University of Virginia Library

18. CHAPTER XVIII.

January 18. This morning[1] we continued to the
southward, with the same pleasant weather as before.
The sea was entirely smooth, the air tolerably warm
and from the northeast, the temperature of the water fifty-three.
We now again got our sounding-gear in order,
and, with a hundred and fifty fathoms of line, found the
current setting towards the pole at the rate of a mile an
hour. This constant tendency to the southward, both
in the wind and current, caused some degree of speculation,
and even of alarm, in different quarters of the
schooner, and I saw distinctly that no little impression
had been made upon the mind of Captain Guy. He was
exceedingly sensitive to ridicule, however, and I finally
succeeded in laughing him out of his apprehensions.
The variation was now very trivial. In the course of
the day we saw several large whales of the right species,
and innumerable flights of the albatross passed over
the vessel. We also picked up a bush, full of red berries,
like those of the hawthorn, and the carcass of a
singular-looking land-animal. It was three feet in length,
and but six inches in height, with four very short legs,
the feet armed with long claws of a brilliant scarlet, and
resembling coral in substance. The body was covered
with a straight silky hair, perfectly white. The tail was
peaked like that of a rat, and about a foot and a half

long. The head resembled a cat's, with the exception
of the ears—these were flapped like the ears of a dog.
The teeth were of the same brilliant scarlet as the claws.

January 19. To-day, being in latitude 83 ° 20′, longitude
43 ° 5′ W. (the sea being of an extraordinarily
dark colour), we again saw land from the masthead,
and, upon a closer scrutiny, found it to be one of a
group of very large islands. The shore was precipitous,
and the interior seemed to be well wooded, a circumstance
which occasioned us great joy. In about four
hours from our first discovering the land we came to
anchor in ten fathoms, sandy bottom, a league from the
coast, as a high surf, with strong ripples here and there,
rendered a nearer approach of doubtful expediency.
The two largest boats were now ordered out, and a
party, well armed (among whom were Peters and myself),
proceeded to look for an opening in the reef which appeared
to encircle the island. After searching about for
some time, we discovered an inlet, which we were entering,
when we saw four large canoes put off from the
shore, filled with men who seemed to be well armed. We
waited for them to come up, and, as they moved with
great rapidity, they were soon within hail. Captain Guy
now held up a white handkerchief on the blade of an
oar, when the strangers made a full stop, and commenced
a loud jabbering all at once, intermingled with occasional
shouts, in which we could distinguish the words Anamoo-moo!
and Lama-Lama! They continued this for at
least half an hour, during which we had a good opportunity
of observing their appearance.

In the four canoes, which might have been fifty feet
long and five broad, there were a hundred and ten savages
in all. They were about the ordinary stature of
Europeans, but of a more muscular and brawny frame.
Their complexion a jet black, with thick and long woolly
hair. They were clothed in skins of an unknown
black animal, shaggy and silky, and made to fit the
body with some degree of skill, the hair being inside,
except where turned out about the neck, wrists, and ankles.
Their arms consisted principally of clubs, of a

dark, and apparently very heavy wood. Some spears,
however, were observed among them, headed with flint,
and a few slings. The bottoms of the canoes were full
of black stones about the size of a large egg.

When they had concluded their harangue (for it was
clear they intended their jabbering for such), one of them
who seemed to be the chief stood up in the prow of his
canoe, and made signs for us to bring our boats alongside
of him. This hint we pretended not to understand,
thinking it the wiser plan to maintain, if possible, the interval
between us, as their number more than quadrupled
our own. Finding this to be the case, the chief ordered
the three other canoes to hold back, while he advanced
towards us with his own. As soon as he came up with
us he leaped on board the largest of our boats, and
seated himself by the side of Captain Guy, pointing at
the same time to the schooner, and repeating the words
Anamoo-moo! and Lama-Lama! We now put back to
the vessel, the four canoes following at a little distance.

Upon getting alongside the chief evinced symptoms of
extreme surprise and delight, clapping his hands, slapping
his thighs and breast, and laughing obstreperously.
His followers behind joined in his merriment, and for
some minutes the din was so excessive as to be absolutely
deafening. Quiet being at length restored, Captain
Guy ordered the boats to be hoisted up, as a necessary
precaution, and gave the chief (whose name we
soon found to be Too-wit) to understand that we could
admit no more than twenty of his men on deck at one
time. With this arrangement he appeared perfectly satisfied,
and gave some directions to the canoes, when one
of them approached, the rest remaining about fifty yards
off. Twenty of the savages now got on board, and proceeded
to ramble over every part of the deck, and scramble
about among the rigging, making themselves much
at home, and examining every article with great inquisitiveness.

It was quite evident that they had never before seen
any of the white race—from whose complexion, indeed,
they appeared to recoil. They believed the Jane to

be a living creature, and seemed to be afraid of hurting
it with the points of their spears, carefully turning them
up. Our crew were much amused with the conduct of
Too-wit in one instance. The cook was splitting some
wood near the galley, and, by accident, struck his axe
into the deck, making a gash of considerable depth.
The chief immediately ran up, and pushing the cook on
one side rather roughly, commenced a half whine, half
howl, strongly indicative of sympathy in what he considered
the sufferings of the schooner, patting and
smoothing the gash with his hand, and washing it from
a bucket of seawater which stood by. This was a degree
of ignorance for which we were not prepared, and
for my part I could not help thinking some of it affected.

When the visiters had satisfied, as well as they could,
their curiosity in regard to our upper works, they were
admitted below, when their amazement exceeded all
bounds. Their astonishment now appeared to be far
too deep for words, for they roamed about in silence,
broken only by low ejaculations. The arms afforded
them much food for speculation, and they were suffered
to handle and examine them at leisure. I do not believe
that they had the least suspicion of their actual use, but
rather took them for idols, seeing the care we had of them,
and the attention with which we watched their movements
while handling them. At the great guns their wonder
was redoubled. They approached them with every
mark of the profoundest reverence and awe, but forbore
to examine them minutely. There were two large mirrors
in the cabin, and here was the acme of their amazement.
Too-wit was the first to approach them, and he
had got in the middle of the cabin, with his face to one
and his back to the other, before he fairly perceived
them. Upon raising his eyes and seeing his reflected
self in the glass, I thought the savage would go mad;
but, upon turning short round to make a retreat, and beholding
himself a second time in the opposite direction,
I was afraid he would expire upon the spot. No persuasions
could prevail upon him to take another look; but,
throwing himself upon the floor, with his face buried in

his hands, he remained thus until we were obliged to
drag him upon deck.

The whole of the savages were admitted on board in
this manner, twenty at a time, Too-wit being suffered to
remain during the entire period. We saw no disposition
to thievery among them, nor did we miss a single article
after their departure. Throughout the whole of their visit
they evinced the most friendly manner. There were,
however, some points in their demeanour which we found
it impossible to understand: for example, we could not get
them to approach several very harmless objects—such
as the schooner's sails, an egg, an open book, or a pan of
flour. We endeavoured to ascertain if they had among
them any articles which might be turned to account
in the way of traffic, but found great difficulty in being
comprehended. We made out, nevertheless, what greatly
astonished us, that the islands abounded in the large tortoise
of the Gallipagos, one of which we saw in the
canoe of Too-wit. We saw also some biche de mer in
the hands of one of the savages, who was greedily devouring
it in its natural state. These anomalies, for
they were such when considered in regard to the latitude,
induced Captain Guy to wish for a through investigation
of the country, in the hope of making a profitable
speculation in his discovery. For my own part,
anxious as I was to know something more of these
islands, I was still more earnestly bent on prosecuting
the voyage to the southward without delay. We had
now fine weather, but there was no telling how long it
would last; and being already in the eighty-fourth parallel,
with an open sea before us, a current setting strongly
to the southward, and the wind fair, I could not listen
with any patience to a proposition of stopping longer
than was absolutely necessary for the health of the crew
and the taking on board a proper supply of fuel and
fresh provisions. I represented to the captain that we
might easily make this group on our return, and winter
here in the event of being blocked up by the ice. He
at length came into my views (for in some way, hardly
known to myself, I had acquired much influence over

him), and it was finally resolved that, even in the event
of our finding biche de mer, we should only stay here a
week to recruit, and then push on to the southward
while we might. Accordingly we made every necessary
preparation, and, under the guidance of Too-wit, got the
Jane through the reef in safety, coming to anchor about
a mile from the shore, in an excellent bay, completely
landlocked, on the southeastern coast of the main island,
and in ten fathoms of water, black sandy bottom. At
the head of this bay there were three fine springs (we
were told) of good water, and we saw abundance of
wood in the vicinity. The four canoes followed us in,
keeping, however, at a respectful, distance. Too-wit
himself remained on board, and, upon our dropping anchor,
invited us to accompany him on shore, and visit
his village in the interior. To this Captain Guy consented;
and ten savages being left on board as hostages,
a party of us, twelve in all, got in readiness to attend
the chief. We took care to be well armed, yet without
evincing any distrust. The schooner had her guns run
out, her boarding-nettings up, and every other proper
precaution was taken to guard against surprise. Directions
were left with the chief mate to admit no person
on board during our absence, and, in the event of our
not appearing in twelve hours, to send the cutter, with a
swivel, round the island in search of us.

At every step we took inland the conviction forced itself
upon us that we were in a country differing essentially
from any hitherto visited by civilized men. We
saw nothing with which we had been formerly conversant.
The trees resembled no growth of either the torrid,
the temperate, or the northern frigid zones, and were
altogether unlike those of the lower southern latitudes
we had already traversed. The very rocks were novel
in their mass, their colour, and their stratification; and
the streams themselves, utterly incredible as it may appear,
had so little in common with those of other climates,
that we were scrupulous of tasting them, and, indeed,
had difficulty in bringing ourselves to believe that
their qualities were purely those of nature. At a small

brook which crossed our path (the first we had reached)
Too-wit and his attendants halted to drink. On account
of the singular character of the water, we refused to
taste it, supposing it to be polluted; and it was not until
some time afterward we came to understand that such
was the appearance of the streams throughout the whole
group. I am at a loss to give a distinct idea of the nature
of this liquid, and cannot do so without many
words. Although it flowed with rapidity in all declivities
where common water would do so, yet never, except
when falling in a cascade, had it the customary appearance
of limpidity. It was, nevertheless, in point of
fact, as perfectly limpid as any limestone water in existence,
the difference being only in appearance. At first
sight, and especially in cases where little declivity was
found, it bore resemblance, as regards consistency, to a
thick infusion of gum Arabic in common water. But
this was only the least remarkable of its extraordinary
qualities. It was not colourless, nor was it of any one
uniform colour—presenting to the eye, as it flowed,
every possible shade of purple, like the hues of a changeable
silk. This variation in shade was produced in a
manner which excited as profound astonishment in the
minds of our party as the mirror had done in the case
of Too-wit. Upon collecting a basinful, and allowing
it to settle thoroughly, we perceived that the whole mass
of liquid was made up of a number of distinct veins,
each of a distinct hue; that these veins did not commingle;
and that their cohesion was perfect in regard to
their own particles among themselves, and imperfect in
regard to neighbouring veins. Upon passing the blade
of a knife athwart the veins, the water closed over it immediately,
as with us, and also, in withdrawing it, all
traces of the passage of the knife were instantly obliterated.
If, however, the blade was passed down accurately
between two veins, a perfect separation was effected,
which the power of cohesion did not immediately
rectify. The phenomena of this water formed the first
definite link in that vast chain of apparent miracles with
which I was destined to be at length encircled.