Friendly
I sles.
Feejee Ifles.
{Hands of
Navigators,
ftitu tb g a tolerable harbour. T h e commodities. axe, ^ ..u fu a l, hogs,
b re a d fru it, cpcpajnuts, and .yams. ! ' É
Th o u g h the people of the F rk n d ly d fe sib e m a re free frwnwars* tte n
thofe o f the group before d e fe rred , yet Tongataboo is -often ftained
with human v ia im s ; nor do their § # of property prevent,, their
fteaiing f r o ^ - f tr a n g e ^ '- Some miffionadeS, w e ^ /h e r ë lèft, who im-
p a rted dome h f eM arts to the natives,
,to the European p la n ts Thefe, with hogs, dogs, and guanos ^ o n ftt-
tuted the only quadrupeds, till cats were- left m- t h e ^ j | C
I7Q7 T h e morals feem to be here called . £ a t o $ p 3 and , a ^ n -
flyu4 ed in th e form o f terraces with high fteps, the, material being
coral ftonë, ' ' . S \ >' t tF<
T o th e N . W - i r e the F e tg » Ufes, w h ic h -thé Enghfh nuffionaries
difeovered to be/mow fubje«a tb Tongataboo.. I t would-%eri*,;£rom
M r Arrowfmith’s elaborate chart o ffthe PadfiQ„that th e -p p n # p al!^ e e
ifie and perhaps fome o fth o fe djfcovered by C a p t a i n J l i g h , . ^ much
fuperior in f e e to Tongataboo, T o th e N. o f the latter is amtifle,
about th e fame f e e , ^ c o v e r e d by M au relle-in -1 7 8 a , and by ?him
called Mayoiga. , n
From the-accounts o f L a Teroufe It would appear tha t th e iffe sd if*
covered b y Bougainville in and^by Mm abfurdly eöohgfe #Med
the Islands of Navigators,* are by-far the moft important in* this
large groupi A t M a o u n a .o n e o f thefe iflands, Captain D e Wangle,
Lamanott the nafuralift, and nine feainen weré maflacred by-the inhabitants,
the Captain having unadvifedly given , beads to a feW o f the
chiefs while he neglefted the others. From the chart o f L a PbfOufe it
appears tha t the largeft of thefe iflands* which he calls Pola, is |Bout
thirty-feven g. miles in length, b y about ha lf that breadth, being thus
inferior to Otaheite, though far furpaffing Tongataboo: Next irvgra*
dual diminution ó f f e e , and in pofition from W . to E. are Oyolava,
* This name was given becaufe the people had many canoes, and (hewed great
ting them_circumfthnces common throughout Polynefia. flnd not to be admitted in
appellation* 2 Maouna,
Si3
Maotlfta, and O p o u n * ‘ I f ‘the 'a c c o u n ts'o f L aFe roufe h è n o tg re a tly
exaggerated, the Iflands o f N aV ipM lcP p ft'ftu te the mod important
groud y e f difCovéreB in!^fdüjfref e Polyriefra, j i M M S fertility and
population. A t Mabuna ttfe’ ’Mgilfes weré Tufróundèd with two h u n dred'
canoes, full o f different kinds' o f p fóvffion, ïbWls, hogs, pigeons
ór f e f e . T h e women were v e ry p re tty anti h è ëritib u s; a n d the men
of rémafkable ftature, ftrength, and ferocity ':’ fo th a t'th ey d^pifed th e
comparatively diminutlye file o f the;Freneh. T h e -vïllagëè alé delightfully
fitüated in th e midft o f fp öb^héods: t ó f ft,-a d d the hd&'iiStKr
e re le d , with niddcolonades, and covered 4dth leaves o f tliq coèok palm.
Hogs. dogSt and fówjs fbound§d) w iM W b r e a d J r p i t tjré ë , th e ;cocbi
hut, the banana, the g u av ^ fa fid the, l c É f% i § defpifed,
ant| beads ?Jone acceptable. But lla T e ro n fè ,, w h o ^ h lP le f t
France an ardent difciple o f Rquffèau, here fbund that favagp‘‘W { e r y
i » G % P r a $ i c $ f r o i h what they are, in theory,“ and iè f b & d f ó 'ë x -
d f a ^ ï*1 ,am h ° M e r a til?ufand limes m ote angFy with the bhilofopherl
who extol the Ravages than with the lavages th em f é l^ ^ T h é 'unfbti
‘d p ^ g am a n o n ,' whom tE?y maffacred j l d 'm e ; the very bv/nldg b i f o t e
h is‘death, th a t the Indians .were Worthier p ë ^ e t l ^ r r ^ r ’9 Bift^La
Peroule. did not know that this Fanaticism o f philofo^hy-.w^s^b5 occaïioiï
^ce^ eS In ,*“ s native country, wherg a n / a t t ^ p t 'w a è
made td^extinguifK knowledge faricT civilization fry .mqh'whü alleged
theTagpinefs o f favagés as a fufficietat 'apology foi: tbëfr foA d u ftf ' ~ r
According to La Peroufe the ifland o f Oyolava Is At'le&ft equal to
beauty, extènt, fertility, and pbpulatioh • ahd he füppbfëS
thatlhis'ifle, With' the larger iïlé‘ö f P o ïa ,f" and th a t ó f# abÜ h a j‘;bontaid
400.000 inhabitants.10 Such is the abundance !d| provifxons, that at
i f In Arrowfmith’s chart Pola is calldd Oteewhy ; Oyolava ié'Oaütooalï ;,Maounais Tootoo
"lah, and Opoun is Toomahlooah. There is no rcafom for preferring thefe unpronounceablg
uanjes to thofe of the French, who have a prior right of riifcovery. *• iÏ5
* 4,S-
" ' l b1 La Peroufe’s nafiiatiyev iii.- to6. it is faid that Pola is fomewfat iliialler-than Oyolava
i put his chart feems to. demand the- preference. , -
1 1 + ‘4 * So Cook óvèi-.rated the people of Otaheite, now afeertained to be only 16,05's;
lU' V°y- F itte r, Obf. 219. fagely argues th at!Otaheite contains at Ieaft 1 Öö.'óoo. In like
”'annerlf Peroufc’s 400,000.may probably be 40,000. It isprobable that there are not above .
300.50.0 fouls in all Auftralafia_and Polynelia.
B | | 3 I ' •' Maouna
F riendly
I sl e s .