THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

Otago Witness, Issue 2106, 5 July 1894, Page 49

THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

ASD SKETCHES OF VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES.

By Apabata Eenata.

I. It is an easy matter to give some general description of the history of a civilised nation with a written language and no end of writers and historians, but to give a brief and interesting account of places discovered only a little over 300 years ago is quite another question, and I must therefore crave some excuse from the readers of these papers if I omit or overlook many interesting facts. What I write will I hope whet the appetite of some of my readers for more knowledge on the subject, and these I mu&t refer to a few — they are very few — works on the different islands oE the Pacific.

No portion of the globe has had such an interesting history for the last hundred years as the Pacific Ocean and its beautiful isles. All the old romances are weak and frivolous as compared with the real and romantio incldents and facts that have occurred among the many islands of the Pacific. In the days of chivalry men did not perform the dariDg and risky deeds that have been done in these southern seas. The adventures and lives of a dozen restless spirits, recorded carefully, would outdo all the true and imaginary tales of centuries. The wrecks and disasters, if recorded, would in all probability number more than those of the British Isles. Tae charm of the subject is heightened by the fact that everything was novel and interesting beyond even the ideals of fairyland. When tales of trees which grew bread reached Europe, the height of the marvellous and incredible appeared to be reached. When nations of semi- civilised people were discovered living happily and in plenty without working, it might well have been thought that a new Garden of Eden had been found, and when group after group of islands peopled by such inhabitants were found all nations wished to discover a continent, ana speculation about its nature became bo interesting that Spanish, French, English, and Dutch spent large sums of money in equipping expeditions to the Pacific. The Spanish took the lead, and in 1519 Magalhanes left Spain and passed through to the Pacific Ocean, so named by him on account of the fine weather he experiedced in crossing it. He went through by the Btraits bearing his name. His course then took him away from all the islands scattered about this vast sheet of water. He crossed the line and discovered the Ladrone Island, which he named after the thieving propensities of the natives, ladron being the Spanish name for thief.

Six years after this General Loyasa passed through the same Btraits with four ships. De Saavedra went by the same route, and discovered the coast of New Guinea in 1528. Juan Fernandez discovered the island of that name. It was given to him, and he resided there for some time, and then deserted. Four years after this de Mendana made his first voyage by the same route, and discovered the Solomon Islands. De Mendana made a second voyage in 1595, and discovered the Marquesas, Santa Oruz, and other islands. In the narrative of this voyage is given the 'first description of the bread fruit. The trantlation from the Spanish is nearly as follows :— " Produced by the trees which the natives cultivate near their houses, it grows to the size of a boy's head. When ripe is of a light green colour, but a strong green before id is ripe. The outside, or rind, is streaked crossways like the pineapple. The form is not entirely round, but becomes narrow towards the end. The stalk runs (or enters) to the middle of the fruit, where there' is a kind of web. It has neither stone nor kernel, nor is any part unprofitable (or useless) except the rind, which is thin. It has bat little moisture. It is eaten many ways, and by the natives is called white food. It is well tasted, wholesome, and nutritious. The leaves (of the tree) are large, and indented in the manner of the West Indian papaw tree."

The first; Englishman said to have sailed on the Pacific was John Oxenham. He had been a voyage to the West Indies with Sir Francis Drake, and crossed the Isthmus of Darien with that commander. On another voyage he made his way across with the aid of some Indians, and built a vessel in 1575, manned it with those who accompanied him, and harassed the Spaniards. He then silled for the equatorial Pearl Islands, the Galapagos. He captured a Spanish barque called the Qaito, with 60,000 pesos de oro (or gold) and 100,000 peso 9of bilver, equal in all to £44,000 of modern money. He and his party in turn got captured by the Spanish before Oxenham had disposed of the coin or bullion, and were executed in the same year.

About this time belief in a southern continent became so general that the English took part in the efforts to discover one, and in 1577 Sir Francis Drake sailed from England with five vessels, the largest of which was only 100 tons burden, tbe smallest bsing a pinnace of 15 tons. In the following year he was in Magellan's Straits and Beas, and describes for the first time the Fuegeans. Before this only the massive Patagonians had been seen. He entered the Pacific and went to the Bay of Valparaiso, and there captured a Spanish vessel with 60,000 pesos of gold and a lot of valuable jewels. The gold was worth about £24,000. He sailed along the west coast of America 1 and arrived in the Philippine Islands in 1579, and next year arrived in Plymouth with 58 men out of 164 who had sailed with him. He lost two of his vessels, and one reached England before him. Sir Francis Drake's voyage round the world caused some excitement in England, and Queen Elizabeth made much of the hero navigator. The treasure he had was given up, but part of it was divided among his officers. His voyage and his kind treatment of the Indians and natives of the places he visited had the effect of giving the British a good name in the Pacific among the islanders. Thomas Cavendish's voyage round the world commenced in 1586. He was an Englishman, and took the same route as Sir Francis Drake, entering the south seas in

1587. He harassed the Spanish terribly, and captured the Santa Ana, of 700 tons burden, on the coast of California, with 122,000 pesos of gold and other bullion and much merchandise. The gold was worth about £48,800 of modern money. He burnt and sank other 19 vessels, large and small, and spoiled and burnt all the villages he landed at. He arrived in England, via tha Cape of Good Hope, in 1588. Three years after this he started on a second voyaga round the world. Kuyvet, the narrator of his second voyage, says that it was so cold while they were in Magellan's Straits that while a goldsmith named Harris was blowing his nose it broke off and he cast it into the fire, and that when he was pulling off his socks his own tce3 came off his feet with them. Cavendish died on the voyage to England.

Sir Richard Hawkins equipped three vessels at his own expense in 1593. He is the first to mention tbe use of distilled water on board a ship. He says he distilled it with an invention he had, and found it good and wholesome, and that he filled a large butt by using only three pieces of wood. His vessels entered the Pacific in 1594, and captured some Spanish vessels with gold. He was ultimately captured by the Spanish, and sent by the Spanish as aprieoner to England. The Dutch sent out five ships in 1598 from Rotterdam to make discoveries in the Pacific, and in one of these — the Hope — the celebrated William Adams went as pilot. The Hope, which was 500 tons burden, arrived in Japan in 1600 in distress. Will Adams was taken before the Emperor, who detained him, and got him to build a sbip. This ship pleased the Emperor so much that Adams was handsomoly treated, and became a man of some note in Japan. Only one of the Dutch vessels reached Holland, and she returned with 36 persons out of 109 who sailed on the expedition. She arrived in 1600. A Dutchman named Van Noort made a voyage to the Pacific, and returned in 1601. He was notorious for his cruelty. He killed a whole tribe of Patagonians with the exception of one woman, who waa found in a wretched wounded state on an island in the Straits by the people of one of the five vessels from Rotterdam mentioned above.

De Quiros, who was chief pilot cf Mendanas's expedition in 1595, started on his noted voyage from Peru in 1605 with the intention of making a settlement in the Santa Cruz Islands, thence to search for the Tierra Austral, or snpposed southern continent. After seeing and discovering many new islands they came to an island covered with palms and inhabited by natives, who welcomed them and kissei the foreheads of all that landed, and by way of goodwill the Spaniards returned the caress. This island De Quiros called La Sagittaria, and its position is only a few miles from Tahiti, according to De Qulros's maps. Its description by him does not quite agree with Tahiti, especially in reference to its height. It will always remain a point in dispute, but in some modern works it is put down as Tahiti. In one island discovered after this tbe women are mentioned as being remarkable for gracefulness of demeanour. They were covered from the waist downward with white mats of fine texture, and some had mats of the same kind with which they covered their shoulders. Their complexion was white, and if they had been properly clothed they would, without donbt, have had, according to De Qniros, the advantage of Spanish ladies. De Quiros discovered a large bay, in which he anchored after leaving this island. It was so large that he gave the adjoining country the name of Austrailia del Espirito Santo. Captain Oook visited this bay, and found the adjoining country to be the island of Tanna, one of the New Hebrides. De Quiros left here for Peru, the ship be commanded being called the Oapitana. Tbe other Bhip of his expedition, called the Almiranta and commanded by De Torres, sailed north-west, and De Torres discovered the Coast of New Guinea, Bawthe coast of Australia, but did not know it as such, and sailed through the straits bearing bis name. He took possession of New Guinea at different places in the name of the King of Spain. On the north coast he met with Mohammedans. De Torreß ended his voyage at Manila. De Quiros made no less than 50 memorials to the King of Spain to equip him again for another expedition, but died at Panama on his way to the Viceroy of Peru, who had instructions on his behalf. His voyage was the most imnortant to the South

Pacific since the dajs of Magalhanes. His ability as a navigator and discoverer is unquestionable. In character he was rather weak and frivolous, and although a great admirer of the South Sea Islanders, he did not treat them with justice.

In 1614 the Dutch sent a fleet of six ships on a voyage round the world in command of Jcris Spilbergen. Next year the expedition passed through Magellan's Straits. Sailing north, they reached the Island of Mocha on the coast of Ohili, where the chief of the island came on board the admiral's ship and the natives supplied them with food and refreshments in exchange for other articles. The natives are described in the journal of the voyage as "a valiant people and well made. They were habited in cloths and linens ; their manners were gentle, and they preserved good order in their eating, as if they had been Christians." From Mocha the expedition sailed north and fought a naval battle with some Spanish ships Bent to destroy them. The Dutch gained the day, sank the Spanish admiral's ship, and then sailed along the coast of South America, and on leaving the coast sailed for the Ladrone and Philippine Islands.

— Serenity Once More. — " I hope things are more peaceful in the choir than formerly," said the vicar. " Yes," replied the organist ; " it's perfectly calm now." " I'm glad to hear it. How was peace secured ?" " Everybody excepting myself resigned."

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