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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 Fiji expedition | 5/13 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1840_Fiji_expedition | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:25:29.163462+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Acquisition of a cannibalized skull === During one occasion of the expedition the Peacock was off the coast of Tavea when a chief and his wife and an escort of three canoes approached the ship. Hoping to antagonize the crew, the natives explained that they had captured three prisoners from an enemy village and had "roasted them and eaten part!". They displayed a piece of one of the bodies that had been preserved in plantain leaves to show the crew. Then they produced a half gnawed on skull to be exhibited. The crew also noticed one native eating an eyeball, with flesh dangling from his mouth. Some of the men vomited at this spectacle. Later the Waldron bought the skull to be added to the Ex. Ex.'s artifact collection in exchange for some cloth.
=== Discoveries of the science team === William Brackenridge the horticulturalist and Charles Pickering the naturalist teamed up to make several discoveries together while at Fiji. With their mutual cooperation, they discovered over 650 different plant species. This included a new species of tomato and poison ivy. Moreover, Pickering made the discovery that if the science team did not bring anything that appeared valuable to the natives, they could travel about the Islands without great fear of danger or harassment. This gave them ample time an opportunity to conduct their research. And Brackenridge, for his part, found the last existing variant of sandalwood on Fiji, which up until that point was thought to have been extinct from over harvesting. Horatio Hale, the teams' philologist and anthropologist, documented over 5,600 words in the Fiji language and documented their craftsmanship in producing various canoes, dwellings, and pottery.
James Dwight Dana the team's geologist made a titanic discovery in his field. He proved Charles Darwin's theory of subsidence, which Darwin had spoken about publicly, but was formally addressed in his book The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. In the theory of subsidence after a volcanic Island is formed and after a lengthy period of time a fringing reef forms along the edges or "fringes" of the Island. After that and given more time the Island begins to erode and sink and a lagoon begins to form around the island and the fringing reef becomes a barrier reef. Then after further erosion and sinking over time the island sinks into the sea and only the reef and lagoon it forms remains becoming an atoll. Darwin at first thought he could not adequately prove his theory, but Dana proved it by finding all 3 stages of reef formations on the islands of Cicia, Matuku, and Nanuku. Doctor John L. Fox one of the Ex. Ex.'s surgeons was able to study a number of local diseases endemic to Fiji on Ovalau, as well as the natives methods for treating them. One of these diseases included a disease the Fijians of the time called "dthoke" which has similarities to both lupus and yaws, and may be mistaken for secondary stage syphilis. Another was a Fijian form of influenza called the "dandy cough" that the natives believe spread and mutated through contact with contact from white people, or as the Fijian's called them "Papalangi". Fox believed this influenza may have come from an influenza epidemic that had spread in the USA a few years before the Ex. Ex. had arrived in Fiji. Fox recorded reports from many local whites that about a tenth of the Fijian population had died during that time.
== Burning of Solevu and Tye ==
See: Burning of Solevu and Tye On July 11th, the Vincenees, Flying Fish, and Peacock were surveying in Bua Bay, Bua, Vanua Levu. Wilkes dispatched, Lieutenant Oliver Hazard Perry Jr. (of the Perry Family) and passed midshipman Samuel R. Knox 20 miles southeast, to lead a two cutter survey to chart Solevu bay. The pair and their crews had been stuck in the bay by a storm for numerous days, with dwindling supplies. While the boats were anchored a group of natives taunted them threateningly from the beach. Eventually their food ran out and both Perry and Knox felt compelled to escape. Knox made a lone attempt with his crew. The winds blew hard as the crew made for the shore. Upon disembarking the boat, the sailors were encircled by several natives with clubs, spears, and a small amount of firearms. The crews gunpowder was wet and so if it came down to a fight the crew would need to resort to hand-to-hand combat. However, in an unprecedented move by Western accounts the chief in charge of the natives took pity on the explorers. Knox and his men swam back to Perry's boat, which became overloaded. As night fell, the natives lit fires on the beach and occasionally took pot shots at Perry and his men. In the cover of night, the natives stealthily began diving and swimming to the boat, and attempted to either lift the anchor or cut the anchor chain to drag the boat ashore. The sailors began firing into the water, and eventually were able to capture two of the tribesmen who swam to the boat and made an effort to appear to be allies. Perry suspected them as spies and so arrested them. It turned out they were both chiefs one of high rank and one of low rank. Upon taking these men hostage, the natives on the shore made no more attempts to go after the boat that night. It was supposed that they feared the death of their chiefs. When morning came Perry made a second attempt to escape the bay. This time he attempted to maneuver his cutter around the shallow reefs and into the open ocean. The Natives, realizing what Perry was attempting to accomplish, assembled around the edges of the reef. At one point the boat struck a reef and took on water. The men attempted to bail and keep their distance from the natives.