greater part has a fertile appearance, and the lower ground abounded with cocoanut trees. The habitations seemed to be small, and not very numerous. The island was formerly celebrated for its yams, and in 1836 was used as a penal settlement. It is also called Tapooa-manoo, and Tabuai-manú. The hills are wooded to their summits, and at a distance the island has much the appearance of a ship under sail. The peak is in lat. 17° 29′, lon. 150° 44′ W. HUAHEINE (Vahine, woman) is the easternmost of the group which was called the Society Islands by Cook. He discovered it in July, 1769. It is about 20 miles in circumference, and is divided into two peninsulas, Huaheine-Nui, or large, and Huaheine-Iti, or small. The isthmus connecting these two portions is overflowed at high water, forming a boat passage. In other parts of the island there are also salt lakes near the sea. It has a very narrow strip of fertile land near the shore; and the hills, which are not near so high as those of Tahiti, more strongly indicate volcanic action, and are in some parts entirely cultivated. The productions are similar to those of Tahiti, but come to perfection earlier. Mr. Bennett noticed the venerable shaddock tree planted by Cook in 1777. Coffee thrives in the missionaries' gardens. The population, in 1828, was estimated at 2,000. Owharre Harbour, which was always visited by Cook on quitting Tahiti, is situate at the N.W. end of the island. Run round the North end of the island, which is clear, and you are off one entrance. Shoot up as far as you can if the wind is scant, anchor and warp in. There is another entrance more to the southward, marked by a small wooded kay. The name of the settlement is Fari. It was here that Cook, in his last visit, left Omai, the Tahitian native, who had attracted so much attention in England. Owharre Harbour lies, according to Cook, in lat. 16° 43', lon. 151° 7′ W. RAIATEA, or ULIETEA, lies 7 leagues to the westward of Huaheine. Prior to Capt. Wallis's visit in 1767, it was the principal island of the group, and in strict alliance with Otata, the adjoining island, and also with Huaheine, but the secession of Otaha led to its decline. Mr. Bennett describes it as follows:"Raiatea is situate about 130 miles to the N.W. of Tahiti, this being the bearing in which the islands of the Polynesian groups usually lie, a direction that volcanic action appears very generally to follow. It is about 40 miles in circumference; of mountainous character, covered with vegetation, and but too well watered, cascades, rivers, and swamps abounding in all directions. At the distance of 1 or 2 miles from the shore the land is encircled by a coral reef, that also includes the adjacent Island of Taha. Here are seven excellent anchorages on the weather and lee sides of the island, accessible at times and egress easy, except with a due South wind. Raiatea has no commerce worthy of notice; cocoa-nut oil and arrow-root are occasionally procured by small vessels from New South Wales or South America; attempts have been made to produce tobacco, and to make ship's cordage from the bark of the hibiscus, for the Sydney market, and biche-de-mar, with which the reefs abound, for that of China; but although the island is capable of all these and many additional exports, opposing circumstances have caused every effort to establish a permanent commerce to be speedily relinquished. "The soil is exceedingly fertile, exotic fruit trees thrive vigorously; and particularly the fruit of the lime proves invaluable to foreign shipping, and affords a striking example of the important advantages that accrue from the dissemination of useful fruits and vegetables. The population appeared to me to have suffered dreadfully from disease. Accompanied by some natives, I ascended a lofty range of mountains occupying the centre of the island, extending nearly in a North and South direction, and about 2,000 feet in elevation. The summit presented a level and spacious plain of dark and bleak aspect, spread with numerous swamps and streams of water, passing over exposed rocks of a red colour, and entirely destitute of other vegetation than short grass and moss, although but a few feet beneath, on the less exposed spots, vegetation was lofty and abundant. On the eastern declivity of the mountain, a short distance below its summit, I was shown by my guides a natural excavation, about 40 feet deep, resembling a large well, about 36 feet in circumference, the character of which led me to consider it as a small volcanic crater, yet few of these have hitherto been ascertained to exist in the Society Islands. It is remarkable that a stream of water, flowing over the declivity of this elevated mountain, abounds with eels and other fish, several varieties of which I saw sporting in the water." The surrounding coral reef has several islets on it, and the space between it and the island offers several excellent anchorages, as before stated. Uturoa Harbour is one of the best of them, and is on the East side. It is a reef harbour, and has two or three entrances. H.M.S. Conway went in at the most northerly. From Huaheine steer across for a bluff that forms the northern extreme of Raiatea, and you will fall upon two islets, between which is the If bound to leeward, it is usual to run out through a passage to leeward of the island, keeping round inside the reefs; to do this you must be able to lay up South on the larboard tack. The King's Wharf in Uturoa is in lat. 16° 50' S., lon. 151° 24′ W. Capt. Worth, R.N., says the best anchorage amongst the islands is at Raiatea, as there is a good entrance and equally as good an exit, and which are always capable of being taken, the wind always blowing directly through. The only disadvantage is the depth of water, about 18 to 24 fathoms. The holding ground is, however, very good, with abundance of fresh meat, vegetables, and fish to be obtained. Fresh water can also be procured here, but not so readily as at Tahiti. Ohamaneno Harbour is on the N.W. side of Raiatea. The entrance is between two sand islands, and is about a quarter of a mile broad. The numerous astronomic observations made by Capts. Cook and King here in 1777 place this bay in lat. 16° 45′ 32", lon. 151° 36′ 22′′ W. TAHAA, or OTAHA, lies to the northward of Raiatea, but is separated only by a channel of not more than 2 miles in width. They are both surrounded by the same reef; and the space between them enclosed by the reef forms a beautiful sound, which merits examination. Tahaa is about half the size of Raiatea, and is not so fertile. Capt. Cook visited it in 1769 in his boats, and Lieut. Pickersgill was sent around it by him in a boat in 1773. It is surrounded on all sides by a Capt. Drinkwater Bethune, Naut. Mag., Oct., 1840, p. 684. number of small islands, and all the passages between them are encumbered with coral reefs. But there are several commodious harbours within, as Ohamene Harbour, on the S.E. side, and Oherurua Harbour, on the western side. The proximity of those on Raiatea, however, render them unimportant. The centre of Tahaa is in lat. 16° 35′ S., lon. 151° 35′ W. BOLA-BOLA, or BORA-BORA, is 4 leagues N.W. of Tahaa, to which it is inferior in extent, but the reef with which it is surrounded is nearly full of islets, much larger than those which are scattered among the rocks that enclose Raiatea and Tahaa. It differs from those islands, and from Huaheine, in having but one harbour on its coast; whereas the shores of the others, being strongly indented, form, like the coasts of Eimeo, numerous places of shelter for shipping. It is also distinguished by a very lofty, double-peaked mountain in its centre, and is more rude and craggy than the rest of the Society Islands. Its eastern side has a barren appearance; the western is more fertile; a low border which surrounds the whole, together with the islands on the reef, are productive and populous. Its earliest inhabitants are said to have been malefactors, banished from the neighbouring islands. Capt. Cook did not land here upon his first or second voyage, and in 1777 he was prevented from anchoring in the harbour, which is very spacious, by contrary winds. Otea-vanua Harbour is on the West side; it is well sheltered, and, as before stated, very spacious; the depth is 25 fathoms, on good holding ground; but the entrance has the disadvantage of a rocky bottom. Capt. Worth, of H.M.S. Calypso, says: "The anchorage at Bora-Bora is difficult, as you are obliged to shorten sail between the points forming the entrance, and shoot up as far as the ship's way will allow, and then anchor, the wind always blowing directly out; it is then necessary to kedge up to the head of the harbour, where you may generally be able to make sail to the anchorage off the settlement. "Here, as in all the harbours of the Society Islands, it is advisable to enter before noon, as the water appears to be still, and at times setting in until noon, when it recedes, the strength of the current being determined by the body of water thrown inside the reefs, and which depends upon the strength of the wind, and the break over the reefs caused by it. "The reefs which surround these islands are all steep, and do not extend farther than 1 miles except at Bora-Bora, where the reef stretches to the S.E. nearly 3 miles, making a very dangerous spit, particularly coming from Raiatea, as it is in the route to the harbour of Bora-Bora." The position of the settlement at Otea-vanua is in lat. 16° 31′ 35′′ S., lon. 151° 46′ 0′′ W. sea. MARUA, or MAUPITI, or, according to Capt. Bethune, Manite, is the westernmost of the group. It is a small and comparatively elevated island, about 6 miles in circumference, and its highest point nearly 800 feet above the It is 40 miles to the N.W. of Raiatea, and is distinctly visible from the lower hills of that island. It is surrounded by a barrier reef of coral at the distance of about 3 miles, which encloses numerous small islets covered with cocoa-nut trees, but the lagoon is too shallow to admit vessels exceeding 150 tons burden. ISLANDS BETWEEN LATITUDES 10° AND 20° SOUTH. 895 The island is composed of hills wooded to their summits, and occasionally crested by cocoa-nut trees, but presenting ragged and mural cliffs to the sea-coast, especially one rocky mass on the S.W. side, opposite the opening in the reef, which rises 700 feet above the sea, resembling the ruins of a gigantic castle. Volcanic rocks, scoriæ, and slag abound; its smooth basaltic stones are much prized by the natives of all the Society group, to make pestles to prepare their food. The population of the island appeared small (about 1,000 in 1828); scattered habitations were along the coast, but the principal settlement is on the S.E. or weather side, where is also the residence of the chief Tairo. It contains a christian church. Swine, fowls, and especially yams, are abundant; water is scarce. The natives were exorbitant in their charge for supplies, and rather disposed to theft. This island is little frequented by foreign vessels; no ship before the Tuscan, in 1835, had visited it for two years." The centre of the island is in lat. 16° 26' S., lon. 152° 12′ W. TUBAI, or MOTU-ITI, is the northernmost of this group, and consists of some very small, low islets, connected by a reef, about 10 miles North of Bora-Bora, to which it was subservient, in the same manner as Teturoa, which it resembles, was to Tahiti. Perhaps it has no permanent inhabitants; but it is stated that, during the early visits of our navigators, it abounded with turtle, for which it was resorted to by the natives of the Society Islands, and also probably by some from the Low Archipelago. Mr. Bennett says that here he had a westerly wind. The North point of the reef is in lat. 16° 11' S., lon. 151° 48′ W. One other island is stated to have been found by Quiros, that is, Peregrino; but M. de Fleurieu says it is most probably the same as the Scilly Islands of Wallis. CHAPTER XXV. ISLANDS BETWEEN LATITUDES 10° AND 20° SOUTH. In this chapter we shall include those scattered islands and more connected groups which lie between the Society Islands and the Feejee Islands, which form the subject of the next chapter. The Cook Islands and the Tonga Islands, which lie on the parallel of 20° South, have been before described. FLINT'S ISLAND was discovered in 1801. By some it is considered to be the Peregrino of Quiros; but, from Torres and Torquemada's description of Peregrino being 8 or 10 Spanish leagues from North to South, this is unlikely. * Bennett's Whaling Voyage. 896 ISLANDS BETWEEN LATITUDES 10° AND 20° SOUTH. It has been examined, and its position fixed by the United States' Exploring Expedition.* Flint's Island, situated in lat. 11° 25′ 43′′ S., and lon. 151° 48′ W., is of small size, being only 1 miles in length from N.N.W. to S.S.W., and thickly wooded: high breakers extend off its point for some distance, and the surf was so high, that it was deemed impossible to land with a boat. No inhabitants were seen. current was found to be setting to the westward. The WOSTOCK ISLAND was discovered by Capt. Bellingshausen in 1820. He places it in lat. 10° 5′ 50′′ S., and lon. 153° 23′ W. There is no doubt but that it is the same island seen by the American Capt. Stavers in 1821 and 1825, and also Anne Island, both of which are placed among the doubtful islands by Krusenstern (Supp., p. 158). It is called Stavers' Island, also, by Capt. Wilkes, who places it in exactly the same position as Bellingshausen. It is a low sandy islet, with a lagoon. It is well wooded, half a mile in diameter, of an oval shape, with heavy breakers surrounding it, which prevented the possibility of landing on it.t MOPELIA ISLAND (Mopihá) was named by its discoverer, Capt. Wallis, Lord Howe's Island, July 30, 1767; but as this name is repeated in several parts of the Pacific, the native name, as above, is to be preferred; this was given to it by Cook. According to Wallis, it is 10 miles long and 4 miles broad. Cook's position of it is, lat. 16° 46′ S., and lon. 154° 8' W., differing only 5' from the longitude of Wallis. According to Commander Hamond, of H.M.S. Salamander, it is in lat. 16° 50′, and lon. 154° 21′ W.‡ PALMERSTON'S ISLAND, discovered by Cook in his second voyage,§ is a group of small islets, nine or ten in number, lying in a circular form, and connected by a coral reef. They are covered with trees, but no water was found.|| By the observations made in the French corvette Bucephale, October, 1843, the West islet is in lat. 18° 5′ 50′′ S., lon. 163° 10′ E.; and the N.E. islet in lat. 18° 1' 10", and lon. 163° 6'; results very nearly coinciding with those of Cook.¶ BELLINGSHAUSEN ISLAND was discovered by Capt. Kotzebue in 1824. He gives its position as lat. 15° 48' S., and lon. 154° 30′ W. It is a low coral island, uninhabited, of a triangular form, richly covered with the usual vegetation, with the exception of cocoa-nut palms. Birds are very abundant and very tame. There is no opening into the lagoon, but the tide flows into it over the reef.** SCILLY ISLANDS were discovered by Capt. Wallis in 1767. They form a group of small islands, which, being very low, are exceedingly dangerous. He Krusenstern, vol. i. pp. 27-8; Wilkes, vol. iv. p. 277; Mr. H. Thompson, R.N.; Nautical Magazine, 1848, p. 419. +Krusenstern's Supplement, pp. 4, 17, and 158; Wilkes, vol. iv. p. 277. Vol. ii. pp. 2-3. ¶ Nouvelle Annales des Voy., 1845, part iii. Kotzebue's New Voyage; Nautical Magazine, 1838, p. 738. |
