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almost all the other islands of the Southern Ocean. The following description is given by M. de la Perouse, of the inhabitants of Maouna Oyolava, and the other islands in the Navigator's Archipelago. Their native ferocity of countenance always expresses either surprise or anger. The least dispute between them is followed by blows of sticks, clubs, or paddles, and often, without doubt, costs the combatants their lives." With regard to the women, he remarks: "The gross effrontery of their conduct, the indecency of their motions, and the disgusting of fers which they made of their favours, rendered them fit mothers and wives for the ferocious beings that surrounded us." The treachery and ferocity of these savages were strikingly display ed in massacring M. de Langle, the astronomer, and eleven of the crew that belonged to Perouse's vessel, and such was their fierce barbarity, that. after ving killed them, they still continued to wreak heir fury upon the inanimate bodies with their clubs. The natives of New Caledonia are a race of a similar description. Though Captain Cook describes them as apparently a good natured sort of people, yet subsequent navigators have found them to be almost the very reverse of what he described; as ferocious in the extreme, addicted to cannibalism, and to every barbarity shocking to human nature. The French navigator, Admiral D'Entrecasteaux, in his intercourse with these people, received undoubted proofs of their savage disposition, and of their being accustomed to feed on human flesh. Speaking of one of the natives, who had visited his ship, and had described the various practices connected with cannibalism, he says, "It is difficult to depict the ferocious avidity with which he expressed to us, that the flesh of their unfortunate victims was devoured by them after they had broiled it on the coals. This cannibal also let us know, that the flesh of the arms and legs was cut into slices, and that they considered the most muscular parts a very agreeable dish. It was then easy for us to explain, why they frequently felt our arms and legs, manifesting a violent longing; they then uttered a faint whistling, which they produced by closing their teeth, and applying to them the tip of the tongue; af terwards opening their mouth, they smacked their lips several times in succession."

The characters of the islanders now described, may be considered as common to the inhabitants of the New Hebrides, the Friendly Islands, the Marquesas, the Sandwich, New Guinea, New Britain, the Ladrones, and alinost all the islands which are dispersed over the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Captain Cook, when describing the natives of New Zealand, remarks, that, "the inhabitants of the other parts of the South Seas have not even the idea of indecency with respect to any object, or to any action." The inhabitants even of the Society and of the

Sandwich Is es, prior to the state of moral and religious improvement to which they have iately advanced, though their dispositions were somewhat milder than those of the other islanes were almost equally low in point of moral debasement. Captain Cook, speaking of the natives of Otaheite, declares, "They are all arrant thieves, and can pick pockets with the dexterity of the most expert London blackguard."* When describing the societies distinguished by the name of Arreoy, he declares, as a characteristic of the female part of the community, "If any of the women happen to be with child, which in this manner of life, happens less frequently than in ordinary cases, the poor infant is smothered the moment it is born, that it may be no incumbrance to the father, nor interrupt the mother in the pleasures of her diabolical prostitution." Another circumstance, stated by the same navigator, exhibits their former moral character in a still more shocking point of view. On the approach of war with any of the neighbouring islands, or on other interesting occasions, human sacrifices were a universal practice. "When I described," says this illustrious voya

ger,

"the Natibe at Tongabatoo, I mentioned, that, on the approaching sequel of that festival, we had been told that ten men were to be sacri

ficed. This may give us an idea of the extent of this religious massacre on that island. And though we should suppose, that never more than one person is sacrificed on any single occasion at Otaheite, it is more than probable, that these occasions happened so frequently, as to make a shocking waste of the human race; for I counted no less than forty-nine skulls of former victims, lying before the Morai, where we saw one more added to the number. And, as none of these skulls had, as yet, suffered any considerable change from the weather, it may hence be inferred, that no great length of time had elapsed, since this considerable number of unhappy wretches had been offered on this altar of blood." He also informs us, that human sacrifices were more frequent in the Sandwich, than in any of the other islands. "These horrid rites," says he, "are not only had recourse to upon the commencement of war, and preceding great battles, and other signal enterprises; but the death of any considerable chief calls for a sacrifice of one or more Toutous, (that is, vulgar or low persons.) according to his rank; and we were told that ten men were destined to suffer on the death of Terrecoboo, one of their great chiefs.§

Such are a few specimens of the moral dispositions the hatred, the horrid warfare, and the abominable practices, which are displayed over

• Hawkesworth's Narrative of Cook's Voyages, vol. II. ↑ Ibid. ! Ibid. § Hawkesworth's Narrative of Cook's Voyages. Vol. II.

the greater portion of the Eastern and Western Coutments, and among the thousands of islands which diversify the surface of the Ocean-dispo sitions and practices, which, if permitted to extend their influence universally, and without control, would soon extirpate the intelligent creation, and banish happiness from the empire of God.

WARLIKE ATTITUDE OF NATIONS.

Were benevolence a characteristic of the inhabitants of our globe, every traveller would be secure from danger from his fellow-men: he might land on every shore without the least suspicion or alarm, and confidently expect that his distresses would be relieved, and his wants supplied, by every tribe of the human race among whom he might occasionally sojourn. No hostile weapons would be lifted up to repel a stranger, when gratifying his curiosity in visiting distant lands, and contemplating foreign scenes; and no instruments of destruction would require to be forged, to preserve a nation from the inroads of destroyers. But when we survey the actual state of mankind, we find almost every nation under heaven, if not actually engaged in war, at least in a warlike attitude, and one of their chief employments consis's in divising schemes, either of conquest or revenge, and in furbishing the instruments of death. The following instances may suffice, as illustrations of this position.

The armies of ASHANTEE, says Dupuis, amount to upwards of eighty thousand men, armed with tomahawks, lances, knives, javelins, bows, and arrows; and forty thousand, who can occasionally be put in possession of muskets and blunderbusses.-The opposing armies of MosLEM and DINHERU, amounted at times to 140 000 men.-The King of DAHOMY, and his auxiliaries, can raise about 50,000 men, armed with bows and arrows, sabres, and iron maces.The king of BENIN can arm 200,000, upon an emergency, and furnish 10,000 of them with muskets. In those countries of Africa, where fire-arms and gunpowder are unknown, they wield the following kinds of arms with great dexterity and execution. These are, very strong supple lances, which are barbed and poisoned, targets, bows and arrows, tomahawks, and iron

maces;

the former of which they are in the practice of poisoning with a venom more deadly than that which is used by any other nation, as its operation is said to be sometimes instantaneous, and its wound, though ever so slight, usually produces death within the lapse of a few minutes.* Such is the warlike disposition displayed by a few comparatively insignificant tribes in Africa, and similar dispositions are manifested, and similar attitudes assumed, by almost all the tribes which inhabit that vast continent. Their time,

• Dupuis' "Mission to Ashantee, in 1823 "

and their physical and mental exertions, seem to be spent much in war, and in the preparation of warlike instruments, as if these were the great ends for which the Creator had brought them into existence. If the ingenuity and the energies displayed in such preparations and pursuits, were employed in operations calculated to promote the benefit of mankind, what an immense proportion of happiness would be distributed among numerous tribes which are just now sunk into depravity, and into the depths of wretchedness and

Wo!

Pallas, in his description of the nations inhabiting the Caucasus, when speaking of the CIRCASSIANS, says, "Persons of wealth and rank never leave the house without a sabre, nor do they venture beyond the limits of the village without being completely arrayed, and having their breast pockets supplied with ball cartridges." In regard to the lower class," when they do not carry a sabre, with other arms, they provide themselves with a strong staff, two arshines long, on the top of which is fixed a large iron head, ani the lower end is furnished with a sharp iron pike, about eighteen inches long, which they are ac. customed to throw expertly, like a dart. The princes and knights pursue no other business or recreation than war, pillage, and the amusements of the chase; they live a lordly life, wander about, meet at drinking parties and undertake military excursions." Among these people, "the desire of revenge, for injuries received, is hereditary in the successors, and in the whole tribe. It remains, as it were, rooted with so much rancour, that the hostile princes or nobles of two different tribes, when they meet each other on the road, or accidentally in another place, are compelled to fight for their lives; unless they have given previous notice to each other, and bound themselves to pursue a different route. Unless pardon be purchased, or obtained by intermarriage between the two families, the principle of revenge is propagated to all succeeding generations."*

It is well known, that it almost all the islands in the Indian and the Southern Oceans, when navigators attempt to land, in order to procure water and provisions, they are almost uniformly opposed by crowds of ferocious savages, armeri with long spears, clubs, lances, bows and arrows and, with horrid yells, brandishing them in the most hostile attitudes. In some instances, these warlike attitudes might be accounted for, from a fear of the depredations and murders which might be committed by strangers, with whose disposttions and characters they are unacquainted. Bu the implacable hatred which they manifest to wards even the neighbouring tribes, with whic they are acquainted, and of which I have already

Pallas'"Travels through the Southern Provincer of the Russian Empire," Vol II. pp. 401 405.

stated several instances, shows, that war, revenge, and the preparation of the instruments of leath, are both their employment, and thir deight. Yea, not only savage and half-civilized ribes, but almost every civilized nation on the face of the earth, is found in a hostile attitude with respect to surrounding nations-either actually engaged in a deadly warfare with a foreign Dower, or preparing for an attack, or keeping up fleets and standing armies, and forging cannons, and balls, and swords, in the prospect of a rupture with neighbouring states. And in such deadly preparations and employments, a great proportion of those treasures is expended, which, if directed by the hand of benevolence, would be the means of transforming the wilderness into a fruitful field, of distributing intelligence and moral principle among all ranks, and of making the hearts of the poor, the widow, and the orphan, "to leap for joy." What a pitiful picture is here presented of Man, who was originally formed after the image of his Maker, for the purpose of displaying benevolent affections towards his fellows, now divided into hostile tribes, and brandishing, with infernal fury, at all around, the instruments of destruction! How art thou fallen, O man, from thy original station of dignity and honour! "How is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed! The crown is fallen from our heads; wo unto us, for we have sinned!"

INHUMANITY OF UNCIVILIZED TRIBES TO

UNFORTUNATE TRAVELLERS.

In passing through the scene of his earthly pilgrimage, Man is exposed to a variety of distresses and dangers. Sometimes he is exposed to "the pestilence that walketh in darkness," and to the fever" that wasteth at noon-day." Sometimes he is exposed to the desolations of the earthquake and the volcano; the blasts of the tempest, the hurricane, and the tornado, and the billows of the stormy ocean; and, at other times, he is exposed to the attacks of the lion, the tiger, and the hyena, in the dark recesses of the forest. It would be well, however, with man, were these the only evils and enemies which he had to encounter. But the greatest enemy which man has to encounter, is Man himself-those who are partakers of the same nature, and destined to the same immortal existence; and from these kindred beings, he is exposed to evils and distresses, incomparably greater and inore numerous, than all the evils which he suffers from the ravenous beasts of the forest, or from the fury of the aging elements. It is a most melancholy renection, that, throughout the greater part of the habitable world, no traveller can prosecute his ourney, without being in hazard either of being dragged into captivity, or insulted and maltreated, or plundered of his treasures, or deprived of his ife, by those who ought to be his friends and pro

tectors. After he has eluded the pursuit of the lion or the wolf, or after he has escaped, with difficulty, from the jaws of the devouring deep, ho is frequently exposed to the fury of demons in human shape, who insult over his misfortunes, instead of relieving the wants of his body, and soothing the anguish of his mind. The following relations, among a numerous series which might be presented to the view of the reader, will tend to illustrate these remarks.

My first example shall be taken from the "Narrative of the Loss of the Grosvenor Indiaman." This vessel sailed from Trincomalee, June 13th, 1782, on her homeward-bound voyage, and was wrecked on the coast of Caffraria, on the 4th of August following. It is needless to dwell on the circumstances which attended the shipwreck, and on the consternation, distraction, and despair, which seized upon the passengers and the crew, when they became alive to all the terrors of the scene. Shipwreck, even in its mildest form, is a calamity which never fails to fill the mind with horror; but what is instant death, considered as a temporary evil, compared with the situation of those who had hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, to contend with; who only escaped the fury of the waves, to enter into conflicts with the savages of the forest, or the still greater savages of the human race; who were cut off from all civilized society, and felt the prolongation of life to be only the lengthened pains of death?

After losing about twenty men, in their first attempts to land, the remaining part of the crew and the passengers, in number about a hundred, after encountering many difficulties and dangers, reached the shore. Next morning a thousand uneasy sensations were produced, from the natives having come down to the shore, and, without ceremony, carried off whatever suited their fancy. They were at this time about 447 leagues from the Cape of Good Hope, and 226 beyond the limits of any Christian habitation. Their only resource appeared to be, to direct their course by land to the Cape, or to the nearest Dutch settlement. As they moved forward, they were followed by some of the natives, who, instead of showing compassion to this wretched group, plundered them from time to time, of what they liked, and sometimes pelted them with stones. In this way they pursued their journey for four or five days; during which the natives constantly surrounded them in the day, taking from them whatever they pleased, but invariably retired in the night. As they proceeded, they saw many villages, which they carefully avoided, that they might be less exposed to the insults of the natives. At last, they came to a deep gully, where three of the Caffres met them, armed with lances, which they held several times to the captain's throat. Next day, on coming to a large village, they found these three men, with three

or four hundred of their countrymen, all armed with lances and targets, who stopped the English, and began to pilfer and insult them, and at last fell upon them and beat them. With these inlaman wretches they had to engage in a kind of unning fight for upwards of two hours; after which, they cut the buttons from their coats, and presented them to the natives, on which, they went away and returned no more. The following night they were terrified with the noise of the wild beasts, and kept constant watch for fear both of them and the natives. How dreadful a situation, especially for those delicate ladies and children, who had so lately been accustomed to all the delicacies of the East! Next day, as they were advancing, a party of natives came down upon them, and plundered them, among other things, of their tinder-box, flint and steel, which proved an irreparable loss. Every man was now obliged to travel, by turns, with a fire-brand in his hand; and before the natives retired, they showed more insolence than ever, robbing the gentlemen of their watches, and the ladies of their jewels, which they had secreted in their hair. Opposition was vain; the attempt only brought fresh insults or blows.

This group of wretched wanderers now separated into different parties, and took different directions; their provisions were nearly exhausted; and the delay occasioned by travelling with the women and children was very great. Their dif ficulties increased, as they proceeded on their journey; they had numerous rivers, sometimes nearly two miles in breadth, to swim across in the course of their route, while the women and children were conveyed across on floating stages, at the imminent hazard of their lives, and of being carried down by the impetuous current into the sea. Whole days were spent in tracing the rivers towards their source, in order to obtain a ford. They traversed vast plains of sand, and bleak and barren deserts, where nothing could be found to alleviate their hunger, nor the least drop of water to quench their raging thirst. They passed through deep forests, where human feet had never trod, where nothing was heard but the dreadful howlings of wild beasts, which filled them with alarm and despair. Wild sorrel, berries which the birds had picked at, and a few shell-fish which they occasionally picked up on the shore, were the only food which they had to subsist on for several days; and on some occasions the dead body of a seal, or the putrid carcass of a whale, was hailed as a delicious treat to their craving appetites. One person fell after another into the arms of death, through hunger, ratigue, and despair, and were sometimes obliged to be left in the agonies of dissolution, as a prey to ravenous beasts, or to the fowls of heaven. The following circumstance shows the dreadful situation to which they were reduced for want of food. "It appeared that the captain's steward

had been buried in the sand of the last desen they had passed, and that the survivors were reduced to such extremity, that, after he had beer interred, they sent back two of their companions to cut off part of his flesh; but while they proceeded in this horrid business, they had the good fortune to discover a young seal, newly driven on shore, which proved a most seasonable relief."

Imagination cannot form a scene of deeper distress than what the tender sex, and the little children must, in such a case, have experienced. It harrows up the very soul to think what pangs those delicate females who had so lately been inured to all the pleasures and luxuries of India, must have endured, when they were fain to appease their craving appetites on the putrid carcass of a whale, and were obliged to repose on the bare ground, amidst the howlings of the tempest, and the more dismal yells of the beasts of prey. But, amidst this heart-rending scene, their fellow-men, who ought to have been their soothers and protectors, and who had it in their power to have alleviated their distresses, were the greatest enemies they had to encounter, and their appearance filled their minds with greater alarm than if they had beheld a roaring lion, or a raging bear. The following are some specimens of the perfidy and inhumanity of the natives. In passing through a village, one of the company observing, "that a traffic would not be unacceptable, offered them the inside of his watch for a calf; but though they assented to the terms, no sooner had they obtained the price, than they withheld the calf, and drove the English from their village." In the same manner were they used on many other occasions. One time, when resting at a village, where the natives offered no particular resistance, "they produced two bowls of milk, which they seemed willing to barter, but as our wretched countrymen had nothing to give in exchange, they denied them this humble boon without an equivalent, and ate it up themselves." At the same place, they implored in the most impressive terms, to partake with the natives of the spoils of a deer, which they had just killed, but they turned a deaf ear to their solicitations, and insisted, moreover, on their quitting the kraal. On another occasion, on coming to a large village, the inhabitants set upon them with such fury, that several were severely wounded, and one of them died soon after."

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In this manner, did the wretched remains of these hapless wanderers traverse the wilds of Africa, during the space of one hundred and seventeen days, till they accidentally met with some Dutch settlers, when within 400 miles of the Cape. Here they were treated with the kindest attention, and their wants relieved. But, by this time, only 15 or 20 emaciated beings survived, out of more than 120 pusons who were ou

board the Grosvenor. What became of the captain and his party is still unknown. Some are supposed to have perished from hunger, some through grief and fatigue, and others to have Deen killed by the inhospitable natives.-Now, all the accumulated miseries endured by these unfortunate travellers, and the premature death of nearly a hundred persons, are to be attributed to that spirit of selfishness, inhumanity, and hostility, which, in all ages, has prevented enjoyment, and entailed misery on the human race. Had a principle of love to mankind pervaded the hearts of the wretched Caffres, or had even the common feelings of humanity been exercised towards their fellow-creatures in distress, the whole of the unfortunate individuals that perished in Africa's inhospitable clime, might have been conducted in safety to their friends and their native land.

My next example is taken from M. De Brisson's "Narrative of his shipwreck, and captivity among the Moors."

M. Brisson was shipwrecked on the coast of Barbary, on the 10th July, 1785, and, after much difficulty and danger, he, along with the crew, escaped safe to land. No sooner had they reached the shore, than they were surrounded by a crowd of savages, and seized by the collars. 'The Arabs," says M. Brisson, "armed with cutlasses and large clubs, fell upon my companions with incredible ferocity; and I had the mortification of soon seeing some of them wounded, whilst others, stripped and naked, lay stretched out and expiring on the sand. The news of our shipwreck being spread abroad through the country, we saw the savages running with the greatest eagerness from all quarters. The women, euraged that they could not pillage the ship, threw themselves upon us, and tore from us the few articles of dress which we had left. While they went to the shore to obtain more pinnder, a company of Ouadelims discovered and pillaged our retreat, and beat us in the most unmerciful manner, till I was almost at the last gasp. My mind was so much affected that I could not refrain from tears: and some of the wonen having observed it, instead of being moved with compassion, threw sand in my eyes, to dry up my tears,' as they expressed it." M. Brisson was forced, by these rude barbarians, into the interior of the country, as a captive. "After passing," says he, "mountains of a prodigious height, which were covered with small sharp flints, I found that the soles of my feet were entirely covered with blood. I was permitted to get up behind my master on his camel; but as I was naked, I could not secure myself from the friction of the animal's hair, so that in a very little time my skin was entirely rubbed off. My blood trickled down over the animal's sides, and this sight, instead of moving the pity of these barbarians, afforded them a subject of diversion.

They sported with my sufferings; and that their enjoyments might be still higher, they spurred on their camels." After travelling for sixteen days, during which they were exposed to the greatest fatigue, and the most dreadful miseries, they at length reached the place of their destination, in a most wretched and exhausted condition. And what was the manner of their reception? The women having satisfied their curiosity in inquiries about the strangers, immediately began to load them with abuse. "They even spat in our faces," says M. B. " and pelted us with stones. The children, too, copying their example, pinched us, pulled our hair, and scratched us with their nails, whilst their cruel mothers ordered them to attack sometimes one and sometimes another, and took pleasure in causing them to torment us.'

They were compelled to work at the most fatiguing and menial employments, and beaten with severity when they did not exert themselves far beyond their strength, while they were denied a single morsel of wholesome food. "As we were Christians," says the parrator," the dogs fared better than we, and it was in the basins destined for their use that we received our allowance: our food was raw snails, and herbs and plants trodden under foot by the multitude." In this manner did these unfortunate travellers drag out the period of their captivity; some died of the blows and harsh treatment they received, and others died of hunger and despair. M. Brisson one day found the captain of the vessel in a neighbouring hamlet, stretched out lifeless upon the sand, and scarcely distinguishable but by the colour of his body. In his mouth he held one of his hands, which his great weakness had no doubt prevented him from devouring. He was so changed by hunger, that his body exhibited the most disgusting appearance; all his features being absolutely effaced. A few days after, the second captain, having fallen down through weakness below an old gum tree, became a prey to the attacks of a monstrous serpent. Some famished crows, by their cries, frightened away the venomous animal, and, alighting on the body of the dying man, were tearing him to pieces, while four savage monsters, in human shape, still more cruel than the furious reptile, heheld this scene without offering him the least assistance. "I attempted to run towards him," says M. Brisson," and to save his life, if possible, but the barbarians stopped me, and after insulting me, said, 'This Christian will soon become a prey to the flames.'" The bad state of health of this unfortunate man would not permit him to labour, and his master and mistress would not allow him the milk necessary for his subsistence. -Such were the scenes of inhumanity and cruelty which M. Brisson witnessed, during the whole period he remained in the territories of these barbarous tribes. They present to our

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