A New Voyage Round the World, in the years 1823, 24, 25, and 26 Volume Ii Part 6

The white men, however, soon found their time hang heavy in this entire seclusion, and formed a more intimate connexion with the priests, whom they a.s.sisted in the holy rites and ceremonies, and at length even made their appearance among the people: the latter then discovered them to be mortals like themselves, differing only in colour, but still retained a high respect for their superior knowledge and good deportment. Maidens of the highest rank were given to them for wives; and each of them was installed governor of an island. "The descendants of these strangers,"

said Karemaku, "may still be distinguished by their whiter colour."

Here, as at Tahaiti, the Yeris differ from the lower cla.s.ses in their superior size, and some also by a greater degree of fairness.

The helmets and short mantles which Cook and King have described as worn by this people, were introduced by these white strangers. At first, the kings only appeared in this costume; but in Cook's time it was common also among the Yeris. Now that European fas.h.i.+ons have quite banished those of the original inhabitants, it is only preserved and shown to strangers as a relic of the past. The helmet, of wood covered with small red and yellow feathers, and adorned with a plume, perfectly resembles those of the chivalrous knights of yore; and the short mantle, also most ingeniously made with feathers to supply the want of woven stuff, forms a complete representation of the mantles worn by those ancient heroes: hence it is sufficiently evident that the white men who landed on O Wahi were Europeans; and that we are therefore more nearly connected with, at least, a part of the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands, than with the other South Sea islanders.

With the arrival of the white men begins the chronology of O Wahi, from the first white king to Tameamea, making seven successive reigns.

During this period, but long before Cook's time, two vessels are said to have been wrecked on the north-east side of O Wahi. Tradition is not unanimous in the account of what became of the crews. According to some, they were lost in the wreck, but others say they were murdered by the natives. My informant, Karemaku, mentioned only one s.h.i.+p, which was seen at a distance; and although the iron anchors found at O Wahi and at Muwe prove that they must have been there, he could give no account of them.

It is very probable that the Spaniards, who often made a mystery of their discoveries in the South Seas, already knew of the existence of these islands before their discovery by Cook.

Their authentic history begins with this event, in 1778, when, as has already been mentioned, Cook bestowed on them the name of the First Lord of the Admiralty at that period. They were not then, as now, united under one King; but each island had its particular sovereign, called Yeri-Rahi, who possessed full power over the lives of his subjects, and to whom the proprietors of land paid tribute. The name of the monarch of O Wahi, on Cook's arrival, was Teraiopu, or, as he writes it, Terreobu.

Captain King, the companion of Cook, gives the following description of the Sandwich Islanders:--

"They are in general of the middle size,[3] and well-proportioned. Their movements are graceful, they run swiftly, and are able to carry great weights. The men, however, are inferior to the Friendly Islanders, in strength and activity; and the women are not so delicately formed as those of Tahaiti: their colour is also a little browner, and they are not so handsome, but the features of both s.e.xes are open and agreeable; the females especially have beautiful eyes and teeth, and a sweet expression of countenance. Their hair is dark-brown, not so smooth as that of the American Indians, nor so woolly as that of the negroes of Africa, but between the two.

"Here, as on the other South Sea Islands, the Yeris are advantageously distinguished in form from the lower cla.s.ses, and are seldom disfigured by the swellings and ulcers frequent among the latter, which we ascribed to the great use of salt in their preparations of meat and fish; the former, however, are much injured by immoderate indulgence in the Ava drink. Those who suffered most from it had their whole bodies covered with a white eruption: their eyes were red and inflamed, they trembled much, and could scarcely hold up their heads. This beverage does not shorten the lives of all who use it too freely, as Teraiopu, Kau, and several other chiefs addicted to it, were old men; but it brings on premature and diseased old age. Fortunately, this luxury is the exclusive privilege of the chiefs. The son of Teraiopu, a boy of twelve years old, often boasted of having obtained the right of drinking Ava, and showed with much complacency a spot on his loins where the eruption was already visible.

"Notwithstanding the great and irreparable loss which the sudden violence of these Sandwich Islanders has occasioned us," (in the death of Cook,) "I must in justice declare, that they are usually gentle and kind, and by no means so changeable and volatile as the Tahaitians, nor so reserved and melancholy as the Friendly Islanders: they live on the best possible terms with each other, and in peace and kindness in their families. We have often admired the care and tenderness with which the women treated their children, while the men a.s.sisted them in their domestic occupations with a readiness and good-will which did them great credit.

"If however we should p.r.o.nounce on the degree of civilization to which they have attained by the estimation the female s.e.x enjoys among them, they would rank but low in the scale. The women are not only forbidden to eat with the men, but the best kinds of food are denied them. They are not allowed to eat pork, turtle, or several kinds of fish and bananas; and we were informed that a poor girl had been severely beaten for having tasted of these prohibited viands on board our s.h.i.+p. The females seemed indeed almost to live in a state of separation from their lords; and although we never perceived that they were ill treated, it is certain they are held in little respect.

"We were always received when we came ash.o.r.e with the greatest friendliness and hospitality. As soon as we landed, the inhabitants vied with each other in bringing us presents, preparing food for us, and showing us every mark of kindness. The old people were much pleased when they obtained permission to touch us; and they showed much modesty and humility in the comparisons they made between us and themselves.

"In mental capacity, the Sandwich Islanders do not appear at all inferior to any other people. Their progress in agriculture, and their skill in handicrafts, is fully proportionate to their means and situation. The earnest attention which they paid to the work of our smiths, and the various means they devised, even before our departure, to give any required form to the iron they obtained from us, convinced us at once of their industry and ingenuity.

"Our unfortunate friend Kancena, (he was shot by one of the Englishmen whom he had always treated with the greatest friends.h.i.+p) had a great desire for knowledge, an admirable natural understanding and a vivacity of mind seldom met with amongst uncultivated nations. He made innumerable inquiries concerning our manners and customs, our King, our form of government, the population and produce of our country, and the manner in which our s.h.i.+ps and houses were built. He wished to know if we waged wars, with whom, and for what cause, what G.o.d we wors.h.i.+pped, and many other things; which showed an extensive range of thought."

This testimony of Captain King to the good disposition of the Sandwich Islanders becomes the more worthy of credit, when we consider that the English always treated them with great severity, and that Captain Cook only fell a sacrifice to his own error. King has also defended them from the imputation of being cannibals, of which Anderson and several of Cook's companions had accused them.

The propensity to theft was as common among the lower cla.s.ses here, as on the other South Sea islands; and this it was which occasioned the thoughtless severity of Cook, who was always judge in his own cause, and suffered himself to be hurried into unjustifiable acts of violence.

Had he been a philanthropist, as well as a great navigator, he would not have lost his life at O Wahi.

The custom of tattooing existed also among the Sandwich Islanders; their faces were frequently marked with lines crossing each other at right angles, and some even had their tongues tattooed; pretty drawings were frequently seen on the hands and arms of the women. The ordinary dress of both s.e.xes was nothing more than a piece of stuff folded round their bodies. The females adorned themselves besides with necklaces of muscle-sh.e.l.ls, or little red s.h.i.+ning beans, and with bracelets of various ornamental materials; they sometimes wore collars of beautiful feathers ingeniously blended together; their hair was also decorated with feathers and with garlands of flowers.

The Sandwich Islanders lived in villages or little hamlets of from one to two hundred dwellings, standing irregularly, pretty near each other, and communicating by a winding path. Some of them were surrounded by gardens, enclosed with hedges. The food of the lower cla.s.ses consisted chiefly of fish, yams, sweet potatoes, tarro-root, bananas, sugar-canes, and bread-fruit. Those of higher rank also indulged in pork, and the flesh of dogs, prepared in the same manner as on the Society Islands.

The tame poultry of Europe was also found here, but it was scarce, and not very much prized. These people were particularly clean, and their cookery was preferred by Englishmen to that of their own country.

The Yeris were chiefly employed in the building of vessels and the manufacture of mats; the females prepared a stuff of the paper kind, which was so pressed and coloured as to resemble our calico; and fis.h.i.+ng or agriculture was the chief business of the servants. These occupations, however, left leisure for various pastimes, particularly dancing, which the young people of both s.e.xes delighted in. Drums of several sorts were their only musical instruments, but their songs were very pleasing. They often played at a game much resembling our draughts; it is played with black and white stones on a piece of board, and from the great number of pieces, seems to require much attention. In another game, a stone was hidden under a large piece of stuff, and the player was to point out the precise spot in which it lay. Running races, in which the girls took part, and apparently dangerous exercises in swimming amidst the surf, were also among their amus.e.m.e.nts. In wrestling and boxing, they did not display so much strength and skill as the Friendly Islanders. The children often handled their b.a.l.l.s with great dexterity, throwing several at once into the air and catching them again.

Their vessels were very well built; the largest, a double one, seventy feet long, twelve broad, and three and a half deep, belonged to Teraiopu. The most remarkable of their utensils were the vessels appropriated to drinking Ava; they were usually eight or ten inches in diameter, perfectly round and very well polished, and were supported by three or four little images of men in various att.i.tudes, sometimes bearing the vessel on their heads, sometimes on their shoulders, or on their hands raised above their heads. These figures were very well executed, the proportions correctly preserved, and even the proper action of the muscles well defined.

Among the arts in which the Sandwich Islanders excelled, was that of preparing salt: the English obtained from them a large quant.i.ty of the best kind. Their arms consisted of clubs, lances, and daggers, made of hard wood. War was of frequent occurrence amongst the inhabitants of the several islands; the battles were often very b.l.o.o.d.y, and usually at sea, the vessels grappling. The Yeris, when they went to battle, wore the decorated helmets already described, and the mantles covered with black, red, and yellow feathers: those of the Yerirahis, or kings, were of yellow only. Images of the G.o.d of war, cut in wood; dreadful caricatures of the human figure in a threatening posture, the mouth open and armed with dogs' teeth, were always carried before the kings into battle; and the chief aim of the enemy was to capture them, as this achievement usually put an end to the war. A part of the prisoners were sacrificed to the G.o.ds; but as the shedding of blood in this rite was forbidden, they were strangled, and laid down before the images of the G.o.ds in the Marai, with their faces turned to the earth.

The burial of the dead was a very sacred ceremony, and accompanied with many forms. The corpse was laid in a pit till the flesh decayed, the bones were then cleaned, and a part of them distributed among the relations and friends to be preserved as relics, part laid in consecrated ground. Dying persons sometimes desired that their bones should be thrown into the crater of the volcano at O Wahi, which was inhabited by the revered G.o.d Pelai. It has already been mentioned, that the women were prohibited from eating many kinds of food; they were also forbidden, under pain of death, to enter a house where the men were eating, and they were entirely secluded from the Marais; with these exceptions, they enjoyed great freedom, and even had a voice in the deliberations concerning war and peace.

The religious regulation of the Tabu, or interdict, existed here as well as on many other of the South Sea islands. A person declared under a Tabu was inviolable; a piece of land under a Tabu must not be trodden by any one; nor must a species of animal so declared, be injured or shot until the Tabu was again taken off. Thus Tameamea declared the diamond mountain under the Tabu, because an Englishman, finding there a piece of quartz-crystal, considered it to be diamond; and the King, finding these were of great value, supposed he possessed in the mountain an inexhaustible treasure, till he discovered his mistake, and the Tabu was taken off.

The vessels first seen by the Sandwich Islanders must have been very small, for when Cook's appeared, they took her for a swimming island, and believed that Etua-Rono, for whom they always retained the most profound veneration, had at length fulfilled his promise and returned to them. The joy was universal; and it was determined to receive the beneficent G.o.d, so long absent, who was to restore the Golden Age upon the island, with all possible honours. Neither Cook nor his companion seemed to have had any notion that they were saluted with divine honours; but they considered the ceremonies enacted by the rejoicing people as marks of distinction commonly bestowed on persons of importance. His being called by them "O Rono," (the Rono) did not enlighten him on the subject, as he was unacquainted with the tradition; but he contented himself with the conjecture, that the appellation was a t.i.tle of honour, signifying chief or priest. Had the conduct of Cook made it possible for the islanders to retain their beneficial error, the good understanding between them and the English would never have been interrupted; but he himself was the first to convince them that he could not be their divine benefactor.

Some of the populace conceived themselves ent.i.tled to appropriate a portion of the presents which Rono, according to his promise, had brought them--a licence which was immediately punished by Cook with great severity: the offenders taken in the fact were whipped; those who fled were fired upon; and several persons, some of whom were innocent, lost their lives. Rono could not be so cruel and unjust; and _Tute_, as they called Cook, immediately sunk in their estimation to the rank of ordinary mortals. He was henceforth feared as a mighty chief, but venerated no longer. This change of sentiment was very evident when he returned hither from his voyage northward. The islanders met the s.h.i.+p as before, with hogs and fruits; but they set a price upon them, instead of presenting them, as formerly, in the character of offerings, and accepting the returns made them as gratuitous gifts. Finding that they obtained what appeared to them an exorbitant price for their provisions, they supposed the strangers to come from a land of scarcity for the mere purpose of satisfying their appet.i.tes; and the common people wholly ceasing to regard them with reverence, became bolder in their depredations. The King, the Priests, and many of the princ.i.p.al Yeris, still however continued firm in their attachment to the English. A Yeri, named Parea, gave a striking proof of this kindly disposition, which Captain King has thus related:--Some Kanackas, having stolen certain articles, were pursued with muskets; and though every thing was recovered, an English officer thought himself justified in taking possession of a canoe lying on the sh.o.r.e belonging to Parea, who, being perfectly innocent of the theft, reclaimed his property. The officer refused to surrender it; and in the subsequent contest, Parea received so violent a blow on the head with an oar, that he fell senseless to the ground. In the mean time the islanders had a.s.sembled, and, irritated at this undeserved outrage on a chief, began to throw stones at the English, who were obliged to swim to a neighbouring rock for safety. The victorious people, thus left in possession of the field of battle, fell upon the English boat, which they would have destroyed but for the interposition of Parea, who had now recovered his senses. He dispersed the crowd, made a signal to the English that they might return, restored their boat, and sent them back in it to their s.h.i.+p. Parea afterwards followed them, taking with him a mids.h.i.+pman's hat, and some other trifles which were missing; expressed his sorrow for the dispute that had arisen, and inquired whether O Rono desired his death, or whether he might come again to the s.h.i.+p.--(It appeared from this that he still looked upon Cook as the deity, or at least affected this belief to propitiate the English.)--He was a.s.sured that he had nothing to fear, and would always be welcome; he then touched the nose of the officers, in sign of amity and reconciliation, and returned to land.

Since Parea had hindered his countrymen from wreaking their vengeance on one boat, they indemnified themselves by stealing another, and in the night cut through the rope which fastened it to the s.h.i.+p. Cook, enraged at this occurrence, determined to bring the King himself on board his s.h.i.+p, and detain him there as a hostage till the boat should be restored; a measure which on another island he had already successfully adopted on a similar occasion. He therefore went ash.o.r.e with a party of soldiers well armed, having given orders that none of the boats belonging to the natives should be suffered to leave the bay, as it was his determination, in case gentler measures should prove ineffectual, to destroy them all. All the boats of both s.h.i.+ps, well manned and armed, were therefore so placed as to enforce obedience to this command.

Cook was received, according to King's account, with the greatest respect: the people prostrated themselves before him. He proceeded direct to the old King, and invited him on board his s.h.i.+p. The King immediately consented; but some of the Yeris endeavoured to dissuade him; and the more earnestly Cook pressed his going, the more strenuously they endeavoured to prevent it. Cook, at length, seized the King by the arm, and would have carried him off by force; which in the highest degree irritated the a.s.sembled mult.i.tudes. At this moment a Yeri, who in crossing the bay from the opposite side had been fired upon by the English boats, rushed with blood streaming from his wound into the presence of the King, and cried aloud to him to remain where he was, or he would certainly receive similar treatment; this incident wound up the rage of the people to its utmost pitch, and the conflict commenced, in which Cook lost his life.

Karemaku, who, when a young man, had witnessed these circ.u.mstances, related them to me; and the accounts of Cook's companions upon the whole agree with his. Some isolated facts are differently stated by them; but I was a.s.sured by all the natives of Wahu, that Karemaku had strictly adhered to the truth. Even if we give entire credit to the English narrative, we shall find that they were the aggressors,--that the islanders acted only on the defensive, and that Cook's fate, however lamentable, was not entirely undeserved.

John Reinhold Forster, in his preface to a journal of a voyage of discovery to the South Sea, in the years 1776 to 1780, gives an extract from a letter written to him by an Englishman in a responsible situation, in which he says of Cook--"The Captain's character is not the same now as formerly: his head seems to have been turned." Forster gives the same account concerning the change in Cook, when he says--

"Cook, on his first voyage, had with him Messrs. Banks and Solander, both lovers of art and science. On the second, I and my son were his companions, enjoying daily and familiar intercourse with him. In our presence, respect for his own character restrained him; our mode of thinking, our principles and manners influenced his, and prevented his treating the poor harmless South Sea Islanders with cruelty. The only instance of undue severity we ever witnessed in his behaviour, was when on account of some petty theft he once allowed his cannon to be fired upon the fugitive offenders; fortunately, however, no one was injured by this rash act. But having in his last voyage no other witnesses of his actions, than such as were entirely under his command, he forgot what he owed to his own great name, and was guilty in many instances of extreme cruelty. I am therefore convinced, that if Messrs. Banks and Solander, Dr. Spaarmann, or I and my son, had been with him on the last voyage, his life would not have been lost in the manner it was."

The first s.h.i.+ps which visited the Sandwich Islands after Cook's death were those of Meeres, d.i.c.kson, and c.o.ke, in the years 1786-9. They traded in skins between China and the North-west Coast of America, and found these islands very convenient to touch at. They were well received; and some of the islanders made the voyage to America with them. Tianna, one of the first Yeris of O Wahi, went with Meeres to China. These voyages, and the continual intercourse with Europeans, which their increasing trade in fur produced, necessarily enlarged the ideas of these children of Nature; and as they were not under the dominion of that folly which, in common with the Greenlanders, possesses some of the most civilized nations in Europe, of considering themselves the first people upon earth, they soon acquired our manners, and derived all the advantage that could be expected from the opportunities of improvement thus afforded them. Vancouver found, in 1792, that many remarkable changes had taken place on these islands since Cook's time.

King Teraiopu did not long survive that eminent navigator. His son Kawarao succeeded to the government of the greater part of the island of O Wahi; the rest fell to his relation Tameamea. Kawarao was a tyrant, and governed with unexampled cruelty. At certain periods of the moon, he declared himself holy, or under a Tabu: the priests alone had then the privilege of seeing him so long as the sun was above the horizon; and an immediate death of the severest torture was the melancholy lot of any individual not belonging to this sacred order, who by whatever accident should cast but a momentary glance upon the voluntarily secluded monarch. To this cruelty of disposition, Kawarao united an unbounded ambition, which prompted him to make war on his kinsman Tameamea. This young and powerful chief early distinguished himself, and soon became celebrated throughout these islands for superiority of intellect and skill in arms. Kawarao, although he had greatly the advantage in numbers, could never obtain a victory; fire-arms were not then in use here, and success long vibrated between the contending rivals. Both parties at length determined to put the final issue of the war to the test of a single combat, stipulating that the conqueror should acquire the sovereignty of the whole island. The two kings armed; their respective priests carried the images of their G.o.ds to the field, and the fight commenced. Kawarao trusted to his skill in throwing the javelin; but Tameamea could defend himself from several antagonists at once, and scarcely ever missed his aim. After some fruitless efforts of both combatants, Tameamea's spear pierced the side of his bloodthirsty enemy, who fell dead on the field.

This duel, by which Tameamea became King of O Wahi and of Muwe, which had also belonged to Kawarao, took place in the year 1781. To establish his dominion on a firmer basis, Tameamea married the daughter of the vanquished monarch, and acquired the love of his subjects by his wise and moderate government. Himself endowed with uncommon powers of mind, he entrusted the important offices of state only to such as were capable of discharging them efficiently. He made a very fortunate choice in Karemaku, who, while quite a young man, entered into all the enlightened and comprehensive views of his master, forwarded them with ability and energy, and continued his faithful servant till the death of Tameamea.

The English called him the Pitt of the Sandwich Islands.

Several Europeans now established themselves at O Wahi; among whom Davis and John Young have been the most useful to the rising nation. Under their direction, houses and s.h.i.+ps have been constructed in the European fas.h.i.+on; the island has been enriched with many useful plants; and their advice has been successfully followed in the affairs of government.

With the appearance of Vancouver, arose the fortunate star of these islands. Among the innumerable benefits he conferred upon them, they are indebted to him for the possession of sheep and cattle. Tameamea declared these animals under a Tabu for ten years, which allowed time for so large an increase, that they now run wild in the forests. Had Vancouver enjoyed Cook's advantages, the islanders might still have believed him their Rono.

Tameamea, during Vancouver's visit, swayed the sceptre only over the islands of O Wahi and Muwe, and was engaged in wars with his neighbour kings, whom he fought with the a.s.sistance of cannon purchased from European s.h.i.+ps. He commanded in every battle, both by sea and land; and Karemaku, as first in authority under him, was his constant companion.

The O Wahians, however, could not have well understood the use of their cannons and other fire-arms, as, after Vancouver's departure, the war was maintained for ten years. O Tuai, the most north-westerly island, even then held out, though the others had submitted. In the year 1817, Tameamea conquered this also, after many unsuccessful attempts, and thus became the supreme governor of the whole Archipelago.

From this time all his efforts were directed to the education of his people, and the improvement of their trade. Salt and sandal-wood were the chief articles of exportation. The latter, though bought at rather a high price by the North-American s.h.i.+ps, which almost exclusively monopolized this trade, sold for a large profit at Canton.

I have been told, that the Americans have purchased sandal-wood here to the amount of three hundred thousand Spanish dollars a-year. Tameamea bartered this wood for some large American merchant-s.h.i.+ps, manned them, and other s.h.i.+ps built in the Sandwich Islands, partly with his own subjects, and partly with Europeans, and traded on his own account. He had even found means to create a small fleet of s.h.i.+ps of war; and his warehouses, built of stone, were filled with European and American merchandise. He possessed a considerable treasure in silver money and utensils; his fortresses were planted with cannon of a large calibre, and he maintained a force of fifteen thousand men, all armed with muskets, in the use of which they had been carefully exercised. He took much pains, a.s.sisted by the Spaniard Marini, to introduce the cotton-tree, which answered very well, and yielded fine cotton; and endeavoured to improve the native flax, already much superior to that of New Zealand, and to profit by it as an article of commerce. Nothing which promised advantage to his country escaped his penetrating mind; he exerted, in short, every faculty of his mind to place the Sandwich Islands in a state of progressive a.s.similation to the most prosperous nations. Vessels of every nation were as secure from injustice or insult in his ports, as in those of Europe, if not more so. As soon as a strange s.h.i.+p arrived, criers were employed to give notice that the new comers were friends, and must be hospitably received, and that any incivility shown them would be severely punished.

When Tameamea first sent a s.h.i.+p to Canton with sandal-wood, he was obliged to pay a considerable duty for anchorage; whereupon he argued, that what was exacted from himself, he might with a safe conscience demand from others; and every s.h.i.+p is now required to pay forty Spanish dollars for anchorage in the outer, and eighty in the inner harbour of Hanaruro.

Wahu is the most fertile of all the islands, and the only one enjoying a secure harbour; it therefore naturally advances the most rapidly in civilization. Several European and American traders have settled in Hanaruro; shops have been opened, and houses built in the European style, of wood and stone; some of the former were made in America, and brought here to be put together. The exertions of Marini introduced here many European vegetables, the vine and other fruits, which are all in a flouris.h.i.+ng state. He collected and tamed a herd of cows. Goats, sheep, and poultry of all kinds are common. The frequent voyages which the Sandwich islanders now made, partly in Tameamea's vessels, partly foreign ones, on board which they served as sailors, gradually familiarised them with the manners of more civilized nations. They adopted our costume, but after the Tahaitian fas.h.i.+on; considering a complete suit as an unnecessary luxury. Even Tameamea himself, for his usual attire, wore only a s.h.i.+rt, trowsers, and red waistcoat, without a coat; he possessed, however, many richly embroidered uniforms, but kept them for grand occasions.

These islanders had made great progress in the English language: many of them could speak it very tolerably. Tameamea understood, but did not speak it. If any of my readers should wish for a farther acquaintance with the character of this distinguished sovereign, I must refer them to Vancouver, and to my former voyage; but for the benefit of those who may not be disposed to take this trouble, I cannot forbear repeating from the latter some of his remarks to myself. He presented me with a collar most ingeniously worked with coloured feathers, which he had sometimes worn in war, and on solemn occasions, saying, "I have heard that your monarch is a great warrior, and I love him, because I am a warrior myself; bear to him this collar, which I send as a token of my regard."

Once as he embraced an image in his Marai, he said, "These are our G.o.ds whom I adore; whether in so doing I am right or wrong, I know not, but I follow the religion of my country, which cannot be a bad one, since it commands me to be just in all my actions."

On the 8th of May, in the year 1819, Tameamea terminated his meritorious career, to the great sorrow as well of the foreign settlers as of his native subjects. His remains were disposed of according to the rites of the religion he professed. After they had remained some time in the Marai, the bones were cleaned, and divided among his relatives and the most distinguished of his attendants. According to the custom of this country, two persons had long before been destined for interment with him at his death; but by his express desire this ceremony was dispensed with.

His eldest son and legitimate successor, Lio Lio, or, as the English call it, _Rio Rio_,--for there is some difficulty in distinguis.h.i.+ng between the L and the R of the Sandwich Islanders,--now a.s.sumed the government, under the name of Tameamea the Second. Unhappily, the father's talents were not hereditary; and the son's pa.s.sion for liquor incapacitated him for ruling with the same splendid reputation an infant state, which, having already received so strong an impulse towards civilization, required a skilful guide to preserve it from degeneracy and error.

The chiefs of some of the islands, and especially of O Tuai, had, even in Tameamea's lifetime, founded a hope of future independence, on the weakness of his successor, and immediately upon his death proceeded to attempt the accomplishment of their desires. But Karemaku, the faithful friend and counsellor of the deceased King, to whom the whole nation looked up with affection, and whose penetration easily discerned the evil consequences that would ensue from a political disunion of the islands, devoted to the son all the zeal and patriotism with which he had served the father. By the influence of his eloquence, and the force of his arms, he quelled the insurrection, and re-established peace and order; but to enthrone the new monarch in the hearts of his people exceeded his ability; and their disaffection proved that the germ of future disorders was not wholly extinct. The King chose Wahu for his residence, because this island was in the best state for defence; and giving himself up entirely to dissipation, sunk lower and lower in the estimation of his subjects. Karemaku was the good genius who watched over the welfare of the country, while its monarch was wasting his hours and his health in orgies, at which he was frequently known to empty a bottle of rum at a draught. It was not to be supposed that a king addicted to such habits should conceive any projects of utility or advantage for his people; he wished, however, to distinguish himself by some effort in their favour, or at least to relieve them from the trammels of superst.i.tion. He was a freethinker in a bad sense. He hated the religion of his country, because it laid some restraints upon his inclinations, and he determined to overthrow it; not for the purpose of introducing a better, a task to which his feeble mind was unequal, but for that of at once relieving himself and his subjects from ceremonies which he considered useless, because he undervalued the precepts of morality interwoven with them, and for the sake of which his father had always conscientiously observed them.

In the fifth month of his reign, he proceeded in a violent and brutal manner, notwithstanding all the remonstrances of Karemaku, to the execution of his design. Having previously arranged his plans with some chiefs, the companions of his excesses, he invited the princ.i.p.al inhabitants of the islands to a sumptuous banquet. After the wine and rum had produced their wonted effects, females were introduced, and compelled to partake of the feast. These poor creatures, having no suspicion of the King's intentions, shrunk with terror from a profanation punishable with death. But their resistance was unavailing: they were not only constrained to sit down to the repast in company with the men, but even to eat pork; and thus, to the great astonishment of such guests as were not in the secret, to violate, at the royal command, a double Tabu. A murmur arose; but the greater part of the company were under the influence of liquor, and the King now openly proclaimed his intentions. His auditors inquired in alarm what crime the G.o.ds had committed, that they should be thus unceremoniously dismissed; and besought him not to occasion his own destruction and that of the country, by provoking their indignation. The King started from his seat, and exclaimed with violent gestures, "You see we have already violated the strongest Tabus, and yet the G.o.ds inflict no punishment, because they have no power; neither have they power to do us good. Our faith was erroneous and worthless. Come, let us destroy the Marais, and from henceforth acknowledge no religion!" The immediate dependents of the King rose to second him: the inhabitants of Hanaruro had been depraved by their intercourse with foreign sailors, and a tumultuous crowd, who held nothing sacred, soon followed the revellers. Arrived at the royal Marai, some of them, terrified by the aspect of their idols, would have receded; but when the King himself, and his friends and followers, began to maltreat them, and no divine vengeance followed, the courage of the mult.i.tude revived, and the Marais were soon utterly destroyed. This outrage to what the people at large most venerated, introduced a scene of confusion and violence, and would indeed have entailed destruction both on the King and the country, had not Karemaku again stood forward in their defence. Several Yeris who, disapproving the sentiments of the King, had retired privately from the banquet, joined the priests in exciting the people to defend their G.o.ds by force of arms. An army was raised, and, animated by the presence of the war-G.o.d, commenced hostilities against his sacrilegious opponents. When the news of the destruction of the Marais reached the other islands, insurrections also broke out in each of them. Karemaku had condemned the sacrilege, and abstained from any part in it; but as it could not now be prevented, and he foresaw the mischievous consequences of civil commotions, he a.s.sembled an army, and, victorious wherever he appeared, succeeded in restoring tranquillity. On the large island O Wahi, however, he encountered a formidable resistance; but at length, after several b.l.o.o.d.y contests, he captured the war-G.o.d: the insurgents, who had also lost their leaders in the last battle, believing themselves quite abandoned by the G.o.ds, now dispersed, and Karemaku, on the restoration of tranquillity, returned to Wahu.

It is a remarkable fact, that a people who regarded their faith and their priests with so much reverence, as I had myself witnessed previously to this occurrence, should in so short a period, acquiescing in the decree which denounced their creed as error, and consigned their sanctuaries to demolition, contentedly submit to the total deprivation of all external signs of religion. Karemaku had judgment enough to perceive that this state of things would not endure, and that a religion of some kind was indispensable to the people; he therefore resolved to set his countrymen a good example, and yielding to an inclination he had long entertained, to declare himself publicly a convert to Christianity.

In the same year, 1819, Captain Freycinet, on his voyage round the world, landed at Hanaruro, and a clergyman accompanying him, Karemaku and his brother Boki received the sacrament of baptism according to the forms of the Catholic Church.

At this time, a society of missionaries was formed in the United States of America, for the purpose of introducing Christianity into the Sandwich Islands. Of the extinction of the ancient faith, which must of course facilitate their undertaking, they had as yet received no information. Six families of these missionaries arrived at Wahu in 1820, bringing with them two young Sandwich Islanders, who had been previously prepared in their schools. The King, hearing of their intention, would not allow them to land, but commanded them immediately to depart from his sh.o.r.es. Here, again, Karemaku interposed, and endeavoured to convince the King that the Christian religion would be one of the greatest benefits he could confer on his subjects. The King then a.s.sembled the most distinguished Yeris, and after fourteen days'