68 



Island of Otooho. 



Natives averse to their landing. 



PAUMOTU GROUP. 



King's Island discovered. 

 Raraka. 



and they gave us to understand, that they had 

 penetrated our motive for visiting their island 

 " That as we inhabited an island without any 

 women, we wanted to have some." Nothing more 

 was said to them on the subject. They accompanied 

 us to the boats, and at parting went through the 

 same ceremonies of rubbing noses, shaking hands, 

 and raising their arms with the palms towards us. 

 According to the estimate I made of the inhabit- 

 ants, the number was about ninety. From the 

 great age of the chiefs, and the absence of wounded 

 or scarred individuals, I should conclude they 

 lived in peace. They, however, gave their neigh- 

 bours on the small island to the west (which they 

 called Otooho) a very bad name. Water in small 

 quantities is to be had on the eastern section of the 

 island, and a little biche-de-mar might be taken on 

 the reefs. A small rat was very troublesome to the 

 natives. This island has some cocoa-nut, bread- 

 fruit, and pandanus trees ; the pisonia, tourne- 

 fortia, and the shrubs that are common to the low 

 islands, also grow upon it. 



At nightfall the squadron was put under short 

 sail, supposing that the current by the morning 

 would take us to the leeward near Otooho, a dis- 

 tance of ten miles. It lies west-north-west of Wy- 

 toohee, distant twelve and one-third miles, and is 

 distinctly seen from it, like aground knoll. This 

 appearance is owing to the trees upon it, for the 

 land is as low as coral islands usually are. We 

 found by the morning, that the current had been 

 about one mile per hour to the west, and therefore 

 much stronger than I anticipated; we were in con- 

 sequence some distance to leeward of the island. 

 With the light wind, T knew the ship could not 

 reach it before the afternoon. I immediately sent 

 the naturalists on board the tender Flying-Fish, 

 and gave Lieutenant Pinckney orders to endeavour 

 to land them, and to pass around the island and 

 survey it ; neither of which he succeeded in doing. 

 The survey was finally completed by the boats of 

 the Vincennes and Peacock. The naturalists tried 

 to effect a landing, but were opposed by some dozen 

 natives, who were resolute in preventing them from 

 going beyond the water's edge ; in other respects, 

 they were disposed to be quite friendly. 



The naturalists in the afternoon endeavoured to 

 effect a landing at another place, out of sight of the 

 natives, and succeeded. Mr. Brackenridge, on 

 landing the second time, ran to the thicket, in 

 order to lose no time in making collections, and 

 was employed in gathering specimens, when two 

 stout natives came running up, and made him 

 understand, by very intelligible signs, that he must 

 return to the boat; he pretended not to understand 

 them, and endeavoured to proceed, but they went 

 before him, and crossed their clubs, determined 

 that he should go no farther. This caused him to 

 laugh, in which the two natives joined. Finding 

 there was no alternative, he took an oblique direc- 

 tion towards the boat, hoping by this means to 

 enlarge his collection, which he succeeded in doing, 

 while the natives, as he describes it, shouldered him 

 out of the bush, and then towards the boat. The 

 rest of the party having gone up to the huts, were 

 at once seized and shoved down towards the boat, 

 and into the surf, where they presented rather a 

 ludicrous appearance, with the danger of drowning 

 on the one side, and the natives on the other, who 

 had them completely in their power, as they had 



neither arms nor any other means of defence. No 

 harm, however, was done them, but the alarm inci- 

 dent to being threatened with spears. The only 

 mishap met with was the loss, by one of the gen- 

 tlemen, of a pair of spectacles, and a bruise or two 

 from the coral, in their hurried retreat. As the 

 surf was heavy, life-preservers were sent to those 

 who could not swim ; and after much detention, 

 they reached the boat in safety. Had such a cir- 

 cumstance occurred at Clermont de Tonnerre, I am 

 satisfied that most serious consequences would have 

 resulted to us. 



The superficial extent of the island of Otooho is 

 about a square mile ; it has no lagoon, is well 

 covered with trees, and has fresh water. There 

 were nineteen men counted, which would make the 

 population about fifty souls. No women or children 

 were seen. 



At all the inhabited islands we found the greatest 

 numbers of the common house-fly: while at Honden 

 Island (uninhabited) none were perceived. No one 

 can estimate the annoyance they cause, until it has 

 been experienced. 



About three quarters of an hour after sunset 

 the naturalists were again on board, and we bore 

 away on our course to Raraka. Having been 

 informed that several islands were supposed to be 

 in this neighbourhood, that were known to the 

 natives, but not laid down on the charts, I deter- 

 mined to lie-to during the night. At daylight we 

 again bore away, spreading the squadron in open 

 order of sailing. 



On the 29th, at daylight, land was reported, and 

 we soon ascertained that it was not laid down on 

 the charts. It is low, nearly of a circular form, 

 and well covered with trees and shrubs, and has a 

 lagoon of some extent. Its centre is in latitude 

 15 42' 25" S., longitude 144 38' 45" W. I named 

 it King's Island, after the man at the masthead, 

 who first discovered it. After completing the sur- 

 vey of it, we landed on its lee side, where the water 

 was quite smooth, and spent the afternoon in ex- 

 amining it. There were no natives on it, but every 

 indication that it had been inhabited recently by a 

 party of pearl-fishers. The lagoon appeared to be 

 well supplied with the pearl oyster. We found on 

 the island two small springs of fresh water, near its 

 lagoon, and a good supply of cocoa-nuts. Many 

 specimens of plants were obtained, and several 

 interesting objects of natural history were added to 

 our collections. 



In the morning we bore away for Raraka, and 

 shortly afterwards made it. As we approached it, 

 another island was discovered, to the northward 

 and westward, which was not laid down on any 

 charts. 



On Raraka we soon discovered a party of natives, 

 near the entrance to the lagoon, waving a Tahitian 

 flag, three horizontal stripes, red, white, and red. 

 They were partly dressed, some in shirts, without 

 hats, others with vests, and others again with 

 trousers of all colours. I joined the schooner, 

 stood in for the mouth of the lagoon, and landed. 



Nothing could be more striking than the differ- 

 ence that prevailed between these natives and 

 those of the Disappointment Islands, which we had 

 just left. The half-civilization of the natives of Ra- 

 raka was very marked, and it appeared as though 

 we had issued out of darkness into light. They 

 showed a modest disposition, and gave us a hearty 



