The Shining Sea (33 page)

The well-publicized events on the
Hermione
influenced how Captain Thomas Truxtun handled unrest in the 44-gun heavy frigate
Constellation
. Eighteen-year-old Midshipman David Porter watched him and learned an important lesson. The incident began on June 26, 1798, during the
Constellation
's shakedown cruise. She had a crew of 313, nearly all of whom were inexperienced. Some were already disgruntled at what they thought was Captain Truxtun's excessive discipline.

As the big frigate plowed south along the American coast, Truxtun heard more than the usual grumbling. The complaints were loud enough
that he sensed a mutiny might be in the works. Without hesitating, he mustered all hands and read the Articles of War pertaining to mutiny and the severe penalties, including death, that could be awarded to anyone caught trying to foment one. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Truxtun meant what he said. To emphasize the point, he inflicted a dozen lashes on a marine private for insolence to a superior, including trying to take a pistol from his hands.

A few weeks later, the secretary of the navy informed Truxtun that a letter written by one of his crew to the Speaker of the House of Representatives indicated a spirit of mutiny might exist aboard the
Constellation
. Truxtun acted swiftly again, calling the crew together, and reading off the descriptions of men who had mutinied on the
Hermione
, in case any had gotten aboard his ship. This led to the confession of an able seaman, Hugh Williams, who admitted that he had been one of the mutineers. His admission did not surprise Truxtun, who had thought right along that Williams was a troublemaker. Truxtun got him off the ship quickly, sending him to Norfolk, where he was turned over to the British consul and certain harsh discipline, including possible execution.

Truxtun's fast action impressed Porter. If there was a mutiny being planned on the
Essex
, he was determined to know about it, and deal with it decisively. He intended to remain alert, as Truxtun had, and Bligh had not.

A
S LIGHT TRADE WINDS SWEPT THE
E
SSEX
WEST TOWARD THE
Marquesas, no one but Porter was thinking about mutiny. Fantasies of luxuriating on enchanted Polynesian sands with accommodating women occupied the crew's thoughts. After all, this is what the captain had promised back on February 3, when he announced the ship's destination as the South Pacific. Porter added to the building excitement now by posting a notice on the bulletin board. It read, in part:

We are bound to the western islands with two objects in view:

Firstly, that we may put the ship in a suitable condition to enable us to take advantage of the most favorable season for our return home:

Secondly, I am desirous that you should have some relaxation and amusement after being so long at sea, as from your late good conduct you deserve it.

Hands already had a good idea of where they were going, but when the official announcement was made, enthusiasm grew. Porter supposed that for the remainder of the passage, his men could think of nothing but
“the beauties of the islands they were about visiting; every one imagined them Venus's and amply indulged themselves in fancied bliss, impatient of our arrival at that Cytherean Paradise where all their wishes were to be gratified.” He did not mention his own fantasies, but one can only imagine they were powerful.

Sex was not the only thing on Porter's mind, however. He was alert to the unexpected surprises Captain Cook had encountered during his brief visit to the Marquesas in April 1774.
Cook personally led the initial landing party, arriving with outstretched arms seeking friendship. He thought the people were the most beautiful he had ever seen. The men were strikingly handsome, tall, and vigorous, and often covered with elaborate tattoos from head to toe.
But what was truly striking was the astonishingly beautiful women he saw. They were as fair as Europeans, and he thought they were without a doubt the best-looking people in the South Seas.

Unfortunately, Cook soon got caught up in a dispute with the natives over trading. Using iron nails as currency, he began trading for food, but some of his midshipmen soon began exchanging more valuable articles with the islanders, who then wanted more than nails. Trading became more difficult, and then impossible after April 8, when some of Cook's men inadvertently shot and killed a thief who had stolen an iron stanchion from the
Resolution.
The dead man's ten-year-old son was in the boat when the incident occurred. Cook tried to make amends, but when he went to the boy's hut the frightened youngster fled. Cook gave up and moved on to the more familiar ground of Tahiti, weighing anchor on April 13, leaving what had become an inhospitable place.

Porter knew the story well, and in the same notice of the
Essex
's destination, he cautioned the crew:

We are going among a people much addicted to thieving, treacherous in their proceedings, whose conduct is governed only by fear and regulated by views to their interest. . . . We must treat them with kindness but never trust them. . . . Disputes are most likely to arise from traffic
with them: therefore to prevent these I shall appoint a vessel for the express purpose of trading, and shall select an officer and four men to conduct all exchanges; every other person is positively forbid to traffic with the natives, except through the persons so selected to conduct the trade.

The Marquesans were not used to dealing with strangers like Cook. When he arrived, no other European had visited the islands for two hundred years. The last had been disastrous for the natives. The Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira had chanced upon the islands on July 21, 1595. He named them Las Islas Marquesas de Mendoza, in honor of the wife of his patron, Don García Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis de Cañete, the Spanish viceroy of Peru.

The first island in the archipelago that Mendaña saw looked uninhabited. But suddenly, as if from nowhere, outrigger canoes shot out from shore, filled with dozens of people. In fact, the island was densely populated, containing, in all probability, tens of thousands of people. Mendaña was struck by their beauty, as every European and American would be when they first saw them.

Mendaña's chief pilot, Pedro Fernández de Quirós wrote that water, wood, and food were plentiful and the climate pleasant. The houses were made of timber and cane and roofed with leaves. The great canoes were carved from a single tree, and held thirty or forty paddlers. The native men were a bit too dark for his taste, but the women were graceful, light skinned, and strikingly beautiful. Quirós recorded with regret that the Spaniards were quick to use their weapons for real or imagined threats, or just because they could do so with impunity. During the few days Mendaña was on the islands, many natives were killed. Quirós estimated that by the time Mendaña and his men left, on August 5, two hundred natives had been slaughtered.

The Marquesas were spared more European visitors until April 7, 1774. On that day, Cook happened on them while sailing from Easter Island to Tahiti during his second voyage of discovery from 1772 to 1775. After Cook's brief visit, the islands remained isolated until the early 1790s, when explorers, merchants, and whalers put in for refreshment, relaxation, and
trade, especially for wood. Outsiders never visited the Marquesas with the frequency they did Tahiti, however, and when Porter considered going there, the islands were still well off the beaten path.

A
S THE
E
SSEX
DROVE WEST, THE WEATHER AND SEA WERE
remarkably pleasant. The air temperature grew hotter, but the heat did not produce squalls, thunder, lightning, or heavy rain, and the current continued to set in a westerly direction, but at a gradually decreasing rate.
In spite of the idyllic conditions, Porter was impatient. He could hardly wait to get to the promised land, and to capture a British merchant ship, the
Mary Ann,
which he believed would be waiting there. Downes had seen her in Valparaiso and had heard her captain boasting about stopping in the Marquesas for wood, water, and food, and to refresh his crew before sailing to India. There was no mistaking what “refresh the crew” meant. A British ship sailing from England to India would normally go by way of the Cape of Good Hope, a much shorter route, rather than risk the hazards of Cape Horn. The prospect of Polynesian women evidently had a powerful hold on her captain. Since the
Mary Ann
was actually in Valparaiso and apparently did intend to go to India, Porter thought her captain might be adventurous enough to stop in the Marquesas, although Tahiti seemed a more likely place. In any event, Porter wanted to capture her if he could. The sluggish sailing of the prizes was slowing him down, however, and on October 6 he sent Downes and
Essex Junior
on ahead in case the
Mary Ann
arrived in the islands before the
Essex
.

Uniform good weather continued during the entire passage to Porter's enchanted oasis. On October 23, a lookout at the mainmast shouted, “Land ho! Land ho! Bearing southwest!” The
Essex
was in latitude 9° 6' south and longitude 138° 27' west by his chronometer, which he had begun to use again. Excitement was palpable, every man was full of anticipation, yearning to experience the delights of these magical islands. But what a disappointment this first one was. “A barren lump of rock inaccessible on all sides, destitute of verdure, and about three miles in circuit,” was Porter's description.

Disgusted, he moved on, continuing west. The following morning he saw the island of Ua Huka, which, for reasons best known to himself, he
called Adams Island. At first he thought it was barren and desolate, like the first one, and he was discouraged, but as the
Essex
drew closer, he saw something breathtaking—fertile valleys, pleasant streams, and clusters of homes, along with natives on verdant hills inviting them to land. Gorgeous trees loaded with luscious fruit were everywhere. Porter felt as if they were about to land in paradise.

Ua Huka was one of five inhabited islands in the Marquesan archipelago. When the
Essex
rounded the southeastern part of the island a canoe appeared suddenly with seven naked, elaborately tattooed men rowing and one sitting in the bow, ornamented with yellow feathers in his hair. They were cautious and would not come alongside until the
Essex
was close to shore. Porter did his best to entice them aboard, but they would not come. He noticed that the foreskin of their penises was drawn tightly back and tied with a strip of bark. It looked unnatural and painful.

Acting as interpreter for Porter was a Tahitian named Tamaha, one of the crew from a captured whaler. Tamaha partially understood the native dialect and was able to communicate somewhat. Porter tried to assure the islanders of his friendly intentions. Remembering that Cook had used iron nails to trade, he lowered pieces of iron, fish hooks, and knives in a bucket attached to a rope to demonstrate his goodwill. Whales' teeth were prized even more, and he offered them as well. In return the natives sent back fish and ornaments, continually using the word
taya
, or friend. They invited the crew to come ashore, where they said the
vahienas
, or women, would welcome them. Nothing could have pleased Porter more. After all, it's what he had come for, dreamed about for months, perhaps years. Now his dream was about to become a reality.

Soon, more canoes filled with men shot out from other coves. They appeared friendly, but would not come near the ship. Porter saw one displaying a white flag, and he reciprocated. At length, when the canoes continued to stay away from the
Essex
, Porter lowered two boats, filled them with armed men, and rowed toward shore. He was in the lead boat. Lieutenant McKnight was in command of the other one. Porter made straight for the beach, while McKnight stood offshore, ready in case of trouble. Heavy surf made the going slow.

As Porter approached the hard-packed sand, large numbers of Marquesans—all adult males, no females or children—crowded the area
where he was about to land, observing his boat. War clubs, slings, and spears were in many hands. In a few moments the spears, slings, and clubs were put aside, however, and dozens of natives ran into the water, swimming out to meet Porter's boat before it touched the beach. They had plantains, breadfruit, coconuts, and other produce to exchange for the small iron objects. In spite of this friendly display, Porter sensed that these islanders were leery of visitors. They were also apparently unacquainted with the power of his guns.

He remained in the area for two hours and then rowed to leeward, entering a small cove, where he met fifty males and three young females. They were all naked, but highly ornamented, and the men were elaborately tattooed. Soon their old chief, Othauough, arrived. Porter offered presents, and the Marquesans offered the three women, two of whom looked to be no more than sixteen. Their beauty was dazzling. “The men repeatedly invited us to the shore and pointed to the women and the house near which they were standing,” Porter wrote, “accompanying their invitation with gestures which we could not misunderstand; and the girls themselves showed no disinclination to grant every favor we might be disposed to ask.”

In spite of the temptation, Porter would not land his boat. Seeing this, Othauough directed the young women to swim out to him, which they were evidently embarrassed to do. Some young men led them to the water, however, and they swam to Porter's boat. When they arrived, Porter took them aboard. He was enchanted by their soft, smooth, surprisingly light skin and their handsome, well-formed bodies. The women made it clear they wanted to go to the frigate, but Porter would not permit it, and when he was finished with them and tried to get them out of the boat one of them cried. Getting them to leave was difficult, but he persisted, and they departed.