302. 
 
 yossa Senhora d>> Desterro, the principal 
 tow n of Santa. Catharina, 34. 
 
 SuknIiiKn, island of, arrival of fhc Russian 
 ship there, 88 — Visited by the king, 90 — 
 Great numbi.^TS of the islanders come on 
 hoard, 91 — Importunity of the women, 
 93— Kxtcnt of the island, 104— Its har. 
 hours, ib. — Its population, 105 — The in. 
 habitants a handsome race, 108 — Extra, 
 ordinary stature of one, ib, — Another 
 still taller, 109 — Their expression of conn, 
 tcnancc pleasing, 1 10 — The women hand, 
 somcr than those of Otahcitc, 111 — The 
 people not naturally brown, but the men 
 «oon sun-burnt, 113 — ^The women of dis. 
 tiiiction lareful of their complexions, ib. 
 — Their mode of bleaching thiir skins if 
 tanned, ib. — Frequently rub themselves 
 with a yellow ointment, 114 — Tattooing 
 brought to great perfection by the Nnka. 
 hiwans, 117 — The taboo societies, 121 — 
 Clothin-; of the people, 123 — Their food, 
 ib. — They eat human flesh, lid — Their 
 habitations, ib, — Their government, 130 
 •—Their manner of going to battle, 150-.- 
 
 Some other customs, 161 — Marriages, \S?, 
 — Funeral ceremonies, 154 — Supersti- 
 tions, 155.— Dances, 158. Music, 160 — 
 Measured striking on their bodies, 163— 
 Their musical instruments, 164— One of 
 their popular songs, 165 — Their running 
 on stilts, 168 — Their swimming, 169 — 
 Their ornaments, 170 — Their canoes, 173 
 — Very few quadrupeds, 170 — Danger of 
 the ship on quitting the island, 179. 
 Nuns, a convent of, at Tenerifl'e, 13. 
 
 O. 
 
 Ointment, a yellow one much used by the 
 Nukahiwans, 114. 
 
 Opperbanjos. or Banjos, a title of distinction 
 at Japan i24. 
 
 Owhj/hee, , (and of, arrival of the ship 
 there, 182 — Progress made in civilization, 
 185 — Endeavours of the King to increase 
 its prosperity, 186 — Many of the inha- 
 bitants serving as sailors on board Ameri- 
 can vessels, 187-^Excellcnco of the cord- 
 age made Ihore, ib. — State of the marine, 
 1H8 — A sort of wood said to grow ther« 
 impervious to worms, ib, 
 
 P. 
 
 Peak ofTencriffc, itsheighth, 17— Heighth of 
 
 the plain on which it stands, i6.— Abounds 
 
 with vitrified lava and pumice stones, ib, 
 
 — Circumference of the crater, 18 — Its 
 
 composition, ib. 
 Pease, roasted ones used in Japan as a charm 
 
 against evil spirits, 29%. 
 PetropauloKsk, the town of, in Kamschatka, 
 
 its situation, 196 — Ball given there by 
 
 General Koschelcif, 20l. 
 Physalis pelagica, smart occasioned by 
 
 touching if, 23. 
 Physician of Japan, his mode of examining 
 
 his patient, 294 — Objections made against 
 
 his attending the Russian ambassador, 
 
 295. 
 Popoi, a sort of fermented bread-fruit made 
 
 at Nukahiwa, 125. 
 Porto de tOrolava, town of, at Teneriffe, 
 
 14 — Its fine situation, 15. 
 Presents, enumeration of those sent by the 
 
 Emperor of Russia to tho Emperor of 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Japan, %3S — The Japanese not permitted 
 
 to accept any prt-sents, S3R — ThoRC sent 
 
 to the Emperor refused, 312. 
 Procession, that of the Russian ambassador 
 
 to the governor's house at Nangasaki, 
 
 305. 
 Promontory of the Ruttiant, one so named 
 
 by Captain Kruseti»t»-rn, 321. 
 Provisions, articles of. and their prices, at 
 
 Santa Ca( iarir^, 36, ar*d 37. 
 Pulex penetrans f or sand.fl ;a, a tronblcsome 
 
 insect at Santa Cathariiia, 46 — Inconvc. 
 
 niencies often experienced from it, ib, and 
 
 68. 
 Purchases, none permitted to be made in 
 
 Japan, 290. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quadrupeds^ Terjr few at Nukahiwa, 176. 
 R. 
 
 Rny, the fish, popular belief that the thorns 
 in its tail are poisonous, 9. 
 
 Roberts, an Knglish sailor found on the 
 island of Nukahiw^i, 90-~His enmity to- 
 wards a French tiailor on the island, 9Q— 
 Jlis zeal in the service of the Russian ship 
 and crew, 97 — Very little tattoooed. 
 
 8. 
 
 Saint Peter and Saint Paul, a fine harbour 
 in Kamschatka, 107 — Productions of the 
 country round it, ib. 
 
 Sand.Jlea, great inconvenience often expe« 
 rionced from it, 68. 
 
 Santa Calharina, island of, beautiful ap. 
 proach to it, 31 — Its eiitcnt, 33 — Popu- 
 lation, 34 — Manners of the inhabitants, 
 35 — Extent of its dependencies, ib. — Its 
 ]ir<)duciions, ib. — Articles of food, and 
 tlicir prices, 36 and 37 — A great many 
 cattle reared there, 38 — Suffered to run 
 wild, ih. — Manner of catching them, ib. 
 — The Portuguese settlers there subject 
 to inroads from the natives, 38 — Particu. 
 iars relative to the climate, 39 — Customs 
 and habits that prevail in the country, 4U, 
 and 44 — Great number of negro slaves, 
 41 — Numerous objects of trade that might 
 be ])roduced there, 43 — Very few eccle- 
 siastics, 44 — A particular sort of bow for 
 
 shooting balls used, 45 — Importance of 
 the whab.fishery, 64 — Diseases of the 
 island, 67 — Slate of medicine, ib, — Bad 
 teeth of th« natives, 69 — Natural history, 
 
 :o. 
 
 Santa-Crut, the principal town on the 
 island of Teneriffe, 7 — Rabble constantly 
 in the streets there, ib. — Good anchorage 
 in the harbour, 8 — Plenty of fruit, and 
 other provisions, I'A.— No regular inni, 
 ib. — Abundance of fish, 9 — Two conventa 
 of monks there, tA.-r-Monumcnt to the 
 
 Virgin Mary, ib. 
 
 The houses built, and 
 
 the streets paved, with lava, 10 — Some 
 
 pleasant society there, 12. 
 Santa-Cruz, a fort so called, on an island 
 
 off the coast of Brazil, 32 and 34. 
 Sea Voyage, ta.T from tedious, 4 — Various 
 
 amusements and employments upon it, 5. 
 Sepia, very large ones in the sea about Bra- 
 zil, 75 — Dangerous to people bathing, ib. 
 Serenades, frequent at Santa Catharina, 50. 
 Serpents, great numbers in Brazil, and very 
 
 venomous, 70. 
 Silver and Gold islands, sought for in vain, 
 
 193. 
 Societies, the Taboo ones at Nukahiwa, 121. 
 Storm, Account of a >VeadfuI one off the 
 
 coast of Japan, 214. 
 Straw mats, used as >* is and tables at Santa 
 
 Catharina, 60. 
 Sea-mews, immense quantities on the shores 
 
 of Kamschatka, 196. 
 Sugar-canes, abundance in the island of 
 
 Nukahiwa, 106 — And in Owhyhee, 188. 
 
 T. 
 
 Ta&oo societies at Nukahiwa, 121 — Objects 
 of Taboo enumerated, 1.33. 
 
 Tapioca, or cassava.root, a principal article 
 of food at Santa Catharina, 36 — Manner 
 of preparins; and eating it, 61. 
 
 Tattooing, the people at Nukalijwa particu- 
 larly remarkable for it, 1 16 — Considered 
 as a badge of distinction among them, 
 1 17 — Made a profession by particular per- 
 sons, t&. — Manner in which it is perform- 
 ed, 1 18 — The women very little tattooed, 
 120 — Explanation of most of the figures 
 used ia it. Introduction, xv. 
 
 % ; 
 
i N D »; X. 
 
 Tauas, or prlaits of Nukahiwii, great cat. 
 erj of hutoan flesh, 1 19— The popular be- 
 lief in their kuoulalgo of mqgic, 157. 
 
 Tea, a particular sort used at Santa Cutha. 
 
 rina, 44. 
 
 Teneriff'Cy island of, arrival of the Russian 
 shipi tliure, 7— The wines, 8— A great 
 deal of Teneriffe wine sold as Madeira, ib. 
 Brandy scarce there, ib. — Evident marks 
 of volcanoes in yarious parts of the island, 
 10 and 20— The climate very mild, 11 — 
 Doninican monastery there, 1^ — Convent 
 of nuns, 13 — Hospitality of a citizen 
 there, i6. — Heighth of the peak, 17., 
 
 Tola, balsam of, prepared at Sania Catha. 
 riua, 43. 
 
 Tschingodsi, Prince, at Japan, Iiis splendid 
 boat, IbA — The Russian ambassador re. 
 . turns in it on board the ship, 317. 
 
 Virgin Marj/y a monument to her at Santa. 
 
 Cru3, 9. 
 Volcanoes^ several craters of, about the island 
 
 of Teneriflfe, 30. — Flaming ones on thp^ 
 
 coast of Kamschatka, 195 — A remarka. 
 
 ble one upon the Island of Jcsso, 33S — 
 
 Another remarkable one among the Ku. 
 
 rile islands, 346. 
 Vulcan''! Island^ bought in vain in the Pacific 
 
 Ocean, 209. 
 
 Uvsuluy Santa, wuch hutiuurcd tt Tone. 
 ritre, 13. 
 
 •-•■*,,W. , ■■;';^, 
 
 fVaikai, a sort of food mada from the bread. 
 
 fruit, 124. 
 lV(tlk, description of one made at Japan for 
 
 the Russian ambassador, 230. 
 Washington's Islands, or the Now Marque. ; 
 
 sas, arrival of the ship there, 86 — l)e. 
 
 scription of thf> group of islancs, 100—. 
 
 Tabular view of thorn, 102 — Clinialo, and 
 
 course of the sfasuns^ 103 —Prevailing 
 
 winds, ib, — Productions of these iitlauds, 
 
 100 — Beauty and fine form of the inhabi. 
 
 tanis, 108. 
 ffhale./miicrij, its imp<>rtancc at Santa Ca- 
 
 tharina, 64— Diiferont ettablishmcuts in 
 
 Brazil for cairyin(( it on, ib. 
 Women of Japan, large parties come out to 
 
 see the Russian ship, 248. 
 Wood, a sort imperTiour to worms, said to 
 
 grow at Owhyhee, 188. ' 
 
 Xit''i0^fl(ea, a very venomous serpent in Bra. 
 zil, 70— Smell said to boomittedfrom it,71. 
 
 t,»"«riit'@ai 
 
 Upott, a remarkably tall inhabitant of Nn. 
 kahiwa, 109. 
 
 Zoophjftts, a great variety seen by the author 
 in the Atlantic, 29 — And between Owby. 
 bee and Kamschatka, 191. .j^^^v 
 
 ff-7>j: "■ 
 
 THE KNB. 
 
 B. Clamkb, Priater, WcU-Stntt, Loc^Ua.