POLYNESIA

POLYNESIA.

POLYNESIA is a name given by several early writers on geography, but first, we believe, by De Barros, to the numerous islands scattered over the Pacific Ocean, or, as it was usually called, the Great South Sea. Modern writers have also given the name of Micronesia to the small chains or clusters of islands scattered over that part of the Pacific lying to the E. and S. of the Sandwich Islands, and to the N. of the equator, but this region may still be reckoned part of Polynesia, the name which is now applied by modern geographers to the sixth great division of the earth's surface. This division will probably appear on examination less arbitrary than some others; for whether we consider it in a political, physical, or moral point of view, the separation from America on the one hand, and from Australasia and the Asiatic islands on the other, is marked by very strong and distinct features. A considerable portion of the last, for instance, have ages ago been invaded and taken possession of by foreigners, and several parts of Australasia have more recently been colonized by Europeans. No colonies have yet been planted in Polynesia, with the exception of that on one of the Ladrones Islands by Spain, and the recent military occupation under the protectorate of France at Tahiti. Since the commencement of the present century, however, many of these islands have been visited by European missionaries, for the purpose of spreading amongst the natives the light of the gospel; and in most cases their efforts have been so far successful that they have established permanent settlements in these islands, and have instructed the natives, not only in the doctrines of the Christian religion, but in many useful mechanical arts and other improvements of civilized society. The inhabitants, excepting those of Tahiti with France, have no political connection with any of the other divisions of the earth, and but little exists between any two of its groups or separate islands, each being governed by its own chiefs, and confining its friendships or hostilities to some neighbouring group or island.

Physically considered All geographical divisions are to a certain degree arbitrary; but if the islands south of the equator, and eastward from New Holland as far as the New Hebrides and New Zealand, be considered as included in Australasia, the boundary of Polynesia, physically considered, is almost as distinct as its political seclusion. If a line be drawn in a

south-easterly direction along the eastern extremity of the Philippine Islands, Mindanao, Papua or New Guinea, New Ireland, and Solomon's Archipelago, and from thence continued southerly along the eastern shores of the New Hebrides and New Zealand, this line will mark with sufficient precision the separation of the Asiatic islands (mostly to the northward of the equator), and Australasia (to the southward of the equator) from Polynesia. The geological structure of the islands which constitute the first-mentioned divisions is also, generally speaking, essentially different, consisting chiefly of lofty mountains of primary or secondary formation, partaking of the same structure as those on the continent of Asia, with which some of them, indeed, may probably have once been connected, their rugged sides presenting as it were a broken barrier to the great Pacific; whereas Polynesia exhibits over a large part of its surface a series of low, flat islands, scarcely rising above the level of the sea, which, with the exception of the lofty groups of volcanic formation, are the labours of minute sea animals, and are usually distinguished by the name of lagoon or coral islands.

In a moral point of view, the distinctive character of the Polynesians is as strongly marked as the physical structure of the islands which they inhabit. In the Eastern Archipelago, or the Asiatic islands, and in Australasia, two distinct races of men have been traced,—the black and the brown. In the archipelago, and more particularly in the Philippine Islands, a few individual families of the Negro race were discovered by the early European visitors; in New Guinea and the Papuan Islands the whole population appears to consist of this race. They differ in some respects from the Negroes of the western coast of Africa, resembling rather those which are found on the eastern coast, particularly in the hair, which is strongly twisted into small tufts, and very different from that of the Negro of Guinea.

The only Negroes that have been discovered on any of the islands of Polynesia are the Fijians, who are of the same race as the inhabitants of that part of Australasia which some modern writers have called Melanesia, all the other inhabitants being of the brown race, and by some supposed to be derived from the same common stock to which the Tartars, the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Malays, owe their

Polynesia. origin. In this opinion Sir William Jones, Dr Buchanan, Mr Marsden, and Sir Stamford Raffles to some extent concur. To whatever source the whole of these races may be traced, the Malays and the Polynesians present so many points of resemblance as to lead to the conclusion that they have been derived from the same parent stock. The several portions of this race which inhabit the different groups of the Pacific exhibit considerable variety in figure and colour; but are generally rather above the middle stature,¹ with frames well knit and robust. Their limbs are muscular and firm; their hands and feet small; their heads not unduly large nor disproportioned; the face sometimes exhibiting in a slight degree the triangular form of the Tartar races, though as frequently oval, occasionally with broad and well-shaped foreheads; the eyes black, not large, but placed horizontally, with somewhat straight and well-defined eyebrows. The nose is frequently small and broad, but occasionally aquiline and well formed, with nostrils open. The mouth is usually large, and the lower lip projecting; the teeth regular, perfectly white, and well set; and the hair is often coarse, black, and straight or curling. The chin is seldom projecting; but in some tribes the jaw is large, and broad at its junction below the ear, which produces a peculiar fulness, as seen in New Zealand and the Sandwich Islands.

Language. Dispersed as the Polynesians are, and rarely and purely accidental as any communication between distant islands must be, there is strong evidence that the different dialects spoken, from the shores of India and Africa to those of America, are the derivatives of one common language, which, according to Marsden, still forms the primitive portion of the Malay language, mixed as it now is with Sanscrit and Arabic.

Although the dialects of Polynesia and Australasia bear some resemblance to each other, the resemblance is not so close as that which prevails between those of the former and the Asiatic Archipelago and Madagascar, which seem to have belonged to one language, designated by Marsden the Polynesian. The Asiatic source of the language is supposed to be indicated by the presence of Sanscrit words in all. Considering the state of civilization in which the people have been found, their language is remarkably comprehensive, clear, and exact, especially in its grammatical structure; and so philosophical as to convey the impression that it must have descended from a people possessing a higher degree of civilization than those by whom it is now spoken. The vowel sounds predominate; and the peculiarity in the Polynesian language, which expresses almost every syllable by a single vowel, or a consonant and vowel, and invariably terminates every word with a vowel, renders it, when spoken, remarkably euphonic, flowing, and easy. The softness of the language is also increased by the rejection, throughout all the dialects, with the exception of that spoken by the Samoans and Fijians, of all sibilants and sounds produced by double consonants.

Religion. Not less remarkable is the general accordance of the Polynesians in manners, superstitions, and religious observances. The conversion of the Malays of the archipelago to Mohammedanism has nearly obliterated their ancient faith, but enough still remains on some of the Asiatic islands, and still more on the Asiatic continent, to trace the source whence the Polynesians have derived many of their religious opinions and practices.

General view of the islands. These preliminary observations on the physical form, features, language, and religion of the Polynesians, are made with a view to indicate their common origin, and may

be taken as a general description of the natives of the Polynesia various groups of islands which are scattered over the surface of the vast Pacific Ocean. But though the language and mythological legends of the brown-complexioned and straight-haired races inhabiting Eastern Polynesia may be traced to the Asiatic archipelago, information has lately been collected among the Melanesians, or woolly-haired race inhabiting the Fijis and the islands of Australasia, from which it appears that their language bears a resemblance to some of the languages spoken in the interior of Southern Africa. It is worthy of notice also, that if the religion of the Polynesians was derived from Asia, it does not seem to have been limited to the islands of the vast area over which it has been spread; and without entering into a comparison of the mythology of the aboriginal inhabitants of South America, it is a singular fact, that massive relics met with in Polynesia, some evidently of high antiquity, and almost Cyclopean in their dimensions and structure, the ruins of their ancient temples and fortresses, bear a remarkable resemblance in form and size to the extensive pyramidal structures composed of successive terraces, and other buildings, found amongst the Peruvians by the discoverers of America.

The chief characteristic of the religion of the Polynesians seems to be a sort of hero-worship, their principal gods having been renowned men who still exercise an influence over the affairs of this world, appearing in the form of some living creature, through the medium of which they exert their power. With this is associated throughout the islands a firm belief in spirits or demons, and in sorcery.

The groups of Polynesia are exceedingly different in their extent, both as to number and size, as well as in their composition. Sometimes single islands are met with, surrounded by extensive reefs. These islands and reefs are dispersed, as already observed, over the whole of the Pacific Ocean, but chiefly between the thirtieth degree of northern and the thirtieth degree of southern latitude. The following classification will be found to embrace the greater part of those islands which are comprehended under the geographical division "Polynesia":—

In the Northern Hemisphere.—1. The Marian or La-
drone Islands; 2. The Carolinas, including the Pellow Is-
lands; 3. The Marshall's Islands, and the Kingsmill group;
4. The Sandwich Islands; 5. The numerous reefs and coral
islands scattered over the Northern Pacific, and designated
Micronesia.

In the Southern Hemisphere.—1. The Fijis; 2. The
Friendly Islands, including the group of the Tonga Islands;
3. The Navigators' Islands; 4. The Society Islands; 5. The
Georgian Islands, including Tahiti and the Austral Islands;
6. The Marquesas; 7. Easter Island; 8. Pitcairn's Island;
9. The Mangareva Group; 10. The Paumotus, or Dan-
gerous Archipelago.

IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

The La-drone Islands were first discovered by Magelaens on La-drone, the 6th of March 1521. This name, by which they are generally known, was given to them by the Spaniards on account of the thievish disposition of the natives; and afterwards, when missionaries were first sent thither in 1668, under the patronage of Mary-Anne of Austria, queen of Philip, they took the name of Las Marianas, in honour of that lady. (See LADRONE ISLANDS.)

The expedition of Loyosa touched at the La-drone Islands in 1526, and were received in the most friendly manner by the natives. They found no quadrupeds on the island, but plenty of excellent fruits, fish, and rice. The only birds were turtle-doves, of which the islanders appeared to be so fond that they kept them in cages, and taught them to speak. In 1565 the La-drone Islands were again visited by Lopez de Legaspe, and, notwithstanding his

¹ The measurement of eleven natives of ten different races in Polynesia were taken during the progress of the United States exploring expedition under Commodore Wilkes in 1840: only one was so low as 5 feet 2 inches; one was 5 feet 10 inches; but the average was 5 feet 10 inches.

Polynesia. anxiety to prevent quarrels, skirmishes took place, and one of the seamen who had strolled into the woods being found murdered, the Spaniards landed in force, set fire to their houses and canoes, wounded several of the natives, and hung upon the spot three wounded prisoners.

Visited by Cavendish; In 1588 our countryman Cavendish came in sight of the Ladrones, and sailed along the coast of Guahan, from which a number of canoes came off with fruits and vegetables, which were exchanged for pieces of iron; but the natives became so troublesome that, in order to get rid of them, Cavendish ordered muskets to be fired at them. In 1600 Olivier Van Noort made the Ladrones Islands, and stopped near Guahan for two days, from which island above 200 canoes came off to the ships with fish, fruits, and rice to exchange for iron; fowls are mentioned, for the first time, in this voyage. In 1616 Spilbergen made the Ladrones Islands, and stopped two days to traffic with the natives for provisions of fruit, fowls, and fish, in exchange for bits of iron. In 1625 the fleet under Prince Maurice of Nassau refreshed at Guahan, and were supplied by 150 canoes, with immense quantities of cocoanuts, yams, bananas, rice, and fowls, which were of great service, as the scurvy had made such havoc among the crews that in some of the ships they had scarcely strength enough to manage the sails.

Of the Spanish Jesuits. In the year 1608 the Spaniards established a mission on the island Guahan, consisting of P. Servitores and five other fathers, with several lay assistants, most of them natives of the Philippine Islands, and well acquainted with the Tagul language, the same as that spoken by the natives of the Ladrones Islands. For some time the chiefs of the islands behaved with great kindness to the Jesuits, and gave them ground for building a church. From this seat of the mission the fathers spread themselves amongst the other islands, where they were received with equal kindness. In short, P. Servitores says, that in the first year they had baptized more than 13,000 islanders, and instructed 20,000, in the eleven islands which they had visited. The imprudent zeal, however, of the missionaries ruined their cause by shocking the prejudices of the natives. These simple people took it into their heads that, as an infant had died shortly after being baptized, its death had been occasioned by that ceremony; and such was the terror of mothers on seeing a missionary approach, that they seized their children and ran off with them into the woods. This opinion gathered ground from the eagerness of the Jesuits to get hold of infants for the purpose of baptizing them, and more than one of these holy fathers fell martyrs to their imprudent zeal. Several murders ensued; and as the Spaniards had taken care to strengthen the mission with a body of troops well armed, with the obvious intention of taking possession of the Ladrones as an important outpost to the Philippine Islands, after a great number of the natives had been put to death, the rest submitted to the yoke of the Spaniards; though most of the missionaries suffered in the contest, and last of all Servitores, who was killed by the man to whom he had been the greatest benefactor, because the missionary insisted on baptizing his child. Thus, at the age of forty-five, this pious and good man, for such he appears to have been, fell by the hand of an assassin, after having, as we are told, "established the faith in thirteen islands, founded eight churches, established three seminaries for the instruction of youth, and baptized nearly 50,000 of the islanders." From this time constant revolts and massacres ensued, and the most inhuman cruelties were inflicted on the unhappy islanders; so that in 1681 the island of Guahan, which, on the first landing of the Spaniards, counted 40,000 inhabitants (some accounts make them more), had become so completely depopulated that it was found necessary to bring inhabitants from the northern islands to cultivate the soil.

Visited by the bucaniers. In the year 1685 the ship of John Eaton, the bucanier, touched at Guahan, the crew of which quarrelled with the natives, and killed some of them. Having satisfied the Spanish governor that it was done in their own defence, "he gave us toleration," says Cowley in his narrative, "to kill them all if we could." . . . "We took four of these infidel prisoners," continues the narrator, "and brought them on board, binding their hands behind them; but they had not been long there when three of them leaped overboard into the sea, swimming away from the ship with their hands tied behind them."

By Dampier. In 1686 Dampier touched at Guahan, and states the number of natives not to exceed 100. He gives a particular description of their "flying proas," with their outriggers, which, he says, "sail the best of any boats in the world; adding that he tried the swiftness of one by his log, and that she ran 12 knots out before the half-minute glass was half out." "I believe," says Dampier, "she would run 24 miles an hour." Woodes Rogers, who visited the Ladrones in 1710, states it as his opinion that one of these proas would sail at the rate of 20 miles an hour.

By Anson. In the month of August 1742, Commodore Anson anchored before the island of Tinian. It was deserted; but cattle to the number of

at least 10,000, besides hogs and fowls, were running about wild. Polynesia. Cocoa-nuts in innumerable quantities, bread-fruit, oranges, limes, water-melons, and other tropical fruits, were in the greatest abundance. Though now deserted, Tinian, on the arrival of the Spaniards, is said to have contained 30,000 inhabitants. Ruins of buildings, consisting of pyramidal pillars of considerable dimensions, were met with in all parts of the island.

Commodore Byron anchored in the year 1765 before Tinian, and Visited by found the island overgrown with large trees and underwood, Byron; amongst which were most of the tropical fruits.

Lieutenant Kotzebue visited Guahan in 1817. No canoes nor by Kotzebue, nor happy islanders, greeted his approach; the whole race of bucaniers had long been extirpated. "We looked," he says, "in vain for a canoe or a man on the shore; and it almost seemed as if we were off an uninhabited island. The sight of this lovely country deeply affected me. Formerly these fertile valleys were the abode of a nation who passed their days in tranquil happiness; now only the beautiful palm groves remained to overshadow their graves; a deathlike silence everywhere prevailed." Soon, however, a person appeared from the Spanish governor, and piloted the ship into the harbour; and after this Kotzebue proceeded to the town of Agana, situated upon a beautiful plain some hundred paces from the shore, in the midst of fine palm groves, some of the houses being built of coral rock, others of bamboo. It had a church and a convent, and two fortresses,—one to protect the town from the sea-wards, and the other to keep the Indians in awe. The town contained about 200 houses and 1500 inhabitants, who derived their origin from Mexico and the Philippines. The population of the island is about 5000 souls. "There is but one man and his wife," says Kotzebue, "on the whole island of the original stock; with the death of these two people the race of the old Ladrones will be totally extinguished." "The present race," says Chamisso, "no longer know the sea, are no mariners, no swimmers; they have ceased to build boats. They now scarcely hollow out, without skill, the trunks of trees to fish within the breakers." All the other islands to the north of Guahan are entirely uninhabited, and overrun with wild cattle, hogs, and goats, which afford a supply to the American vessels trading to the Sandwich Islands and the N.W. coast of America. Indeed it was said that some of these people had been allowed to settle themselves in Agrigan, on condition of acknowledging their allegiance to Spain, and that they were peopling the island with natives kidnapped from the Sandwich Islands.

The Carolinas, or Caroline Islands.—In 1686 a Spanish ship, Carolinas, being near the meridian of the Ladrones, fell in with an island, which her commander, Don Francisco Lazeano, named La Carolina, in honour of the King of Spain, Carlos II. This island has given the name to a very extensive chain spreading over a space of not less than 6 degrees of latitude and 25 degrees of longitude, the western extremity being the group of the Palos or Pellew Islands, in Lat. 7. N., Long. 155. E.; and the easternmost island, that of Hogolen, in Lat. 9. N., Long. 155. E. The whole group, as far as is known, which however is very imperfectly, consists of at least 150 separate islands, besides various coral reefs with islets upon them. Yet, numerous as they are, being somewhat out of the direct and usual route of the Spaniards in their voyages from South America to the Philippines, they had the good fortune to escape any intimate connection with them,—a connection which has proved equally baneful to others, whether established by the cross or the sword, by their professions of friendship or avowals of hostility.

Some of these islands, and especially those towards the western extremity of the group, had been seen by various navigators long before that of Carolina was noticed and named by Lazeano. The Portuguese, Da Rocha, fell in with islands in 9. or 10. N. Lat. In 1526, which he named Sequeira, after his pilot; and in 1628 Savedra, a Spaniard, in his passage to the Philippines, discovered islands in Lat. 11., which he named Los Reyes. In 1579, our countryman Drake saw some islands to which he gave the name of the Islands of Thieves, and which, from his description, have been supposed to be the Pellew Islands. In 1596 one of the islands, in about 6. N., was seen by Mendana; but two proas full of people, driven by the violence of the wind from a group of islands in the east as far as Samal, roused the attention of the College of Jesuits at Manila, who made several unsuccessful attempts to establish missions on those islands, which the wrecked natives described to be thirty-two in number. In the year 1710 the two fathers, Duberron and Cortel, embarked in the San Trinidad with a crew of eighty-six men, to establish themselves on the Pellew Islands. They landed on Sonsonorol, with the quartermaster and ensign of the troops, in all sixteen persons; but the ship was driven off by the current, and what became of the missionaries was never ascertained.

In the Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses is a letter and chart from P. Juan Antonio Cantova, a missionary at Guahan, addressed to

Polynesia. the King of Spain's confessor in 1722, in which is given a more particular account of the Carolinas than any which had been published.

English and American vessels, chiefly whalers, have for several years past resorted in great numbers to the Caroline Islands for water and refreshments, ten or twelve ships arriving, and two or three hundred sailors being on shore amongst the natives, at one island during a single season. Several white men, generally runaway sailors, also reside on the islands thus visited, and keep what are called accommodation-houses for the use of the officers and crews of vessels resorting to the shores. The effect of the large influx of foreigners of this class has been disastrous to the natives, who have learned to make and use intoxicating drink to such an extent that the drunkenness, debauchery, and disease attendant upon such practices are rapidly destroying the population. Within the last few years a small number of self-denying American missionaries with their wives, accompanied by some Christian natives of the Sandwich Islands, have established themselves on Ponape or Ascension Island, and Ualau or Strong's Island, two of the largest of the Caroline Islands. They have met with much discouragement from the influence of the heathen priests, the open hostility of the white men, and the recklessness and spathy of the people, as they see their race, under the destructive influence of vice and disease, rapidly melting away. In 1854 the smallpox appeared with frightful virulence among the people, and being ascribed to the prayers of the missionaries, exposed them to peril, while it deterred the natives for a time from submitting to vaccination or other means of preservation, which the medical missionary and his companions were anxious to apply. So fearful were the ravages of this visitation, that in the course of a few months more than half the entire number of one of the tribes on Ascension Island died. The safety of those who submitted to vaccination ultimately produced a re-action in favour of the missionaries, who still remain to continue their praiseworthy efforts.

Marshall's Islands. To the N.E. of the Carolines is a large cluster of low coralline islands, discovered by Marshall and Gilbert in 1788, the northern portion being usually called Marshall's, and those to the south Gilbert's Islands. This cluster extends from 160. to 172. E. Long., and from 4. 35. to 12. N. Lat. These islands range, in two lines or chains running north and south, parallel to each other, and 60 or 100 miles apart. The western chain is called the Radick, and the eastern the Ralick chain, each comprising fifteen or sixteen islands, of which the chief part are said to be under the government of one chief. Milé or Mulgrave Island consists of twenty-four or thirty islets connected by a reef of coral, and inclosing a lagoon 12 or 15 miles across. The islets are each from half a mile to 6 miles in length, and about half a mile wide. Nearly all the islands are of similar formation. In some the soil, though scanty, supports vegetation, and bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees, with a few bananas, are found there. The inhabitants are a finer race than the natives of the adjacent islands, having sharper features, long and curling hair, and more athletic frames. They accomplish long voyages in canoes made of bread-fruit planks. The men are partially clothed, and the women wear fine, beautifully-made mats, reaching from the waist to the feet. They are fond of ornaments. The lobe of their ears is pierced, and the aperture extended, by means of a pandanus leaf rolled up, until a man can pass his arm through it. These islanders have not had much intercourse with foreigners. During one of the early visits of shipping to their shores, a theft having been committed, a general attack was made upon the people, and many killed. Amongst these was the brother of the king, who, himself being wounded, was determined upon revenge. No white men reside upon the islands; but they have been visited by American missionaries, with a view to the ultimate conversion of the natives to Christianity.

The King's mill group. These islands, sixteen in number, lie chiefly to the northward of the equator, though some are in the Southern Hemisphere. Hurd's Island is in 3. S. Lat., and the group extends to Makin, in 3. 20. N. They reach from 172. 57. to 176. E. Long. All are low coral islands, the highest land in the group being about 20 feet above the sea. Dremmond's Island, one of the largest of the group, is said to be about 40 miles long, and less than half a mile wide. Several are 20 miles long, while few are more than half a mile across. There is usually a reef at some distance from the island, uniting the extremities of the island and inclosing a lagoon. Water is obtained by digging through the coral sand, but is brackish to the taste. The shallow soil is composed of coral sand and vegetable mould. Vegetation is scanty; but the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, and a species of arum or taro, are cultivated with great care. The islands are populous. The natives, a fine race of people, bear a stronger resemblance to the Malays than many farther west. Their colour is darker than that of the Tahitians, and their faces exhibit great variety of form and expression. They have black glossy

hair. Their features, according to the testimony of Commodore Wilkes, are small, but high and well marked; their eyes are large, black, and bright; nose straight or slightly aquiline, and rather wide at the base; mouth large, with moustache and slender beard, full lips, and small teeth. Both sexes are but slightly clothed,—the men wearing a girdle and a mat over the shoulder, the women a girdle of split leaves reaching to the knees. The women are guarded with great jealousy, separate houses being erected for their abode; and any man besides the husband or some near relative entering the house set apart for the woman, would be put to death or reduced to slavery. Wars appear to be frequent; and the natives use spears, with prongs at the point, armed with rows of sharks' teeth. They also manufacture a sort of defensive armour made of the twisted or braided fibre of the cocoa-nut husk, matted together about half an inch in thickness, so as to cover the limbs. Their helmets are made of the skin of the porcupine fish. The women go out to war as well as the men. Whales abound in the neighbourhood, and are occasionally stranded on the reefs or sand-banks among the islands. Excepting at one of the islands, there has been but little intercourse with shipping, but where this has taken place it has not improved the condition of the people. They manufacture a considerable quantity of cocoa-nut oil. In 1855 an American medical missionary, Dr Pierson, spent about six weeks amongst these islands. He reports them healthy, and estimates the population of the group at from 30,000 to 35,000.

Besides the clusters already noticed, there are numerous single islands, mostly of coral formation, spread over that portion of the Pacific designated Micronesia, which extends from 3. S. to 21. N. Lat., from 130. to 180. E. Long., and is estimated to contain a population of 200,000.

This fine group of islands in the northern Pacific had the good Sandwich fortune to escape the visits of the old navigators, and the discovery Islands of them was reserved for Captain Cook, who first touched at them in the year 1778. This distinguished navigator was received by all classes of the people with the liveliest demonstrations of astonishment and delight. Offerings and prayers in homage were presented to him by their priest in one of the temples near the bay in which his vessels anchored, and on the shore of which he subsequently fell by the dagger of a native in the year 1779. His bones were afterwards preserved by the priests, and continued to receive offerings and homage from the people until 1819, when the whole system of idolatry was abolished. A rude monument (the stump of a cocoa-nut) inscribed with his name, was the only memorial by which his countrymen have marked the spot where he fell. The name by which this group of islands is known was given by Captain Cook in honour of the Earl of Sandwich, first lord of the Admiralty at the time of their discovery.

The group consists of ten islands. The following table (from the Polynesian,¹ July 6, 1844) gives the extent and population of these islands. The population was supposed by their discoverers to amount, in 1779, to 400,000:—

These islands are situated between Lat. 18. 54. and 22. 2. N., and between Long. 155. and 161. W. Hawaii, the largest, rises majestically in grand unbroken lines from the ocean, crowned with three massive mountain peaks, on two of which the snow lies for the greater part of the year. They are as follows:—

Mouna Roa (Long or High Mountain)....height 13,760 feet.
Mouna Kea (White Mountain)..... " 13,953 "
Mouna Huarai (1687 toises)..... " 11,067 "

The first two of these measurements are given by Commodore Wilkes, of the U.S. exploring expedition, and the latter by Kotzebue.

The whole group is of volcanic origin, and the entire substance of the islands is basalt or lava. Extensive craters crown the summits of the loftiest mountains, and amongst these the largest is Kirauea, on the east side of Hawaii, and about 4000 feet above the

¹ A newspaper belonging to the Sandwich Island government.

Polynesia. sea. This immense volcano, one of the largest yet discovered, was unknown to the civilized world until it was visited in 1823 by a party of missionaries, three Americans and one Englishman, of whose explorations an account was afterwards published. (Tour through Hawaii, by Rev. Wm. Ellis, author of Polynesian Researches.) At an elevation of 4000 feet above the level of the sea these travellers found, in the midst of a plain many miles in circumference, and 300 feet below the summits of the walls of volcanic rock around, a vast oval crater 9 miles in circumference, with perpendicular sides 1000 feet deep, covered at the bottom with a lake of liquid lava, at one end red and boiling. Around the edge, or from the midst of this fiery lake, fifty-one conical craters sent forth jets of lava or smoke and flame. From the ledge projecting round the crater, 300 or 400 feet above the burning mass, it appeared as if the lava had recently risen to this height in the vast furnace, and had then flowed out through a subterranean channel towards the sea, where some miles of the coast had been filled up with liquid lava not many weeks before. Immense banks of finely-crystallized sulphur, as well as smaller craters, were discovered in the vicinity. Two years afterwards this wonder of the Pacific was visited by Captain Lord Byron and the officers of H.M.S. Blonde, and in the year 1840 by the commander and a number of officers of the United States exploring expedition. The volcanoes had continued in action during the intervening time; but the scientific measurements of the crater taken on these occasions differed only slightly from those first published by the missionaries. Eruptions occur at intervals in other parts of the island; and in 1843 two new craters opened on the summit of Mouna Roa, 13,000 feet above the sea, from which, during six or eight weeks, the burning lava poured forth, forming three rivers 5 or 6 miles in width, and extending between 20 and 30 miles towards the sea. These eruptions being accompanied by earthquakes, and sometimes fearful thunderstorms, present at such seasons spectacles of the most sublime and awful grandeur. Nor have the spectacles of human action and feeling connected with these appalling convulsions of nature been less affecting; as when, after offerings and prayers had failed to appease the imagined anger of the gods, the sovereign, attended by the priests and followed by his people, has moved in solemn procession to the edge of the flowing lava, and there, as the costliest offering they could present, the priests have cut off part of the hair of the sovereign, by them considered sacred, and cast it into the fiery stream, whose progress was afterwards stayed. The last and the most appalling eruption which has taken place within the memory of the oldest inhabitants, commenced in August 1855, when a crater opened near the summit of Mouna Roa, and for the next ten months continued to pour forth burning lava, which formed a stream 70 miles in length, from 1 to 5 miles wide, and from 10 to several hundred feet in depth.¹

Although entirely volcanic, the shores of these islands are protected by coral reefs, and each island possesses several harbours, some of them spacious and secure, as Hilo, or Byron's Bay, on the east, and Kealakekua, on the west side of Hawaii; Lahaina in Maui; and Honolulu in Oahu. This last is generally considered the best in the islands, and is the resort of the greatest number of vessels. All the islands are mountainous, and great part of their surface is lava in various stages of decomposition, often sterile; but where the lava is ancient and disintegrated, covered with forests or inferior verdure; while the plains and valleys are often exceedingly fertile. 500,000 acres are supposed to be suitable for tillage, and half of this for the production of sugar. All the islands, with the exception of some parts of Hawaii, are well watered. The chief indigenous productions used as food are cocoa-nuts, bananas, breadfruit, sugar-cane, yams, arrow-root, and several varieties of clement arum (taro), which is extensively and carefully cultivated, and forms the chief support of the natives. To these may be added the Cocoscolulus battatus (sweet potato), which is grown in considerable quantities. The island also produces the paper mulberry and the kava plant. The forests abound with large and valuable timber, chiefly hard and durable. Sandal-wood was formerly exported in large quantities, but is now exhausted. Many valuable fruits and vegetables, as well as grain, have been introduced, and appear to thrive well. Amongst the most important of these are grapes, oranges, coffee, pine-apples, and melons. Pumpkins, Irish potatoes, cabbages, maize, and wheat are amongst the most useful vegetables; and grain.

The climate, considering that the islands are within the tropics, is remarkably healthy, being generally dry, and the temperature varying with the elevation. The following are the results of a meteorological table for one year, kept on the western shore of Oahu:—Greatest heat, 85°; least heat, 61°; range, 27°; general range, 70° to 80°; mean temp., 75°; general course of wind, N.E.

The only animals found by Captain Cook in the islands were

hogs, dogs, and rats. Captain Vancouver, some years afterwards, left there a breed of cattle, which resorted to the mountains in the interior, where they soon became numerous. The natives used to shoot them, or take them by digging pits near pools of water. It was in one of these pits that Mr Douglas, an intelligent and indefatigable botanist from the Horticultural Society in England, suffered a frightful death. He was found there gored to death by a bull, which also was found in the same pit. These cattle were some years ago more numerous than at present; a number of Spaniards having come over from California, with horses trained for the service, to hunt them, chiefly for the sake of their hides. It is said that as many as 5000 hides were exported in one year, which induced the government to prohibit the shooting of these animals, otherwise they would soon have been exterminated. (Wilkes' Exploring Expedition, vol. iv., p. 203.) Tame cattle, horses, mules, goats, have since been introduced, as well as poultry.

The inhabitants of these islands are, considered physically, amongst the finest races in the Pacific, bearing the strongest resemblance to the New Zealanders in stature, and in their well-developed muscular limbs. The tattooing on their bodies is less artistic than that of the New Zealanders, and much more limited than among some of the other islanders. They are also more hardy and industrious than those living nearer the equator. This in all probability arises from their salubrious climate, and the comparative sterility of their soil, rendering them dependent upon the cultivation of the ground for the yam, the arum, and the sweet potato, their chief articles of food. The language of the two races is also so nearly allied, that although occupying the most remote regions north and south at which any of their race have been found, they have little difficulty in understanding each other.

Though, like all undisciplined races, the Sandwich islanders have proved deficient in firm and steady perseverance, they manifest considerable intellectual capability. Their moral character, when first visited by Europeans, was not superior to that of other islanders; and excepting when improved and preserved by the influences of Christianity, it has suffered much from the vices of intemperance and licentiousness introduced by foreigners. Polygamy prevailed among the chiefs and rulers, and women were subject to all the humiliations of the tabu system, which subjected them to many privations, and kept them socially in a condition of inferiority to the other sex. Infanticide was practised to some extent, the children destroyed being chiefly females. Though less superstitious than the Tahitians, the idolatry of the Sandwich islanders was evidently ancient. It was equally barbarous and sanguinary, as in addition to the chief objects of worship included in the mythology of the other islands, the supernatural beings supposed to reside in the volcanoes, and direct the action of subterranean fires, rendered the gods of the Sandwich islands objects of peculiar terror. Human sacrifices were slain on several occasions, and vast offerings presented to the spirits supposed to preside over the volcanoes, especially during the periods of actual eruptions.

The requisitions of their idolatry were severe, and its rites cruel and bloody. Grotesque and repulsive wooden figures, animals, and the bones of chiefs, were the objects of worship. Human sacrifices were offered whenever a temple was to be dedicated, or a chief was sick, or a war was to be undertaken; and these occasions were frequent. The apprehensions of the people with regard to a future state were undefined, but fearful. The lower orders expected to be slowly devoured by evil spirits, or to dwell with the gods in burning mountains. The several trades, such as that of the fisherman, the tiller of the ground, and the builder of canoes and houses, had each their presiding deities. Household gods were also kept, which the natives worshipped in their habitations. One merciful provision, however, had existed from time immemorial, and that was sacred inclosures, places of refuge into which those who fled in time of war, or from any violent pursuer, might enter and be safe. To violate the sanctity of the Marai was one of the greatest crimes of which a man could be guilty. Campbell was present at the execution of a man who had committed this offence, in getting drunk and running into the Marai during rohu. He was taken to the Marai, where his eyes were put out; in this state he remained two days, when he was strangled, and his body exposed before the image of the Atua, or Idol.

The Sandwich Islands, although the last important discovery in the Pacific, have, in consequence of their geographical position, been more frequently visited by Europeans, and have advanced in civilization more rapidly, than any of the other islands, presenting, at the present time, a degree of improvement unsurpassed, if equalled, during a corresponding period in any other part of the world. The first movement in this direction was made by the chief who governed the large island of Hawaii, after the death of the king who ruled at the time of Captain Cook's visit. This prince,

¹ Letter from Mr Coan to General Miller, in Journal of Geological Society, 1856.

Polynesia. Tamehama, the founder of a new dynasty, and sometimes compared to Peter the Great, was a chief of quick perception and great force of character. The Sandwich islanders are necessarily a nautical people, and their king was one of the first to perceive the immense superiority of European vessels over the native canoes. When Captain Vancouver visited these islands in 1792, the king being desirous of having a vessel of European construction, this able navigator laid down the keel of one, which was speedily finished. Ten or twelve years after this, when Mr Turnbull visited the islands, the king had a naval force of twenty vessels or upwards, of from twenty-five to fifty tons, which traded amongst the islands. To these he subsequently added others, purchased at enormous prices from foreigners visiting the islands. Bent not only on the improvement of his own island, but the subjugation of others, the king encouraged a warlike spirit in the people, introduced European arms among his soldiers, and by means of his infant navy, and the superior weapons of his troops, conquered, though not without great destruction of life, one island after another, until he became undisputed sovereign of the whole group. He also encouraged trade with foreigners, and derived from its profits a large increase of his revenue, as well as the means of consolidating his power. This energetic and successful ruler died in 1819, leaving his kingdom to his son, a mild and good-natured prince, kindly disposed towards the people, but destitute of the energy of his father, which was in a great measure supplied by Karaimoku, one of his councillors, who became prime minister of the young king, and was called by the people "the iron cable of the country." One of the first acts of the young king was to abolish the tabu throughout the islands. He was induced to adopt this policy from various causes: namely, a desire to improve the condition of his wives, who were subject, along with all other females, to the operation of the tabu; secondly, several foreigners and intelligent chiefs advised the change; and the report of what had been done by Pomare, King of Tahiti, had great weight with him. Some disturbances took place in consequence of the abolition of idolatry; but the insurgents were defeated, and peace was restored, which has since been but slightly disturbed by the natives themselves.

In the year 1820 a number of well-qualified missionaries arrived from America, and after some difficulty arising from the misrepresentation of foreigners, were allowed to land, and commence their labours at Honolulu, in the island of Oahu. A short time afterwards the present of a small schooner from the British government to the king afforded an opportunity for Mr Ellis, an English missionary, and a number of Christian natives from the Society Islands, to visit Oahu. These native Christians disabused the minds of the king and chiefs of the erroneous opinions they had been induced to entertain as to the objects of the foreign teachers; while Mr Ellis, who had been a number of years in the southern islands, finding the language nearly the same, was able to assist the American missionaries in reducing the Hawaiian language to writing, in preparing books, teaching the natives to read and write, and in preaching the gospel to them in their own language.

In the year 1824 the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands embarked, amidst the sighs and tears of their subjects, on a voyage to Great Britain, where they died the same year. Their bodies, with their surviving attendants, were brought back to the Sandwich Islands, in the Blonde frigate, under the command of Lord Byron. Kauikeoli, the brother of the king, was unanimously acknowledged as his successor, under whose protection the missionaries continued their labours, often under great discouragements, in establishing schools, planting churches, and training native teachers and missionaries. Amongst those who paid attention to the instruction of the missionaries, numbers made an open profession of Christian faith; and a stricter morality prevailed. They became more humane, more industrious and honest. The Christian females adopted a dress after the European fashion, and became examples of domestic virtue.

The introduction of letters, the reception of the Christian faith, and the guarantee thus afforded for the security of commerce, constituted an era which may be regarded as the turning-point in the history of this people. From that time they have continued steadily to advance in intelligence, resources, civilization, and religion. Their progress has been at times painfully interrupted by means of the misrepresentations of the representatives of foreign governments, and the conduct of foreign officers. On one occasion an English officer went so far as to take possession of the island, and establish a commission for its government; and French officers abrogated the laws, dictated treaties, and by force of arms established the Roman Catholic religion in the country. The set of the English officer was disallowed by his superior as soon as known; but these acts of violence led to a representation on the part of the native sovereign to the governments of England, France, Belgium, and America, and by these powers the independence of the Sandwich Islands was guaranteed in the year 1844.

The Hawaiian government has since been regularly organized; its several departments are efficiently administered, and its laws obeyed throughout the islands. Most of the principal offices of government are filled by foreigners, chiefly Americans, who have become Hawaiian subjects.

The present condition of the islands is shown by the following financial statement for the two years ending March 31, 1858—

Since their independence has been secure, the progress of the people has been uninterrupted; and the resources of the island have been greatly augmented by the discovery of gold in California, which, lying within a short distance, has increased the trade, opened important markets for produce, and raised the value of labour throughout the islands.

The material prosperity of the people is remarkable. Houses are built in European forms and of durable materials; good roads connect the different parts of several of the islands; a large portion of the inhabitants are well clothed, and are possessors of money, or herds, or plantations; and numbers of foreigners, chiefly American and English, have settled in the islands either for purposes of commerce or as permanent residents. Of these there are about 500 at Honolulu in Oahu, and perhaps an equal number in other islands. Improved and productive agriculture, introduced by foreigners, has been adopted by the natives; and besides the ordinary indigenous productions, wheat and other grain is raised, and converted into flour. Horned cattle are numerous. Extensive plantations of coffee and sugar yield a good return for the capital invested, and reward the skill and labour employed. A sort of national agricultural society exists; and the government has encouraged agriculture, especially the culture of sugar-cane, by the award of premiums or the remission of taxes to the most successful native cultivators.

The cultivation of cane for the manufacture of sugar was commenced in Oahu in 1825, when about 100 acres were planted. This attempt was not successful. Ten years later, sugar-planting was commenced on Kauai, and subsequently on the other islands of the group. There are five different varieties of cane indigenous to the islands, three of which yield a good return. Besides a number of small plantations, which have not been found remunerative, there are five of considerable size on the islands, one of which, on Hawaii, conducted by Chinese, yields 100 tons per annum; while the total produce of sugar in the islands at the present time is about 800 tons, of which one-third is consumed in the islands.

Besides sugar, corn is raised, and flour produced; while large numbers of cattle are reared for the purpose of furnishing fresh meat, or salt beef for exportation. A large fleet of coasting vessels bring the greater part of the produce of the islands to Honolulu in Oahu, the chief port in the islands; and 2000 barrels of domestic salt beef, and 3000 barrels of flour, equal to any imported, and large quantities of firewood, potatoes, pumpkins, vegetables, and fruits of all kinds, are annually furnished at this port to merchant and whaling ships; while native as well as foreign seamen may usually be obtained in this port at short notice. Less than forty years ago there was only one house built after the European model. The walls and thatch of the others were chiefly of native grass, and simple barter was the only species of commerce. Now the population of this town averages about 9000.

There are four ship-chandlery stores, about twenty importing houses, and from fifty to sixty retail stores; twelve hotels, nine or ten physicians, and five printing-offices. There are six churches, some of them very substantial specimens of architecture, and capable of accommodating each from 300 to 3000 persons. The schools are numerous both for the native and foreign children, and it is generally thought, by those most capable of judging, that the advantages afforded in Honolulu for a thorough education are equal to those of New England, excepting only her universities and colleges. (Hunt's Merchant's Mag., Feb. 1858.)

To the other channels of productive enterprise and skill has recently been added that of whaling. The whaling fleet of the Sandwich Islands now numbers fifteen vessels. The proximity of the islands to the whaling grounds, and other facilities, promise to

Polynesia. render this a profitable investment of capital, while it will increase the market for the native products which its prosecution requires.

The commerce of these islands has been far more rapid and astonishing than even the material improvement in the circumstances of the people. Ever since the discovery of the sperm whale in the northern parts of the Pacific, the captains of numerous vessels engaged in the whale fishery have resorted annually to these islands to refit their ships, recruit their crews, and procure refreshments. The geographical position of the islands has also rendered them the natural point of junction for the commerce between South America, India, and China. The discovery of gold in California has greatly increased this commerce; and the advantages which the position, the resources, and the security afforded by the consolidation of the government in the hands of one sovereign, have rendered these islands a centre of commerce between regions far more remote than the borders of the Pacific. The increase and present magnitude of that commerce will appear from the following tables, which contain a detailed statement of the several classes of imports at Honolulu in 1857, and were prepared by the collector-general of customs in the Sandwich Islands:—

Value of Goods Imported from

Imports Free of Duty by

Goods and Spirits Bonded, from

Aggregate value of imports at Honolulu in 1857, L.227,943. The values imported at the other ports were,—free, at Lahaina, L.2108; at Hilo, L.652; at Kawaihae, L.323; at Kealakeakua, L.116; and dutiable, at Lahaina, L.2136; at Hilo, L.163; at Kona, L.11; aggregate at these ports, L.750. Making the total value of imports at the Sandwich Islands, L.235,448. (Hunt's Merchant's Mag.)

In the midst of this external and material progress, the continued decrease of the native population is a source of depressing anxiety to the government and the best friends of the people; for notwithstanding the improved habits of many, the better food, better clothing, improved dwellings of multitudes of the people, their numbers are diminishing. The number of deaths every year is still in excess of the births to an extent far beyond what the epidemics which have at times visited the islands can be supposed to have produced; and a large number of the married couples are childless. In the year 1857 the deaths in the islands were 2017, the births only 1615; but this excess of deaths was moderate compared with many past years. Various causes are assigned for this wasting away of the people. Some consider it caused in part by the less active occupations of the women, and the different modes of life which the progress of civilization has produced, especially as the decrease has been greatest in those parts where foreigners are most numerous, and the changes have been greatest; others

ascribe it to the effects of maladies of foreign origin, and to habits of licentiousness and intemperance. But by whatever cause, or combination of causes, it has been produced, it casts a mournful shadow over the future of the Hawaiian race.

The only relief to the gloom which this fact produces arises from the progress of education and religion throughout the islands. The commencement of missionary operations in 1820 has been already noticed; these efforts have been continued, progressively augmented, and spread over the whole group. The American Board of Foreign Missions, who have carried forward this work, have devoted to it a number of labourers and an amount of means unsurpassed in any other missionary field of equally limited extent; and the results have been corresponding. Every vestige of idolatry has long since disappeared. Education has been diffused so extensively, that a child of suitable age who cannot read is rarely seen; while many can write a good hand, and are acquainted with arithmetic. Besides the common native schools, 300 in number, containing nearly 9000 scholars, three high schools, for imparting more extensive instruction, have been established, and have sent into the community 500 or 600 better educated young men. There have been between 10 and 20 schools for teaching English, as well as a royal school for educating the sons of the chiefs; and now a college is established, to enable the youth of the islands to receive a solid education sufficient to qualify them, without leaving the country, to carry forward the processes of civilization, as well as to discharge all the duties which the nation may require. These educational efforts are sustained by the native government. The first missionaries carried out a printing-press. Others have been added; and the efforts of the press have kept pace with the advance of education. There are now a number of presses; and besides school-books and other works connected with education and religion, there are several newspapers regularly published in English, and one or more in Hawaiian; and one, the Polynesian, in English, is the paper of the government. The total number of pages printed since the commencement by the presses connected with the missionaries exceeds 196 millions. These educational efforts have been considered subsidiary to the great work of the missionary, the preaching of the gospel and the conversion of the people, and in this they have been eminently successful. Congregations of professed Christians have been gathered in most of the principal districts, and in many parts substantial churches have been built for the worship of God; while numerous communities of men and women have been united in Christian fellowship, and are living exemplars of the excellence and power of the gospel of Christ. Besides the difficulties naturally arising from the wickedness of the human heart, impediments to the religious progress of the people have arisen from the influence of Popery and the examples of Mormonism; but religious improvement among the people has continued to advance, and the numbers in church fellowship throughout the islands amount to about 22,000, and the Christian portion of the people raise annually for religious objects about 23,000 dollars. Notwithstanding all the defections from the integrity and purity required and maintained in the Christian communities, this proportion of nearly one-fifth of the entire population being members of the church exhibits a state of society truly encouraging.

To these islands the American society has, since 1820, sent out 145 labourers, of whom 42 were ministers, 7 physicians, 20 lay assistants, and 76 females. Upwards of 20 ministers, and a proportionate number of schoolmasters and assistants, including 40 native teachers, are now in the islands, supported in part from America, but chiefly by the government or people.

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

The Fiji Islands.—Regarding the New Hebrides as the eastern The Fiji limit of Australia, the Fijis constitute the western boundary of Islands. Polynesia. By French writers these islands are included in the regions to the west, to which the name of Melanesia has been given; but as this term designates rather the colour of the people than the peculiarities of their country, it does not necessarily define geographical boundaries; and, as ethnologically considered, the Fijis seem to form the connecting-link between the black races of Melanesia and the lighter-coloured brown races of Polynesia, and exhibit some fusion of Polynesian race and language, they may not inappropriately be classed with the latter.

This extensive group of islands, lying between 15. 30. and 20. 30. S. Lat., and between 177. E. and 178. W. Long., and comprising 225 islands and islets, about eighty of which are inhabited, was first seen by Tasman in 1643, and named by him Prince William's Islands. Captain Bligh, after the mutiny in the Bounty, passed amongst the south-western portion of the group in 1789. Captain Wilson, in the ship Duff, after leaving the first missionaries at Tahiti and Tongatabu, got entangled amongst these islands in the eastern part of the group in 1797. Early in the

Polynesia. present century a sort of piratical or buccaneering trade in sandalwood was commenced in the Fijis and western islands. The sandalwood was taken to China by vessels from New South Wales. In 1804 a number of convicts, escaped from New South Wales, reached these islands, and settled chiefly on two of them, by the chiefs of which they were treated with great consideration, in consequence of the aid which they rendered with their firearms in times of war. They were men of desperate character, and depraved and barbarous habits; and while the islands derived a degree of supremacy from the aid thus rendered in war by these foreigners, their reckless waste of human life increased rather than restrained the barbarity of the natives.

M. d'Urrville visited the islands in 1827; and in 1840 they were regularly surveyed by the United States exploring expedition under Commodore Wilkes. These islands are of varied size, two of them being from two to six miles in circumference, apparently coral formations covered with deep vegetable soil. The others are of volcanic formation, the highest mountains on the Viti Leva (Great Fiji) rising perhaps 5000 feet above the sea. Their forms are exceedingly varied, and often remarkably beautiful; the soil generally fertile, and in the parts where rain is most frequent the verdure is rich and constant. Vanua Leva, one of the largest islands, is 100 miles long and 25 miles wide; and Viti Leva is 90 miles from east to west, and 50 miles from north to south. The islands are entirely or partially protected by reefs, and most of them have lagoons of considerable extent. The numerous reefs and islets, together with the force of the currents, render navigation intricate, at times perilous; and, together with the supposed invincible ferocity of the natives, have caused them to be less visited than other islands of the same great ocean.

The temperature of the Fijis, though warm, is not insalubrious. The vegetable productions used as food are more numerous than in many of the other islands, as, besides the bread-fruit, cocoanut, banana, sugar-cane, taro or arum, yams, sweet potatoes, arrow-root, and dracaena, there are several others which the natives use for food. The population of the islands is estimated at 150,000. As in other parts of this region, the population of this group appears to have diminished one-third within the last 50 years, and in "some districts as much as one-half." (Fiji and the Fijians, by Thomas Williams, vol. i., pp. 102, 103.) Judging from their descendants, they must have been a fine race of men. They are usually taller than Europeans; men about 6 feet in height are frequently seen. They are often well-formed and muscular, but not corpulent, having broad chests and strong sinewy limbs. Their hair is abundant, long, black, and frizzled or bushy, with whiskers and a thick large beard. The outline of the face is a good oval, the nose well shaped, with full nostrils, yet distinct from the Negro type. The colour varies, but the pure Fijian seems to be between the black races of the West and the brown or olive-coloured races of the East. "The chiefs, as in several other groups, are incontestably much finer-looking than the common people, their features having much less of the Negro cast, and their foreheads—partly, perhaps, on account of the form and height of their head-dresses—appearing loftier and more expansive. I did not perceive that, in general, the colour of their skins was lighter; although at Bus I noticed that the older men were in many instances of a deeper black than the younger ones." (Erskine's Cruise among the Islands of the Western Pacific, p. 240.)

The Fijians appear to have been regarded, from the period of our earliest acquaintance with them, as in some respects more advanced than the neighbouring tribes. In the volume containing Captain Wilson's voyage in the Duff it is stated:—"The Friendly islanders regarded the people of Fiji as superior to themselves, both in military prowess and in mechanical ingenuity,—their weapons and clothing being wrought in a more masterly style, and some manufactures, especially that of earthen vessels, being carried on at Fiji which are not attempted at Tongataboo." (Missionary Voyage of the Ship Duff, p. lxxi.) The Fijians seem to be the only inhabitants of Polynesia who practise the manufacture of pottery to any extent, and evince in the form and ornamentation of their vessels artistic taste and skill. Great ingenuity is also manifested in their mats and clothing, in their ear-rings and other ornaments, as well as in their articles of dress and arms. Indeed, their dress altogether might not inappropriately be described as a species of ornament, neither their climate nor their general habits requiring that it should be used for purposes of comfort or convenience. That of the men consists chiefly of a kind of figured sash, sometimes extending in length to 100 yards, though 6 or 10 yards is the usual measure. This is wound round the body so as to fall over the knees like a curtain, and is then fastened behind, or left to trail upon the ground. The women are not allowed to use the same material; but

they also emulate the train by allowing a sash of inferior quality Polynesia. to sweep the ground behind. A white turban, consisting of a kind of gauze-like scarf of extremely fine material, is worn by all the Fijians who have any claim to this badge of respectability; and this head-dress is rendered peculiarly ornamental by the taste with which it is adjusted,—sometimes being tied with a knot in front, or at the top of the head, while portions of the scarf are allowed to float on either side or down the back. Upon this part of the person especially is the taste of the Fijians displayed. Their hair is naturally strong and abundant; but the different modes in which it is arranged by artificial means, and the patience with which the chiefs especially submit to the operations of the hair-dresser, are truly astonishing, the result being, to produce a roundness and softness of surface almost geometrical in the exactness of its outline.

The following description is given by Captain Erskine of a distinguished chief of one of these islands:—"The chief himself, the most powerful perhaps of any in the Pacific, and certainly the most energetic in character, was seen seated in the attitude of respect to receive us. He rose, however, as we entered, seeing that it was expected, unfolding, as he did so, an immense train of white native cloth 8 or 10 yards long from his waist, and invited me to occupy the one chair he possessed, the others taking their seats on rolls of cloth, or, like the natives, sitting cross-legged on the floor. It was impossible not to admire the appearance of the chief: of large, almost gigantic size, his limbs were beautifully formed and proportioned; his countenance, with far less of the Negro cast than among the lower orders, agreeable and intelligent; while his immense head of hair, covered and concealed with gauze, smoke dried, and slightly tinged with brown, gave him altogether the appearance of an eastern sultan. No garments confined his magnificent chest and neck, or concealed the natural colour of the skin, a clear but decided black; and in spite of this paucity of attire—the evident wealth which surrounded him showing that it was a matter of choice, not of necessity—he looked 'every inch a king.'"¹ (Erskine's Voyage, p. 186.)

In the structure of their dwellings the Fijians also evince considerable skill. Their houses are compact and durable; and their double canoes are among the finest and fleetest in the Pacific. The Fijians are exceedingly superstitious, the priests exercising great power over the lives and property of the people. They have no idols, i.e., they worship no images or other material representations of their gods. Their term for divinity, koloa, is also applied to anything great or wonderful, good or bad; but they reverence certain stones as shrines of their gods, regard some weapons with superstitious feelings; while certain birds, fish, plants, and even men, are supposed to have gods residing in or connected with them. Their chief god is an impersonation of their idea of ceaseless existence. Others of the higher order are supposed to be also eternal, and to exercise influence over the elements of nature, the islands, or their inhabitants. The gods of the lower class are the spirits of deified men. Each island has its own god; each locality its own superstitions. Nearly every chief has a god in whom he places especial confidence; and some are of opinion that their god follows them wherever they go. Different classes, as the carpenters, fishermen, &c., have their respective gods. Nearly every house or village has its own bure,¹ or temple, some more than one. These are constructed with great care, highly ornamented, and generally raised on an artificial mound, sometimes 20 feet high. Several spears set in the ground, and some blancheted human skulls, are fixed in the sacred place; offerings of weapons decorate the interior; while a long piece of white cloth, used as a girdle or sash, fixed to the top, and carried along the rafter and corner-post to the ground, forms the path down which the god is supposed to descend to enter the priest. The priests are at times also doctors, and in these cases a number of the articles presented, or the fees, are deposited in the temple. This building is also used as a council-chamber or town-hall, as well as a place of entertainment for strangers and sleeping place for the chief personages of the village. The homage and offerings appear to be provided by appeals to the fears of the people. Offerings are presented when the favour or aid of the god is required, or it is wished to ascertain his will; and the priest, pretending to be filled by the god, exhibits phrenzied and convulsive action, and in incoherent utterances delivers the response of the oracle. Upon his uttering the word "I depart," or flinging himself violently down and beating the ground, a shell is then blown or a musket fired to announce that the god has departed. A good understanding mostly exists between the chief and the priest, and the revelations from the latter generally accord with the wishes of the former. On one occasion, when a priest ventured to utter an inspiration contrary to the wishes of the chief, the latter silenced the priest by exclaiming, "Who are you? Who is your god? If

¹ Bure is the word for prayer or worship in the dialects of Eastern Polynesia.

Polynesia, you make a stir, I will eat you." (Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i., p. 227.) And this the priest knew well was no idle threat.

The cannibalism of the Fijians is naturally incorporated in their religion. Their gods are described as delighting in human flesh, and to minister to this horrible propensity neither age nor sex are spared. At one time, with each basket of fruits brought to their idol a human body, male or female, was required. But this was preemptorily forbidden by the chief on his observing some infirmity in the treatment of the victim; thus showing virtually the power of the chief above that of the god. Divination and witchcraft are also practised, and the effects of the latter regarded with general dread. The tabu, or system of prohibition common throughout Polynesia, prevailed amongst the Fijians, whose religious belief included a future state, which in its chief characteristics very much resembled the present life.

But the most repulsive and appalling custom among the Fijians is their cannibalism. With them it was not an occasional exhibition of the extreme abasement to which human nature can sink, but a regular custom, and by the mass regarded as dignified and commendable. Human bodies are eaten in many of the frequently occurring events of life: on building a temple, commencing the structure of a canoe, launching the canoe; and men are sometimes killed to furnish blood with which to wash the decks of a newly-made canoe, and the bodies of such men are eaten. On the arrival of a new canoe at an island, fourteen or fifteen men have been killed and baked to make a feast. The same has taken place on lowering the mast for the first time. On one occasion the number of bodies procured was more than could be consumed. In this case the limbs were cooked, but the trunks thrown away. Two days were occupied in cutting off and cooking the limbs. In the year 1851 fifty bodies were cooked at one time on Namena. Prisoners taken in war, and those who escape from shipwreck, are usually eaten,—the former being first offered to the war god, and then prepared for food. Sometimes the human body is baked whole, in which case, on being removed from the oven, it is placed in a sitting posture, covered with black powder, and in this state it is carried about as if alive.

Revenge is a frequent but not the only cause of this revolting practice. The only motive sometimes seems to be the gratification afforded by eating human flesh. It is never eaten uncooked, though the victim be in full health and vigour. Young women are sometimes placed alive amongst heaps of vegetables, and other food presented to the chiefs, but would be killed and baked before being eaten. The victims are confined to neither age nor sex; gray-headed persons and children of both sexes furnish the repast. Some of the chiefs never eat human flesh, but they are exceptions to the mass of the people; women seldom eat of these bodies. When a chief has wished to have the skull of an enemy for a soup-dish or drinking-cup, orders have been given not to strike the victim on the head. Murder for this horrible purpose is sometimes rendered more horrible by the infliction of tortures,—such as cutting off limbs of the victim while still living, cooking and eating them before him, and even making him eat part of his own flesh. The number of bodies eaten by some of the chiefs appears also almost incredible. Human nature has never presented depravity so revolting as that by which this custom, not arising from any want of wholesome food, exhibits.

The Fiji race, distinguished among other races as they undoubtedly are by physical and intellectual vigour, by industry, skill, and daring, their inhuman barbarities and cannibal orgies were such as to deter commerce from their shores, and even to repel all attempts of humanity and religion to rescue them from apparent self-destruction, and to render such attempts, according to all human appearances, hopeless, if made. Insurmountable, however, as the difficulties appeared, and imminent as was the peril of the attempt, it has been made; and these natives, far as they seemed removed beyond the reach of the humanizing influences of true religion, have formed no exception to the evidences so abundantly furnished in the present age of the power of the gospel.

In the year 1835 two Wesleyan missionaries from the Tonga Islands went to the Fijians. They were received and protected by the king of Lakemba, and encouraged by a number of Tongans residing there. They made themselves acquainted with the language, prepared books, taught the Fijians and Tongans, and preached to them the gospel, assisted by native Christians from Tonga.² A number of the Tongans placed themselves under instruction, and after a short time professed themselves Christians. In 1838 one of these devoted men proceeded to Rewa, and there, under the protection of the king, prosecuted his arduous work. Additional labourers arrived during the same year, and the printing-press was set to work. In the next year missionary labours were commenced in Vanua Leva, or Great Land, where one of the earliest events after

their arrival was the strangling of sixteen women in honour of a Polynesian young chief and his companions who had been lost at sea. The missionaries tried in vain to avert the cruel fate of these women. Soon afterwards eleven dead men were brought and laid down before the house, and there cut up and cooked in ovens not far distant. The endeavours of the missionaries to dissuade from this practice, and even the drawing down the blinds of their windows that they might not witness the horrid spectacle, offended those who were preparing this inhuman repast. The missionaries, however, continued their labours, and the first convert was the king's brother, whose protection and influence greatly aided their efforts, and averted the execution of the threat of the king, that he would kill the first person who should embrace the new religion.

In 1840 the converts amounted to twenty, and the missionaries constantly employed their influence to save women from being strangled and captives from death. But seven years afterwards the discouragements induced the missionaries to leave this station, and seek a more promising field. They had continued their labours amidst many trials,—sometimes interposing to save life, at others endeavouring to induce the people to receive their message. The following account shows the manner in which two of the missionaries, in 1849, interposed in the midst of horrid butchery, and even in the presence of the cannibal king, to save the lives of a number of devoted women:—“Fourteen of the poor creatures were seized, one man who was with them being killed on the spot. The news of the capture reached Mbanu the day before the canoes, and great was the rejoicing. The place was all excitement, and the people flocked together to greet the approaching fleet of death. The report soon crossed over to Viwa, and reached the mission-house,—‘Fourteen women are to be brought to Mbanu tomorrow to be killed and cooked for the Mbutoni people.’ Mrs Calvert and Mrs Lyth, missionaries’ wives, were alone with the children. Their husbands were many miles away on a distant island. The thought of the horrid fate which awaited the poor captives roused the pity of those two women. But what could be done? Every moment was precious. Amidst such fiendish excitement, it would be a desperate thing for any one to venture into Mbanu for the purpose of thwarting the blood-thirsty people. Those two noble women determined to go. A canoe was procured; and as they went poling over the flat, they heard with trembling the wild din of the cannibals grow louder as they approached. The death-drum sounded terrible, and muskets were fired in triumph. Then, as they came nearer, shriek after shriek pierced through every other noise, and told that the murder was begun. Fear gave way to impatience at that wild warning, and the English women’s voice urged the labouring boatmen to make better speed. They reached the beach, and were met by a Christian chief, who dared to join them, saying, ‘Make haste! Some are dead; but some are alive.’ Surrounded by an unseen guard which none might pass through, the Christian women passed among the blood-maddened cannibals unhurt. They pressed forward to the house of the old king, Taura, the entrance to which was strictly forbidden to all women. It was no time for ceremony now. With a whale’s tooth as a present in each hand, and accompanied by the Christian chief, they thrust themselves into the presence of the king, and prayed their prayer of mercy. The old man was startled at the audacity of the intruders. His hearing was dull, and they raised their voices higher, and pled for their dark sisters’ lives. The king said,—‘Those who are dead are dead; but those who are still alive shall live.’ At that word a man ran to Ngavindi to stop the butchery, and returned to say that five still lived; the rest of the fourteen were killed. But the messengers of pity could not leave their work unfinished. They went to the house of the murderer, and found him sitting in state in full dress, but evidently very uncomfortable. He winced under the sharp rebukes of the missionaries’ wives, and mustered something about his friendliness to the lotus. Even in cannibal Mbanu, all did not consent to the deed of darkness. Thakombau’s chief wife, and Ngavindi’s wife, had already secured the life and liberty of two of the victims; and when Mrs Calvert and Mrs Lyth left there were others who blessed them for their work of love. What the doing of it cost those intrepid hearts none may know; but their deed stands in the record above all praise. They have their reward.” (Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i., p. 288.)

In 1854, after many reverses, Thakombau, the powerful king of Mbanu, made a public profession of Christianity, and this facilitated the spread of religion among his people; and amidst many perils and labours, the missionaries have persevered. There are eight missionaries and a number of native teachers. They number about 60,000 hearers and 7000 church members; while the influence of their labours is visibly extending among classes who are still the votaries of idolatry.

² Before the arrival of the Europeans, native missionaries from the Society Islands had resided among this people.

Polynesia. The Tongan or Friendly Islands.—This group, comprising three principal clusters, with a number of smaller ones, is situated to the S.E. of the Fiji, from which it is distant about 300 miles, lying between 19. and 22. S. Lat., the N.W. point of Lefuka, one of the largest of the central cluster, lying in 19. 45. S. Lat., and 174. 14. 30. W. Long. Vavau, the principal island of the northern cluster, is about 35 miles in circumference. Tonga, the largest of the southern cluster, is about the same. Hapai and Lefuka, the largest of the central cluster, are much smaller. These latter are surrounded or connected with about thirty smaller islands; and the whole of these are called the Hapai cluster. Most of the Friendly Islands are low coral formations, some of them covered with rich soil. The uniform elevation of Vavau is a few hundred feet above the sea, while the highest land in Tonga is a round hill about 60 feet high. A few of the islands are lofty and volcanic; in some of the latter volcanoes are in action, while the evidences of volcanic disturbance appear in places where no actual eruptions take place. It is stated by Erskine (Voyage of H.M.S. Harroway, p. 120) that "earthquakes are very common, and there are several active volcanoes in the islands. Amargura or Fana-lai, in about 18. S. Lat., is said to have been so shaken by an eruption in June 1846, that canoes can now sail in and out of the crater; and the Rev. Mr Lawry describes the islet, which until that year was covered with verdure and abounded with fruit, as changed, in August 1847, to a mass of lava and burnt sand, without one leaf or blade of grass of any kind. All things that had life had been utterly destroyed; the inhabitants having, however, warned by violent earthquakes which preceded the eruption, previously escaped to Vavau. Mr Lawry adds, that the noise of the 'fery disgorg' was distinctly heard at Niu Foo, distant 100 miles, and that its withering effects on the trees and crops, which it damaged considerably, were experienced at Vavau, 35 miles off. An American ship, the Charles W. Morgan, had sailed through a shower of ashes for 40 miles, getting out of it in Lat. 11. 2. S., and Long. 171. 45. W.; and another, the Massachusetts, at the same time, although 60 miles farther to the eastward, had the deck covered with ashes, which the crew were obliged to clear off from time to time. Banks were also said to have been raised above the level of the sea to the eastward of Tonga-tabu."

The navigation among the Tongan islands, though less dangerous than among the Fiji, is intricate, and, excepting in favourable weather, perilous, and the attraction to ships not so great as those presented by other islands. They furnish but few articles of exportation, the chief productions for barter being vegetables, roots, and other supplies for whaling vessels. At some, water is neither abundant nor good. The productions are those common to other islands, though apparently fewer in variety than in the neighbouring group of the Fiji. Pigs are not numerous, and are generally kept confined, sometimes in the trunks of hollow trees, which are thus used as sties. Many of the islands, however, are well cultivated. Speaking of the difference between the island of Vavau as seen from the outer sea and the inside of the harbour, Captain Erskine observes (p. 121),—"On walking to the king's residence, called Mus, a distance of a mile or two, we were astonished with the richness of the country, cultivated like a garden. The broad pathway, admirably kept, is bordered by the 'ti' plant and other evergreens, regularly planted, while behind them are seen the provision-grounds of bread-fruit and bananas." And on landing at the island of Lefuka, he continues,—"entering a large inclosure, we found King George and his wife seated in a house of moderate dimensions, which it is understood he only occupies during the construction of a larger one on a European model. This house differs from those of his subjects in being inclosed nearly all round with reed-work, resembling the fences of the country, and in being divided into two separate rooms. Although both George and the queen were seated on the ground in the usual manner, there were a table and one or two chairs in the room; and on shelves around were ranged some dishes and plates of English crockery, with a few decanters, and bottles of clear glass containing scented coconut oil. The king himself is a very fine-looking man, about forty-five years old, above the ordinary size even of his own people, and apparently of great personal strength. He was lightly clothed in native cloth, as was his wife, a stout, handsome woman, with her only son, an intelligent boy of seven or eight years old, seated by her. The complexions of both were a clear brown, differing very little, if at all, from the hue of the Samoans; the boy, as is usually the case with children, being a good deal lighter in colour. On presenting his hand to shake, I remarked that George had one joint of the little finger amputated, an operation which, under the name of 'tatu-nima,' it is well known is still common, and was formerly almost universal as a sign of mourning, or of deprecation of sickness or misfortune."

The population of this entire group has been variously estimated. Commodore Wilkes reckoned it at 18,000, and Mr Lawry states

that in 1841 it was supposed to be 50,000. Captain Erskine observes that the population of the whole of these islands may be estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000. (Voyage of H.M.S. Harroway, p. 13.) The colour, features, and stature of the people resemble those of the Samoans. Many of the natives are tall and well made, and some of the chiefs are remarkably fine and noble-looking men. In describing the people, Captain Erskine (p. 155) observes,—"The Tongans, in personal appearance, resemble so closely the Samoans, that no person would hesitate at first sight to pronounce them the same people; and as their habit of tattooing their bodies, from the hips to below the knees, is precisely similar, a stranger would find it difficult to distinguish individuals of the two groups if they were placed naked before him. On further acquaintance with this people, one is struck with the marked superiority in stature and the lightness of colour on the part of the chiefs over the common people, betokening a great difference in the care bestowed on their nursing and food during childhood, and the degree of exposure they are subjected to afterwards. That this distinction is not a mere outward one is soon perceived, the authority of the chiefs, as well as the gradations of rank, being everywhere apparent. The effect on manners is also evident, although not exactly what one would expect from a system which exerts great ceremony and attention from inferiors towards superiors. The manners of the chiefs are certainly as polished as those of the Samoans, and not inferior in courtesy to any in civilized life; but the common people, when not in the immediate presence of their chiefs, are much more rude and boisterous than in Samoa, and less agreeable people to deal with generally."

The southern portion of this group was discovered by Tasman in 1743, who gave the name of Amsterdam to Tonga,—sometimes called Tonga-tabu,—Tonga being the native name of the island, and tabu intimating that it was regarded by them as sacred. These islands were visited by Captain Cook between the years 1773 and 1777. In consequence of the attention he received, the profuse hospitality, apparent amity, and the efforts to gratify their visitors, on the part both of chiefs and people, Captain Cook designated the group the Friendly Islands; though it afterwards appeared that, at the very time the chiefs were feasting and amusing their guests with night-dances and other exhibitions, they had planned their death and the destruction of their ships, and were only prevented from carrying their purpose into execution by the departure of the vessels.

The first attempt to form a settlement on these islands was made by a number of missionaries from the London Society, sent out in the ship Duff, under the command of Captain Wilson, who, after establishing the mission in Tahiti, landed ten English missionaries at Tonga in 1797. The chief of the place promised them protection; and in the hope of acquiring the language, and prosecuting their benevolent object, they took up their abode on the island. Some abandoned sailors whom they found on shore prejudiced the minds of the chiefs against them, and the people ascribed the calamities they suffered to the presence of the missionaries and the influence of their God. After enduring great privations, having three of their number killed by the natives, and feeling their own lives in peril, the remaining missionaries left the island within three years of their arrival. Intense wars prevailed among the people at the time; and six years afterwards a British vessel, the Port-au-Prince, mounting upwards of forty guns, and carrying a corresponding number of men, was seized by the natives, and all on board, with the exception of a youth named Mariner, and one other, were massacred. In recent years vessels have occasionally resorted to these islands and to the Fiji to procure sandal-wood for the China market, or to obtain refreshments; and several have been wrecked in the difficult navigation of this region, or have been seized and destroyed by the people.

In 1822 Mr Lawry, a Wesleyan missionary, visited Tonga, and returned after remaining little more than a year on the island. Native teachers from the Tahitian Islands reached this group in 1823, and one of them laboured faithfully in Tonga, where he was joined by others, who continued the work until the arrival of Mr Thomas, a Wesleyan missionary, who reached Tonga in 1826, when they cheerfully led their adherents to the efficient teaching of the European missionary, and continued to labour on in promoting the Christian faith among the people. Other missionaries followed from England; and although the force of pagan habits and superstitious feeling among the people, the opposition of the priests, and the formidable hostility of some of the chiefs, greatly impeded their efforts, they still persevered. The nature of this hostility may be inferred from the fact, that one of the chiefs, Finau, the king of Vavau, publicly told the missionaries that the teachers might stay, and he would protect them; but that he would neither receive Christianity himself, nor allow any of his people to do so, for he would put to death the first man, woman, or child that did; a threat which they did not doubt he at that time would

Polynesia. fulfil. The missionaries directed their efforts to the acquisition of the language, the preparation of books, and the teaching of some few of the natives to read, seeking by both preaching and teaching to induce them to adopt the Christian faith; and at length a certain measure of success followed their endeavours. Numbers of the people and the chiefs, especially the king of the Hapai Islands, who was baptized in 1830, encouraged others, who, one after another, renounced their confidence in their idols, treated them with indignity, desecrated their sacred places, and professed themselves worshippers of the true God. Amongst these was the king of Vavau himself, who in 1831 made profession of the Christian faith.

In 1831 the printing-press commenced its operations, and elementary books, as well as those inculcating Christian truth, were multiplied. Chapels were built, the Sabbath observed, and worship established at the islands of the Hapai and Vavau clusters. The circumstances and the habits of the people improved; they built themselves better houses, provided better clothing and regulations and laws for promoting order and the general good of the people were established. There were still in the island of Tonga a number of adherents to the ancient idolatry and heathen practices of the country; and in 1837 and 1840 the island was involved in the miseries of civil war. During the latter period H.M.S. Favourite, under the command of Captain Croker, arrived. He undertook to aid the Christians, landed some of his guns, and accompanied by a number of his men, proceeded to a fortress belonging to the heathen party to propose peace; but not succeeding, he then attacked the place. The captain was killed, and nineteen of his officers and followers wounded. These, with the dead bodies of their comrades, his companions barely succeeded in carrying off.

Two years before this, some Roman Catholic priests had reached the islands, but though kindly treated, were not allowed to remain. In 1841 a French vessel of war arrived, followed by another with priests on board. The captain of the armed vessel remonstrated against the non-reception of the priests by the chiefs and people as a violation of the law of nations, asking at the same time if they had not heard what the French had done in Tahiti and the Sandwich Islands. Although this did not induce the chiefs to receive them, another party afterwards arrived at Tonga, and were received by the heathen party, who professed themselves Papists. In 1851 war broke out again between the heathens and the Christians, the Romish priests remaining with the former; and when, in 1852, the heathens surrendered their fort, the Christian king protected the persons and property of the priests from the soldiers.

Speaking of the influence of the Roman Catholic priests, and the interference of French armed vessels on their behalf, Captain Erskine observes—"The apprehension of foreign invasion has been very general among the Polynesian islands since the establishment of the French protectorate at Tahiti, and the obligation then imposed upon the people to receive Roman Catholic missionaries in opposition to the general will. No chiefs with whom I have conversed have ever expressed any objection to the enforcement on the part of their people of justice towards the subjects or the citizens of another power; but in those islands where Christianity, as taught by Protestant missionaries, has taken root, the forced obligation to admit priests of a different persuasion is always complained of as a heavy grievance; a feeling which, it must be allowed, need not proceed from fanatical or narrow-minded motives."¹

The Protestant missionaries in these islands have continued their labours; have raised the standard of education in a number of their schools, and extended the influence of the gospel among the people, who now possess, in their own languages, the whole of the New Testament, of which 10,000 copies were recently sent to the islands, besides several portions of the Old Testament, hymn-books, catechisms, &c.

The results of missionary effort in the Fiji and Friendly Islands have certainly been in a high degree satisfactory to the labourers engaged, and encouraging to those occupied in the same work elsewhere.

The Samoan Group, or Navigators' Islands.—These islands lie between Lat. 13. 30. S., Long. 173. and 168. 18. The most easterly of the islands were discovered by Bauman, a captain in Roggewein's expedition, in 1722; another of larger size by Bougainville in 1768; and the two larger to the westward by La Pérouse in 1787. The whole were visited in 1791 by Captain Edwards in the Pandora, sent out by the British government in search of the Bounty. But they were little known until after the commencement of missionary

operations in 1830. The French often call this L'Archipel des Navigateurs, a name originally given to the eastern portion only, when discovered by M. De Bougainville in 1768; the natives, however, term the whole group Samoa, which, decidedly more correct and appropriate, is generally superseding its comparatively modern designation, usually rendered into English as the Navigators' Islands. This group, which is called by the inhabitants Samoa, consists of eight islands:—Manua, Orosenga, Ofu, Tutuila, Upolu, Manono, Aberima, and Savaii. In addition to these there are several small islands off the coast of Tutuila and Upolu.

Manua is the first island west of Rose Island. It is about 18 miles in circumference, and upwards of 2500 feet above the level of the sea. Its shores are high and bold, rising in most places precipitously to the height of 300 or 400 feet. Above this the ground inland swells gracefully until it attains its greatest elevation, like a vast dome above some huge citadel. It is well wooded, and covered with rich verdure to its summit. Four miles N.W. of Manua is Orosenga, consisting of a narrow ledge of rocks, 3 miles long, rising abruptly out of the water. The only productive portion of it is a narrow strip, running lengthwise of the island, and overpread with the most luxuriant vegetation. Ofu is west of Orosenga, separated from it by a channel for boats, one quarter of a mile in width. It is of little importance, and contains but few inhabitants,—most of them having been cut off during the sanguinary wars which have more than decimated the population of these islands.

Tutuila, 15 miles west of Ofu, and visible therefrom in fine weather, is the most central, and, after Upolu, the most important island of the whole group. It is nearly 50 miles in circumference, its shores precipitous, with generally a broken and rugged appearance, occasioned by the numerous sharp spurs and ridges which vary its surface. Its scenery is highly romantic; and its unevenness is more than half-concealed by forests of cocoas and bread-fruits: the thickly-matted verdure, interlaced with creepers, covers the island as with a carpet. Its highest peak is Matafou, upwards of 2300 feet above the sea. Tutuila contains a large population, chiefly congregated in the valleys and plains sloping down to the ocean. Lofty and impassable hills separate the island into two parts, the only intercommunication being by the seashore. The part on the N.E. is exceedingly rough and uneven; that on the S.W. lower, more level, and easy of cultivation. Tutuila was visited by the unfortunate La Pérouse in December 1788, and derives a melancholy interest from the fact that M. De Langle, captain of the Astrolabe, and the naturalist of the expedition, with ten other persons, lost their lives there in a collision with the natives.

Upolu, 35 miles W. of Tutuila, is 70 miles in circumference. It is neither so lofty nor so much broken as the other islands of the group; but in population, beauty, and fertility, far exceeds them all. The land rises gradually for some distance from the shore, and then breaks into a succession of mountainous ridges, clothed to the top with the richest verdure. Wide tracts of table-land lie along the coast, and broad valleys between the ridges, carpeted with flowers and diversified with clumps and groves of bread-fruit, pandanus, and cocoa-nut. The steep hill-sides are fringed with the white foliage of the candle-nut, the long fronds of fern-tree and the mountain-palm. The hamlets of the natives enliven the scenery. On one side there is all the dreamy softness of an Italian landscape; on the other the sublime grandeur of Alpine scenery. Within the sea-reef of Upolu, and near its western extremity, is the small but important island of Manono, on which there is a missionary station. Directly off the west end of Manono lies the islet of Nulofa. Connected with Upolu and Manono by a line of soundings is Apolima, about a mile to the west of the latter. In former days this was the citadel of the inhabitants of Manono in time of war and danger.

Savaii, the westernmost and largest of the group, is also connected with Apolima by a line of soundings, at the distance of 3 or 6 miles. It is not so populous as Upolu, and its outline is much less beautiful. It is above 100 miles in circumference, and is protected on the north and east from the violence of the surf by reefs of coral; on the opposite sides, however, the breakers dash unchecked against the rocks. Except on the south and west the shores are low, and there is a gradual ascent to the centre of the island, where many extinct volcanic craters are seen. Above these towers a single peak, 4500 feet high, almost always enveloped in clouds, and on a clear day visible at a distance of 50 or 60 miles. Mountain streamlets, sometimes swelling into rivers, frequently inter-

¹ During the year 1858, it is stated that, because the governor of Vavau refused to allow some priests to settle on the island without the consent of the king (which is the law of the islands), the captain of a French armed vessel proceeded to Tonga, required the king to dismiss the governor, who had only acted according to the laws of the country; to build houses and inclose lands for the Catholic priests equal to those occupied by the Wesleyan missionaries; and that the king was obliged to comply with this request.

Polynesia, sect the larger islands, with the exception of Savaii, which has no permanent streams, though possessing an abundance of copious springs. There are likewise numerous lakes and waterfalls, the latter of which may one day be serviceable for mills or machinery. On Upolu there is a pretty lake called Laufo, occupying the basin of a crater 2450 feet above the level of the sea, with 9½ fathoms in its deepest part, and having a subterranean outlet. Like the Society Islands, the members of this group appear to be of volcanic origin, and are generally surrounded by coral reefs, with occasional openings, through which vessels may pass. The general structure is conglomerate, lying in horizontal strata. All the higher hills and mountain peaks are volcanic. The soil is principally formed of decomposed volcanic rocks and vegetable mould. The climate is mild and agreeable, and the temperature about 80 degrees. It is more moist than Tahiti, and the vegetation more thrifty. Nearly one-third of the days in the year are rainy. From April to November the season is fine, the winds being light, and affording merely a pleasant variety in the long-continued calms. During the remainder of the year high winds prevail, principally from the south and east. Destructive hurricanes sometimes occur; and earthquakes are not unfrequent. The latter are not usually violent, but produce a slight wavy motion, like that of a vessel in an ordinary sea.

There are a number of excellent harbours among these islands; and the navigation, being exempt from intricacies and perils of numerous low or sunken reefs, is comparatively safe. Excellent water is abundant. The whole group covers a surface of about 2000 square miles, and much of the land is fertile and available for cultivation. The commercial resources of the islands are undeveloped; although about sixty ships, chiefly English, American, and colonial, visit Apia, the harbour of Upolu, annually, principally for refreshments.

The natives of this group are handsome and well-made Malay-Polynesians, a shade darker than the Society islanders, but in features bearing a strong resemblance to that race. Their language, although copious and refined, contains many words similar to those found in the Tongue dialect; and it is also said, in construction, closely to approximate to the Tahitian, being even yet smoother, softer, and more flexible than that tongue, though not so easily spoken. The sounds of the Samoan alphabet are represented by an alphabet of fourteen letters; and it is remarkable as the only branch of the Malay-Polynesian family in which the sound of the s is heard.

The population of Samoa has been variously estimated from as many as 160,000 to as few as 33,000. The Rev. J. Williams estimated them at the former number in 1830, and Captain Erskine, in 1854, at the latter; but by the missionaries (Samoa Reporter, 1845) the population was reckoned at from 50,000 to 60,000. At present the Samoan nation does not probably exceed 40,000 souls.

In the year 1830 Messrs Williams and Barff, from the Society Islands, visited the Samoans in a small vessel built by Mr Williams, for the purpose of extending the blessings of Christianity to the remote islands of the Pacific. They found the islanders engaged in war; and one of the first objects which attracted their notice on the shore was the smoke and flames of the burning villages on Upolu. The king left the seat of war, and came to bid them welcome. He expressed his willingness to receive and protect the missionaries, but declared, in answer to their endeavours to persuade him to peace, that he must finish the war in which he was then engaged, and after that there should be peace. Eight native missionaries, five of whom were accompanied by their wives and children, were at that time left on these islands, and a promise made that white men should come and reside amongst them. Two years afterwards Mr Williams visited them again, and found that numbers of the people, including the inhabitants of thirty villages, with some of the chiefs, had renounced the idols of their country, and were pupils of the native missionaries. During his visit the king avowed his determination to become a Christian, and to exert his influence to extend Christianity throughout the islands.

In June 1838 six missionaries, five of them married, arrived from England, and were welcomed by all classes, who promised their protection, and expressed a willingness to receive their instructions. As an evidence of their sincerity, and to show their disposition to attend to the wishes of the missionaries, the inhabitants of Aana, who had been conquered in the war raging when the first missionaries arrived, were invited to return to the lands. Four hundred of these had been cruelly burned to death, and the rest banished. The exiles were now invited to re-occupy their country; and in less than eighteen months three thousand of them returned, rebuilt their villages, and tilled their lands. The number of the European missionaries was afterwards increased, and they acquired the language, prepared books, and taught the natives to read. In 1839 the labours of the press were commenced; and the greater part of the population had renounced heathenism. A Wesleyan missionary and some native teachers had come from Tonga;

but in order to avoid the disadvantages that might arise from the slightest apparent difference in teaching Christian truth among a people who were only beginning to learn the difference between Christianity and heathenism, it was arranged by the societies at home, in accordance with the agreement entered into at the beginning by the missionaries of the two groups, that they should confine their operations to the fields they first occupied; and thus this cause of apprehended difficulty was then removed.

In 1816 a number of Roman Catholic missionaries arrived, and are labouring in the islands, where there are at present a bishop, a number of priests, seven places of worship, and above 500 adherents.

The Protestant missionaries have, besides the ordinary native schools, established schools of a higher class for the more intelligent youth, and boarding-schools for females, in which upwards of 100 are taught. They have also maintained, in great efficiency, an Institution for training native teachers, from which a number of excellent men have gone forth as pioneers to European missionaries among the most ferocious and hostile of the cannibal and other islands to the west. The teachers remain in the Institution from three to five years before they are sent forth. This institution contains 57 young men in the teachers' class; 45 in the youths' class; wives of the teachers, 47; their children, 45; making 244 in the establishment. 137 teachers have been educated and sent forth from this institution. Besides lesson-books and catechisms, books on arithmetic and geography have been printed, not in the Samoan only, but also in the languages of the islands to which native teachers have been sent; and the printing of the whole Bible, after a committee of missionaries had been occupied for nine years in its revision, was completed in 1855—less than twenty years after the arrival of the European missionaries. Part of the expense of this establishment is defrayed by the natives, who also purchase the copies of the Scriptures, and contribute liberally towards the extension of the gospel. During the year 1855 they contributed for these purposes £1203. There are in these islands 11 missionaries (including the missionary printer), 190 native teachers, 154 schools, 4700 scholars, and 2500 native communicants. The entire native population, with the exception of a very small number, profess Christianity. There is also at Apia, on Upolu, a chapel for seamen, of which, at certain seasons, there are large numbers in the port. An English and an American consul, with about sixty foreigners, reside there, and an equal number in the other parts of this group.

To the northward and eastward of these groups are three smaller clusters, with a number of single islands and lagoon reefs. The chief of these are

Ellice's Islands, or Vaitapu Group.—A numerous cluster of Ellice's straggling low coral islands, situated to the northward of the Islands, or Friendly Islands, and W.N.W. from the Samoan, from which they Vaitapu are distant 500 miles. These are sometimes called De Peyter's Group Islands. The centre of Vaitapu, also called Achilles Island and Tracy Island, is situated in 7. 28. S. Lat., and 178. 44. E. Long. It is a lagoon island, and contains about 400 inhabitants.

The islands of this group are well wooded with the cocoa-nut, Pandanus, and Pisonia; and their inhabitants chiefly subsist upon the first two, together with a species of taro, and another larger root called pulaka. The people of these islands are darker in complexion than the Fakaofoans and Samoans, to whose language their own has a considerable affinity; and they are regarded by ethnologists as an interesting and important link between the races of N.W. Polynesia, and S.E. Micronesia. They practise tattooing; and both sexes wear the saro, as well as the taka, or girdle, with a heavy fringe two feet broad for the women, but narrower for the men. They have many peculiar weapons; and large canoes hollowed out of a single tree, for which they use sails of a triangular shape, with outriggers and paddles, like those common in Polynesia. The population is supposed to be not more than 1700 to 1800.

To the north-east of these is situated the Piamae cluster, consisting of seven or eight islands uninhabited. Birnie's Island, one of the largest, is situated in Lat. 3. 34. S., and 171. 3. W. To the south of these is situated the Union cluster, consisting of three principal islands, viz., Otafe, or Duke of York's Island; Nukano, or Duke of Clarence Island; and Fokakaso, or Bowditch Island. These islands are of a coralline formation, and in their general aspect resemble the atolls of the Paumotus. Their inhabitants (who chiefly subsist on cocoa-nuts, pandanus-nuts, and fish), are stated to have been, previous to the arrival of foreigners, altogether unacquainted with the use of fire. They are a quiet and harmless people, considered to be the fairest race in Central Polynesia, and much resembling in form and feature the natives of Samoa, to whose language their dialect is similar. They are not numerous, probably not more than 1000.

The Hervey Islands.—This cluster of seven islands, of which six Hervey are inhabited, is situated between Lat. 18. and 22. S., and Long. 157. Islands and 160. W. Several of the islands, including that from which the cluster takes its name, were discovered by Captain Cook in 1773 and

Polynesia. 1777. They are of different structure, Rarotonga, the largest, being volcanic and mountainous, surrounded by a reef of coral. Others consist of ancient coral formations raised from 20 feet to 60 feet above the sea, some of them lower, and all surrounded by live coral reefs. Most of the islands are fertile, and capable of supporting a much larger population than the present, which has been estimated at 11,000. The inhabitants belong to the Malayo-Polynesian race, and as they are able to trace their origin satisfactorily and clearly, they have had, in all probability, fewer infusions from other sources than the larger groups. Their language bears a striking resemblance to that of the Samoas, from which part of the people have been derived. It also resembles the New Zealand and Sandwich Island dialects, as well as those of the more central islands. Little was known, excepting what Cook has recorded of some of them, until 1821, when they were visited by missionaries. The first account of the largest island is that given by Mr. Williams, who found it in 1823. At this time the inhabitants were heathen, their idols corresponding with those of Tahiti; their government a sort of feudalism; they were addicted to war; and were cannibals. Their history is the history of the introduction and influence of Christianity; their intelligence, civilization, industry, and plenty, the effects of Christianity amongst them; and, according to the concurrent testimony of all who have visited them, these effects have been as extraordinary as they are satisfactory.

Rarotonga, the largest island, with its encircling reef, is about 35 miles in circumference, the highest mountains about 4000 feet above the sea. There are openings in the reef, but no secure harbours for shipping. The island is well watered and fertile, yielding the bread-fruit, coco-nut, banana, taro, and other Polynesian productions. The ferocity and barbarity of the natives, when the missionaries visited them in 1823, were such that the native missionaries and their wives dare not remain amongst them, and a single man was the only teacher that could be left. He was afterwards joined by another. Their efforts in humanizing the barbarians, teaching refined lessons of Christianity, inducing them to cast away their idols and profess themselves worshippers of the true God, were eminently successful. In 1827 the first European missionary arrived amongst them, and the second in the following year; and these were subsequently followed by a third. Their efforts were neither unopposed nor exempt from danger from the natives; but with their native associates they persevered, and the whole island became an educated, industrious, civilized, and Christian community, increasing in intelligence and comfort as their industry in raising supplies brought ships in considerable numbers to their shores for refreshments; and the returns enabled them to provide clothing, books, and many of the comforts of civilized life. A large proportion of the people are clothed in European apparel, and dwell in comfortable houses, (some of them built of stone), manufacture useful furniture, and have an abundance of native food. They have regular market-houses in which supplies for shipping are collected, and salesmen appointed to manage their trade with foreigners; about ten merchant and thirty whaling ships visit the island every year. In 1831 the printing-press was set up in the island, and has printed spelling-books, reading lessons, hymn-books, catechisms, Pilgrim's Progress, and other religious books, including the several parts of the Old Testament and commentaries on portions of the New Testament, besides elementary books on arithmetic, grammar, geography, astronomy, and natural history. Books in the language of the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia and other islands to the west, have also been printed. Upwards of 20,000 small books were stitched up in covers, and nearly 6000 books bound in leather, all accomplished by native young men taught by the missionaries. The whole of the Bible has been translated by the missionaries, and printed for the people by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Few, if any, of the young are unable to read and write; and there is an admirable institution for training native teachers in carpentry and useful arts; as well as in the learning required for the efficient discharge of their duties in their own island, or as missionaries to other islands, and the steadfastness, energy, and remarkable success which has attended their efforts, is evidence of the value of the training they have received. The entire population is Christian. They have at their respective stations spacious and substantial stone chapels, well built, and suitably fitted up by native workmen. Thirty years after the commencement of missionary effort there were 7000 communicants connected with the churches, and nearly 1000 communicants had been removed by death. The island has been visited repeatedly by fearful hurricanes and the ravages of diseases, which, with other causes, have greatly diminished the population, and retarded the progress of the people; but they have been favoured with peculiarly well qualified and devoted European teachers. Mr. Williams felt great attachment to the people, and laboured some time among them; built his missionary ship at the island; and when he fell a martyr to his holy zeal as a Christian missionary, was mourned as a father by the people.

The other islands of the cluster, Mangia, Aitutake, Atiu, Mauke, and Mitiaro,—smaller islands, the largest not above 20 miles in circumference, and all of coral formation,—were some of them discovered by Cook, and their inhabitants were, till within the last forty years, cruel and ferocious cannibals. Mangia contains between 3000 and 4000 inhabitants; some of the others 1000. European missionaries reside on two of them, and native missionaries occupy the rest. Results corresponding with those on Rarotonga have followed their labours. Shipwrecked seamen are safe; supplies to vessels are furnished; the whole population is civilized, intelligent, and Christian, maintaining the institutions, and aiding liberally to extend the knowledge of Christianity to others. At the entire group, not fewer than 100 ships trade annually with the natives, and receive produce of native labour in exchange for manufactured goods, amounting to not less than £3000. (Gill, Essays from the Coral Islands, vol. ii., p. 125.)

About 600 miles to the north of the Hervey cluster are Maniki, Penrhyns, and Savage islands, all lagoon coral islands: the first containing about 1200 people; the second, Tongareva or Penrhyns, 9 miles long and 5 miles broad, with about 1300 inhabitants; Nine, the Savage Island of Captain Cook, within two days' sail of the Samoas, nearly 40 miles in circuit, and containing a population of 3000 or 4000. Great dread of being wrecked among these islands was formerly felt by mariners sailing near; but they have been visited by missionaries, the people have become Christians, and have treated shipwrecked seamen with great kindness.

Society Islands.—The first account of these islands is given in the Society voyage of Jacob Roggewein, who touched at Ralatea in the year 1722; at least it is conjectured by Barney, on probable grounds, that the Verquicking or Recreation Island of that navigator is the same. On sending a boat on shore, the inhabitants assembled on the beach, and advanced into the water armed with lances to oppose their landing. The Hollanders fired upon them, and having dispersed them, landed on the beach, and the inhabitants returned in a friendly manner, and brought them coco-nuts and other articles of food. The Hollanders then advanced up a valley towards the mountains; but some thousands of the natives coming out of the glens and crevices, made signs to them to return. The Hollanders, however, paid no regard, but proceeded, upon which showers of stones were hurled at them, by which some were killed and others wounded. These volleys were answered by a discharge of musketry, which killed many of the islanders, who nevertheless continued the action, and finally drove the Dutchmen into their boats. Many of the latter subsequently died of the wounds they had received.

Captain Cook visited these islands in 1769, and again in 1777. They consist of six in number (besides small coral islets), the names of which are Ralatea and Tahia (both encompassed by the same coral reef), Hushine, Borabora, Tubai, and Mauru. They extend from about 16. to 17. S. Lat., and from 151. to 152. W. Long. The climate and the productions resemble those of Tahiti. The surfaces of all the islands are uneven and hilly, in some parts mountainous; the hills are finely wooded, and the low lands exceedingly fertile. The inhabitants, like those of the Navigators' Islands, are above the middle stature. The late Sir Joseph Banks measured one of the natives of Hushine, and found him to be six feet three inches and a half in height; and the women are described as generally somewhat fairer than those of Tahiti. Borabora differs from the rest of the islands by having a lofty double-peaked volcanic mountain near its centre. In Ralatea there is a large Marai, in which a number of jaw-bones are kept as trophies of war. The coral reefs which everywhere surround these islands form numerous safe and commodious harbours for shipping, and refreshments of booms, fowls, plantains, coco-nuts, and other fruits; yams, sweet potatoes, taro, and similar edible roots, are generally to be had in great abundance.

In these islands the missionaries, though long disappointed, and though their lives were frequently endangered by the contests and revolutions which agitated the country, at last succeeded, by their perseverance and intrepidity, in establishing stations in Hushine, Ralatea, Tahia, and Borabora. The idolatry of these islands was the same as that which obtained in Tahiti, but was more zealously maintained, as Ralatea was supposed to be the cradle of their mythology. The people have been distinguished by their force of character, energy, and love of war, and have often exerted an important influence in the affairs of the islands to the eastward. Their form of government is in two of the islands a hereditary monarchy, and in the other principal island, viz., Hushine, that of a confederated state. The three chief islands—Hushine, Ralatea, and Borabora—have always been politically independent of any other group and of each other, and frequently at war among themselves. The destruction of idolatry in Tahiti in 1815 was followed, a year or two after, by the same change in these islands, not, however, without opposition. The inhabitants of Tahia, strongly attached to their ancient idolatrous worship, opposed the introduction of Christi-

Polynesia. anity, and even went to war with the King of Raiatea because he had agreed to renounce idolatry. But they were defeated in the contest, and their king was taken prisoner. Instead, however, of being put to death, as formerly, with cruel tortures, he and his people were humanely treated, which made such a deep impression on their minds that they embraced Christianity. In 1817 the missionaries first established themselves in these islands, and have been remarkably successful in educating the people, who are now all professing Christians, and many have gone to other islands, or are labouring in their own as Christian teachers. Commodious chapels and good school-houses have been erected; and a great change in the moral character, habits, dress, and mode of life, has taken place among the people. In addition to the indigenous productions of these fertile islands, oranges, pine-apples, custard-apples, and coffee have been introduced; as well as the manufacture of sugar, and the growth of cotton and tobacco. They have been taught to build comfortable houses and manufacture furniture; to work in iron and wood; and are described as a sociable, cheerful, and busy-moving community. Many engage in ship-building, assisted by Europeans, forging their own bolts, and performing whatever iron-work they may require, with the facility of ordinary artisans. Several of the schooners thus built by them are from 18 to 20 tons burden, and they have often as many as eight or ten upon the stocks at a time. The Huahineans are active and enterprising traders, and their flag—which, in common with Raiatea and Berabara, is the same as the old red and white ensign of Tahiti—is well known and respected, even as far north as the seaport towns of the Hawaiian Islands.

Huahine first received a regular code in 1822. The "Ture na Huahine"—consisting of twenty-nine laws, with numerous ordinances respecting the due administration of justice appended thereto—having been solemnly enacted by the national assembly of this island in the month of May in that year. These were printed and published for general circulation; and afterwards, in 1826, considerably revised and improved; with various necessary modifications, they are understood to be still in force. An additional series, chiefly affecting the relations of foreigners with Huahineans, and those of natives with foreigners, were, subsequent to the second revision, put forth by authority, and adopted, under the title of "The Harbour Regulations of the Port of Huahine," by Captain J. Laws of H.M.S. Satellite, 17th of March 1829. On accepting these last-mentioned ordinances, Captain Laws, on the part of Great Britain, officially recognised what is now usually known as the old flag of Tahiti (red, with a white fess or bar thereon), to be also the national ensign of the whole of the Society Islands. Similar laws and regulations have been established at the other islands, and a British consul resides at Raiatea, the central island of the group. A number of vessels, traders, and whale ships visit these islands annually; but the advance of the people in intelligence, civilization, and outward prosperity has been retarded by a series of impediments arising from the disturbance and civil war, in which the whole of the islands have been involved; the prevalence of epidemic diseases, which have swept off many of the people; the insolent and injurious conduct of foreigners in promoting intemperance and vice amongst the people. To the evils thus produced must be added the disorganization produced by proceedings of the French at Tahiti, and their forcible seizure of Huahine, from which they were expelled by the natives who held the island, till they were assured, on the authority of Admiral Seymour in 1847, that their independence with that of the other islands of the Society, or, as they are also called, the Leeward group, was secured and guaranteed by the English and French governments. Great attention has been given to the schools and the religious teaching of the people. The population is about 8000.

Georgian group. Georgian Group, or Tahitian Islands.—Tahiti was discovered by Captain Wallis in 1767, visited by M. Bougainville in 1768, and by Captain Cook in 1769. The group consists of five principal islands, the most westerly about 70 miles to the S.E. of the Society Isles, between 17. 2. 23. and 17. 53. of S. Lat., and 150. 40. and 148. 9. 45. W. Long. The principal island of the series is Tahiti, which consists of two peninsulas, chiefly mountainous, but with a good deal of low land upon and near the coast well fitted for cultivation. The large peninsula is described as about 90 miles in circumference, the small one about one-third of that extent, and the isthmus connecting them about three miles across. Present population under 6000. Ten miles W. of Tahiti, from reef to reef, lies Eimeo, an island about 40 miles in circumference, wild and mountainous, but with a fair proportion of level land and magnificent scenery. It contains a population of about 900 souls. Between 40 and 50 miles to the westward of Eimeo lies another island, that of Tabuaseanu, much smaller than

Eimeo, but of the same general character. The surrounding reefs of this island are so narrow and intricate that it can never be a place of any trade. The population of Tabuaseanu is not, it is believed, at present more than 200. This island, though geographically nearest the Georgian group, is politically connected with Huahine, the inhabitants acknowledge the supremacy of Huahine, and pay tribute to its chiefs; the laws of the latter are also the laws of this island. Tetuaroa, a small series of very low islets, with but few inhabitants, lies 24 miles to the north of Tahiti, to the ancient inhabitants of which it formerly served as a sort of watering-place. Lastly, Matia or Maitea, the most easterly of the Georgian group, is a steep mountainous island, very thinly inhabited, about 70 miles E. of Tahiti.

Tahiti and her adjacent islands are capable of producing sugar, oil, arrow-root, coffee, cotton, and indigo; but the Tahitians, never very fond of labour, have of late years, since the seizure of their country by the French, given themselves up to such sullen apathy, that any healthy development of the resources of their group seems to be, under existing circumstances, totally out of the question. Wilkes, however, informs us that in 1840 the yearly produce of sugar was, at Tahiti 105 tons, valued at 8000 dollars; and at Eimeo 22 tons, valued at 2000 dollars. Annual produce of coconut oil at Tahiti 55 tons, valued at 3500 dollars; and at Eimeo 20 tons, valued at 1500 dollars. Not a tithes of this has, it is understood, been produced of late years. Even the statistics of the whaling trade show that the French profit but little, in a commercial point of view, by the toy so dearly bought to satisfy the grasping ambition and vanity of one who died himself unaccepted. With every disadvantage, the United States' whalers are at Tahiti far before the French, and indeed those of any other nation. The Americans, in fact, here engross nearly all that lucrative trade. During the whaling season, for example, in 1854, thirty whalers arrived in the Tahitian harbours,—viz., one English, four French, and twenty-five American. The natives are stated to have abandoned agriculture. The few other arts which had begun to thrive in 1840 are now quite neglected. The guava has completely supplanted the grass; cattle, in consequence, cannot thrive, and have become well nigh extinct. The garrison, 300 in number, are all clothed and sustained by stores sent out from France, and have neither means nor opportunity to spend much money. Some appearance of trade, no doubt, is kept by the supply of these men with what they need; but, to judge from observation, it must be a ruinously unremunerative affair, a mere outlay without any benefit whatever. (Gazetteer of Central Polynesia, by E. Reeve, pp. 41, 42.)

The island of Tahiti is fertile and its scenery beautiful.² The bread-fruit is here superior to that which grows on the other islands. The fruit affords the natives a nutritive food; the trunk supplies them with timber for their buildings and canoes. It exudes a gum which serves for pitch, and from the inner bark is manufactured a substantial cloth. They reckon no less than thirty varieties of this most useful tree, which, with the different exposures to the trade-winds and the difference of elevation above the sea, afford to the natives a bread-fruit harvest at almost all seasons of the year. The cocoa-nut, next to the bread-fruit, supplies them with meat, drink, cloth, and oil, and sometimes clothing. Of plantains they reckon fifteen different sorts. Yams and sweet potatoes, taro-root of different kinds, and various other edible roots and fruits, are abundantly produced; to which missionaries and others have added the orange, pine-apple, the grape, and various culinary vegetables of Europe.

The animals found on the island were hogs, dogs, and rats. Horses, horned cattle, and goats have been introduced. Common poultry are abundant, and the woods supply wild pigeons and parrots. The colour of the natives is that of olive or light copper. The men are above the middle size; the chiefs are almost uniformly tall, muscular, and well limbed, measuring from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet 4 inches, and continue healthy and vigorous to a good old age. The women of the upper ranks are likewise tall, with limbs finely turned. Their skins are soft and delicate; their eyes black, sparkling, and full of expression; their teeth beautifully white and even; their hair jet black, and generally ornamented with flowers; and in their gait they are firm, but easy and graceful. Their language, their deities, and superstitious observances resemble those of the other races in Eastern Polynesia, and have been repeatedly described.

The early visits of the European navigators to these islands produced no advantages whatever to the inhabitants, who were only contaminated by the vices, without participating in the blessings, of civilized life. In the year 1796 the London Missionary Society sent out their first missionaries to Tahiti, their object was to communicate the knowledge of Christianity to the natives, who

² Darwin, in his Naturalist's Voyage, has given an interesting account of the mountain scenery and vegetation of Tahiti, p. 406.

Polynesia. gladly received them, as well as several others who were afterwards sent out in the year 1800. Their prospects were for a long time uncertain or unpromising, and they laboured with very little success to draw the attention of the natives from their cruel rites and superstitions to the purer faith of the gospel. About the year 1814 they began, however, to make some converts. In the neighbouring island of Eimeo, about fifty persons voluntarily renounced idolatry, and embraced Christianity. Pomare, the king, was among their earliest converts. These first converts were continually increased by new accessions, until the great body of the inhabitants, as well as those in the neighbouring islands, embraced Christianity. They now assemble regularly for public worship, decently attired, in congregations of four or five hundred, and occasionally eight hundred or a thousand persons. Along with religion, they have been instructed in mechanical trades of Europe; they are taught to read, write, and to cast accounts, the natives with singular industry teaching each other. Great numbers have been taught to read in the Tahitian language, which the missionaries have reduced to writing, and into which the Scriptures have been translated. A great reformation followed the propagation of Christianity throughout the islands; the profligate practices of the Arreoi societies were abolished, and many of the improvements of civilized life were adopted. The dwellings of the chiefs have been enlarged and beautified; a distinct house has been assigned to each family, in place of their being, as formerly, all crowded into one. Schools for girls have been established by the wives of the missionaries, where instruction is given in sewing, in reading, and writing. In these accomplishments many of the females have made considerable proficiency; and since 1815 reading and writing has become general among the natives. Pomare, the king of Tahiti, and the first convert to Christianity, was born about the year 1774. He died in the year 1821, and was immediately succeeded by his son Pomare III., who was crowned in 1824, being then only four years of age. Shortly afterwards he was placed at the South Sea academy in the island of Eimeo, for the purpose of receiving, with the children of the missionaries, an English education. He died in 1827, and was succeeded by a daughter of Pomare II., who is still nominally the sovereign of Tahiti.

The missionaries experienced, after the gloss of novelty had worn off their religion, a considerable defection of their proselytes, and for a time their fair prospects of usefulness were overcast. At first the natives appeared zealous in their attachment to the Christian creed, and schools and congregations multiplied in all quarters. In a short time, however, the people began to relapse into their former evil practices; and the letters of the missionaries themselves contain a full and candid account of these defections. Many of the converts, they observe, grew weary of the restraints which Christianity imposed on their passions; and the introduction of ardent spirits, the licentious example and the debauchery of the European sailors when vessels touched at the islands, the propagation of delusions among the people by visionaries, and finally a bloody war which broke out in Tahiti, completed the corruption and the defection of many converts. The missionaries spared no pains to counteract this tendency to vice. They established throughout the island temperance societies, and prevailed on the chiefs to restrain the importation of spirits. The Queen Pomare and most of the chiefs, who show an ardent desire for the instruction of the people, joined these societies, and countenanced the efforts of the missionaries, who have in some degree succeeded in stemming the torrent of profligacy which was inundating these countries, and was fast sweeping away all traces of that parer morality which had been planted among the natives. But even after all the defections that have taken place, a letter, dated April 1836, mentions that there were two thousand natives in church-fellowship; that two-thirds of the people could read; that a great number had learned to write; and that the schools and chapels were well attended. A letter from one of the missionaries mentions that he had seen Queen Pomare in the midst of a group of little girls, teaching them words of one and two syllables.

A great step in the progress of improvement has been the commencement of trade and manufactures. A knowledge of useful arts, such as rope-making, turnery, carpentry, and the art of working in iron, had been introduced. Some were employed as smiths, others in the preparation of lime, and in the construction of neat and comfortable dwellings, and also in boat and ship building, in which many of them are adept.

They also began to carry on commerce. A number of small vessels built by the natives, of from 20 to 35 tons burden, were employed in fetching from a group of islands situated 200 or 300 miles eastward, cargoes of pearl-shell, which they dispose of to the English and American traders.

Such were some of the results of nearly fifty years of self-denying labour, when, instigated by Romish priests and the misrepresentations of an unscrupulous adventurer, who persuaded the French

officers to constitute him consul for their nation, the French, under the name of a protectorate, took forcible possession of Tahiti and its dependencies. The defenceless queen appealed in vain to Europe for the restitution of her country, and her people defended themselves for two years; but being at length betrayed into the hands of the French, resistance ceased, and these islands have since been, in their policy, commerce, educational and religious institutions, under French rule and authority, as already noticed.

Besides Eimeo and the rest of the Georgian group, there are to Austral the south of Tahiti a number of islands, designated the Austral Islands. The principal of these—Raivavai, Tubuai, Kurutu, Rima-tara, and Rapa—are hilly and well watered. Missionaries have visited them, and Christian teachers have instructed the people, who profess themselves Christians, and have been taught to read. Ships occasionally call for refreshments, and shipwrecked mariners have experienced from the people assistance and security for themselves and their property; but since the fall of Tahiti but few accounts of them have been received.

The Marquesas.—This cluster of islands was discovered by Alva. The Marquesas were discovered in 1595, and named by him Las Marquesas de Mendana, in honour of the viceroy of Peru. Four only are described by Quiros the pilot, under the names of La Dominica, Santa Christina, San Pedro, and La Madalena. The Spaniards anchored in a port of Santa Christina, to which they gave the name of Madre de Dios. This port is protected from the trade-wind, and has two excellent streams of fresh water flowing into it. The people are described as being an elegant race; the men and women are remarkably beautiful, in symmetry of form and gracefulness of movement surpassing all others in the Pacific, their complexions and general appearance being said to excel those of the women of Lima. Their dress consisted of a cloth made of the leaves of a palm-tree, with which they were covered from the breast downwards; and so civilly disposed were they, that a beautiful native woman seated herself by the side of Donna Isabel, the wife of Mendana, and began to fan her. But the Spaniards, as usual, found means to quarrel with the natives, and to drive them with fire-arms into the woods.

The islands are mountainous, with but little low land. The produce of the islands are hogs, fowls, fish, cocoa-nuts, sugar-canes, plantains, and the bread-fruit, which is described for the first time by the writer of this voyage.

Subsequent voyagers have made us nearly as well acquainted with the Marquesas as with Tahiti. Captain Cook visited them in 1774, and Captain Wilson in 1797. From these we know that they consist of eight in number, besides some smaller islands to the westward, which being seen by an American master of the name of Ingram, he called them Washington's Islands. They had previously been seen by Marchand in 1789, and may fairly be grouped as part of the Marquesas. The centre of the group may be reckoned in about the Lat. of 9. 30. S., and Long. 139. 30. W.

The manners, the religious ceremonies, the Marais, and the general appearance of the natives, are similar to those of Tahiti. To their earliest English visitors the natives appeared hospitable and gentle, but they have been frequently engaged in barbarous wars, and are reported to have been cannibals. In 1797 Captain Wilson landed a missionary amongst them, who was kindly treated, and furnished with a share of their scanty food; but after remaining little more than eighteen months in the islands he returned to England. About thirty years ago they were again visited by English missionaries from Tahiti, two of whom remained some years in the islands, though their labours appeared to be unproductive of good among the natives. The French then took possession of the islands, and placed some Roman Catholic missionaries among the people, with what result is not known. Very recently some American missionaries, with native assistants, have gone from the Sandwich Islands, and are now labouring in the northern portion of the Marquesas among the small, but in many respects deeply interesting, people by whom they are inhabited.

Easter Island.—This small island, not 30 miles in length, is Easter chiefly deserving of notice from its solitary position, its great distance from any of the islands of the Pacific, its comparative proximity to the coast of South America, and its being inhabited by a race of men who differ no more from the rest of the Polynesians than the latter do from one another,—having the same language, the same features, the same religious notions, and Marais constructed as they generally are in other islands. On the platforms of the latter are erected shapeless and uncouth masses of stone carved in imitation of the human bust, with rude faces 4 or 5 feet in length, set on trunks of 10 or 12 feet in height. Kotzebue, the last visitor to this island, looked, however, in vain for any traces of these statues on the spots where they are described by Cook and La Pérouse.

This island is supposed to have been discovered by the buccaneer Davis in 1687, although some have contended that the Dutch admiral Roggeveen was the discoverer, and he it was who gave it

Polynesia. the name of Panachen or Easter Island; having first seen it on the day of that feast. Its latitude is 27. 5. S., and longitude 169. 14. W.

It is not remarkably fertile; but few trees are found on it, and no running stream. The natives are very industrious in raising food for their support, which consists chiefly of bananas, taro-roots, sugar-canes, sweet potatoes, and yams. The inhabitants are about 1200 in number. By some navigators they are described as a very savage people, and by others as a mild and amiable race. The fact is, that their conduct has always corresponded with the treatment they have received from foreign visitors. Thus their decided hostility to Kotzebue, when he attempted to land on the island, was explained on his arrival at the Sandwich Islands. An American, commanding a schooner called the Nancy, from New London, had observed a vast multitude of seals on the shores of the small uninhabited island of Massafuero, to the westward of Juan Fernandez; and thinking it might turn out an excellent speculation if a small establishment were formed on the island to carry on the fishing, he therefore proceeded to Easter Island, and seized and carried off twelve men and ten women. For the first three days they were confined in irons, and were not released till fairly out of sight of land, when the first use they made of their liberty was to jump overboard, choosing rather to perish in the waves than to be carried away they knew not whither, or for what purpose. The women, who were with difficulty restrained from following them, were carried to Massafuero, but what ultimately became of these poor creatures M. Kotzebue does not relate. No wonder, then, that such practices should have driven the natives to acts of hostility against all foreign intruders.

Pitcairn Island is a rocky, triangular island about 5 miles in length, situated in Lat. 25. 3. S., and Long. 139. 8. W. It was discovered by Captain Carteret in 1767, celebrated on account of its having been the retreat of the mutineers of H.M.S. Bounty, and the abode of their descendants, until, more than forty years afterwards, when the descendants of the mutineers were, at their own request, removed by the British government to Tahiti, the country from which their mothers had been taken by the mutineers. The entire number amounted to 87 individuals. They were kindly received, a piece of land was given to them, and new temporary houses erected for their accommodation by the natives, and eight months' provisions left with them by the captain of the British ship in which they arrived. Soon after their arrival they were attacked by an epidemic disease, which proved fatal to twelve of their number, and this, together with the unsettled state of the island at the time, was so discouraging to the rest, that they expressed a desire to return. In order to comply with their wishes, a subscription was raised, and a small vessel chartered to convey them to their island home, where they continued leading the same exemplary moral and religious life as before until recently, when the resources of the island proving insufficient for their support, their number being 194 persons, they were, at their own request, removed by the British government to Norfolk Island. This small but fertile island is attached to the government of New South Wales, and is now appropriated to the use of the Pitcairn islanders. A resident has been appointed, with a liberal salary, to act as magistrate or governor among them. The island is salubrious and fertile, and is surrounded by reefs, yet possesses no harbour; but this will prove no insurmountable impediment to intercourse between Australia and this interesting Anglo-Polynesian community, whose future welfare all must ardently desire.

Mangareva Group, also called Gambier Islands, a cluster at the S.E. extremity of the Paumotu Archipelago, and W.N.W. of Pitcairn's Island, was discovered by the Missionary Ship "Duff" in 1797, and named by Captain Wilson, her commander, after Admiral Lord Gambier. It consists of four large islands, and several smaller ones, situated in a lagoon formed by a reef of coral, and lying between Lat. 23. 1. and 23. 15. S., and Long. 134. 49. and 135. 3. W. They are all (with the exception of two sandy reef islets on the northern and western aspects) extremely steep and rugged, and obviously of volcanic origin, clothed with verdure, and for the most part with trees. The Mangareva group is, moreover, a locality well supplied with good water, than which nothing can be more important to the navigation of these seas, that indispensable article not being elsewhere found in a pure state between Tahiti and the coast of Chili (a distance of 4000 miles), except, indeed, at Pitcairn Island, whence it is difficult, and well-nigh impossible, to get it on board ship. Captain Beechy, R.N., under whose direction a survey was made of this series in 1826, states that in addition to several sorts of wood (some of a very useful description) and flowers, the group is by no means deficient in a variety of edible roots, nor in those kinds which are most productive and nutritious. Besides the ti-plant (Dracaena terminalis), sweet potato, sugar cane, water melon, cocoa-nut, plantain, and bananas, he found on his visit that the natives possessed the bread-fruit and the taro, from both of which an abundance of wholesome food is procurable.

The Dangerous Archipelago, or Paumotu Islands.—This vast

archipelago, if not geographically and politically the most important, is, on account of its geological structure, one of the most deeply interesting, as well as the most extensive groups of Polynesia. It lies to the south of the Marquesas, and stretches from the Georgian and Society Islands in a south-easterly direction, beyond Mangareva or Gambier's Island,—thus covering an area of the ocean nearly 1000 miles in length and 600 miles in breadth. This archipelago is an immense series of groups, mostly of low coralline islands, more or less detached from each other. Most of them are lagoons, and the majority of them rising but a few feet above the level of the sea at high-water. Oana or Rairaca is 46 miles long and 20 miles broad; it is inhabited by a quiet people. Hoo or Bow Island is 34 miles long and 10 miles broad. The lagoon which it surrounds is generally about 20 fathoms deep, and abounds with the pearl oyster. The ring-like shore of the lagoon is covered chiefly with cocoa-nuts; the inhabitants are about 100. The other islands are generally smaller, but some of them much more populous; and many of them are clothed with cocoa-nut trees. Navigation amongst them is exceedingly perilous, on account of the numerous reefs which are found in every direction. Their native name Paumotu, which signifies islands of shallow water, indicates the peril to large vessels. They are also called the Pearl Islands, on account of the large quantities of mother-of-pearl shell found amongst them. Most of them are inhabited, chiefly by the Malayo-Polynesian race; and some of those nearest to Tahiti have become Christians through the exertions of native missionaries from the latter island.

But, curious, attractive, and deeply interesting as these labyrinths of islands are,—seeming like so many rings of coral and sand scarcely higher than the long swelling billows of the wide ocean in which they rise, and each inclosing a smooth placid lake of comparatively shallow water; and covered as they are for the most part with waving palms, beneath which the almost amphibious native builds his hut, and in this isolated home begins and ends his days,—the agencies by which these wondrous structures have been raised, the vast extent over which they have been spread, and the records they exhibit of the changes that have taken place in the surface of our globe are among the wonders of the world we inhabit. These innumerable and gigantic structures are the work of small marine animals of several different kinds, which separate calcareous substances from the sea, and with it rear, in all their varied and often beautiful forms, these marvellous structures. According to the theory of Mr Darwin, who traversed a large portion of this region in 1835, with Captain (now Admiral) Fitz-Roy in H.M.S. Beagle, these reefs, which sometimes surround like a fringe existing islands, or stretch like a barrier in a line parallel with a coast, and at unequal distances from the shore; or surround like a circular breakwater, at a distance of 3, 5, or more miles, a mountainous island; while others rise like a ring from the depths of mid-ocean, and inclose a lake of calm and shallow water,—all these have been formed by one uniform process, and in obedience to one invariable law. Mr Darwin, it appears, supposes that where fringed reefs exist, the land to which they are attached slopes gradually down below the water, and is subsiding, but that as the land subsides the corals rise to the surface; that where there are barrier reefs or circular breakwaters at a distance from the present existing land, the whole land has gradually subsided. The coral-building insects, which are most vigorous on the outside of the reef, or the part next the ocean, rearing their encircling walls higher and higher as the foundations sink lower and lower, and then in the atolls or lagoon islands, which present a ring-like reef inclosing a smooth lake, the land has subsided entirely beneath the level of the ocean, while, as it sank, the myriads of marine architects continued to keep their outer wall up to the level of its waves. It has been found that the reefs never rise above the level of the sea, and that the building animals do not live at a greater depth than from 20 to 30 fathoms; so that, as the coral structures have gradually subsided to that depth, their inhabitants have died, and their cells have become their graves, and a new generation has carried on the structure up again to the surface of the waves, to give place, as the foundation subsided, to succeeding generations. Such appears the outline of Mr Darwin's theory. What vast changes must be in progress when an area of subsidence so large as that covered by this archipelago is considered; but how much more astonishing when we consider that, from this archipelago single islands stretch in a north-westerly direction to the Pacific chain; that these two archipelagos on opposite sides of the equator indicate a line of subsidence in mid-ocean of "more than 4000 miles in length, in which not one single island rises above a specified height!" In closing his account, Mr Darwin observes:—"The reef-constructing corals have indeed reared and preserved wonderful memorials of the subterranean oscillations of level; we see in each barrier-reef a proof that the land has there subsided, and in each atoll a monument over an island now lost." (Voyage of a Naturalist, p. 482.) (W.E.)