62 



The Relief ordered home. 



PAUMOTU GROUP. 



The small-pox. 



From this state of things resulted the limited 

 trade and enormous profits to a few individuals, 

 under the colonial system. As soon as the ports 

 were opened, an expansion took place, and the 

 trade was entirely overdone. The markets became 

 glutted with all kinds of foreign fabrics, and many 

 ruinous voyages were made from ignorance of the 

 wants of the people, and their means of payment. 



For the last ten years the trade has been better 

 understood. The demand and the means of pay- 

 ment have been more accurately ascertained, and a 

 healthy and increasing commerce has been carried 

 on, as far as the state of the country and the fluc- 

 tuations, which are inseparable from a distant traf- 

 fic, would permit. The commerce of Peru will not 

 bear a comparison with that of Chili, and while the 

 former has been diminishing, the latter has been 

 rapidly increasing. A portion of the supplies which 

 were formerly sent to Peru direct, are now obtained 

 in Chili, and sent to their destination in coasting 

 vessels. This change has been brought about by 

 the unwise policy pursued by the various Peruvian 

 rulers, in imposing heavy transit duties. This is 

 also in part to be attributed to the advantageous 

 situation of Valparaiso, where purchasers are 

 always to be found for articles for the leeward 

 coast. There is little doubt in the minds of those 

 who are most competent to judge, that Valparaiso 

 must become the principal mart of foreign com- 

 merce on the west coast of America. 



The foreign trade of Peru is principally carried 

 on by the English, Americana, and French. Of 

 late years, a good many German and Spanish ves- 

 sels also have been sent thither ; and occasionally 

 some of the Mediterranean flags are seen on the 

 coast. 



The annual imports into Peru are combined so 

 much with those of Chili, that it was deemed pro- 

 per to include them under the one head ; those of 

 Peru amount to about two-fifths of the whole. Of 

 these imports, part go to Guayaquil ; the Interme- 

 dios, or South Peru and Bolivia, take about one 

 million from Chili and Lima. The returns made 

 from Peru are as follows : 



DOLLARS. 

 4,500,000 

 500,000 



In dollars and bullion 



Bark, hides, wool, cotton, &c. 



5,000,000 



It will be perceived, that both in Peru and Chili, 

 the imports and exports are nearly the same in 

 amount ; and the question naturally arises, whence 

 the profits on the trade 1 It is readily answered 

 that, as has been already said, large quantities of 

 goods are annually sold in Chili and Peru for Cen- 

 tral America, the proceeds of which are shipped 

 thence direct to Europe and the United States, 

 and do not appear in the above note of exports. 



These countries offer a large market for our 

 domestic cottons ; and if the prices can be main- 

 tained, the United States will supply the most of 

 the coarser kinds used there. I have it from the 

 best authority, that the consumption of these goods 

 is now double what it was five years ago, and it is 

 still increasing. 



The article of flour, however, has greatly fallen off; 

 previous to 1830, there were nearly thirty thousand 

 barrels exported to Peru from the United States, 

 in the last three years, only six thousand, and in 

 1841, but one thousand, in consequence of Peru 

 being abundantly supplied from Chili. 



CHAPTER X. 



PAUMOTU GROUP. 



STORE-SHIP RELIEF ORDERED HOME DEPARTURE PERUVIAN BRIG SMALL-POX GENERAL ORDER PROPOSED 

 ROUTE CURRENTS EXPERIMENTS TEMPERATURE ALEXANDER OGLE CLERMONT DE TONNERRE APPEARANCE 

 OF IT SURVEY NATIVES JOHN SAC DIFFICULTIES WITH THE NATIVES LANDING SERLE ISLAND HONDEN 

 SURVEYS CORAL ISLANDS VEGETATION BIRDS DISAPPOINTMENT ISLANDS INHABITANTS WYTOOHEE 

 OTOOHO TAIARA RARAKA LANDING ONE-HANDED CHIEF HIS VISIT TO THE SHIP INHABITANTS CATCHING 

 FISH LEAVE-TAKING GALE NARROW ESCAPE OF PEACOCK PORPOISE DESPATCHED VINCENNES ISLAND 

 CRITICAL POSITION OF TENDER LANDING ARAT1CA ISLAND COMMUNICATION WITH ITS INHABITANTS 

 LANDING VILLAGE DESCRIPTION OF ISLAND FRESH WATER FOOD TENDER DESPATCHED TO KING GEORGE'S 

 GROUP VINCENNES AND PEACOCK DISCOVER MANHII AND AHII ISLANDS SURVEY LANDING OBSERVATIONS 

 NATIVES DESERTER ECLIPSE PEACOCK DESPATCHED TO RURICK ISLAND VINCENNES PASSES TO NA1RSA 

 INHABITANTS KRUSENSTERN's ISLAND MFT1A ISLAND ITS APPEARANCE SURVEY LANDING NATIVES 

 MISSIONARIES' KINDNESS COSTUMES ASCEND THE ISLAND VEGETATION APPEARANCE OF THE ISLAND 

 DEPARTURE ARRIVAL AT TAHITI ANCHOR IN MATAVAI BAY OBSERVATIONS ON POINT VENUS PROCEEDING* 

 OF PORPOISE PROCEEDINGS OP PEACOCK ARUTtJA SURVEY NAIRSA OR DEAN'S ISLAND CORAL BLOCKS METIA 

 ISLAND OBSERVATIONS TETUAROA FLYING-FISH TIOKEA AND OURA HISTORY OF PAUMOTU GROUP CHA- 

 RACTER OF ITS INHABITANTS POPULATION. 



ON the 13th July, 1839, we had finished the 

 necessary outfits and taken in our stores. The 

 remainder of the latter were embarked in the 

 store-ship Relief, which was ordered to land a part 

 of them at the Sandwich Islands, and the rest at 

 Sydney, New South Wales, after which to proceed 

 to the United States by the way of Cape Horn. 

 At 5 P.M., having a light breeze, the signal was 



made to get under way, and we were soon standing 

 out of the bay under all canvass. 



The day after our departure, we fell in with a 

 Peruvian brig, from San Bias, in want of water, 

 which we supplied. She had fallen to leeward of 

 her port, and her people were reduced to much 

 distress for want of that necessary article. 



I had felt much anxiety lest the small-pox should 



