CHAP, however lies between this anchorage and Matavai, and is called Papawa ;
several ships may anchor there in perfect safety quite close to the
A|,rii. shore, and if a wharf were constructed, might land their cargoes upon
182C. ¡J without the assistance of boats. It may be entered either from the
east or west, and it has the additional advantage of having Matavai
Bay for a stopping place, should circumstances render it inconvenient to
enter at the moment ; but this channel which communicates with Matavai
Bay must be approached with attention to two coral knolls that
have escaped the notice of both Cook and Bligh. I have given directions
for avoiding them in my nautical remarks.
The tides in all harbours formed by coral reefs are very irregular
and uncertain, and are almost wholly dependant upon the sea breeze.
At Toanoa it is usually low w'ater about six every morning, and high
water half an hour after noon. To make this deviation from the ordinary
course of nature intelligible, it will be better to consider the
harbour as a basin, over the margin of which, after the breeze springs
up, the sea heats with considerable violence, and throws a larger supply
into it than the narrow channels can carry off in the same time, and
consequently during that period the tide rises. As the wind abates the
water subsides, and the nights being generally calm, the water finds its
lowest level by the morning.
iL
CHAPTER X.
Departure from Otaheite—Arrival atWoahoo, Sandwich Islands—Contrast between the two
Countries—Visit the King and Pitt—Departure-Oneehow— Passage to Kamsehatka—
Petrapaulski—Beering’s Island—St. Lawrence Island—E sq n im au x -Kin g ’s Island—
Diomede Islands—Pass Beering’s Strait—Arrive in Kotzebue Sound—Anchor off
Chamisso Island—lee Formation in Escholtz Bay.
O n the 26th of April, we left this delightful island, in which CHAP,
we had passed many very pleasant days, in the enjoyment of the — ^
society of the residents, and of the scenery of the country. We put Aprih
to sea in the morning, and about noon reached the low Island of
Tethoroa, the watering place of the Otaheitans. It is a small coral
island, distant about seven leagues from Otaheite; from the hills of
which it may be distinctly seen, and is abundantly provided with cocoa-
nut trees. The salubrity of this little island, w'hich was formerly the
resort of the chiefs, arreoys, and others, for the purpose of recruiting
their health after their debaucheries, is still proverbial at Otaheite.
Spare diet and fresh air were the necessary consequences of a visit
to this place, and for a good constitution w'ere the only restoratives
required; and, as these seldom fiiiled in their effects, it obtained a
reputation in Otaheite, no less famous than that of the island said to
contain the celebrated spring of eternal youth, which Ponce deLeoii so
long sought in vain. The island of Tethoroa, the village of Toanoa,
and the peak with a hole through it, on Eimeo, were in sight together ;
and we were thus enabled to connect them trigonometrically. A curious
history is attached to this hole in the mountain, connected with the
superstition of early times. The great god, Oroo, being one day angry
with the Tii, or the little god of Eimeo, he threw his spear across the
. . . ■: