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The islands now known by geographers under the general name of Polynesia , have for some time past attracted the attention of the scientific and commercial world. Few opportunities, however, occur of obtaining information respecting any of them except those which are resorted to for commercial purposes. With a view, therefore, to the collecting of all the necessary materials for the history of their soil, climate, productions, and other particulars, especially of such of them as have not already

Equipment and departure of the ship Mentor from the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts.—The ship's company.—Arrival at Fayal.—Passage down the Cape de Verd islands, and round the cape of Good Hope, to the Indian ocean.—Cruising among the islands, and arrival at the port of Coupang, in Timor.—A violent storm.—The ship strikes on a coral reef off the Pelew islands.—Alarm and distressing situation of the ship's company, and sudden loss of eleven of their number.—The survivors preserved upon a dry p

An extraordinary and unexpected meeting with a person not a native.—Happy result of the meeting.—Acquisition of the Pelew language.—Dissensions between two portions of the natives.—Three of the ship's company separated and carried to a place remote from the rest.—Attempt to construct a boat, in order to leave the island.—The natives agree to release them all for a compensation.—Solemnities observed by the natives on the occasion.—Tools used in making the boat; transportation of timber, &

Regret at having undertaken the voyage in boats.—Storm, and damage in consequence of it.—Loss of the canoe and the provisions on board.—Danger of perishing from famine.—On the fifteenth day, when nearly exhausted with fatigue and hunger, they discover a small island.—Approach of eighteen canoes filled with natives, who make prisoners of them all.—Cruelty of the natives; and return with their prisoners to the island.—Reception there.—The prisoners distributed among the captors. We had not proceed

A ship discovered at a small distance from the island.—The natives prepare to go on board of her.—Captain Barnard and Bartlet Rollins, after being severely beaten, are allowed to go with the natives in their canoes, and thus effect their escape; the rest of the Mentor's people are still forcibly detained on the island.—Their hopes of being taken on board of the same ship are suddenly blasted.—Their despondency on that disappointment.—Return of the natives from the ship; their rage, and quarrels

The natives compel the Mentor's people to be tattooed.—Description of that painful operation.—They also oblige them to pluck their beards, &c.—Another vessel passes by the island; and, afterwards, a third comes in sight and remains for three days; the Mentor's people are closely guarded at these times.—The melancholy fate of William Sedon; and the barbarous murder of Peter Andrews.—Attack on H. Holden, who is protected by one of the natives, and escapes.—B. Nute and others are protected

The feeble and exhausted condition of the survivors, Nute and Holden.—The natives consent to release them from labor, but refuse them food; and they obtain permission to leave the island in the first vessel, for a compensation to be made to the natives.—They crawl about from place to place, subsisting upon leaves, and occasionally begging a little food of the natives, for two months.—Their sudden joy at hearing of a vessel coming towards the island.—It proves to be the British barque Britannia,

The language of the inhabitants of Lord North's island appears to be a new and hitherto unknown dialect of the Polynesian family of languages. According to the preceding Narrative, it was wholly unintelligible to the Pelew chiefs who accompanied the crew of the Mentor when they were made captives. To judge by the numerals , and a few other words, which have been collected by travellers, it has a near affinity to the dialects of the neighboring Caroline islands. In the selection of words for the

The inhabitants of Lord North's island seldom count above a hundred; but when they wish to express a larger number they do it by a repetition of the syllable saik , (ten,) in this manner:—sakum ah saik, ah saik, ah saik, &c. In counting cocoa-nuts, they use the following numerals:— In counting fish they have still a different set of numbers:—...

Tee´mit, tay too attee´dee, nang ver´ree-ver´ree gur; mah´ree To´bee tay ver´ree-ver´ree man Inglish mo´ree pooruk; zahbee´to Yarris yettah´men man Inglish. Horace, come here, for I am going to tattoo you; if To´bee man does not tattoo Englishman he will die; Yarris (God) will come and Englishman will go immediately out of sight; i. e. be destroyed. They perform the process of tattooing by means of a little instrument, made either of a thin, flat fish-bone, or of the wing bone of a large sea-bir