Arrival of the Peacock and Porpoise at 

 Oahu. Vatoa, or Turtle Island. 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



Expiration of the men's time. 

 Reshiprnent of seamen. 



253 



Vincennes, Captain Hudson passed over the posi- 

 tion assigned to a reef, by Captain Swain, in longi- 

 tude 176 56' W., latitude 9 55' S., without seeing 

 any thing of it, and continuing to the northward, 

 crossed the line on the 27th of August. 



The Porpoise arrived at Oahu on the 8th of 

 October, all well. 



Vatoa, or Turtle Island, as determined by the 

 Porpoise, lies in latitude 19 50' S., longitude 178 

 37' 45" W. It was found to be three miles long, 

 by one and a quarter mile wide. The reef ex- 

 tends all around the island, and is from one and a 

 half to two miles wide. The island contains about 

 fifty inhabitants, who have native missionaries, and 

 are Christians : they have but a scanty supply of 

 food, and no water is to be obtained. 



We met with a warm reception at the Hawaiian 

 Islands. The governor, Kekuanaoa, kindly placed 

 at my disposal the large stone house belonging to 

 Kekauluohi, in the square where the tomb in which 

 the royal family are interred is situated. The 

 tomb was at that time undergoing some repairs. 

 The state coffins, which are richly ornamented with 

 scarlet and gold cloth, and in two of which the 

 bodies of the late king, Liho-liho, and his wife 

 were brought from England, in the frigate Blonde, 

 were deposited in the house I was to occupy. The 

 governor had them at once removed to the 

 tomb, and in two days I was comfortably esta- 

 blished, and engaged in putting up my instru- 

 ments, and getting ready to carry on our shore 

 duties. 



It will now be necessary for me to enter into 

 some particulars relative to the future operations 

 of the squadron, in order to show the difficulties 

 that had to be encountered at this part of the 

 cruise. Before reaching Oahu, I was convinced 

 that it would be altogether too late to attempt any 

 tiling on the north-west coast of America this 

 year, and to winter there would have rendered us 

 liable to contract diseases to which the men would 

 have been too prone, after the hard service they 

 had seen in the tropics ; besides, I was averse to 

 passing our time in comparative inactivity, and I 

 wished to make the most of the force that had 

 been intrusted to my charge. As my instructions 

 had not contemplated such an event, I was left to 

 my own judgment and resources, to choose the 

 course which would prove the most beneficial to 

 our commerce, and to science ; I had also to take 

 into account what we could accomplish in some 

 other direction, prior to the end of April, when the 

 season would become favourable for our opera- 

 tions on the north-west coast, and in the Columbia 

 River. 



On our way from the Feejees, various hints were 

 thrown out that the times of the crew had expired, 

 and that they would not reship. I understood their 

 disposition, however, and had little apprehension 

 of their being led astray by those who were dis- 

 posed to create difficulties among them. Their 

 time, in their opinion, would expire on the 1st of 

 November ; in my mind this construction was at 

 least doubtful, the wording of the articles being, 

 that " they shipped for three years from the 1st of 

 November, 1837, to return with the vessels to a 

 port of safety in the United States." The latter 

 clause certainly contemplated the possibility of the 

 expiration of the time prior to their return, and 

 therefore the engagement was not limited to three 



years ; nor did it allow of my discharging any of 

 them by paying them off in full, or of my crippling 

 or retarding the duties of the expedition. Many 

 of the men spoke very sensibly on the subject, and 

 expressed a desire to finish the cruise, which they 

 would be glad to do by reshipping, a course by 

 which they would become entitled to one-fourth 

 more pay ; others again seemed desirous of pro- 

 ducing discord, in which they were encouraged by 

 the imprudent language of a few of the officers, 

 whether with the intention of producing discon- 

 tent, I know not. This indiscretion, however, 

 was promptly arrested on its becoming known 

 to me. 



As I was obliged to make a deviation from the 

 original cruise pointed out in my instructions, 

 which would extend its duration, I thought it 

 but just that new articles should be opened ; and 

 in order that all should be placed on an equal 

 footing, I included the crew of the Porpoise, as 

 well as all those who had joined the squadron 

 previous to our last southern cruise. A large 

 majority of the crew re-entered for eighteen 

 months, on doing which they received three months' 

 pay and a week's liberty. The few who declined, 

 told me, that it was not from any dislike they had 

 to the ship or service, but having families at 

 home, they wished to avoid a longer separation 

 from them. About fifteen of them took passage 

 in vessels that were bound to the United States. 



The character of sailoi-s was oddly exhibited on 

 this occasion ; the man who, before arriving, had 

 protested most strenuously that he would not re- 

 ship, was the first to place his name on the roll, as 

 I had predicted he would be; their conduct caused 

 much amusement, and showed how little sailors 

 know their own minds. Captain Hudson addressed 

 his crew, confidently expecting that every man 

 would volunteer to reship, and on his desiring all 

 to pass to the other side who did not wish to reship, 

 the whole crew passed over ; yet within eight- 

 and-forty hours they had all re-entered, with 

 the exception of three or four, who held out for 

 a time, to show^ as they said, their indepen- 

 dence. 



It now became necessary to supply the places of 

 those who had left the squadron, and thus to com- 

 plete our effective complement. Instead, however, 

 of resorting to picking up the worthless, dissipated, 

 and worn-out vagabonds of all nations, who have 

 been wandering from island to island for years, 

 without any object or employment, I concluded to 

 take a number of Kanakas, and enter them upon 

 such terms that I could at any moment discharge 

 them. 



The authorities of Oahu were applied to through 

 our consul, and readily agreed to the men being 

 employed, provided they were returned to the 

 island agreeably to their own laws. Articles of 

 agreement were consequently entered into to this 

 effect, by which I bound the government of the 

 United States to retui'n them after their services 

 were no longer needed ; and a stipulation was 

 made that the rations of spirits should not be 

 drawn by them. I was thus assured of having at 

 least sober men. Word was sent to the different 

 parts of the island for those who were disposed to 

 enter, to assemble on a given day at the fort, under 

 the authority of the governor. Upwards of five 

 hundred men assembled in consequence, out of 



