P E N R H Y N. 
tities of date are exported : two miles fouth-weft of 
Bangor. 
PENRHYN DWA', a cape on the weft coaftof Wales, 
and county of Caernarvon: ten miles fouth of Pulhely. 
PENRHYN’s I'SLANDS, a group of iflands in the 
South Sea, which, having only been feen by their difco- 
verer at a diftance, have at length been fatisfafforily de- 
fcribed by Otto Von Kotzebue, of the Ruffian fliip Ru- 
rick, in his late Voyage of Difcovery. 
“On the 30th of April,1816, in the afternoon, we faw 
Penrhyn’s Iflands, which we found, like all other coral- 
iflands, forming a circle, connected by reefs from the 
lake in the middle ; many rocks were alfo feen above the 
water. We were furprifed to fee thefe iflands covered 
with thick forefts of cocoa-trees; and our aftoniffiment 
was agreeably increafed when we perceived, by the co¬ 
lumns of fmoke ifluing from them, that this fmall and 
dillant group was inhabited. With our telefcopes we 
could even fee the people running about on the fhore; 
and the fetting fun only induced us to poftpone the far¬ 
ther inveftigation till the next day. On the iftof May 
we brought theRurick under the wind ; at eight o’clock, 
we were in calm water, within a couple of miles from 
land, and then diftinftly faw a great many people on- 
fliore, actively engaged in putting their boats to fea, 
while fome from the other iflands were already approach¬ 
ing in theirs. On feeing a number of boats coming to¬ 
wards us, we came-to : fome of the boats, which carried 
from twelve to eighteen people, had fails 5 in each of 
them was an old man, probably the commander of the 
rowers, for he was fitting gravely with a wreath of palm- 
branches round his neck, holding up in his left hand a 
palm-branch, as a fign of peace. When the boats had 
approached within twenty fathoms they flopped, and be¬ 
gan finging in a very melancholy drain ; but, after this 
ceremony, they fearlefsly came nearer, yet without co¬ 
ming on-board. We were, however, difappointed in 
our expedition of meeting with freffi provifions; for 
they brought nothing but unripe cocoa-nuts, which 
they offered to barter for old nails and pieces of iron ; 
however, to profit fomething by them, I allowed every 
one tofupply himfelf with the manufadtures of the fava- 
ges, as far as he liked. The Rurick was foon furrounded 
by twenty-fix boats, which we kept on one fide of us, 
my crew not being fufficiently ftrong to protedl the fliip 
againft the greedinefs of three hundred favages. The 
trade was carried on in a very lively and clamorous man¬ 
ner : many boats, in their endeavour to be foremoft with 
their goods, upfet; but the moft violent quarrel always 
ended with laughing and joking. Thofe who could not 
approach the Rurick, on account of the crowd, arnufed 
themfelves in their boats with finging and dancing; their 
droll movements, and particularly their fkil 1 in making 
faces, gave us much amufement. The exchanges were 
effected by means of a rope, to which they fattened their 
goods without miftruft, and waited patiently for their 
payment, which was conveyed to them in the fame way. 
One of the chiefs, who got up fo high on the fide of the 
fhip that lie could reach to look over the deck, was 
pulled back by the legs by the others, amidft lamentable 
fcreams; but, when he had got back again into the boat, 
they furrounded him, and with a great manygeftures he told 
them of the wonders which he had feen, Ihowing at the 
fame time, the prefents which we had made him, to re¬ 
ward his courage. By degrees, the boldnefs of the ifland- 
ers increafed : they ftole as much as they could, and at 
laft went even fo far as to threaten us. Unacquainted 
with the fuperiority of European arms, they grew bold 
by their numbers; fo that at laft I was obliged to have a 
mulket fired, which had its effect: in the fame inftant 
they all jumped into the fea, in which they difappeared. 
A death-like filence followed the monftrous noife, and 
an immenfe grave feemed to have fwallowed them all, 
till, by degrees, one head after the other appeared above 
the furface. Fright and terror were depicted in every 
V.OL. XIX, No. 1325. 
55D 
face ; they looked carefully about them to fee what mif- 
chief the report had done ; and, when they found that 
there was none, they returned into their boats; but they 
were more orderly. Nothing pleafed them better than 
large nails, for which they fold us fome lances of black 
wood, very neatly made, with fome other arms. 
“ Thefe iflanders referable in fize and ftrength the inha¬ 
bitants of the Marquefas : their faces, too, may be fome¬ 
thing like them, although thofe of the Marquefas feemed 
to me to be handfomer and whiter. Of the women 1 
cannot judge, having only feen two of them, who were 
old and very ugly. They have the happy cheerful tem¬ 
per of the other South-Sea iflanders, but they are rather 
more.favage in their condudt. It is remarkable that 
thefe iflanders are not tattooed, in which they deviate 
from all the other South-Sea iflanders, particularly as 
they are fo near the Friendly Iflands, that they either 
have their origin among them, or have been driven here 
from the Wafliington Iflands. However, not to be alto- 
ether without ornaments, moft of them have fcratched 
ripes down their backs, which gives them, with their 
long matted hair hanging over them, a difgufting appear¬ 
ance. With the exception of a few, who wear a girdle 
of badly-made fluff', they are all naked. They wear their 
nails long; and this forms probably the principal orna¬ 
ment of the chiefs, for I faw feveral who had them near 
three inches long. The Penrhyns do not pofl’efs the tree 
from which, in moft of the South-Sea iflands, they make 
their drefles; which is a proof that they have no con¬ 
nexion with the Friendly Iflands ; yet they underftood 
fome words of their language, which we repeated, bor¬ 
rowed from Cook’s Voyages. Their boats, which are 
badly made, refemble thofe of the Marquefas, having 
alfo the balanciers, and carry conveniently twelve men"; 
the fails, made of coarfe matting, are only fit to fail 
with the wind. Whether the iflands produce any thing 
befides cocoa-nuts, I cannot fay ; of thefe however, 
judging by the number of trees, there muft be a great 
abundance. Through the telefcopes, we faw many wo¬ 
men walking on-ffiore, who were admiring the ffiip from 
a great diftance. We did not perceive any thing like a 
houfe; but we faw a ftone wall, which was very well 
built. I ffiould have liked to have gone on-fhore, but 
could not venture with my few people, the favages being 
fo numerous and bold. Towards noon, we had a vio¬ 
lent thunder-ftorm, juft when I was about quitting the 
iflands. The favages, far from being frightened at the 
thunder, had fattened their boats to our ffiip, and endea¬ 
voured to draw the nails out of it, making, at the fame 
time, fuch a noife, that it was impoffible to hear the 
word of command. To get rid of them I hoifted all 
fail; and the unexpected quick motion of the fliip, 
which upfet feveral of their boats, obliged them to defilt; 
but they followed us fora long time, making figns that 
they wiffied our return. The great population of thefe 
iflands, and the bold fpirit of the favages, prove that 
there muft be other iflands near them with which they are 
connected. We found the latitude of this group 9.1. 35. 
S. mean between the chronometers and the obferved 
longitude 157. 34. 3a. W. declenfion of the needle 8. 
28. E. 
PENRI'SE, or Penrice, a town of South Wales, in 
the pariffi of Oxwich, and county of Glamorgan, on the 
weft fide of a bay in the Briftol Channel, with a weekly 
market on Thurfday; and fairs, May 17, July 17, Sept. 
17, and Dec. 1. This town has a good harbour for (hips. 
It got the name of Penrice, or Penrife, from the following 
circumftance. At Carno, near this place, a bloody bat¬ 
tle was fought between Rees ap Tudor king of Dynevor, 
(from whom defcended Henry VII. of England) and his 
rebellious fubjedts, in which that amiable prince was de¬ 
feated, and, flying to his caftle at Gower, (the ancient 
name of this place,) was there inhumanly beheaded, 
from which time it was called CaJUe Pen Rees, or the 
Caftle of Rees’s Head. It is now called Penrice Caftle. 
7 D The 
