The squadron parts company. 



HAWAIIAN GROUP. 



The squadron parts company. 



251 



watchfulness over the hostage, after he had shown 

 a disposition to escape, and a heedlessness that it is 

 impossible to look at without astonishment. The 

 hostage certainly would never have attempted to 

 escape, had there been a proper guard kept over 

 him while in the boat ; and from the evidence of 

 all those who were on shore, it appears certain 

 that no disturbance took place until the escape was 

 made. 



I am well aware, that all the officers and men 

 present were not at the time satisfied with the 

 punishment inflicted. Many of them even thought 

 that all in any way concerned in the murder ought 

 to have been put to death. 



But I felt then as I do now, that the punishment 

 was sufficient and effectual, while it was accompa- 

 nied, as far as it could be, with mercy. Some, no 

 doubt, will look upon it as unnecessarily severe ; 

 but if they duly considered the wanton murders 

 that have been committed on the whites in this 

 group of islands, merely to gratify the desire of 

 plunder or the horrid appetite for cannibal re- 

 pasts, they would scarcely think the punishment 

 too severe. 



The warriors of this island were looked upon as 

 a nest of pirates even by the rest of the group, 

 and had their great crime been suffered to go un- 

 punished, would in all probability have become 

 more fearless and daring than ever. 



The blow I inflicted not only required to be 

 done promptly and effectually, as a punishment for 

 the murder of my officers, but was richly deserved 

 for other outrages. It could not have fallen upon 

 any place where it would have produced as much 

 effect, in impressing the whole group with a full 

 sense of our power and determination to punish 

 such aggressions. 



Such has been its effect on the people of Malolo, 

 that they have since been found the most civil, 

 harmless, and well-disposed natives of the group. 



Notwithstanding that the opinion of all the 

 officers who were present and cognizant of all the 

 facts was, that I had not gone far enough in the 

 punishment I had inflicted, I found myself charged 

 on my return by the administration, as guilty of 

 murder, and of acting on this occasion in a cruel. 



merciless, and tyrannical manner. To make out 

 the latter charge, it was alleged that I had made 

 the natives actually crawl to my feet to beg pardon. 

 The part of the whole affair for which I take some 

 credit to myself is, that when I judged it had be- 

 come necessary to punish, it was in like manner 

 obligatory on me to study how it could be done 

 most effectually ; and from the knowledge I had 

 obtained of the customs of the natives, during the 

 time I had been engaged in the group, I was en- 

 abled to perform this painful though necessary 

 duty, in a manner that made it vastly more effec- 

 tual, by requiring of them their own forms of sub- 

 mission, and their own modes of acknowledging 

 defeat. 



All the facts of the case are before my country- 

 men, and they will be able to judge whether I 

 should, for my conduct in the punishment of this 

 atrocious massacre, have been arraigned on a 

 charge of murder, and of acting in a cruel, merci- 

 less, and tyrannical manner, and this without any 

 previous inquiry into the facts or motives that led 

 to my actions, and merely on the report of a few 

 discontented officers of the squadron, whom the 

 good of the service compelled me to send back to 

 the United States. Nor were these grave charges 

 made known to me until two days before the court 

 was convened for my trial upon them. 



The reunion of the several vessels of the squa- 

 dron did not give rise to the feeling of pleasure 

 which had attended such meetings on other oc- 

 casions. A deep gloom on the contrary was spread 

 over the minds of all by the melancholy fate of 

 their comrades, who had been the victims of the 

 butchery at Malolo. In honour of their memories 

 a funeral sermon was preached, on the 10th of 

 August, by the chaplain, before the assembled 

 officers and crews. 



On the 10th of August, in the afternoon, the 

 squadron beat down to Mali, and all the necessary 

 preparations were made for going to sea the next 

 day. 



On taking our final departure from these islands, 

 all of us felt great pleasure ; Vendovi alone mani- 

 fested his feeling by shedding tears at the last 

 view of his native land. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



HAWAIIAN GROUP, OR SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



THE SQUADRON PARTS COMPANY PASSAGE OF THE VINCENNES TO THE ISLAND OF OAHU M'KEAs's ISLAND 

 HULL'S ISLAND ENDERBURY'S ISLAND ARRIVAL AT OAHU GENERAL APPEARANCE OF OAHU DRESS OP THE 

 INHABITANTS OF HONOLULU GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE TOWN ARRIVAL OF THE PEACOCK AND PORPOISE 

 AT OAHU VATOA OR TURTLE ISLAND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE OPERATIONS OF THE SQUADRON EXPIRATION 

 OF THE MEN'S TIME RESHIPMENT OF SEAMEN DUTIES ASSIGNED TO THE SEVERAL VESSELS INTERVIEW 



WITH KING KAMEHAMEHA III. DRESS OF KEKAULUOHI VISIT TO THE KING HIS GENTLEMANLY BEARING 



HIS CONVERSATION SATURDAY IN HONOLULU DEMURE CHARACTER OP THE HAWAIIAN BOYS COURT-MARTIAL 

 HELD CRUISE OF THE TENDER TO KAUAI ISLAND OF KAUAI FORT OF WAIMEA ISLAND OF NI1HAU THE 

 TENDER RETURNS TO OAHU THE PORPOISE SAILS FOR THE PAUMOTU GROUP. 



I NOW made signal to the Porpoise to part com- 

 pany, and despatched the tender to run along the 

 sea- reef as far as Round Island, before shaping 

 her course for Oahu in the Sandwich Islands. 

 All the necessary arrangements with Captain 



Hudson being complete by this time, I determined 

 that the vessels should part company. Our pas- 

 sage to Oahu, I thought, would probably be expe- 

 dited by this course, a matter of some importance, 

 in consequence of the low state of our stock of 



