■; CH A P T E R 4' V I I I .
the Miffionaries.— Voyrfge'1'%* Tongatdboo.—Recurrences
there during the JirJt ViJit. ■
W e inuft now interrupt the account» ■of the tranfadfeions' at Ota-
nme^to follow our other •'hfethren through thedee|)>*> 6a the fhipte-
retuin theyi fhabbe,recorded!
. The-day follownig our departure from Matav5i‘ w paffed tdr.ths-
fouthwardi>£-the Society Hands, in fight o f HuaheineiHlietea, Gtaha*.
and Bokhsla ji then, with a fine fair wind ancfpleafant wedther,
flmpedsdw-rOtwrfe fofL®dmadIofi,s Bland, which we? interidedsfor vifiti
as. it lAy dire'ffiy.ijji ,our way. - Accordingly,'-ion the* firft(©f|ApiriI,
a little before day^Wjefaw it hearing weft, djftaphahoht 1wogj®hg$iisV'
then running nearer, hoifted put the pinnace and< rjpByifesaft. and:
attempt«! landing ©n^the fcuffi-eafternmoft iftefii ,bs»frj fipdliiig i f
impracticable there,- on account o f high''tott&j&jp
part o f the furapunffihg redfj it e :%©ie down toifhemsSd Met, winch,
is the fouth-wefterrunoft, and found it almoft asffiacFAo land upon,
as that which we had left. A fquall o f wind and heavy rain coming
on, we. returned to the ffiip,~for fear any accident ftiould happeh'to
the boats.' AfeuCtight o’clock the weather cleared up, and-'Wemiade
a fecond attempt, finding that by reafon o f the tide o f ebb .the furf
had fallen confidcrably j yet there appeared no place where we could
land the boats with fafety. Abundance o f cocoa-nut trees covered
the Met, and to get at them was our objeftj therefore Otaheitean
Tom, the third mate, and one o f the feamen, taking with them the
end o f a line, leaped into the water and ventured into the furf, where,
with great difficulty, they effeded a footing on the coral rocks which
4
ApaffMji
compofe the reef,falser getting their legsyj arms, and different parts o f
their bodies, mueh’OU;||.wi^jjthei'fliarP points .of tbeiepr&l. They had
ftilf to Byalik ,near ,a qu.u tujsuf a nnl^ before they got to,f[he dry beach,
fpslhatithe fmall quantky^f.^ohoa-rnuts whi.oh.th^y »could; hawb-bBoi^ht
to the boat would not have been a recompence for the troublfeloMpi o-
curing- them r.Jjh ll #b6pt^half^ebbi‘Aver!©bferve.d a»: fmall! opening Of
gutter in th e , reef, into which we rowed, aindfound.it deep .enough
forj.tfie,'bo^ts,-jt-Of pafsr,clear over -fa the beach, where rife;Could ftdp
out, 'm k ^ndijlA'-within fifty jy^rdsti^hrthe trees.’ iWemow applied
p u r f e d y e ^ l f p » in<.yfevg?;jand f tm fetst botfa4*b|ybbats‘ offloaded
with cocoa-nuts, 'keeping the,two.Gtaheiteans oni'fhore to.damb. 'the
talk whith ythey -performed ^yrtbf.munh. more e»fe, than ’WO
The vyaten had inowjf^|brEfamuchqi that on -.th©: reduarti ijtfj/t he
boafe thgy werepbhged to lie at the outer ;edge o f the »reef, in a fmall
creek about,-..ten yards ywi^3 .and twenty' > and -covered frpm. thO
force,.of the fea by . the rooks proje&ing^onceacbffiide.-pThey dve?6
again loaded with cocaa-nutsi, t and gra&irfor 'tbe-ufo o f '.the »goats1 •
f an^ lk ottw -»being- late .-im the ieVenmff w e rAtufflred cab boarffi. B ille d
the and made ftfik h n v i^ got in the couffeief thedayffiVe
hunched and thirty noepa^uts- ,;
i Falmerfton’s ifiand was.3ifcov.efed -by Captain Cook' on his fecond
j|||P|Mbjgwt eonftlfSypf: .avigsouprof. finaft iflets,. ejgkt or nine- in, num->
ber, .conne<Jed »together by- a reef o f coral, aroeksy and lying in a
-dirf&ion« nearly -Circular. » The iflet we! landed-pponnis not a male in
circuit, and at high water is not more than four or five feet above the
level o f the fea. The foil is coral.fand, with an upper ftratum of
blackifh mould produced from rotten vegetables'., A ll the inner; area
o f the iflet is covered with cocoa-nut trees, which decaying and falling
fucceffiyely form a thick underwood :• without thefe, near to the
beach, are.» the I wharra tree, and others o f various forts. We faw
vaft numbers o f men o f war birds, tropic birds, and boobies. Among
the trees there was; plenty o f red crabs, dragging after them a ffiell
in form o f a .periwinkle, but larger, being in diameter about two or