216 MOVEMENTS OF THE SQUADRON. [1839 



also obtained from the tree ; and from the inner bark, a juice 

 is procured, which is used instead of paint oil, and when 

 mixed with lampblack, or with the dye of the casuarina, be- 

 comes so permanent that it cannot be washed off, — differing, 

 in this respect, from the oil of the cocoa-nut, which, when 

 joined with paint, does not dry. 



(10.) Immediately after the arrival of the Squadron in the 

 Samoiin group, the different islands were divided among the 

 vessels, for surveys and examinations. An observatory was 

 established on Tutuila, and the head-quarters of the com- 

 mander of the Expedition temporarily fixed on that island. 

 The Peacock and Flying Fish joined the Vincennes at Pago- 

 pago, on the 18th of October, and were at once ordered to 

 proceed to Upolu. 



While the Squadron remained at these islands, a fono, or 

 council, was held by the chiefs of Upolu, Manono and Savaii, 

 at the request of Captain Wilkes, in which rules and regu- 

 lations were agreed upon and adopted, for the security and 

 protection of American whalers. A son of the Rev. Mr. 

 Williams was likewise appointed Consul of the United States, 

 and recognized as such by the Council. But little depend- 

 ence, however, is to be placed upon the agreement entered 

 into at that time by the Samoan chiefs, as they have since 

 shown, on more than one occasion, an undue readiness to 

 violate their most solemn pledges. During the stay of the 

 American Expedition, also, a native was tried by a council 

 of chiefs, for murdering an American citizen twelve months 

 previous, and found guilty. He was in the first instance 

 sentenced to be executed, and preparations were made to 

 carry the sentence into effect; but at the suggestion of Cap- 

 tains Wilkes and Hudson, his punishment was commuted to 

 banishment for life, and he was afterwards conveyed to Wal- 

 lis Island, on board one of the vessels of the Squadron, in 

 their subsequent passage to Sydney. 



All the islands, with their harbors, having been surveyed, 

 — with the exception of the south side of Upolu, which was 

 finished by the Porpoise, during another visit to the group, 



