HIS THREE CRUISES 15 



pursuits were compelled by necessity to resort to the 

 harbors of the islands for refreshment and supplies; to 

 reclaim those who from improper motives had remained 

 among the islanders; and by exhibiting the moral ad- 

 vancement of America to so raise the American national 

 character in their estimation as to induce a praiseworthy 

 imitation of it on their part. The ship arrived at one of 

 the islands, Nukahiva by name, on July 26, and in order 

 to carry out the spirit of his orders Captain Finch made 

 his vessel a ''tabu ship" that he might prevent the gross 

 licentiousness to which ships from Christian lands were 

 usually surrendered in those ports. 



For an account of Maury's experiences on this cruise 

 little is to be derived from his extant letters, but fortu- 

 nately Chaplain C. S. Stewart wrote a book entitled 

 "A Visit to the South Seas in the U. S. Ship Vincennes 

 during the years 1829 and 1830", in which he mentions 

 Maury as a member of the shore party which visited the 

 Valley of Taioa and as one of those who went on various 

 other expeditions on the island of Nukahiva under the 

 direction of the chaplain . That these were unforgettable 

 experiences is evident from Stewart's rapturous de- 

 scriptions of the people and the scenery of the island 

 which, he declared, ''seemed almost a fairy land, scarce 

 less fascinating in its features than the imaginary haunts 

 pictured by the pens of genius as the abode of Calypso, 

 or the happy valley of the Abyssinian prince". 



Before leaving this island Maury had an experience of 

 peculiar interest. It w^as here that his brother John had 

 spent two years practically cut off from civilization. 

 Just before the War of 1812, he had secured a furlough 

 from the navy and had gone as first ofhcer in a merchant- 

 man on a voyage to China. On departing from Nuka- 



