132 



AUSTRALASIA. 



Austral- 

 asia. 



170O-JS10. 



must infallibly tend to lessen the poignancy of feeling. 

 The rude and brutal men tyrannize over them; thcy 

 are exposed to insult aud indignity ; and their condi- 

 tion is little better than that of slaves. The* union 

 of the 6exes, though apparently matrimonial, it, in 

 many cases, only a temporary association. The court- 

 ship of the men does not consist in smiles or solicitation, 

 but in stealing behind the object of desire, felling her 

 to the earth with a club, and carrying her off while 

 in a state of insensibility. She is kept by the man 

 as his wife so long as he finds it convenient : he then 

 deserts her to form a new alliance, accompanied by 

 equal violence. The Australasians are universally 

 to be distrusted ; they are cruel, treacherous, and 

 commonly guided by the impulse of the moment. 

 Nothing but the consciousness of inferiority awes them 

 into submission ; and they never lose sight of that in- 

 stant when the vigilance of others may be lulled asleep. 

 All are brave, suffer pain with fortitude, and among 

 some tribes an injury is retaliated to the precise ex- 

 tent that it has been inflicted. Every sentiment of 

 delicate reserve is unknown among these people : which 

 amply proves that modesty is an acquired sentiment, 

 and not implanted by the hand of nature. Investiga- 

 tions into the disposition of the Australasians has 

 removed a doubt, which was only made such, because 

 revolting to our feelings, that many tribes are canni- 

 bals. But this is now so fully ascertained, that it 

 will never be again called in question : for the inha- 

 bitants of these regions are greedy of human flesh. 

 Viewing the fact with a philosophic eye, perhaps it 

 ought not to appear so strange that men can devour 

 each other. We ought first to consider how low the 

 Australasians rank in the chain of society : probably 

 they are removed only one link from the brute crea- 

 tion. Many of their tribes are situated in bleak and 

 barren districts : they are strangers to the art of 

 cultivating the earth ; few,vegetables of natural growth 

 are adopted for food ; and animals arc rarely within 

 their reach. While prosecuting their frequent wars, 

 they are exposed to additional privations, augmenting 

 in proportion to the continuance of hostilities. But 

 in devouring the bodies of their enemies, they not 

 only gratify revenge, and possess an unequivocal 

 token of superiority, but, by an easy means, the 

 pressing calls of nature are satisfied. Neither ought a 

 banquet of human flesh to appear incredible. Have we 

 not known repeated calamitous occasions, some even 

 of recent date, where, among our own countrymen, 

 the survivors fed on their deceased companions mere- 

 ly to protract existence ? nay, where the flesh of 

 one, sacrificed to preserve the lives of others, was 

 greedily devoured, and his warm blood drunk with 

 pleasure. 



All that we behold in Australasia, however, is not to 

 Sotnetribei be consideredas entirelynevv; for there ane,in the man- 

 barn their nets and customs of the natives, several conspicuous 

 d* z d. coincidences with those of the old world. In certain 



places they burn their dead. The origin of this custom 

 is lost in the antiquity of those barbarous nations; but 

 M. Peron, while speaking of the tombs which he found 

 in Maria'6 island, endeavours to account for it thus. 

 " Man is, in these regions, an absolute stranger to every 

 principle of social organisation ; wanting chiefs, pro- 

 perly so denominated ; without laws, naked, ignorant 

 of agriculture, and deprived of the certain means of 



subsistence. His only arms and utensils are a rudely 

 fashioned club and spear. Wandering with his family 

 on the toast, where hia ordinary exigencies arc sup- 

 plied, he remains longer, and returns more frequently 

 to parts where shell fish abound, and where a stream 

 of fresh water enhances the value of the situation. 

 Does a respected old man die, leaving a numerous 

 family, how shall they dispose of his body ? They 

 cannot abandon the corpse of a parent to beasts of 

 prey ; consequent putrescence could not fail to pros.- 

 disgusting ; and the scattered bones of what thev 

 knew once formed their parent, constantly presented 

 to their sight, would excite a painful sentiment 

 reproach. They are restrained from throwing the 

 body into the sea, a natural and easy expedient, 

 lest it might again be cast up on the shore; and per- 

 haps its corrupted members might be mingled with 

 what they sought for daily food ; embalming it is 

 beyond their ideas and resources ; and inhumation 

 is so much the more difficult, from the hard and 

 rocky soil, and from their having no utensil where- 

 with to dig a grave. Yet such a measure would pro- 

 bably be resorted to, did not one occur which is 

 more easily executed. This is cremation. Here 

 every thing conspires to the facility of execution ; 

 fire and materials are ready at command; only a 

 few hours are required to finish the work ; and the 

 fragments of bones, which are the- sole residue, may ho 

 covered with the ashes produced. Thus the custom 

 of burning the dead is not the pure effect of chance ; 

 it results from physical and local circumstances." 



Although many Australasian regions are wild 

 and sterile, there are extensive portions which cannot 

 be exceeded in fertility. The beauty of different 

 islands, the salubrity of the climate, and excellence 

 of the soil, held forth the conspicuous advantages 

 which would ensue from rendering them a permanent 

 abode. Hence it was that, centuries ago, the utility of 

 colonizing Australasia occupied the attention of Eu- 

 ropeans. Mendana, as we have seen, established himself 

 in Santa Cruz, an island presenting the most valuable 

 resources to the navigators of the neighbouring seas. 

 His views, however, were not originally directed to 

 that particular spot ; for it was only in consequence 

 of his search for the Arsacides failing, that he went 

 thither in 1595. When the colony was abandoned, 

 and, on Mendana's decease, the government devolved 

 on his widow, she made another attempt to discover 

 the Arsacides. The voyage was short and unsuc- 

 cessful, and a sudden determination was adopted to 

 sail for the Spanish settlements in South America. 

 Quiros, who had been chief pilot to this expedition, 

 renewed the design of a colony, after having a second 

 time traversed the Australasian ocean. Whether or 

 not he carried out people and materials for such a 

 purpose, or what wa6 the specific intention of his 

 voyage, is uncertain ; but he addressed a n*moir on 

 the subject to Philip III. of Spain, which was pub- 

 lished in 1610, a few years after his return. He en- 

 tertained a different opinion from Mendana, with re- 

 gard to the most suitable place for a settlcnu nt, 

 judging the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, lying 

 some degrees farther south, as the best. It is not 

 surprising that he should have felt partiality towards a 

 territory which he himself discovered. In enumerating 

 its qualifications, he proceeds; " Finally, sire, I can, 



1700- J : 



Coloniza- 

 tion of AlH 

 ti alalia. 



Attempted 

 by the 

 Spaniards'. 



