Canoe of" Tain>*. the king of rtUrtI iir KEng Tarma'* vtait to the 



1J " Ambau. UVULA U. VfcaetMMfc 



parted company with u>), through careh ssiiess, .an 

 the reef ojf tin- island of Nairni, in line moonlight, 

 with the reef full in view; here she remained suim- 

 hours, having had a narrow escape I'nmi total 

 wreck ; she, hotvevrr, only lost a pari of lior false 

 keel. Lieutenant Carr, the first-lieutenant of the 

 Vinccnnes, was immediately put in command of 

 her. The Peacock and Flying-Fish were now 

 ordered to prepare for sea with all despatch. 



I must confess I felt grrnt anxiety for the safety 

 of our panic* in the boats, and i sued the foregoing 

 orders very particularly, in order to avoid all tnis- 

 npprehension, and to leave as little a* |M)woble to 

 the discretion ol the officera who had charge of the 

 boats. Tliey were all well armed, and liie iHints 

 were providcl with hoarding- nettings ; for I felt 

 satisfied that tiny inattention or want of care would 

 inevitably lead to the destruction, if not of the 

 whole, at least some of the party : the accident 

 that had recently occurred to the tender of the 

 Leouidas, Bbowad that the least degree of confi- 

 dence reposed in the natives was attended with 

 great risk, and that so treacherous a people wore i 

 not to he trusted under any circumstances. A 

 departure from these instructions, and an undue 

 confidence, resulting from having for a long time 

 escaped the many dangers encountered, was, I 

 regret to say, the cans.- »>f the loss we met with 

 before leaving this group, and taught, when too 

 late, the necessity of obeying strictly the orders of 

 their commanding officer, whether absent or pre- 

 sent. 



On the 12th, whilst engaged at the observatory, 

 the canoe of Tanoa, the king of Ambuu, was ditv 

 covered rounding the southern point of the island: 

 it had a magnificent appearance, with its immense 

 sail of white mats ; the pennants streaming from 

 its )ard, denoted it at one*' as belonging to some 

 great chief. It was a tit accompaniment to the 

 magnificent scenery around, and advanced rapidly 

 ami gracefully along; it was a single canoe, one hun- 

 I dred feet in length, with an outrigger of large size, 

 ornamented with a great number (two thousand five 

 hundred) of the cyprtra ovula shells; its velocity 

 wan almost inconceivable, and every one wan struck 

 with the adroitness with which it was managed 

 and landed on the bench \ 



Tama disembarked, accompanied by his atten- 

 dants, who are generally Tonga men, forty of whom 

 had the direction ami saiiintj of his canon, "shortly 

 after landing, he was met by Mr. Vanderford, who 

 had formerly been .shipwrecked here, and who had 

 lived under his protection for ten months. The 

 meeting was a curious one : the old chief walked 

 up to him, and sti>od looking, first on one side and 

 then on the other, without noticing him, and pre- 

 tending that he did not see him ; Mr. Vanderford 

 then walked up to him, clapped htm ou the hack, 

 and called him by name, when they both begun 

 laughing heartily. Mr. Vanderford spoke much uf 

 the kindness of Taiioa to him during his residence 

 among the people of Ambau : it is true, that he 

 robbed him of every thing but his skin, but then 

 he protected him from the attacks uf others. 

 Shortly afterwards a large double canoe arrived, 



• 1 was tolrl thai Taiins frequently amutri lilmwir, when 

 ■oiling, by runninc rtown uiiock, leaving thine who belong 

 tfi them to recovpr their canue un] pr<>| crly the Ue«l way 

 tliey ran. 



entirely maimed by Tonga people, under their two 

 chiefs, Lajika and Tubou Totai, who were both of 

 them, with about five hundred of their followers, 

 paying Tanoa a visit at Ambau ; they were the 

 sons of Tubou Ninha, and m-phcwH of the eele- 

 brated Fiiiau. Tubou Totai told me that he and 

 his brother* hud been residing several years in the 

 Feejecs ; that they were employed buildmg canoes 

 on some of the eastern islands, and that it gene- 

 rally took them seven years fiom the time they 

 left Tonga, to finiHli them and return. 



Tanoa look up his abode in the tubure, or coun- 

 cil-house, which is the place where all strangers 

 are entertained. Here be seated himself, with his 

 principal attendants about him, when his orator, 

 or prime minister, made a complimentary oration, 

 at the end of which a clapping of hands took place; 

 to this oration one of the principal townspeople 

 replied. This is the usual mode of conducting the 

 ceremony : the guest, (he moment he arrives, gives 

 a condensed account of all bis doings since they lost 

 saw each other, ending with many compliments; to 

 which the host replies, in equally fluttering terms, 

 wishing him all kinds of happiness and prosperity. 

 This ceremony being over, Tanoa despatched David 

 Whippy ou hoard In inform mo of his arrival, when 

 1 immediately sent Lieutenant Carr to call upon 

 him and inform him that my host would be at the 

 shore in the morning for him. Food was then 

 brought by the Levuknun, according to their native 

 custom: it consisted of two large baskets containing 

 each | roasted pig, yams, taro, bread-fruit, &e., 

 w hich wore placed before the company ; (his present 

 was accompanied by another speech, to which the 

 prime minister again replied; then came clapping 

 of hands, and the feast ended with nva drinking. 



On the following morning, nheu the bunt lauded, 

 the three chiefs were waiting on the beach, and all 



cat in board, the large canoe following the boat; 



every thing was prepared to give them a most 

 marked reception, excepting the salute. Tanoa was 

 the first to mount lite side t.f I he ship, where I was 

 ready to receive him, with the officers at the gang- 

 way. When he reached the deck, he was evidently 

 much astonished, particularly when he saw the 

 marines, with their muskets, presenting arms, and 

 so many officers. The novel sight, to him, of my 

 large Newfoundland dog, Sydney, who did not alto- 

 getlu-r like (he sable appearance of hi*, majesty, the 

 noise of the drum and boatswain's pipe, combined 

 to cause him some alarm, and he evinced a disposi- 

 tion to retire, keeping himself close to the ship's 

 side, He was, after the fashion of his group, al- 

 most naki d, having a small maro passed around his 

 loins, wiih long ends to it, and a large turban of 

 tapa cloth in folds about his head, so as almost to 

 hide the expression of his countenance; his face was 

 bedaubed with oil and ivory-black, as were alsu his 

 long beard and mustaches, the natural hue of which 

 I understood was nuke gray. From his begrimed 

 look he has obtained the sobriquet of "Hid Snuff," 

 among the whites; he is about sixty-five years old, 

 tall, slender, ami rather bent by age; ou his breast, 

 banging from his neck, he wore au ornament made 

 of mother-id pearl, tor lobe-she!], and ivory, not 

 very neatly put together, and as large as a dinner- 

 plate, (called divandina) ; on his arms he had shell 

 armlets (called ygato), made of tho trochus-shell, 

 by grinding them down to the form of rings; his 

 countenance was indicative of intelligence and 



