and found that it was a young man who had spent some part of his time in North-Weft America.

"On the fhores," fays the author, the villages appeared numer ous, large, and in good repair; and the furrounding country, pleafingly interfperfed with deep, though not extenfive valleys; which, with the plains near the fea-fide, prefented a high degree of cultivation and fertility. The apparent docility of thefe people, who have been reprefented by former vifitors as the moft daring and unmanageable of any who belong to the Sandwich Islands, might, probably, be attributed in a great measure, to the abfence of their fighting men, and to our manifeft fuperiority in numbers, regularity in point of order, and military government; which feemed to make a wonderful impreffion on all who were permitted to come on board, and who, to a man, appeared very much afraid of fire arms. This was evinced, on our mounting guard to put the centinels round the fhip. On this occafion they all haitily paddled towards the fhore, and it was not without much perfuafion that they were induced to return." P. 162. VOL. I.

"After caulking the decks, I purposed to execute fuch trivial repairs at this place, as might be found neceffary to the rigging, &c. &c. provided that the water, for which I was alone folicitous, could be procured, as the abundant and excellent refreshments we had obtained at Otaheite, and the high ftate of health which we had enjoyed fince our leaving Dufky Bay, rendered fupplies of any other nature a fecondary confideration.

"For this purpofe, attended by two armed boats, and a guard of feven marines, I landed, accompanied by Mr. Mudge, Mr. Whidbey, and Mr. Menzies. Our boats remained perfectly quiet on the beach, having paffed on the fhore between fome rocks, which completely protected it from the furf. The natives who were prefent received us in a very orderly manner; we were given to undertand that good water was to be had in abundance at fome diftance, to which they readily undertook to conduct us. Our guides led us to the northward, through the village, to an exceedingly well-made caufeway. This opened to our view a fpacious plain, which, in the immediate vicinity of the village, had the appearance of open common fields in England; but, on advancing, the major part appeared divided into fields of irregular fhape and figure, which were feparated from each other by low stone walls, and were in a very high ftate of cultivation."

The author gives an account of the productions of these lands. The chief article of their crops is the tar-rost. The foil, however, though tolerably rich, is very inferior to that of Malavai and other parts of Otaheite. At Woahoo, Capt. Vancouver, with accuracy and difcrimination, defcribes the phyfical and moral diverfitics between the Sandwich and

Otaheite

Otaheite islands, and of the manners and difpofitions of the inhabitants of both, draws a very interefting picture :

"At Woahoo," fays the author, "nature feems only to have afted a common part in her difpenfations of vegetable food for the fervice of men, and to have almost confined them to the taro plant, the raifing of which is attended with much care, ingenuity, and manual labour. In the feveral parts of its culture, its inhabitants, whether planting, weeding, or gathering, muft, during the whole of the operations, be up to their middle in mud, and expofed to the rays of the vertical fun; whereas, on the plains of Otaheite, the furface teems, as it were, fpontaneously, with the most abundant produce of efculent vegetables, without the help of industry to fow, plant, or rear them, or the affiftance of the aqueducts, which thefe people construct with great labour and ingenuity, to infure them crops. There the continued groves of the lofty and umbrageous bread fruit, apple, palm, and other trees, afford a cool retreat to thefe favoured iflanders; here the inhabitants know not the luxury of fuch retirement. Nor did it appear in the vegetable kingdom alone that nature here had been more favourable; the human fpecies, though, without doubt, originally of the fame nation, differ excellively; and it would feem that the comparative benevolence of the Otaheiteans and thefe people was about equal to the natural fertility of the foil in which they refpectively lived. It may, however, appear rather uncharitable to form any decided opinion, on fo fhort an aequaintance, yet firft impreffions will ever have their influence, on viditing different countries, under circumstances fimilar, or nearly fo. On fuch occafions it is fcarcely poffible to avoid comparisons, in which one must neceffarily fuffer. On our landing at Otaheite, the effufions of friendship and hospitality were evident in the countenances of every one we met. Each endeavoured to anticipate our wants and our wishes by the moft fafcinating attention, and by feduloufly ftriving to be first in performing any little fervice we required; inviting us to take refreshments at every houfe we approached, and manifesting a degree of kindnefs that would justly be extolled amongst the most polifhed nations. At Woahoo we were regarded with an unwelcome aufterity, and our wants treated, by the generality, with a negligent indifference. In the courfe of our walk they exhibited no affiduity to pleafe, nor did they appear apprehenfive left offence should be given; no refreshments were offered, nor had we an invitation to any of their houses. Their general behaviour was diftantly civil, apparently directed by a defire to establish a peaceable

* The Sandwich are 20 degrees north latitude, and 160 weft longitude; the Otaheite 20 fouth latitude, and 150 weft longitude; the former is nearly ftraight weft from Mexico, the latter from Peru.

intercourfe

intercourfe with ftrangers, from whom there was a profpect of deriving many valuable acquifitions, which would be unattainable by any other mode of conduct, as they must have been convinced, inmedi ately on our landing, that we were too powerful to be conquered, and too much upon our guard to fuffer the leaft indignity by furprize."

Having ftated his first impreffions from thefe different iflanders, he goes on to give an account of the obfervations which he made, after a more thorough acquaintance with the Sandwich Islands. One fact he mentions is highly illuftrative of the shameful manners of favage life :

"The readinefs of the whole fex to furrender their perfons, without any exceptions, and without the leaft importunity, could not fail, at the moment, to incur our cenfure and diflike, and, on reflection, our difguft and averfion. I have read much, and feen fomething, in my feveral vifits to this ocean, of the obfcenity attributed to the inhabitants of Otaheite and the Society Islands; but no indecency that ever came under my obfervation could be compared with the exceflive wantonnefs prefented in this excurfion."

Of the inftitutions, government, and commercial pursuits of those iflanders, Capt. Vancouver was enabled to acquire farther and more accurate knowledge than had been attained on their first discovery by Capt. Cook. Their manners, or rather their difpofitions, have undergone a confiderable alteration fince their intercourfe with Europeans. The traffic for arms and ammunition has encouraged enterprizing Chieftains to almoft inceffant war, of which the confequences have been conqueft and charge of government. In the profligacy of the fexes they do not much differ from the Javenefe, Malayans, and other inhabitants of the oriental iflands, and eaftern continent of India, which intemperance, to a certain degree, juftifies the theory of Montefquicu, and other French philofophers, who afcribe many of the diverfities of intellectual and moral character to phyfical caufes; but, if thoroughly examined, may, with much more probability, be imputed in a greater degree, to the want of philofophy to invigorate their characters, and of a religion which tends to refrain the paffions.

Leaving the Sandwich Islands our navigators paffed over to the western coast of North America, and arrived at New Albion, near the place which Sir Francis Drake firft difcovered. A pleafing and courteous deportment diftinguished thefe people. In their figure and character they appear confiderably to refemble the firft difcovered Americans, as defcribed by Dr. Robertfon. In his account of New Albion, our author makes many obfervations of peculiar importance

to

to adventurers in the fur trade. The account of the coaft is replete with nautical knowledge, and deferves well to be ftudied by those who may afterwards, either from choice or ftrefs of weather, be induced or driven to vifit thofe regions. The moft dreadful diftemper of this country is the fmall pox, the fury of which they have not learned to prevent by inoculation, or moderate by judicious regimen and medicines. The vegetable productions of the country are, in the higher and colder grounds, nearly the fame as thofe of Canada, and, in the warmer temperatures, thofe of Pennfylvania and the adjacent ftates. Their quadrupeds are very few in fpecies and in numbers. A few wild dogs, feveral rabbits, fquirrels, rats, mice, and one black bear, were the only four-footed creatures they beheld, except the skunk, the moft intolerable and offenfive animal they had ever experienced. Birds, efpecially aquatic, were numerous, but thy and vigilant. Fishes were in finall numbers, and fitter for oil than for food. Even repfiles were rare and very harmless.

Defolate as this part of the western continent now appeared, there were indications that it had formerly been much more populous than at prefent :

In our different excurfions," fays the author, "particularly thofe in the neighbourhood of Port Difcovery, the fcull, limbs, ribs, and back bones, or fome other veltiges of the human body, were found, in many places, promifcuously fcattered about the beach in great numbers. Similar relics were alfo frequently met with during our furvey in the boats; and I was informed by the officers that, in their feveral perambulations, the like appearances had prefented themfelves fo repeatedly, and in fuch abundance, as to produce an idea that the environs of Port Difcovery were a general cemetery for the whole of the furrounding country. Notwithstanding thefe circumftances do not amount to a direct proof of the extenfive population they indicate, yet, when combined with other appearances, they warranted an opinion, that, at no very remote period, this country had been far more populous than at prefent. Some of the human bodies were found difpofed of in a very fingular manner. Canoes were fufpended between two or more trees, about twelve feet from the ground, in which were the skeletons of two or three perfons; others, of a larger fize, were hauled up into the outskirts of the woods, which contained from four to feven skeletons, covered over with a broad plank. In fome of thefe broken bows and arrows were found, which at first gave rife to a conjecture, that these might have been warriors, who, after being mortally wounded, had, whilft their ftrength remained, hauled up their canoe for the purpofe of expiring quietly in them. But, on a farther examination, this became improbable, as it would hardly have been poffible to have preferved the

regularity

regularity of pofition in the agonies of death; or to have defended their fepulchres with the broad plank with which each was covered."

Sailing farther to the northwards, they anchored off ReftoFation Point, and found a very romantic country, in which Mr. Menzies made feveral botanical difcoveries. The people were inoffenfive, hofpitable, and affiduous in their attention. They coafted northwards to Nootka, during which part of their voyage the obfervations of our author were chiefly aftronomical and nautical. As they approached Nootka Sound, they anchored near a large village, and were vifited by Chefla-Rees, its chief, and afterwards conducted by him to the village, where the people appeared well-difpofed, as did the chieftain himself, although fomewhat troublesome to Capt. Vancouver, by his irrefiftible propensity to thieving, which tempted him to commit depredations that could be of no fervice to himself, his friends, or adherents:

"He (Chella-Rees) remained on board moft part of the day; and, as he fat at my elbow, whilft writing, faw me frequently advert to a fmall memorandum-book, which he managed to take away in the most dexterous manner, unperceived. Having occafion for its use, and knowing no other perfon had been near me, the purloiner could not be mistaken. A Sandwich island mat which I had given him, he had contrived to fold up in a very small compafs, and in the center of it was the milling book. He appeared fomewhat afhamed at the detection, but more mortified at my taking away the prefents he had received; these were, however, about two hours afterwards, reitored, on his contrition and penitential application. Stealing a book, incapable of being, in the leaft degree, ferviceable to him, or ufeful to any other perfon than the owner, ftrongly marked that natural inordinate propensity to thieving, which, with few exceptions, influences the whole of the uncivilized world, preventing them, as if impelled, by mere inftinct, and deftitute of reafon, to restrain such inclinations."

Those perfons who, in civilized and enlightened countries, are anxious to poffefs, without any view to ufe, if they reflect, will find themfelves reprefented by this poor favage; and that they, in appropriating what neither benefits themselves, nor others, are no more than Chefla-Rees and the memorandumbook.-Continuing their voyage in the fame direction, they arrived at Nootka Sound.

(To be concluded in our next.)

ART.