W "SS^aa CRUISE UF THE PEACOCK. 



from .in English wluk- xJiip fuUii4 

 at Kuria Maud. 



At daylight on the 11th, they mndc Ilenderville 

 Island, railed by tin* natives Nanouki. 



.Ilenderville Island was determined to be in lati- 

 tude 1 1' .W, and longitude \7-'> Thia 

 island 5fi six and a half miles long, east and west, 

 and live and a half miles wide at the east end, 

 diminishing to two miles at the west end ; it is of 

 coral formation. Then- are two towns on the west 

 end, and several on the east and south-east parts, 

 and it is thickly inhabited. The natives who came 

 on board said that the two ends of the island were 

 at war wiih each other. They ore very much the 

 same in appearance ns the natives of Hranimond's 

 Island ; were naked, and spoke the same dialect. 

 Tin MS natives knew of the islnnds in their imme- 

 diate vicinity, as well as the direction of Tnpute- 

 nuea, nr Dnrninimurs Island, and gave them the 

 name of being inhabited by a aavage and hostile 

 people. 



Hall's Inland, called by the natives Mniana, is of 

 coral formation ; the north-east and south-east 

 parts are continuous land, whilst to the south-west 

 and north-west it consists of a reef and bank, in 

 some places awash, with a sand-pit in its lagoon. 

 The western sides of the island are therefore very 

 dangerous, and should be approached with caution, 

 as the sea seldom breaks on them, and the dis- 

 coloration of the water is not at all times to be 

 observed. The survey makes this island nine miles 

 long,in a north-east and south-west direction, and 

 six miles in width, in a south-east and north-west 

 direction : it is situated in latitude 56' -bV N., and 

 longitude 173° 4' 15" K, On ils west side, on 

 si mo of the banks, there is anchorage in front ten 

 to fifteen fathoms of wao-r. 



On the morning of the 15th, they made the 

 island of Apnmamn, the Hopper Island of Duper- 

 rey, and the Simpson's Island of the chart-, of 

 Arrow-smith. It is about live feet above the surface 

 of the ocean : is ten miles long, north-west ami 

 south-east, and five miles in width, north and 

 south. The land is continuous on the north and 

 cast sides, excepting two small strips of ban reef. 

 There is anchorage cm the west side in an opening 

 between the reef and the north-west point of the 

 island, which is about two mites wide. The sound- 

 ings vary from two to five fathoms: across it, in 

 some places, the bottom is broken enrol: in others, 

 it is coral sand. The entrance to the lagoon, 

 although feasible, should not be attempted through 

 this passage; but there is a good passage into it on 

 the south-east side of the island, which is a mile 

 wide, A nmatl quantity of fresh water may be 

 had by digging on the beaches : wood and refresh- 

 ments are not procurable for shipping. This is- 

 land is situated in latitude 27' 21" N., and longitude 

 I7.V < r )7' 30" E. : it has heretofore been repre- 

 sented as two islands on tin- charts, called on one 

 Simpson's, and the other Hopper and llarbottle; 

 but there is mily one, joined by the same reef. 



On the tfith, while engaged in the survey of 

 Kuria or Wondle's Island, some canoes came off 

 to tin- shin, when the natives- came on board with- 

 out hesitation, — an evidence of their having had 

 communication with ships, and their conlidctice . -I 

 good treatment. It was soon reported, that a white 

 man was coming off ; and, as in all such case*, he 

 was looked for and watched with great interest, 

 and various surmises were made relative to his 

 origin and history. They were nut long left in 



doubt, for before he reached tile deck, bis voice 

 bespoke hint an Irishman. He was dressed in a 

 pair of duck trousers ami red flannel shirt, and 

 announced himself as " dohn Kirby, a deserter 

 from the English whale-ship Admiral Coekhurn." 

 He said be bad been nn the island for three years; 

 that ho was living with the daughter of the princi- 

 pal chief ; and solicited a passage to Some civilized 

 place. 



The principal chief of the island, with his 

 daughter, whom Kirby had fur a wife, came on 

 board with him. They both seemed deeply af- 

 fected, when they learned that he had received 

 permission to remain on board, and was about |o 

 leave litem ; and both endeavoured to dissuade 

 him from going. 



His wife allowed much concern, and wished to 

 accompany him : the old chief. Iter father, en- 

 deavoured to persuade him to lake her. Finding 

 she could not prevail, site requested as a patting 

 gift, an old jack-knife, die only properly he had 

 left to give. Several presents were made to her 

 by the officers and men, which reconciled her 

 somen hat tn her Int. The natives all left the ship 

 much gratified, excepting Kirby's wife, who con- 

 tinued to be somewhat downhearted. 



Kirby proved an intelligent man : he understood 

 the language, and was well acquainted with the 

 character, manners, and customs of the islanders, 

 among whom he had lived from the 1 1th of Feb- 

 ruary, l.HMB, to tin- loth of April, HHl. His pre- 

 sence in the ship afforded Captain Hudson an 

 opportunity, not only of communicating with the 

 natives more freely, but of obtaining much inter- 

 esting information relative to this group. 



Kuria or Woodle's Island has four towns on it, 

 w hich Kirby estimates to contain between four ami 

 five thousand inhabitants. Its geographical posi- 

 tion is in latitude U' 3ft" N„ longitude 173' 27' E.: 

 its greatest length is five miles, north-west and 

 south-east, and its greatest width, which is ftt the 

 south-east end, is two and a half miles. The re- 

 mainder is very narrow, and almost divided towards 

 the centre. The north-west portion has two small 

 lagoons, two or three hundred yards from the 

 beach; the water in them is not so salt as the 

 ocean. In one of them, the bottom consists of red 

 mud on one side, while it is a white clay on the 

 other. They are used as fish-ponds by the chiefs. 

 There is a reef extending to the north-west nearly 

 three miles, 



Kirby states, that on the first night of his land- 

 in-.', (hey stripped him of every thing but an old 

 pair of trousers, after w hich he was conducted to a 

 great conclave of natives, assembled around a large 

 tire, which he then believed was intended to roast 

 him. He had fortunately gone on shore in the 

 highest chiefs online, and placed himself under his 

 protection, as well ra he knew how. After some 

 considerable talk, instead of being roasted, he was 

 furnished with a wife, and taken to reside with his 

 friend, the principal chief, who, with the rest of 

 the natives, ever after treated him kindly. After 

 a few months' residence in the family of the chief, 

 he gave hia own daughter to Kirby for a wife. 

 The result of this was much jealousy and envy 

 between bis first wife, of common origin, and his 

 last, of high rank, until the former was ousted and 

 sent buck to her parents, leaving the chief's daugh- 

 ter in qlliet possi -sioll of the house. 



