Diseases. Criminal trial. 



TAHITI AND EIMEO. 



Cultivation. Manner of ascending trees. 

 Fruits and vegetables of Tahiti. 



the remains of the old custom of infanticide, in part 

 to new diseases introduced from abroad, and the 

 evils entailed upon them by foreigners, and in part 

 to the transition now going on from a savage to a 

 civilized life. 



Whatever may have been the case, during the 

 first years after it was visited by Europeans, the 

 population for the last thirty years has been nearly 

 stationary ; the births and deaths are now almost 

 exactly in equal numbers. One of the oldest of the 

 missionaries informed me, that although he saw 

 much change in the character and habits of the 

 people, he could perceive none in their apparent 

 numbers. 



Tahiti does not appear to be afflicted by many 

 diseases. Some have been introduced by foreign 

 ships, and among others, the venereal, from which 

 the natives suffer much, being in possession of no 

 method of arresting its ravages, and ignorant of 

 the proper mode of treating it. In connexion 

 with this subject, the want of a physician as a part 

 of the missionary establishment struck me as an 

 instance of neglect in its managers ; and I was 

 surprised to hear that the London Society did not 

 employ any medical men. From this cause, not 

 only are the natives deprived of the benefits which 

 might so easily have been conferred upon them, 

 but the missionaries themselves are compelled to 

 pay, out of their private purses, for medical aid, 

 when it can be procured. They are even at times 

 wholly without a physician. This happened to be 

 the case at the time of our arrival, when a medical 

 practitioner who had formerly resided on the island 

 had just taken his departure. 



The effects of intoxication from ardent spirits 

 and ava are said to have swept off many of the in- 

 habitants. Secondary syphilis is in some cases 

 severe, but their usual vegetable diet and simple 

 mode of living, together with frequent ablutions, 

 tend to mitigate this disease. Its continued pre- 

 valence, as well as the severity of some of the cases, 

 are ascribable to the inordinate use of mercury, 

 administered by a physician who was accustomed 

 to distribute it in inordinate quantities among the 

 affected, who were of course ignorant of its nature 

 and consequences. 



While lying at Papieti, we had an opportunity of 

 seeing the manner in which justice is administered 

 in criminal cases. The court was held in the 

 council-house, an oblong building in the native 

 style. The alleged crime was assault with inten- 

 tion of rape. The judges were seated on mats, 

 having Paofai, their chief, a little in front of the 

 rest ; and the audience sat or stood around. The 

 culprit was a petty chief, called Ta-ma-hau, a man 

 of huge size, and apparently somewhat of a bully ; 

 he stood during the trial leaning against one end 

 of the house, with an air of cool indifference. His 

 accuser was a damsel not remarkable for personal 

 beauty ; she sat .near the door among a number of 

 other women. The witnesses were patiently heard, 

 and the matter argued, after which the six judges 

 severally gave their opinions and made remarks on 

 the evidence, to which Paofai listened in an atten- 

 tive and dignified manner, expressing, as occasion 

 demanded, his assent or dissent. He then pro- 

 nounced the verdict of the court, by which the pri- 

 soner was acquitted, but did not dismiss him with- 

 out a brief and merited admonition. It appeared, 

 that although not guilty of the crime alleged, he 



had while intoxicated addressed indecent language 

 to his accuser. 



Cultivation has undergone a great change within 

 a few years from the introduction of the guava, 

 which has overrun the lower plain ; the pasturage 

 has not only suffered, but to its destructive effects 

 are attributed many evils. Ten years prior to our 

 visit, about which time the guava was introduced 

 by the missionaries, the plain, from the sea to the 

 base of the hills, was covered with verdure ; and 

 now it is overrun with an almost impenetrable 

 thicket, before which all other vegetation dis- 

 appears. I am inclined to think, that although 

 this tree is now looked upon by the natives as a 

 great curse, it will in time be beneficial to them, 

 and cause them to become industrious, when they 

 are obliged to get rid of it to make room for their 

 sugar-cane, cotton, and indigo plantations ; which 

 products succeed remarkably well, can be raised at 

 small cost, and will before many years be in great 

 demand. 



The cocoa-nut trees were also reported to have 

 been decreasing, but our inquiries did not confinn 

 this statement. 



The manner of ascending the trees by the na- 

 tives has been frequently described, but can scarcely 

 be imagined until witnessed ; the feat is performed 

 by leaping without any cessation, even in climbing 

 the highest tree ; the body of the tree being rough 

 or composed of rings, affords some hold for the 

 thong which spans the tree between the feet ; at 

 every jump the body is thrown entirely free from 

 the tree. 



The bread-fruit tree is also said to have decreased, 

 and this is no doubt the case ; the seeds are said 

 to be often abortive at Tahiti, for which reason the 

 cultivation in this way has been neglected of late, 

 and the plants raised in other modes have become 

 less productive in consequence ; its timber is used 

 for many purposes ; the fruit was not in season 

 while we were at Tahiti. 



Wild sugar-cane was found in the interior, com- 

 monly growing in tufts, but so small in size that it 

 was with difficulty recognized ; the cultivated kind 

 is derived from this, and is also of small size. 



The fruits we met with were oranges, lemons, 

 limes, shaddocks, pine-apples, papayas, bananas, 

 figs, vi-apples, fahies, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit ; 

 the six first-mentioned have been introduced since 

 Cook's time. 



The vegetables are sweet potatoes (convolvulus), 

 yams of small size, taro (caladium esculentum), the 

 ape (caladium macrorhizon), turnips, onions, and 

 leeks; but there were no common potatoes cultivated. 

 I gave Mr. Wilson some of the yellow Peruvian 

 potato (papas amarillas), but he informed me that 

 all their attempts to raise potatoes in the low 

 gi'ound had failed. 



The tacca, from which arrow-root is manu- 

 factured, grows in quantities, but we did not see it 

 cultivated. 



In the botanical researches it was remarkable 

 that not a single stem of paper mulberry (brous- 

 sonetia) was found, although former visitors speak 

 of it as the tree from which their cloth was 

 made. 



There are a vast variety of ornamental shrubs, 

 and many aromatic plants, which the natives use 

 to perfume their cocoa-nut oil. 



The tutui tree (aleurites triloba), the nut of 

 G2 



