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XXXIV. A VOYAGE round the World, performed during the Years 1790, 1791, and 1792. By ETIENNE MARCHAND, preceded by an Historical Introduction, and illustrated by Charts, &c. Translated from the French of C.P. CLARET FLEURIEU, of the National Institute of Arts and Sciences, and of the Board of Longitude of France. 2 vols. with an atlas. 4to. beards, pp. 1116. Price 31. 13s. 6d. Longman and Rees, PaternosterRow; and Cadell and Davies, Strand.

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HE atlas contains eight platesNo.I. General chart.-11. Stilts of Wahitabô, or Santa Christina, seen in front and in profile, half the size of those used by the natives.-III. Two charts on the same sheet, the one of the Revolution Islands, situated to the north-west of the Marquesas; the other of the north-west group of the Marquesas, called by the English, Hergest's Islands, copied from Vancouver.-IV. The east part of Tupia's chart, which presents the equinoctial islands of the Great Ocean.-V.Sketch of Cloak's Bay, and Cox's Strait, in latitude 54 deg. 10 min. north; Queen Charlotte's Islands, on the north-west coast of America.-VI. Comparative chart of the Sandwich Islands, according to Cook, and of the group of La Mesa, taken from the chart of the galleon. VII. General chart of the Strait between Banca and Balliton, comprising Gaspar's and Clement's Straits, from Point Pesant off Banca to the north, to the islés De la Reconnoisance to the south.-VIII. Particular chart of the same strait, on a larger scale.

VOL. I.

The historical introduction to this work commences with the discoveries and conquests of Cortes, in the year 1537, and in noticing the voyage of each adventurer, we are gradually brought to those of our own time. The last name upon the list is that of Malespina, in the year 1790. A recapitulation of discoveries already made, introduce the origin and design of the voyage before us. "The Nootka Sound Company, formed in London under the direction of Mr. Cadman Etches, had in the beginning kept an interesting silence, in regard to the success of the expeditions of Captains Portlock and Dixon, Colnett and Duncan; those of Captain Mears, and of other navigators, were not yet known, and the uncertainty respecting the fate of La Perouse had occasioned the publication of the results of his voyage to be suspended: it was still hoped that he might publish them himself. A fortunate chance procured our merchants and ship-owners the intelligence that was necessary to them for directing their operations. Etienne Marchand, a French captain, on his return from Bengal, in 1788, met with captain Portlock, in the Road of St. Helena, and received from him every information that he could wish for concerning the trade of the northwest coast, and the profits that might be expected from it, if a ship carried her cargo of furs to China, and having there met with an advantageous market for them, secured a cargo for her return to Europe.

Captain Marchand, on his arrival at the harbour of Marseilles, to which his ship belonged, communicated the

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information he had procured to the house of Baux, which gave orders for the fabrication of all the articles of foreseen necessity or utility; and for the construction of a ship of 300 tons burden," named the Solide, in which Captain Marchand, accompanied by two captains, three lieutenants,two surgeons, three gentlemen as volunteers, and a ship's company of thirty-nine persons, making in the whole a complement of fifty persons, sailed from the harbour of Marseilles, on the 14th of December

1790.

Among the numerous birds seen by our navigators in the Great Austral Ocean, one taken with a hook and line is particularly described by Surgeon Roblet." This bird," says he, exhibits only two colours, white and black; they are distributed in so diversified a manner, that they give to its robe the most agreeable appearance. The head, which is almost round, and the upper part of the neck, are of the most beautiful black, the throat and the belly of a dazzling white. The mantle, composed of small feathers, rounded at their extremity, and speckled with brown and white spots, presents, on each feather, the figure of a small lozenge, which is a thousand times repeated; the rump is still more remarkable, because these small figures, still more numerous, are here more regular, more distinct, and, in all the individuals of this species which there

was

length of the bird, taken from the tip of the bill to the extremity of the tail, is a foot.

"Its eye is very black, and very lively. Its bill, which is of an ebony black, is only fourteen lines in length, and is slightly hooked at its extremi ty; which gives it a countenance less stupid than other oceanic birds: this bill is formed, like that of the others, of three pieces, of which the lateral ones join to that of the middle, to which they are attached by ligaments, and a membrane that allow these pieces to have a little play between them. The nostrils, separated in their middle by a cartilaginous partition, have a round form, and are covered by a prolongation of the frontal bone. which appears to add to the bill a fourth piece, whose root is covered by the feathers. The extremity of the upper mandible is terminated by a small and very sharp hook, which is three lines from the the point to the most convex part; the under jaw, entirely filled by the tongue, is exactly adapted to the upper, throughout its whole length, and terminates in a blunt point. The ears are placed as in other birds. The feet are palmated; they have three toes, and a moveable claw to the heel. The leg is black, and two inches in length.

The character of this bird is very gentle and familiar; frequently, for several hours together, we amused a great number of them with small hooks, which they very dexterously stripped of their bait. We attracted them without any difficulty, by degrees, quite close to the ship's stern. We endeavoured to strike some with a fish-gig, but without success; their too great lightness, and their situation on a fluid, opposing no resistance to the fish-gig, they dived under the stroke without being wounded by it. The cry of this bird, in its sports, or its quarrels, is both hoarse and shrill, cra, cra, ra, cra, cra. Those which were taken into the ship did not seem to regret their liberty; although at first they had made frequent efforts to recover it." p. 9, 10.

Captain Marchand intended to have sailed directly from the Cape De Verd Islands to the north-west coast of America, without touching at any port, but as the water began to grow putrid, he determined to shape his course to the Marquesas; of which

islands, particularly Santa Christina, this work contains a fuller account than any other; the author having transcribed the descriptions given, and observations made by former navigators who have visited these islands. We shall content ourselves with selecting from such of the information as appears the most interesting.

"The island of Santa Christina presents itself under an agreeable aspect; it is very lofty, as well as all the other islands of the group. A narrow chain of high hills extends throughout its whole length; and, from the shore, run other chains of equal elevation, which, branching out, join the principal chain. These hills are separated by confined and deep vallies, into which rush some rivulets, or rather pretty cascades, that water every part of the island; fruit-trees of various species here promote coolness, and procuré abundance for its happy inhabitants. The soil of the vallies, according to Captain Chanal, is a very strong mould, sometimes black, sometimes red, and very fit for vegetation. Surgeon Roblet says, that, although mountainous, the soil consists of a strong black earth, where grow various species of lichens, grasses, purslains, and shrubs. The

thick forests which cover the vallies, the trees scattered on the hills, and the verdure which is seen to reign on the steep sides of some of them, every thing attests the fecundity of the

soil.

papyrifera), since the natives employ the fibres of its bark in the fabrication of their clothes." p. 77-79.

To this paragraph are subjoined notes, to illustrate the subjects it contains, from which we select the following: On the plantain-tree it is observed, "It is customary to reckon among trees, the plantain-tree, which is rather a large herbaceous plant, than a tree; for there are no trees. without wood and branches, and the plantain-tree has neither the one nor the others. But its port and its size represent to the view a tree rather, than a plant; and the plantain-tree might be considered as a link of nature between these two manners of growth of vegetables *. On the casuarina or toa: the casuarina or toa is, next to the bread-fruit-tree, one of the most useful and best that nature has bestowed on the islands of the Great Ocean. It is very hard, very heavy, and of the colour of the mahogany-tree of the West India colonies: clubs, lances, beaters, or' mallets, which serve for the fabrica-, tion of cloths of the bark of trees, as well as various utensils and instruments, are made of this wood, which is never eaten by worms, and is, in, some measure, indestructible.

On the paper-mulberry-tree: "This shrub, which probably is the same as' that of which the Chinese fabricate their paper, and which is improperly called silk paper, is employed in all the tropical islands in the manufacture of cloths, which may be called paper cloths. This tree is planted in layers, and cultivated with the most particular attention. When it bas reached nearly the height of a man, it is cut down, and stripped of its bark, which is steeped in water; and it is with this bark, thus prepared and beaten with a flatted mallet, that the islanders fabricate cloths more or less fine, according to the proceedings more or less ingenious, which they employ in their fabrication."

To an observation of Mr. Forster, a former navigator, the following note is subjoined, "It has been observed, that, in general, the cocoa-palm grows to a great elevation in low grounds, and never attains an equal height on the mountains; and, indeed, the finest trees of this species that are to

*See Bomare's Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle at the word Bonanier."

be met with, are those which are produced on the Coral Islands, where the little depth of the soil neither seems likely to afford hold to their roots, nor to furnish them with a point of support sufficiently solid to resist the efforts of the winds, which agitate their summits, loaded with the weight of their fruits. We are still more astonished, when we know that the principal root of the tree penetrates very little into the ground; but it is surrounded by a very great quantity of smaller roots, interwoven one with the other, which help to strengthen the tree; and it may easily be conceived, that all these little ramifications which run along on the coral-ledges, find means to introduce and fasten themselves into all the interstices of the coral, and into all the numberless holes of those species of stone sponges which enter into the formation of the low islands. The inhabitants of the countries to which nature has granted the cocoa-palm, owe continual thanksgivings to her author: this tree alone satisfies all the wants of man; it affords him food, drink, furniture, cloth, and a great number of implements." p. 81. "Besides the three principal fruits which I have mentioned, there is also a sort of sweet potatoe, a species of apple of the size of a medlar, and of an oblong shape; (its flesh is aqueous, and its flavour agreeable, both of which recal to mind, in some degree, those of the Indian mango, if, like that Asiatic fruit, this apple were impregnated with a taste of turpentine;) ginger, cucumbers, like those which grow without culture in our West India islands, water-cress and purslain, in abundance, and of an excellent quality; the yam, as well as some other roots which Captain Cook contents himself with indicating, without specifying them." p. 84.

Santa Christina possesses the sugar-cane, of which neither the Spaniards nor the English make mention; but the inhabitants know not its vaJue. Its sugar is tolerably sweet; it grows to the height of six or seven feet, and is upwards of an inch in diameter; it is not so yellow as that of our sugar islands, and its knots are closer; it more resembles the sugar-cane of the Windward Islands than that of St. Domingo. As it grows in the woods, where it receives the rays of the sun only through the

thick foliage of the large trees, it may be conceived that it must be of a quality very inferior to that of the canes of our West India colonies; but it may be presumed that, with a better exposure, means might, without much difficulty, be found to improve its species by culture." p. 85.

The Marquesas have been so frequently visited, and the manners of the natives so often described, that we conceive it unnecessary to extract any thing on this subject, as Captain Marchand agrees with our own navigators, only giving a more copious detail, rehearsing former accounts, with his own observations. From these islands Captain Marchand set sail, on the 20th of June 1791, at midnight, and having observed an object while in the bay of La Madre de Dios, steered according to the bearing which he had taken, and which indicated to him the position of a land at no great distance from the group of the Marquesas de Mendoça.

The next morning, at break of day, he had the satisfaction of discovering to the north-west 7 deg. west, a high land, towards which he crowded sail, in order to reconnoitre it; and at half past ten o'clock in the forenoon, he was no more than four miles from the most southern point. The officers of the Solide, by acclamation, gave to the discovered island the name of "le Marchand." As the manners of the inhabitants of this island differ so materially from those of Santa Christina, we are persuaded an account will gratify our readers. As the ship was waiting for information of good anchorage, which a boat had been dispatched to find, "In the mean time," says the author, “ a canoe with three islanders approached the ship; one of them ventured to ascend into the chains, he appeared to waver between fear and confidence; Captain Marchand made him some presents, which he seemed to receive with an air of indifference; but he could not be prevailed upon to come into the ship; on a movement made by the sailors in the execution of a manœuvre, his fright was so great that he threw himself_into his canoe, and paddled away from the vessel. In the afternoon, other. canoes approached the ship, and two islanders came on board without any hesitation; they examined every

thing with attention, and expressed their surprise by fits of laughter. One of them ventured to go all over the ship, and whatever he saw appeared to please him. At the sight of the bogs and fowls, he gave them the same names by which they are called by the natives of the Mendoça islands; but it was thought that the nails, the knives, and the other trifles which were offered to him were objects ab. solutely new to him; and thence it may be conjectured that the two groups, although little distant from each other, have no habitual communication. Among other presents that were made him, a looking-glass, in which he saw his face, made him burst into laughter. His companion seemed stupid; he would never quit the first place where he had sat down on entering the ship. These islanders appeared well-disposed, confident, and grateful: in exchange for the presents which had been made them, they offered and gave most cordially their whole stock, which consisted of two caps made of cock's feathers, very dirty, and a fish-hook of mother of pearl; but the gifts of friendship are not calculated, sentiment constitutes their value." p. 148,

149.

"Neither habitations not inhabitants were perceived in the north cove; but in that to eastward, for which the boat steered, about a hundred and fifty natives of both sexes were assembled on the shore, and manifested as much eagerness as curiosity. He who appeared to be the chief of the district put off in a canoe, and came to meet the strangers, in order to welcome them; he was seated on a sort of bench erected in the bow of the canoe. Some presents were made to him; and, in return, he offered cocoa-nuts, fish, and a pearl oyster-shell, perfectly polished. The strangers, on coming on shore, were received with every demonstration of joy and good-will.

"It was not possible that in a visit, and an inspection of a few hours, Captain Masse could acquire of the country, and of the sort of men who inhabit it, a knowledge which might suffice for fixing an opinion concerning either the one or the other; we can know no more of them than what a rapid glance permitted him to catch. It must, however, be admitted, that the man of nature, who shews him

self at first what he is, may be better known in a single visit, than would be, after a long intercourse, the civilised man, who has made for himself a countenance, a mask, and whom civilization has, by long habit, taught to dissemble vice, and feign virtue." p. 149, 150.

Decency forbade us to transcribe the behaviour of the Marquesan females; we are happy to be able to present our readers with the following contrast: "The women of this island, as to charm of figure, elegance of stature, and other natural allurements, are by no means inferior to those of the Mendoça islands; but the sweet bashfulness of innocence gives an additional attraction to their beauty; decency reigns in their dress, which is composed of the morus papyrifera, and fabricated with their own hands in the manner of the Taheitee cloths, though without having their fineness. They seemed not (only) to avoid, but to dread the presence of the strangers; and although their looks fixed on them, and their outstretched necks, revealed the impatience of curiosity, which endeavours to have a nearer view without approaching, the distance which they left between the French and themselves proved their reserve; and it might be imagined that this distance would never have been passed, had not some officious old men gone and taken by the hand the youngest among them, in order to offer them as a homage to their guests, as we offer a seat to him who pays us a visit; but, very far from the shamelessness and effrontery of the Mendoça women, those who had obtained a preference which they seemed to dread, approached only with repugnance, and even trembling; every thing announced that it was on their part an act of submission: like the innocent victim which the priest drags to the altar

I forbear to proceed. Thus then, old age considers it an honour to prostitute youth and graces! Thus this custom, common to so many people, and so revolting in our manhers, is here regarded as a duty so important, so sacred, that the care of its accomplishment can be intrusted only to the sages of the nation! If we pass in thought from one part of the earth to another, we shall discover, at every step, that the moral man offers to the meditation of the philosopher