A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the; Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea; and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the; Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea; and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
At break of day, on Monday the 27th, we unmoored, and at the same time I
sent the barge and cutter to fill the few water-casks that were now
empty. When they came near the shore, they saw, to their great surprise,
the whole beach covered with inhabitants, and having some doubt whether
it would be prudent to venture themselves among such a multitude, they
were about to pull back again for the ship. As soon as this was
perceived from the shore, the queen came forward, and beckoned them; at
the same time guessing the reason of what had happened, she made the
natives retire to the other side of the river; the boats then proceeded
to the shore, and filled the casks; in the mean time she put some hogs
and fruit on hoard, and when they were putting off would fain have
returned with them to the ship. The officer, however, who had received
orders to bring off none of the natives, would not permit her; upon
which she presently launched a double canoe, and was rowed off by her
own people. Her canoe was immediately followed by fifteen or sixteen
more, and all of them came up to the ship. The queen came on board, but
not being able to speak, she sat down and gave vent to her passion by
weeping. After she had been on board about an hour, a breeze springing
up, we weighed anchor and made sail. Finding it now necessary to return
into her canoe, she embraced us all in the most affectionate manner, and
with many tears; all her attendants also expressed great sorrow at our
departure. Soon after it fell calm, and I sent the boats a-head to tow,
upon which all the canoes returned to the ship, and that which had the
queen on board came up to the gunroom port, where her people made it
fast. In a few minutes she came into the bow of her canoe, where she sat
weeping with inconsolable sorrow. I gave her many things which I thought
would be of great use to her, and some for ornament; she silently
accepted of all, but took little notice of any thing. About 10 o'clock
we were got without the reef, and a fresh breeze springing up, our
Indian friends, and particularly the queen, once more bade us farewell,
with such tenderness of affection and grief, as filled both my heart and
my eyes.[53]
At noon, the harbour from which we sailed bore S.E. 1/2 E. distant about
twelve miles. It lies in latitude 17° 30' S., longitude 150° W., and I
gave it the name of Port Royal Harbour.
[Footnote 53 1: Of this queen, as Captain W. calls her, the reader will
see more particulars in the account of Cook's visit to this island. Her
name was Oberea. She was wife to Oammo, who governed the greater part of
Otaheite in behalf of his son, according to the custom of the place; but
at the time of Wallis's arrival, she cohabited with Toopäea, a native of
Ulietëa, and remarkable among these islanders for his wisdom and
information.--E.]
SECTION VIII.
_A more particular Account of the Inhabitants of Otaheite, and of their
domestic Life, Manners, and Arts_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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