his visit terminated at an early hour. He left the ship apparently very much gratified with his visit, or, in other words, with the presents he had received. On the 22d, they took leave of their kind friends, the missionaries and residents, with many wishes that they might be successful in their operations. The winds were light, and two days were spent before they reached the harbour of Saluafata, where they anchored on the evening of the 24th. At daylight, orders were sent to Acting-Master Knox, in charge of the tender, to anchor, with the assistance of the boats, abreast of the town of Saluafata, to cover the landing party, and clear the town. At the same time, special orders were given by Captain Hudson to the first lieutenant (Mr. Walker) of the Peacock, placing under his direction the boats of that ship. These will be found in Appendix I On an examination of the passage through the reef, Mr. Knox reported, contrary to the account given by Lieutenant Emmons when he surveyed the harbour, that there was not water enough for the tender. Fearing some difficulty, Captain Hudson had anchored the Peacock as near the reef as possible, and not wishing to risk the tender in any way, countermanded part of his orders, and determined to clear the town with the Peacock's guns, being aware that none but the fighting men remained, and that all their valuables and movable property had been removed. Preparations were therefore made for swinging the broadside to the town, and the necessary arrangements for landing completed. Captain Hudson, however, still thought it proper to wait a few hours, in the hope of receiving some communication from the natives, and that they would at the last moment, agree to give up or punish the murderer. But no overtures whatever being made, at nine o'clock the boats were manned, and lay on their oars, ready for the signal to proceed. A fire was now opened from the ship, the balls being elevated so as to pass over the town; after which the boats pushed for the shore, the party landed, and the town of Saluafata, which consisted of about seventyfive houses, was reduced to ashes. The towns of Fusi and Salelese, of some fifty more, shared the same fate. The party then returned to the ship, without any accident to themselves or the natives, having met with no opposition whatever, notwithstanding the great boastings and bravado messages which had been sent by the chiefs and inhabitants. This act was performed with great reluctance, and not until the most perfect conviction of its being absolutely necessary to secure the safety of the crews of such of our whaling fleet as touch at this island, as well as to restore the respect due to our flag and those who sail under it, and to correct the erroneous opinion, that our forbearance was the result of fear of their prowess and numbers. In their transactions, and outrages committed on strangers, they had exhibited a fearlessness and spirit of daring that it was time to put a stop to. By this attack upon them, they became fully sensible that they were not our equals in war, nor capable of resisting attacks that might be made. on them; they have in consequence become much more humble, so that the general opinion throughout the islands is, that hereafter they must conform to the regulations they made on our former visit, and maintain them with strict integrity towards foreigners. Since this transaction, I have received letters from the island of Upolu, which inform me that this well-deserved punishment has had a most happy effect, and has put a termination to evils that had formerly been of common occurrence. Communication was had with Apia the day after, the natives of which town rather exulted in the punishment that had taken place. In leaving the harbour of Saluafata, the Peacock had a narrow escape from wreck; for, as they were standing out of the passage. they were overtaken by a heavy squall, with torrents of rain, and it being near the close of the day, pitchy darkness ensued, and breakers were unexpectedly found under their lee. There was no possibility of returning; but by carrying a press of canvass, they succeeded in getting clear, and an offing was attained by ten o'clock, when it fell calm. During the day they were at anchor in Saluafata Harbour, the thermometer stood on board the ship at 93° in the shade, and at 150° in the sun. It was found oppressively warm, notwithstanding there was a fine breeze blowing. The chief Opotuno, who had committed so many murders, was still at large, and it was conceived that if he could be taken, it would be an example that would be long remembered. For this purpose, it was believed that by obtaining Pea, the chief of Manono, to whom Opotuno was related, the latter would be given up. The duty of taking the former was entrusted to Lieutenant Emmons, under whose charge the tender was put, and instructions given him to proceed to Manono, make the chief prisoner without injury to him or the inhabitants of that island; and in case of his capture, to proceed to Savaii, and there offer an asylum to Mr. M'Donald, the missionary resident in Opotuno's district. Lieutenants Walker and De Haven, were employed the same night to capture Malietoa, and the chief George, of Cocoa-nut Point. Captain Hudson's instructions to this party, as well as those to Lieutenant Emmons, will be found in Appendix II. Neither of these parties succeeded in their attempts. The reports of the officers are also included in Appendix II. On the evening of the 5th, they anchored in the roadstead of Mataatu, island of Savaii. They had constant rain and squally weather, with a strong gale of wind from the northwest. I was somewhat in hopes that this visit would have led to a further knowledge of the interior of Savaii, and of its numerous craters, which would have enabled us to make a comparison with those of Hawaii, for, from appearances, and so far as information could be obtained, the discharges from the terminal crater of Savaii must be similar with those of Mauna Loa. It will be recollected that Dr. Pickering endeavoured, during our first visit to the Samoan Group, to reach what was termed the "run" or burnt district, and which no doubt resembles the flows of lava that have taken place on Hawaii, of which particular descriptions have been given. The weather was so unfavourable, that Captain Hudson deemed it imprudent to make any delay in so exposed a roadstead, and they accordingly left it, after ascertaining its position, and making a farther survey and examination of it. The town of Mataatu is beautifully situated on a bay, which is no more than a mere indentation of the coast. It is surrounded by extensive cocoa-nut groves, behind which the houses are built, in number about four hundred. The town contains about two thousand inhabitants, most of whom are still heathens, and their conduct proved it as much as their looks, for they were more rude and illlooking than any other natives observed in the group, and reminded the officers of the Feejeeans. This place is the residence of Mr. Pratt, a missionary, who has been established here since the visit of the Porpoise. Captain Hudson considers the bay of Mataatu as much exposed at all seasons; but between the 1st of December and the end of March, when the north and northwest winds and gales prevail, it is quite dangerous, and should not be visited. The natives of Savaii are well acquainted with Uea or Wallis Island, to the westward. The west point of the bay is called Matauea, "face of Uea," after the name of the island in that direction. Some of their spears, clubs, &c., were quite different from those used among the other Samoans, and were in 'all probability derived from the above island. These facts, in connexion with the winds at this season, are satisfactory evidence that there is no difficulty in the natives migrating to the eastward; indeed, if they are driven off by unforeseen storms, this is the season that these accidents would be most likely to happen, and their migrations to take place. On reference to the currents and winds, as exhibited throughout the progress of the voyage on the Track Map, it will be seen that there is no difficulty in these migrations being made from west to east. CHAPTER II. CONTENTS. THE PEACOCK AND TENDER LEAVE THE SAMOAN GROUP-ELLICE'S GROUP-CANOES UTIROA ISLAND-DISGRACEFUL CONDUCT OF AN ENGLISH WHALER-ERRORS OF CHARTSTARAWA-APIA-IDOL-THE TENDER GROUNDS-DRIFT OF THE PEACOCK-THREATENED ATTACK ON THE TENDER-MATTHEW'S ISLAND-PITT'S ISLAND-MAKINROBERT WOOD TAKEN ON BOARD-NATIVES OF PITT'S ISLAND-THEIR CANOESTHEIR TREATMENT OF FEMALES-KING TEKERE AND HIS RELATIVES-A NATIVE DESIRES TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ISLAND. |