On Tahiti - Fruit Home James Morrison On Tahiti - Minerals; Manufactures & Traffic
Revised May 29 2021
They have many Birds for which we could find no names, but among those we knew were these—Herons Blue & White, Wild Ducks, Parroquets, Green, Blue & White-Fly flappers, Wood Peckers, Doves, Wild Pidgeons, a Chatering bird like a Jay, Sandlarks, Plover, Martin, Men of War & Tropic birds with several other Aquatic Birds and the Mountains produce birds of Different kinds unknown to us, among which are a large bird nearly the size of a Goose, which is good food; they are never seen near the Sea nor in the low lands.
They have no venomous reptiles or Insict except the Centepedes & Scorpion; the Former are large & plenty but the latter small and scarce and I never heard of any harm being done by them. The Natives think nothing of them and will handel them with as little Ceremony as we do earth worms &c.—the Lizards are of two sorts,one a fine Bright shining Collour and an Innocent harmless look, the other of a Black or dirty Brown and of a most forbidding appearance, they are both harmless and are seldom more then 6 inches long—Butterflys, Moths and Common Flys like those of Europe. They have also a Fly which differs very little from the Common Black fly, which bites very sharp and is sometimes very troublesom. These they say were first Brought here by the Lima Ships. The Musquettos are not very troublesom. The other insects, such as Grasshoppers Crickets, Beetles &c are the same as in other Countrys.
These Islands abound with the greatest variety of Beautiful and delicious Fish besides the Fish Common to other Countrys within the Tropics; the reeds afford some of the most beautiful Collours that can be conceived and these rich collours are always fine Fish. Among those found Near these Islands are the Grampus a Young Whale, Porpoise, Swordfish, Shark, Turtle, Albicore, Dolphin, Bonnette, Skip Jack, White Salmon, Covally Old Wife-Snappers White & Red, Gafish, Barracoutta, Ballihoo Leather Jacket, Yellow tail, Ray, Sting & Common, Parrot or Rainbow fish, Flying fish, Squid, Sprat, Eels Sea & River; Hedge Hog fish, Sea Cat, Mullet White & Red, Stone Brass, Blochan Flounder or Sand Dab, Warrior fish, Doctor Dogfish, Nourse, Millers thumb Sea Chub, Sea Roach, Sea Gudgeon and innumerable others for which we could find no names, among these the Whale, Turtle, Porpoise, Shark, Albicore & Dolphin are sacred, and the Weomen must not eat them and the Turtle is either presented to the King or Eaten on the Morai as they are not caught in great Numbers; besides these they have Shell Fish with which the reefs abound among which are Small Conchs, Pearl & Small Common Oysters, Crabbs Cray fish, Prawns & Shrimps, Cockles Common & horse, Tygers, Wilks & Winckles of different Sorts, Clams, Muscles, & Sea Eggs with a thousand other shells for which we could find no names; they have also land Crabbs but few eat them. I never found in those Islands the Grooper, King fish or Jew fish which are Common in the West Indies.
Their Fishing tackle Consists of Seines of large dimention lines & hooks of all sizes, Spears, Snares, Pots &c.—evry Fisherman makes his own hooks lines twines and evry article of His Geer, which are not to be equald by any thing but their Skill in using them; they make their lines from the Bark of the Roaa (and others already discribed) twisting it (in either two or three Strands as it is found to answer best) on their naked thigh and make ym with great Judgement & regularity; but not half the size in proportion to the Fish for which it is intended that ours are and their hooks are made of Pearl Shell, Bone, Wood &c. of different Constructions for the Different fish, some being made to answer the double purpose of Hook & Bait; they make their hooks by Grinding them into form on a stone with water and Sand and with a drill made of a Sharks tooth; they make a hole into which they introduce a Sprig of the Coral as a file and work out the inside part; and as they have no beard they make the point to round in toward the back of the Hook inclining downward and seldom loose a fish after they get it once hookd.
They have a Number of Methods of Fishing and are expert at all,—the First is with Seines from 6 fathoms long and one deep, to Sixty fathoms long and twelve deep. These large ones have a bag or Cod in the Middle and when they haul them in Deep Bays they never land them till they are done fishing, but cast off the Cod on the outside of the surf, and bring the Fish on Shore in their Canoes when they haul the Sein into a Canoe and having laced on the Cod Shoot it afresh; in this Manner they Catch a great Number of fine fish and some turtle. While they are fishing in this manner the Net is always surrounded by Swimmers who dive down and secure such fish as are like to escape and tho the Sharks often attend them yet they seldom interrupt their work and if they Catch the Sharks in the Surf they Surround them and force them on shore, which is so far from being deemd dangerous that it is Counted fine Sport—the Sharks here are not very large seldom exceeding five or Six feet in length—with their Small Seines they Catch the Flying fish having Small Canoes for that purpose which will Carry two men; the seines for this purpose are 15 or 20 fathom long, and 9 feet deep; these they Shoot amongst the Fish and Splashing the water about with their paddles frighten the Fish till they dart into the Net and Mash themselves, they then haul in their net and take out the fish, and following the School shoot it afresh; as they fish for them for Bait for the Dolphin they frequently take the Night for it and Choose the Dark in preference to the Moon light when the fish cannot see to avoid the Nets—in Calm Weather they follow the School with a number of Canoes and Surround them with their Nets in a Circle and having drawn them into a small Compass make the Canoes fast to the Nets and Jump overboard, diving under the Nets and Seizing what fish they Can by hand and frequently bring up one in each hand besides what get Mash'd in the Nets, the fish being prevented from rising by the Sight of the Canoes, and keeping Close together never attempt to escape till the men come among them.
They have Cast Nets also for Small fry, both Square & Circular and throw them with great dexterity and when the Fish Comes into the Shoal water to spawn they get a quantity of Cocoa nut leaves from which they take the Stems and tying them together, twist them the inside forming a kind of rope with the leaves all round it this they Call Row and with this they Sweep the reefs & Shoal Water and bring whole Schools of Fish to the Beach where they apply their small Seins and lade Nets to land them—They also sweep the Beaches with those small Seines with a Man at each end who wade out till they are up to their Necks together and then seperating to the length of the Net walk in & often (especially in the Night) and at the Mouths of the rivers have good hauls. They Catch plenty of Fine rock fish in pots, and Wares; and are excellent hands at diving after them and I have seen a Diver in Clear Water and Calm weather pursue a Fish from one hole in the rocks to another without coming up to breath; but in rough weather they cannot see to follow them, the bottom being darken'd by the ripple on the Surface—the most curious part of this fishery is that of taking the Hedge hog fish and Sea Cat—the one being so full of prickles that they can take hold no where but by the Eyes, which is the Method by which they get them as very few are caught any other way—and the others adhere so close to the rocks, that it is as much as two men can do at times to haul them off and I have seen them in 3 or 4 fathom forced to quit them and come up several times before they could accomplish their end; if a Stone lies handy below they kill the fish there, & then they get it off easy. This may seem an odd Method of Fishing but I have seen it attended with good Success and the Divers return in a few hours with large Strings of fine Fish.
In the Night they fish in Canoes & on the reefs for different sorts of Fish, which they Draw round them by lighting bundles of reeds and have nets made to scoop them up and put into their Baskets.
In the rainy season they Catch large quantitys of Small Fry at the Mouths of the rivers by means of a large bag made of the Membranous Stratums of the Cocoa Nut tree sewed together, the Mouth of the bag being made with two Wings to Spread the river; they place it and lay stones on the lower part to keep it down, they then sweep the river with a Row and bring all the Fry into the Bag; and in this Manner get several Bush ells at a haul, in the Mean time the Weomen have their part of the Fishery and each being equipt with a bag & a Basket, form themselves into three or four lines across the river up to their Middle, and keeping the lower part down with their feet hold the upper part in their hands alternately searching it and putting the Fish into their Baskets till they are either tired or Satisfied, when they leave off and go home to Dress them.
It is No disgrace for any woman to be thus Employd and if the Queen is present she generally makes one and they are Generaly paid for their labour with Good Sport and plenty of Fish—another method is when the rains are over and the Waters subside, they dam the River up with Stones and Grass, leaving several sluices to which they fix their Bags or Nets, and going to some distance up along the Bank they all plunge in together and drive the Fish before them who flying to the Sluices fall into the Nets, but this Method is not used till the fish grow scarce.
When they angle in the Sea, they generally use Baked bread fruit for Bait, and Stand up to their neck in water, having a long Bamboo for a rod and a Basket hung round their Neck to put the fish in, they Catch in this Manner several fine fish—the White Mullet they catch with hand lines and the red in Small Nets; these latter tho delicate fish are here used as bait for the Albicore and Bonnetta which are Caught thus—they have a Double Canoe carrying Six or Eight men and in the Bow is fixd a long pole like a crane to lower and haul up on a Cross piece or Roller at the heel by means of a Back rope, on the Head of this they fix two pieces spreading like horns to which they bend the lines, on the top of the Crane they fix a Bunch of long Black Feathers from the Cocks tails the Motion of which when lowerd near the Water attracts the Fish and draws them round the Canoe; between the Canoes they sling a kind of Basket with their Bait which admitting the Water keeps the Fish alive till they are wanted—when they See any fish they paddle toward them till they come round the Canoe and then they keep the Stern of the Canoe to windward and paddle from them; a Man is then placed to throw Water with a Scoop, and make a continual Spray like rain, and the Hooks being baited the Crane is lowered so as to let them Just under the surface. The Man on the Bow who attends to bait the Hooks keeps throwing now and then a small fish while the other with the Scoop keeps a Constant Shower about the Hooks; the Fish soon fly at their prey and get hookd when the Men who attend the Crane rope, having notice given them, haul up and the Fish swings in to the Man who attends to receive them and bait the Hooks afresh—Some of these fish are very large and often run the Canoes under water when they do not haul up briskly, but this is attended with no evil except the line should break, when they loose the Hook which if it Chance to be an Iron one is as Great a loss to them as we should think an Anchor. The Skip Jack is Caught by a hook made to resemble a small fish, with some Hogs Bristles fixd for a tail and are drawn after the Canoe in the same manner but caught by a long bamboo for a rod which the fisherman works with the heel in the bottom of the Canoe, and plays it by hand while another paddles the Canoe. The Canoes for this Fishery are mostly Single, with some one and some 2 men, but those with one Man can do nothing if there is any wind but let their hooks tow while they paddle to windward, but they always loose ground while they stop to unhook a fish and put their hook over again, by which time the School are got to some distance while those who have two always keep up with them—Of these as well as the Albicore & Bonnetta they Catch great numbers—they also Catch the Cavally and White Salmon in their small Canoes but without rods; these fish they are forced to play and the Canoes being light, when they have hookd a Fish they steer after it, till it is tired & drawing their line in gradually get it along side when they watch an Opportunity and seize the Small part next the tail in their hand and whip it into the Canoe, Seldom trusting the Strength of the line to haul them in by, as the lines used for these fish are in general not bigger then what we use for Mackarell. Nevertheless they Seldom loose any—in this Manner they also Catch the Shark and Other large fish with small lines, their Canoes being extreamly light, soon weary the Fish, and by this Method make them easily taken.
They always fish for Dolphins four or five leagues from the land in sailing Canoes plying to windward—when they reach their distance they Bait with Flying Fish, and are very fond of Iron hooks; their lines for these Fish are generally two strands and of a Good length, some of them Measure 100 fathoms. They Choose the two Strand lines as they are less apt to get foul by Twisting then those of three and as the Dolphin Jumps and twists about when hookd they are not so ready to breake and easyer Cleard after running out; they never wet their lines till they see a Fish and then they make sure of it, tho they are often deceived; as the Fish will sometimes leave part of their Jaws behind them if too Suddenly Stopd in their Carreer, they are forced to play them some time before they haul them alongside to get them in, which they always do by laying hold of the tail part with one hand & the line in the Other; the Canoe being low for that Purpose—These fish Follow the Sun and are therefore most plenty when the Sun is to the Southward of the Equator, during which season there are Not less then Sixty sail of Canoes from Maatavye only, employd in the Fishery—the Fish Spawn about March after which they seldom look for them, but get ready for the Albicore & Bonnetta fishery that then Commences and the Sailing Canoes ply between Taheite & Tettooroa for them Fish which are caught in great quantitys about the reefs of Tettooroa.
While the Dolphin season Continues they Catch a number of Flying Fish of an Extraordinary size which are in general so large as not to fear them; these they catch with Bait in this Manner—they get a Number of Wands of 6 or 8 feet long from which they strip the Bark and ballance by Slinging a stone to one end so as to swim upright with one half their length out of water, to the lower end they fix a hook (made offish bones & baited with Cocoa Nut) with about a Fathom of line; these being all prepared (they generally have as many as they Can Conveniently Stow in the Stern of the Canoe) they stand off to their proper distance and throw the Wands over board at a distance from each other, and Standing in they pick them up again when they frequently find Fish at each, so that if they have no luck of Dolphin they seldom return empty as they often take Sharks & other fish on which the Shark preys, who, flying to the Canoe for Shelter, are often taken by hand, and the Shark they often Catch in a Noose prepared for that purpose, seldom having occasion to bait a hook for them. When they get the Shark fast they haul his head out of water and beat it till they see no signs of life in it with heavy toa Bludgeons which they Carry for the Purpose and when he is dead they get him into the Canoe. They frequently meet with the Swordfish while they are out who never fails to Attack the Canoe and if the Bottom or side is Not of very hard Wood, he Strikes the Sword into her in several places before it sticks fast enough to hold him, but as soon as he sticks they are overboard and secure him with the Noose, and having freed him from the Canoe kill him with their Bludgeons and get him in—but are frequently forced to Steer homewards and Stop the leaks which he Occasions—Their days Sport being then Over as they are sometimes closely put to it to reach the shore, seldom Carrying anything with them that is fit to stop a leak and their only recourse is to Bail.
Besides other Methods of Fishing they have Spears which they throw with Great exactness, these are 14 or 16 feet long pointed with two prongs of Toa—they use no line but if they Stricke a Fish they swim after it; they have others with Several Prongs which they throw at random among the Schools and frequently kill two or three at a time.
They seldom kill any whales but young ones which get entangled among the reefs, and thrown over by the surf into Shoal water; when they find one in this situation they attack him with their war Spears & kill him, tho they sometimes get their Canoes dashd to pieces by him.
Among the Fish there Is a kind of Conger Eel of a Brownish Collour with a Green border round the Fins from Head to tail. They are Caught about the reefs and are of different sizes from one to Six feet long; these Fish are of a Poisonus Nature to some and if eaten gives the most excrutiating pain while others who eat of it feel no effects nor do the Natives know who will be affected by it, till they have eaten it. As they have a remedy for it they take no account of the matter and eat them at a venture. I partook of one of these Fish without feeling the smallest effects from its poison, while another who eat of the same Fish was almost raving mad, His Body and limbs swelld to a very extraordinary degree and Covered with red blotches and at the same time the Hands & feet itching in Such a Manner as to be unsufferable and burning as if on fire, the Eyes swelld and firey and to appearance fit to start from the Sockets, this Continued with short intermissions for Eight Days but in the Course of a Week more by the assistance of some of the Priests who procured Medicines he got quite well, but often found a great itching in the Palms of the Hands & hollow of the feet—These Fish are Calld by the Natives Puhhe Pirrerowtee and as they dont know the Good from the Bad they are loth to throw them away and therefore eat them to make sure of them—they have also a small red Crab, not bigger then a small horse bean, which [they] say will kill a man Instantly if he eats it. These are the only poisonous things we ever heard of except the Hootdoo or Hootnut before-mentioned, but this tho it Stupifies the Fish will not effect a Man.
On Tahiti - Fruit Home James Morrison On Tahiti - Minerals; Manufactures & Traffic