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diff --git a/1900-h/1900-h.htm b/1900-h/1900-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4753086 --- /dev/null +++ b/1900-h/1900-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13537 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Typee, by Herman Melville</title> + +<style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-weight: +normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: .5em;} + +h1 {font-size: 300%; + margin-top: 0.6em; + margin-bottom: 0.6em; + letter-spacing: 0.12em; + word-spacing: 0.2em; + text-indent: 0em;} +h2 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +h3 {font-size: 130%; margin-top: 1em;} +h4 {font-size: 120%;} +h5 {font-size: 110%;} + +.no-break {page-break-before: avoid;} /* for epubs */ + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +hr {width: 80%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: 90%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.footnote {font-size: 90%; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> + </head> + <body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Typee, by Herman Melville</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Typee<br /> + A Romance of the South Sea</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Herman Melville</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Commentator: Arthur Stedman</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 1999 [eBook #1900]<br /> +[Most recently updated: May 28, 2022]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Dianne Bean and David Widger</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TYPEE ***</div> + +<h1>TYPEE</h1> + +<h3>A ROMANCE OF THE SOUTH SEAS</h3> + +<h2 class="no-break">By Herman Melville</h2> + +<h3>Edited by Arthur Stedman</h3> + +<hr /> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table summary="" style=""> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2H_PREF">PREFACE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2H_INTR">INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITION OF 1892</a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2H_4_0003"><b>TYPEE</b></a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0001">CHAPTER ONE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0002">CHAPTER TWO</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0003">CHAPTER THREE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0004">CHAPTER FOUR</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0005">CHAPTER FIVE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0006">CHAPTER SIX</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0007">CHAPTER SEVEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0008">CHAPTER EIGHT</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0009">CHAPTER NINE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0010">CHAPTER TEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0011">CHAPTER ELEVEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0012">CHAPTER TWELVE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0013">CHAPTER THIRTEEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0014">CHAPTER FOURTEEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0015">CHAPTER FIFTEEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0016">CHAPTER SIXTEEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0017">CHAPTER SEVENTEEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0018">CHAPTER EIGHTEEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0019">CHAPTER NINETEEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0020">CHAPTER TWENTY</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0021">CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0022">CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0023">CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0024">CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0025">CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0026">CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0027">CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0028">CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0029">CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0030">CHAPTER THIRTY</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0031">CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0032">CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0033">CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2HCH0034">CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2H_4_0038">THE STORY OF TOBY</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#link2H_4_0039">NOTE.</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"></a> +PREFACE</h2> + +<p> +More than three years have elapsed since the occurrence of the events recorded +in this volume. The interval, with the exception of the last few months, has +been chiefly spent by the author tossing about on the wide ocean. Sailors are +the only class of men who now-a-days see anything like stirring adventure; and +many things which to fire-side people appear strange and romantic, to them seem +as common-place as a jacket out at elbows. Yet, notwithstanding the familiarity +of sailors with all sorts of curious adventure, the incidents recorded in the +following pages have often served, when ‘spun as a yarn,’ not only +to relieve the weariness of many a night-watch at sea, but to excite the +warmest sympathies of the author’s shipmates. He has been, therefore, led +to think that his story could scarcely fail to interest those who are less +familiar than the sailor with a life of adventure. +</p> + +<p> +In his account of the singular and interesting people among whom he was thrown, +it will be observed that he chiefly treats of their more obvious peculiarities; +and, in describing their customs, refrains in most cases from entering into +explanations concerning their origin and purposes. As writers of travels among +barbarous communities are generally very diffuse on these subjects, he deems it +right to advert to what may be considered a culpable omission. No one can be +more sensible than the author of his deficiencies in this and many other +respects; but when the very peculiar circumstances in which he was placed are +understood, he feels assured that all these omissions will be excused. +</p> + +<p> +In very many published narratives no little degree of attention is bestowed +upon dates; but as the author lost all knowledge of the days of the week, +during the occurrence of the scenes herein related, he hopes that the reader +will charitably pass over his shortcomings in this particular. +</p> + +<p> +In the Polynesian words used in this volume,—except in those cases where +the spelling has been previously determined by others,—that form of +orthography has been employed, which might be supposed most easily to convey +their sound to a stranger. In several works descriptive of the islands in the +Pacific, many of the most beautiful combinations of vocal sounds have been +altogether lost to the ear of the reader by an over-attention to the ordinary +rules of spelling. +</p> + +<p> +There are a few passages in the ensuing chapters which may be thought to bear +rather hard upon a reverend order of men, the account of whose proceedings in +different quarters of the globe—transmitted to us through their own +hands—very generally, and often very deservedly, receives high +commendation. Such passages will be found, however, to be based upon facts +admitting of no contradiction, and which have come immediately under the +writer’s cognizance. The conclusions deduced from these facts are +unavoidable, and in stating them the author has been influenced by no feeling +of animosity, either to the individuals themselves, or to that glorious cause +which has not always been served by the proceedings of some of its advocates. +</p> + +<p> +The great interest with which the important events lately occurring at the +Sandwich, Marquesas, and Society Islands, have been regarded in America and +England, and indeed throughout the world, will, he trusts, justify a few +otherwise unwarrantable digressions. +</p> + +<p> +There are some things related in the narrative which will be sure to appear +strange, or perhaps entirely incomprehensible, to the reader; but they cannot +appear more so to him than they did to the author at the time. He has stated +such matters just as they occurred, and leaves every one to form his own +opinion concerning them; trusting that his anxious desire to speak the +unvarnished truth will gain for him the confidence of his readers. 1846. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"></a> +INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITION OF 1892</h2> + +<h3> By Arthur Stedman </h3> + +<p> +Of the trinity of American authors whose births made the year 1819 a notable +one in our literary history,—Lowell, Whitman, and Melville,—it is +interesting to observe that the two latter were both descended, on the +fathers’ and mothers’ sides respectively, from have families of +British New England and Dutch New York extraction. Whitman and Van Velsor, +Melville and Gansevoort, were the several combinations which produced these +men; and it is easy to trace in the life and character of each author the +qualities derived from his joint ancestry. Here, however, the resemblance +ceases, for Whitman’s forebears, while worthy country people of good +descent, were not prominent in public or private life. Melville, on the other +hand, was of distinctly patrician birth, his paternal and maternal grandfathers +having been leading characters in the Revolutionary War; their descendants +still maintaining a dignified social position. +</p> + +<p> +Allan Melville, great-grandfather of Herman Melville, removed from Scotland to +America in 1748, and established himself as a merchant in Boston. His son, +Major Thomas Melville, was a leader in the famous ‘Boston Tea +Party’ of 1773 and afterwards became an officer in the Continental Army. +He is reported to have been a Conservative in all matters except his opposition +to unjust taxation, and he wore the old-fashioned cocked hat and knee-breeches +until his death, in 1832, thus becoming the original of Doctor Holmes’s +poem, ‘The Last Leaf’. Major Melville’s son Allan, the father +of Herman, was an importing merchant,—first in Boston, and later in New +York. He was a man of much culture, and was an extensive traveller for his +time. He married Maria Gansevoort, daughter of General Peter Gansevoort, best +known as ‘the hero of Fort Stanwix.’ This fort was situated on the +present site of Rome, N.Y.; and there Gansevoort, with a small body of men, +held in check reinforcements on their way to join Burgoyne, until the +disastrous ending of the latter’s campaign of 1777 was insured. The +Gansevoorts, it should be said, were at that time and subsequently residents of +Albany, N.Y. +</p> + +<p> +Herman Melville was born in New York on August 1,1819, and received his early +education in that city. There he imbibed his first love of adventure, +listening, as he says in ‘Redburn,’ while his father ‘of +winter evenings, by the well-remembered sea-coal fire in old Greenwich Street, +used to tell my brother and me of the monstrous waves at sea, mountain high, of +the masts bending like twigs, and all about Havre and Liverpool.’ The +death of his father in reduced circumstances necessitated the removal of his +mother and the family of eight brothers and sisters to the village of +Lansingburg, on the Hudson River. There Herman remained until 1835, when he +attended the Albany Classical School for some months. Dr. Charles E. West, the +well-known Brooklyn educator, was then in charge of the school, and remembers +the lad’s deftness in English composition, and his struggles with +mathematics. +</p> + +<p> +The following year was passed at Pittsfield, Mass., where he engaged in work on +his uncle’s farm, long known as the ‘Van Schaack place.’ This +uncle was Thomas Melville, president of the Berkshire Agricultural Society, and +a successful gentleman farmer. +</p> + +<p> +Herman’s roving disposition, and a desire to support himself +independently of family assistance, soon led him to ship as cabin boy in a New +York vessel bound for Liverpool. He made the voyage, visited London, and +returned in the same ship. ‘Redburn: His First Voyage,’ published +in 1849, is partly founded on the experiences of this trip, which was +undertaken with the full consent of his relatives, and which seems to have +satisfied his nautical ambition for a time. As told in the book, Melville met +with more than the usual hardships of a sailor-boy’s first venture. It +does not seem difficult in ‘Redburn’ to separate the author’s +actual experiences from those invented by him, this being the case in some of +his other writings. +</p> + +<p> +A good part of the succeeding three years, from 1837 to 1840, was occupied with +school-teaching. While so engaged at Greenbush, now East Albany, N.Y., he +received the munificent salary of ‘six dollars a quarter and +board.’ He taught for one term at Pittsfield, Mass., ‘boarding +around’ with the families of his pupils, in true American fashion, and +easily suppressing, on one memorable occasion, the efforts of his larger +scholars to inaugurate a rebellion by physical force. +</p> + +<p> +I fancy that it was the reading of Richard Henry Dana’s ‘Two Years +Before the Mast’ which revived the spirit of adventure in +Melville’s breast. That book was published in 1840, and was at once +talked of everywhere. Melville must have read it at the time, mindful of his +own experience as a sailor. At any rate, he once more signed a ship’s +articles, and on January 1, 1841, sailed from New Bedford harbour in the whaler +Acushnet, bound for the Pacific Ocean and the sperm fishery. He has left very +little direct information as to the events of this eighteen months’ +cruise, although his whaling romance, ‘Moby Dick; or, the Whale,’ +probably gives many pictures of life on board the Acushnet. In the present +volume he confines himself to a general account of the captain’s bad +treatment of the crew, and of his non-fulfilment of agreements. Under these +considerations, Melville decided to abandon the vessel on reaching the +Marquesas Islands; and the narrative of ‘Typee’ begins at this +point. However, he always recognised the immense influence the voyage had had +upon his career, and in regard to its results has said in ‘Moby +Dick,’— +</p> + +<p> +‘If I shall ever deserve any real repute in that small but high hushed +world which I might not be unreasonably ambitious of; if hereafter I shall do +anything that on the whole a man might rather have done than to have left +undone... then here I prospectively ascribe all the honour and the glory to +whaling; for a whale-ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.’ +</p> + +<p> +The record, then, of Melville’s escape from the Dolly, otherwise the +Acushnet, the sojourn of his companion Toby and himself in the Typee Valley on +the island of Nukuheva, Toby’s mysterious disappearance, and +Melville’s own escape, is fully given in the succeeding pages; and rash +indeed would he be who would enter into a descriptive contest with these +inimitable pictures of aboriginal life in the ‘Happy Valley.’ So +great an interest has always centred in the character of Toby, whose actual +existence has been questioned, that I am glad to be able to declare him an +authentic personage, by name Richard T. Greene. He was enabled to discover +himself again to Mr. Melville through the publication of the present volume, +and their acquaintance was renewed, lasting for quite a long period. I have +seen his portrait,—a rare old daguerrotype,—and some of his letters +to our author. One of his children was named for the latter, but Mr. Melville +lost trace of him in recent years. +</p> + +<p> +With the author’s rescue from what Dr. T. M. Coan has styled his +‘anxious paradise,’ ‘Typee’ ends, and its sequel, +‘Omoo,’ begins. Here, again, it seems wisest to leave the remaining +adventures in the South Seas to the reader’s own discovery, simply +stating that, after a sojourn at the Society Islands, Melville shipped for +Honolulu. There he remained for four months, employed as a clerk. He joined the +crew of the American frigate United States, which reached Boston, stopping on +the way at one of the Peruvian ports, in October of 1844. Once more was a +narrative of his experiences to be preserved in ‘White Jacket; or, the +World in a Man-of-War.’ Thus, of Melville’s four most important +books, three, ‘Typee,’ ‘Omoo,’ and +‘White-Jacket,’ are directly auto biographical, and ‘Moby +Dick’ is partially so; while the less important ‘Redburn’ is +between the two classes in this respect. Melville’s other prose works, as +will be shown, were, with some exceptions, unsuccessful efforts at creative +romance. +</p> + +<p> +Whether our author entered on his whaling adventures in the South Seas with a +determination to make them available for literary purposes, may never be +certainly known. There was no such elaborate announcement or advance +preparation as in some later cases. I am inclined to believe that the literary +prospect was an after-thought, and that this insured a freshness and enthusiasm +of style not otherwise to be attained. Returning to his mother’s home at +Lansingburg, Melville soon began the writing of ‘Typee,’ which was +completed by the autumn of 1845. Shortly after this his older brother, +Gansevoort Melville, sailed for England as secretary of legation to Ambassador +McLane, and the manuscript was intrusted to Gansevoort for submission to John +Murray. Its immediate acceptance and publication followed in 1846. +‘Typee’ was dedicated to Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw of +Massachusetts, an old friendship between the author’s family and that of +Justice Shaw having been renewed about this time. Mr. Melville became engaged +to Miss Elizabeth Shaw, the only daughter of the Chief Justice, and their +marriage followed on August 4, 1847, in Boston. +</p> + +<p> +The wanderings of our nautical Othello were thus brought to a conclusion. Mr. +and Mrs. Melville resided in New York City until 1850, when they purchased a +farmhouse at Pittsfield, their farm adjoining that formerly owned by Mr. +Melville’s uncle, which had been inherited by the latter’s son. The +new place was named ‘Arrow Head,’ from the numerous Indian +antiquities found in the neighbourhood. The house was so situated as to command +an uninterrupted view of Greylock Mountain and the adjacent hills. Here +Melville remained for thirteen years, occupied with his writing, and managing +his farm. An article in Putnam’s Monthly entitled ‘I and My +Chimney,’ another called ‘October Mountain,’ and the +introduction to the ‘Piazza Tales,’ present faithful pictures of +Arrow Head and its surroundings. In a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, given in +‘Nathaniel Hawthorne and His Wife,’ his daily life is set forth. +The letter is dated June 1, 1851. +</p> + +<p> +‘Since you have been here I have been building some shanties of houses +(connected with the old one), and likewise some shanties of chapters and +essays. I have been ploughing and sowing and raising and printing and praying, +and now begin to come out upon a less bristling time, and to enjoy the calm +prospect of things from a fair piazza at the north of the old farmhouse here. +Not entirely yet, though, am I without something to be urgent with. The +‘Whale’ is only half through the press; for, wearied with the long +delays of the printers, and disgusted with the heat and dust of the Babylonish +brick-kiln of New York, I came back to the country to feel the grass, and end +the book reclining on it, if I may.’ +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Hawthorne, who was then living in the red cottage at Lenox, had a week at +Arrow Head with his daughter Una the previous spring. It is recorded that the +friends ‘spent most of the time in the barn, bathing in the early spring +sunshine, which streamed through the open doors, and talking philosophy.’ +According to Mr. J. E. A. Smith’s volume on the Berkshire Hills, these +gentlemen, both reserved in nature, though near neighbours and often in the +same company, were inclined to be shy of each other, partly, perhaps, through +the knowledge that Melville had written a very appreciative review of +‘Mosses from an Old Manse’ for the New York Literary World, edited +by their mutual friends, the Duyckincks. ‘But one day,’ writes Mr. +Smith, ‘it chanced that when they were out on a picnic excursion, the two +were compelled by a thundershower to take shelter in a narrow recess of the +rocks of Monument Mountain. Two hours of this enforced intercourse settled the +matter. They learned so much of each other’s character,... that the most +intimate friendship for the future was inevitable.’ A passage in +Hawthorne’s ‘Wonder Book’ is noteworthy as describing the +number of literary neighbours in Berkshire:— +</p> + +<p> +‘For my part, I wish I had Pegasus here at this moment,’ said the +student. ‘I would mount him forthwith, and gallop about the country +within a circumference of a few miles, making literary calls on my brother +authors. Dr. Dewey would be within ray reach, at the foot of the Taconic. In +Stockbridge, yonder, is Mr. James [G. P. R. James], conspicuous to all the +world on his mountain-pile of history and romance. Longfellow, I believe, is +not yet at the Oxbow, else the winged horse would neigh at him. But here in +Lenox I should find our most truthful novelist [Miss Sedgwick], who has made +the scenery and life of Berkshire all her own. On the hither side of Pittsfield +sits Herman Melville, shaping out the gigantic conception of his ‘White +Whale,’ while the gigantic shadow of Greylock looms upon him from his +study window. Another bound of my flying steed would bring me to the door of +Holmes, whom I mention last, because Pegasus would certainly unseat me the next +minute, and claim the poet as his rider.’ +</p> + +<p> +While at Pittsfield, Mr. Melville was induced to enter the lecture field. From +1857 to 1860 he filled many engagements in the lyceums, chiefly speaking of his +adventures in the South Seas. He lectured in cities as widely apart as +Montreal, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, sailing to the last-named +place in 1860, by way of Cape Horn, on the Meteor, commanded, by his younger +brother, Captain Thomas Melville, afterward governor of the +‘Sailor’s Snug Harbor’ at Staten Island, N.Y. Besides his +voyage to San Francisco, he had, in 1849 and 1856, visited England, the +Continent, and the Holy Land, partly to superintend the publication of English +editions of his works, and partly for recreation. +</p> + +<p> +A pronounced feature of Melville’s character was his unwillingness to +speak of himself, his adventures, or his writings in conversation. He was, +however, able to overcome this reluctance on the lecture platform. Our +author’s tendency to philosophical discussion is strikingly set forth in +a letter from Dr. Titus Munson Coan to the latter’s mother, written while +a student at Williams College over thirty years ago, and fortunately preserved +by her. Dr. Coan enjoyed the friendship and confidence of Mr. Melville during +most of his residence in New York. The letter reads:— +</p> + +<p> +‘I have made my first literary pilgrimage, a call upon Herman Melville, +the renowned author of ‘Typee,’ etc. He lives in a spacious +farmhouse about two miles from Pittsfield, a weary walk through the dust. But +it as well repaid. I introduced myself as a Hawaiian-American, and soon found +myself in full tide of talk, or rather of monologue. But he would not repeat +the experiences of which I had been reading with rapture in his books. In vain +I sought to hear of Typee and those paradise islands, but he preferred to pour +forth his philosophy and his theories of life. The shade of Aristotle arose +like a cold mist between myself and Fayaway. We have quite enough of deep +philosophy at Williams College, and I confess I was disappointed in this trend +of the talk. But what a talk it was! Melville is transformed from a Marquesan +to a gypsy student, the gypsy element still remaining strong within him. And +this contradiction gives him the air of one who has suffered from opposition, +both literary and social. With his liberal views, he is apparently considered +by the good people of Pittsfield as little better than a cannibal or a +‘beach-comber.’ His attitude seemed to me something like that of +Ishmael; but perhaps I judged hastily. I managed to draw him out very freely on +everything but the Marquesas Islands, and when I left him he was in full tide +of discourse on all things sacred and profane. But he seems to put away the +objective side of his life, and to shut himself up in this cold north as a +cloistered thinker.’ +</p> + +<p> +I have been told by Dr. Coan that his father, the Rev. Titus Coan, of the +Hawaiian Islands, personally visited the Marquesas group, found the Typee +Valley, and verified in all respects the statements made in +‘Typee.’ It is known that Mr. Melville from early manhood indulged +deeply in philosophical studies, and his fondness for discussing such matters +is pointed out by Hawthorne also, in the ‘English Note Books.’ This +habit increased as he advanced in years, if possible. +</p> + +<p> +The chief event of the residence in Pittsfield was the completion and +publication of ‘Moby Dick; or, the Whale,’ in 1851. How many young +men have been drawn to sea by this book is a question of interest. Meeting with +Mr. Charles Henry Webb (‘John Paul’) the day after Mr. +Melville’s death, I asked him if he were not familiar with that +author’s writings. He replied that ‘Moby Dick’ was +responsible for his three years of life before the mast when a lad, and added +that while ‘gamming’ on board another vessel he had once fallen in +with a member of the boat’s crew which rescued Melville from his friendly +imprisonment among the Typees. +</p> + +<p> +While at Pittsfield, besides his own family, Mr. Melville’s mother and +sisters resided with him. As his four children grew up he found it necessary to +obtain for them better facilities for study than the village school afforded; +and so, several years after, the household was broken up, and he removed with +his wife and children to the New York house that was afterwards his home. This +house belonged to his brother Allan, and was exchanged for the estate at +Pittsfield. In December, 1866, he was appointed by Mr. H. A. Smyth, a former +travelling companion in Europe, a district officer in the New York Custom +House. He held the position until 1886, preferring it to in-door clerical work, +and then resigned, the duties becoming too arduous for his failing strength. +</p> + +<p> +In addition to his philosophical studies, Mr. Melville was much interested in +all matters relating to the fine arts, and devoted most of his leisure hours to +the two subjects. A notable collection of etchings and engravings from the old +masters was gradually made by him, those from Claude’s paintings being a +specialty. After he retired from the Custom House, his tall, stalwart figure +could be seen almost daily tramping through the Fort George district or Central +Park, his roving inclination leading him to obtain as much out-door life as +possible. His evenings were spent at home with his books, his pictures, and his +family, and usually with them alone; for, in spite of the melodramatic +declarations of various English gentlemen, Melville’s seclusion in his +latter years, and in fact throughout his life, was a matter of personal choice. +More and more, as he grew older, he avoided every action on his part, and on +the part of his family, that might tend to keep his name and writings before +the public. A few friends felt at liberty to visit the recluse, and were kindly +welcomed, but he himself sought no one. His favorite companions were his +grandchildren, with whom he delighted to pass his time, and his devoted wife, +who was a constant assistant and adviser in his literary work, chiefly done at +this period for his own amusement. To her he addressed his last little poem, +the touching ‘Return of the Sire de Nesle.’ Various efforts were +made by the New York literary colony to draw him from his retirement, but +without success. It has been suggested that he might have accepted a magazine +editorship, but this is doubtful, as he could not bear business details or +routine work of any sort. His brother Allan was a New York lawyer, and until +his death, in 1872, managed Melville’s affairs with ability, particularly +the literary accounts. +</p> + +<p> +During these later years he took great pleasure in a friendly correspondence +with Mr. W. Clark Russell. Mr. Russell had taken many occasions to mention +Melville’s sea-tales, his interest in them, and his indebtedness to them. +The latter felt impelled to write Mr. Russell in regard to one of his newly +published novels, and received in answer the following letter: +</p> + +<p> +July 21, 1886. +</p> + +<p> +MY DEAR Mr. MELVILLE, Your letter has given me a very great and singular +pleasure. Your delightful books carry the imagination into a maritime period so +remote that, often as you have been in my mind, I could never satisfy myself +that you were still amongst the living. I am glad, indeed, to learn from Mr. +Toft that you are still hale and hearty, and I do most heartily wish you many +years yet of health and vigour. +</p> + +<p> +Your books I have in the American edition. I have ‘Typee, +‘Omoo,’ ‘Redburn,’ and that noble piece ‘Moby +Dick.’ These are all I have been able to obtain. There have been many +editions of your works in this country, particularly the lovely South Sea +sketches; but the editions are not equal to those of the American publishers. +Your reputation here is very great. It is hard to meet a man whose opinion as a +reader is worth leaving who does not speak of your works in such terms as he +might hesitate to employ, with all his patriotism, toward many renowned English +writers. +</p> + +<p> +Dana is, indeed, great. There is nothing in literature more remarkable than the +impression produced by Dana’s portraiture of the homely inner life of a +little brig’s forecastle. +</p> + +<p> +I beg that you will accept my thanks for the kindly spirit in which you have +read my books. I wish it were in my power to cross the Atlantic, for you +assuredly would be the first whom it would be my happiness to visit. +</p> + +<p> +The condition of my right hand obliges me to dictate this to my son; but +painful as it is to me to hold a pen, I cannot suffer this letter to reach the +hands of a man of so admirable genitis as Herman Melville without begging him +to believe me to be, with my own hand, his most respectful and hearty admirer, +W. Clark Russell. +</p> + +<p> +It should be noted here that Melville’s increased reputation in England +at the period of this letter was chiefly owing to a series of articles on his +work written by Mr. Russell. I am sorry to say that few English papers made +more than a passing reference to Melville’s death. The American press +discussed his life and work in numerous and lengthy reviews. At the same time, +there always has been a steady sale of his books in England, and some of them +never have been out of print in that country since the publication of +‘Typee.’ One result of this friendship between the two authors was +the dedication of new volumes to each other in highly complimentary +terms—Mr. Melville’s ‘John Marr and Other Sailors,’ of +which twenty-five copies only were printed, on the one hand, and Mr. +Russell’s ‘An Ocean Tragedy,’ on the other, of which many +thousand have been printed, not to mention unnumbered pirated copies. +</p> + +<p> +Beside Hawthorne, Mr. Richard Henry Stoddard, of American writers, specially +knew and appreciated Herman Melville. Mr. Stoddard was connected with the New +York dock department at the time of Mr. Melville’s appointment to a +custom-house position, and they at once became acquainted. For a good many +years, during the period in which our author remained in seclusion, much that +appeared in print in America concerning Melville came from the pen of Mr. +Stoddard. Nevertheless, the sailor author’s presence in New York was well +known to the literary guild. He was invited to join in all new movements, but +as often felt obliged to excuse himself from doing so. The present writer lived +for some time within a short distance of his house, but found no opportunity to +meet him until it became necessary to obtain his portrait for an anthology in +course of publication. The interview was brief, and the interviewer could not +help feeling although treated with pleasant courtesy, that more important +matters were in hand than the perpetuation of a romancer’s countenance to +future generations; but a friendly family acquaintance grew up from the +incident, and will remain an abiding memory. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Melville died at his home in New York City early on the morning of +September 28, 1891. His serious illness had lasted a number of months, so that +the end came as a release. True to his ruling passion, philosophy had claimed +him to the last, a set of Schopenhauer’s works receiving his attention +when able to study; but this was varied with readings in the ‘Mermaid +Series’ of old plays, in which he took much pleasure. His library, in +addition to numerous works on philosophy and the fine arts, was composed of +standard books of all classes, including, of course, a proportion of nautical +literature. Especially interesting are fifteen or twenty first editions of +Hawthorne’s books inscribed to Mr. and Mrs. Melville by the author and +his wife. +</p> + +<p> +The immediate acceptance of ‘Typee’ by John Murray was followed by +an arrangement with the London agent of an American publisher, for its +simultaneous publication in the United States. I understand that Murray did not +then publish fiction. At any rate, the book was accepted by him on the +assurance of Gansevoort Melville that it contained nothing not actually +experienced by his brother. Murray brought it out early in 1846, in his +Colonial and Home Library, as ‘A Narrative of a Four Months’ +Residence among the Natives of a Valley of the Marquesas Islands; or, a Peep at +Polynesian Life,’ or, more briefly, ‘Melville’s Marquesas +Islands.’ It was issued in America with the author’s own title, +‘Typee,’ and in the outward shape of a work of fiction. Mr. +Melville found himself famous at once. Many discussions were carried on as to +the genuineness of the author’s name and the reality of the events +portrayed, but English and American critics alike recognised the book’s +importance as a contribution to literature. +</p> + +<p> +Melville, in a letter to Hawthorne, speaks of himself as having no development +at all until his twenty-fifth year, the time of his return from the Pacific; +but surely the process of development must have been well advanced to permit of +so virile and artistic a creation as ‘Typee.’ While the narrative +does not always run smoothly, yet the style for the most part is graceful and +alluring, so that we pass from one scene of Pacific enchantment to another +quite oblivious of the vast amount of descriptive detail which is being poured +out upon us. It is the varying fortune of the hero which engrosses our +attention. We follow his adventures with breathless interest, or luxuriate with +him in the leafy bowers of the ‘Happy Valley,’ surrounded by joyous +children of nature. When all is ended, we then for the first time realise that +we know these people and their ways as if we too had dwelt among them. +</p> + +<p> +I do not believe that ‘Typee’ will ever lose its position as a +classic of American Literature. The pioneer in South Sea romance—for the +mechanical descriptions of earlier voyagers are not worthy of +comparison—this book has as yet met with no superior, even in French +literature; nor has it met with a rival in any other language than the French. +The character of ‘Fayaway,’ and, no less, William S. Mayo’s +‘Kaloolah,’ the enchanting dreams of many a youthful heart, will +retain their charm; and this in spite of endless variations by modern explorers +in the same domain. A faint type of both characters may be found in the Surinam +Yarico of Captain John Gabriel Stedman, whose ‘Narrative of a Five +Years’ Expedition’ appeared in 1796. +</p> + +<p> +‘Typee,’ as written, contained passages reflecting with +considerable severity on the methods pursued by missionaries in the South Seas. +The manuscript was printed in a complete form in England, and created much +discussion on this account, Melville being accused of bitterness; but he +asserted his lack of prejudice. The passages referred to were omitted in the +first and all subsequent American editions. They have been restored in the +present issue, which is complete save for a few paragraphs excluded by written +direction of the author. I have, with the consent of his family, changed the +long and cumbersome sub-title of the book, calling it a ‘Real-Romance of +the South Seas,’ as best expressing its nature. +</p> + +<p> +The success of his first volume encouraged Melville to proceed in his work, and +‘Omoo,’ the sequel to ‘Typee,’ appeared in England and +America in 1847. Here we leave, for the most part, the dreamy pictures of +island life, and find ourselves sharing the extremely realistic discomforts of +a Sydney whaler in the early forties. The rebellious crew’s experiences +in the Society Islands are quite as realistic as events on board ship and very +entertaining, while the whimsical character, Dr. Long Ghost, next to Captain +Ahab in ‘Moby Dick,’ is Melville’s most striking delineation. +The errors of the South Sea missions are pointed out with even more force than +in ‘Typee,’ and it is a fact that both these books have ever since +been of the greatest value to outgoing missionaries on account of the exact +information contained in them with respect to the islanders. +</p> + +<p> +Melville’s power in describing and investing with romance scenes and +incidents witnessed and participated in by himself, and his frequent failure of +success as an inventor of characters and situations, were early pointed out by +his critics. More recently Mr. Henry S. Salt has drawn the same distinction +very carefully in an excellent article contributed to the Scottish Art Review. +In a prefatory note to ‘Mardi’ (1849), Melville declares that, as +his former books have been received as romance instead of reality, he will now +try his hand at pure fiction. ‘Mardi’ may be called a splendid +failure. It must have been soon after the completion of ‘Omoo’ that +Melville began to study the writings of Sir Thomas Browne. Heretofore our +author’s style was rough in places, but marvellously simple and direct. +‘Mardi’ is burdened with an over-rich diction, which Melville never +entirely outgrew. The scene of this romance, which opens well, is laid in the +South Seas, but everything soon becomes overdrawn and fantastical, and the +thread of the story loses itself in a mystical allegory. +</p> + +<p> +‘Redburn,’ already mentioned, succeeded ‘Mardi’ in the +same year, and was a partial return to the author’s earlier style. In +‘White-Jacket; or, the World in a Man-of-War’ (1850), Melville +almost regained it. This book has no equal as a picture of life aboard a +sailing man-of-war, the lights and shadows of naval existence being well +contrasted. +</p> + +<p> +With ‘Moby Dick; or, the Whale’ (1851), Melville reached the +topmost notch of his fame. The book represents, to a certain extent, the +conflict between the author’s earlier and later methods of composition, +but the gigantic conception of the ‘White Whale,’ as Hawthorne +expressed it, permeates the whole work, and lifts it bodily into the highest +domain of romance. ‘Moby Dick’ contains an immense amount of +information concerning the habits of the whale and the methods of its capture, +but this is characteristically introduced in a way not to interfere with the +narrative. The chapter entitled ‘Stubb Kills a Whale’ ranks with +the choicest examples of descriptive literature. +</p> + +<p> +‘Moby Dick’ appeared, and Melville enjoyed to the full the enhanced +reputation it brought him. He did not, however, take warning from +‘Mardi,’ but allowed himself to plunge more deeply into the sea of +philosophy and fantasy. +</p> + +<p> +‘Pierre; or, the Ambiguities’ (1852) was published, and there +ensued a long series of hostile criticisms, ending with a severe, though +impartial, article by Fitz-James O’Brien in Putnam’s Monthly. About +the same time the whole stock of the author’s books was destroyed by +fire, keeping them out of print at a critical moment; and public interest, +which until then had been on the increase, gradually began to diminish. +</p> + +<p> +After this Mr. Melville contributed several short stories to Putnam’s +Monthly and Harper’s Magazine. Those in the former periodical were +collected in a volume as Piazza Tales (1856); and of these ‘Benito +Cereno’ and ‘The Bell Tower’ are equal to his best previous +efforts. +</p> + +<p> +‘Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile’ (1855), first printed as +a serial in Putnam’s, is an historical romance of the American +Revolution, based on the hero’s own account of his adventures, as given +in a little volume picked up by Mr. Melville at a book-stall. The story is well +told, but the book is hardly worthy of the author of ‘Typee.’ +‘The Confidence Man’ (1857), his last serious effort in prose +fiction, does not seem to require criticism. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Melville’s pen had rested for nearly ten years, when it was again +taken up to celebrate the events of the Civil War. ‘Battle Pieces and +Aspects of the War’ appeared in 1866. Most of these poems originated, +according to the author, in an impulse imparted by the fall of Richmond; but +they have as subjects all the chief incidents of the struggle. The best of them +are ‘The Stone Fleet,’ ‘In the Prison Pen,’ ‘The +College Colonel,’ ‘The March to the Sea,’ ‘Running the +Batteries,’ and ‘Sheridan at Cedar Creek.’ Some of these had +a wide circulation in the press, and were preserved in various anthologies. +‘Clarel, a Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land’ (1876), is a long +mystical poem requiring, as some one has said, a dictionary, a cyclopaedia, and +a copy of the Bible for its elucidation. In the two privately printed volumes, +the arrangement of which occupied Mr. Melville during his last illness, there +are several fine lyrics. The titles of these books are, ‘John Marr and +Other Sailors’ (1888), and ‘Timoleon’ (1891). +</p> + +<p> +There is no question that Mr. Melville’s absorption in philosophical +studies was quite as responsible as the failure of his later books for his +cessation from literary productiveness. That he sometimes realised the +situation will be seen by a passage in ‘Moby Dick’:— +</p> + +<p> +‘Didn’t I tell you so?’ said Flask. ‘Yes, you’ll +soon see this right whale’s head hoisted up opposite that +parmacetti’s.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘In good time Flask’s saying proved true. As before, the Pequod +steeply leaned over towards the sperm whale’s head, now, by the +counterpoise of both heads, she regained her own keel, though sorely strained, +you may well believe. So, when on one side you hoist in Locke’s head, you +go over that way; but now, on the other side, hoist in Kant’s and you +come back again; but in very poor plight. Thus, some minds forever keep +trimming boat. Oh, ye foolish! throw all these thunderheads overboard, and then +you will float right and light.’ +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Melville would have been more than mortal if he had been indifferent to his +loss of popularity. Yet he seemed contented to preserve an entirely independent +attitude, and to trust to the verdict of the future. The smallest amount of +activity would have kept him before the public; but his reserve would not +permit this. That reinstatement of his reputation cannot be doubted. +</p> + +<p> +In the editing of this reissue of ‘Melville’s Works,’ I have +been much indebted to the scholarly aid of Dr. Titus Munson Coan, whose +familiarity with the languages of the Pacific has enabled me to harmonise the +spelling of foreign words in ‘Typee’ and ‘Omoo,’ though +without changing the phonetic method of printing adopted by Mr. Melville. Dr. +Coan has also been most helpful with suggestions in other directions. Finally, +the delicate fancy of La Fargehas supplemented the immortal pen-portrait of the +Typee maiden with a speaking impersonation of her beauty. +</p> + +<p> +New York, June, 1892. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"></a> +TYPEE</h2> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"></a> +CHAPTER ONE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE SEA—LONGINGS FOR SHORE—A LAND-SICK SHIP—DESTINATION OF +THE VOYAGERS—THE MARQUESAS—ADVENTURE OF A MISSIONARY’S WIFE +AMONG THE SAVAGES—CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTE OF THE QUEEN OF NUKUHEVA +</p> + +<p> +Six months at sea! Yes, reader, as I live, six months out of sight of land; +cruising after the sperm-whale beneath the scorching sun of the Line, and +tossed on the billows of the wide-rolling Pacific—the sky above, the sea +around, and nothing else! Weeks and weeks ago our fresh provisions were all +exhausted. There is not a sweet potato left; not a single yam. Those glorious +bunches of bananas, which once decorated our stern and quarter-deck, have, +alas, disappeared! and the delicious oranges which hung suspended from our tops +and stays—they, too, are gone! Yes, they are all departed, and there is +nothing left us but salt-horse and sea-biscuit. Oh! ye state-room sailors, who +make so much ado about a fourteen-days’ passage across the Atlantic; who +so pathetically relate the privations and hardships of the sea, where, after a +day of breakfasting, lunching, dining off five courses, chatting, playing +whist, and drinking champagne-punch, it was your hard lot to be shut up in +little cabinets of mahogany and maple, and sleep for ten hours, with nothing to +disturb you but ‘those good-for-nothing tars, shouting and tramping +overhead’,—what would ye say to our six months out of sight of +land? +</p> + +<p> +Oh! for a refreshing glimpse of one blade of grass—for a snuff at the +fragrance of a handful of the loamy earth! Is there nothing fresh around us? Is +there no green thing to be seen? Yes, the inside of our bulwarks is painted +green; but what a vile and sickly hue it is, as if nothing bearing even the +semblance of verdure could flourish this weary way from land. Even the bark +that once clung to the wood we use for fuel has been gnawed off and devoured by +the captain’s pig; and so long ago, too, that the pig himself has in turn +been devoured. +</p> + +<p> +There is but one solitary tenant in the chicken-coop, once a gay and dapper +young cock, bearing him so bravely among the coy hens. +</p> + +<p> +But look at him now; there he stands, moping all the day long on that +everlasting one leg of his. He turns with disgust from the mouldy corn before +him, and the brackish water in his little trough. He mourns no doubt his lost +companions, literally snatched from him one by one, and never seen again. But +his days of mourning will be few for Mungo, our black cook, told me yesterday +that the word had at last gone forth, and poor Pedro’s fate was sealed. +His attenuated body will be laid out upon the captain’s table next +Sunday, and long before night will be buried with all the usual ceremonies +beneath that worthy individual’s vest. Who would believe that there could +be any one so cruel as to long for the decapitation of the luckless Pedro; yet +the sailors pray every minute, selfish fellows, that the miserable fowl may be +brought to his end. They say the captain will never point the ship for the land +so long as he has in anticipation a mess of fresh meat. This unhappy bird can +alone furnish it; and when he is once devoured, the captain will come to his +senses. I wish thee no harm, Pedro; but as thou art doomed, sooner or later, to +meet the fate of all thy race; and if putting a period to thy existence is to +be the signal for our deliverance, why—truth to speak—I wish thy +throat cut this very moment; for, oh! how I wish to see the living earth again! +The old ship herself longs to look out upon the land from her hawse-holes once +more, and Jack Lewis said right the other day when the captain found fault with +his steering. +</p> + +<p> +‘Why d’ye see, Captain Vangs,’ says bold Jack, +‘I’m as good a helmsman as ever put hand to spoke; but none of us +can steer the old lady now. We can’t keep her full and bye, sir; watch +her ever so close, she will fall off and then, sir, when I put the helm down so +gently, and try like to coax her to the work, she won’t take it kindly, +but will fall round off again; and it’s all because she knows the land is +under the lee, sir, and she won’t go any more to windward.’ Aye, +and why should she, Jack? didn’t every one of her stout timbers grow on +shore, and hasn’t she sensibilities; as well as we? +</p> + +<p> +Poor old ship! Her very looks denote her desires! how deplorably she appears! +The paint on her sides, burnt up by the scorching sun, is puffed out and +cracked. See the weeds she trails along with her, and what an unsightly bunch +of those horrid barnacles has formed about her stern-piece; and every time she +rises on a sea, she shows her copper torn away, or hanging in jagged strips. +</p> + +<p> +Poor old ship! I say again: for six months she has been rolling and pitching +about, never for one moment at rest. But courage, old lass, I hope to see thee +soon within a biscuit’s toss of the merry land, riding snugly at anchor +in some green cove, and sheltered from the boisterous winds. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +‘Hurra, my lads! It’s a settled thing; next week we shape our +course to the Marquesas!’ The Marquesas! What strange visions of +outlandish things does the very name spirit up! Naked houris—cannibal +banquets—groves of cocoanut—coral reefs—tattooed +chiefs—and bamboo temples; sunny valleys planted with +bread-fruit-trees—carved canoes dancing on the flashing blue +waters—savage woodlands guarded by horrible idols—HEATHENISH RITES +AND HUMAN SACRIFICES. +</p> + +<p> +Such were the strangely jumbled anticipations that haunted me during our +passage from the cruising ground. I felt an irresistible curiosity to see those +islands which the olden voyagers had so glowingly described. +</p> + +<p> +The group for which we were now steering (although among the earliest of +European discoveries in the South Seas, having been first visited in the year +1595) still continues to be tenanted by beings as strange and barbarous as +ever. The missionaries sent on a heavenly errand, had sailed by their lovely +shores, and had abandoned them to their idols of wood and stone. How +interesting the circumstances under which they were discovered! In the watery +path of Mendanna, cruising in quest of some region of gold, these isles had +sprung up like a scene of enchantment, and for a moment the Spaniard believed +his bright dream was realized. +</p> + +<p> +In honour of the Marquess de Mendoza, then viceroy of Peru—under whose +auspices the navigator sailed—he bestowed upon them the name which +denoted the rank of his patron, and gave to the world on his return a vague and +magnificent account of their beauty. But these islands, undisturbed for years, +relapsed into their previous obscurity; and it is only recently that anything +has been known concerning them. Once in the course of a half century, to be +sure, some adventurous rover would break in upon their peaceful repose, and +astonished at the unusual scene, would be almost tempted to claim the merit of +a new discovery. +</p> + +<p> +Of this interesting group, but little account has ever been given, if we except +the slight mention made of them in the sketches of South-Sea voyages. Cook, in +his repeated circumnavigations of the globe, barely touched at their shores; +and all that we know about them is from a few general narratives. +</p> + +<p> +Among these, there are two that claim particular notice. Porter’s +‘Journal of the Cruise of the U.S. frigate Essex, in the Pacific, during +the late War’, is said to contain some interesting particulars concerning +the islanders. This is a work, however, which I have never happened to meet +with; and Stewart, the chaplain of the American sloop of war Vincennes, has +likewise devoted a portion of his book, entitled ‘A Visit to the South +Seas’, to the same subject. +</p> + +<p> +Within the last few, years American and English vessels engaged in the +extensive whale fisheries of the Pacific have occasionally, when short of +provisions, put into the commodious harbour which there is in one of the +islands; but a fear of the natives, founded on the recollection of the dreadful +fate which many white men have received at their hands, has deterred their +crews from intermixing with the population sufficiently to gain any insight +into their peculiar customs and manners. +</p> + +<p> +The Protestant Missions appear to have despaired of reclaiming these islands +from heathenism. The usage they have in every case received from the natives +has been such as to intimidate the boldest of their number. Ellis, in his +‘Polynesian Researches’, gives some interesting accounts of the +abortive attempts made by the ‘’Tahiti Mission’’ to +establish a branch Mission upon certain islands of the group. A short time +before my visit to the Marquesas, a somewhat amusing incident took place in +connection with these efforts, which I cannot avoid relating. +</p> + +<p> +An intrepid missionary, undaunted by the ill-success that had attended all +previous endeavours to conciliate the savages, and believing much in the +efficacy of female influence, introduced among them his young and beautiful +wife, the first white woman who had ever visited their shores. The islanders at +first gazed in mute admiration at so unusual a prodigy, and seemed inclined to +regard it as some new divinity. But after a short time, becoming familiar with +its charming aspect, and jealous of the folds which encircled its form, they +sought to pierce the sacred veil of calico in which it was enshrined, and in +the gratification of their curiosity so far overstepped the limits of good +breeding, as deeply to offend the lady’s sense of decorum. Her sex once +ascertained, their idolatry was changed into contempt and there was no end to +the contumely showered upon her by the savages, who were exasperated at the +deception which they conceived had been practised upon them. To the horror of +her affectionate spouse, she was stripped of her garments, and given to +understand that she could no longer carry on her deceits with impunity. The +gentle dame was not sufficiently evangelical to endure this, and, fearful of +further improprieties, she forced her husband to relinquish his undertaking, +and together they returned to Tahiti. +</p> + +<p> +Not thus shy of exhibiting her charms was the Island Queen herself, the +beauteous wife of Movianna, the king of Nukuheva. Between two and three years +after the adventures recorded in this volume, I chanced, while aboard of a +man-of-war to touch at these islands. The French had then held possession of +the Marquesas some time, and already prided themselves upon the beneficial +effects of their jurisdiction, as discernible in the deportment of the natives. +To be sure, in one of their efforts at reform they had slaughtered about a +hundred and fifty of them at Whitihoo—but let that pass. At the time I +mention, the French squadron was rendezvousing in the bay of Nukuheva, and +during an interview between one of their captains and our worthy Commodore, it +was suggested by the former, that we, as the flag-ship of the American +squadron, should receive, in state, a visit from the royal pair. The French +officer likewise represented, with evident satisfaction, that under their +tuition the king and queen had imbibed proper notions of their elevated +station, and on all ceremonious occasions conducted themselves with suitable +dignity. Accordingly, preparations were made to give their majesties a +reception on board in a style corresponding with their rank. +</p> + +<p> +One bright afternoon, a gig, gaily bedizened with streamers, was observed to +shove off from the side of one of the French frigates, and pull directly for +our gangway. In the stern sheets reclined Mowanna and his consort. As they +approached, we paid them all the honours due to royalty;—manning our +yards, firing a salute, and making a prodigious hubbub. +</p> + +<p> +They ascended the accommodation ladder, were greeted by the Commodore, hat in +hand, and passing along the quarter-deck, the marine guard presented arms, +while the band struck up ‘The King of the Cannibal Islands’. So far +all went well. The French officers grimaced and smiled in exceedingly high +spirits, wonderfully pleased with the discreet manner in which these +distinguished personages behaved themselves. +</p> + +<p> +Their appearance was certainly calculated to produce an effect. His majesty was +arrayed in a magnificent military uniform, stiff with gold lace and embroidery, +while his shaven crown was concealed by a huge chapeau bras, waving with +ostrich plumes. There was one slight blemish, however, in his appearance. A +broad patch of tattooing stretched completely across his face, in a line with +his eyes, making him look as if he wore a huge pair of goggles; and royalty in +goggles suggested some ludicrous ideas. But it was in the adornment of the fair +person of his dark-complexioned spouse that the tailors of the fleet had +evinced the gaiety of their national taste. She was habited in a gaudy tissue +of scarlet cloth, trimmed with yellow silk, which, descending a little below +the knees, exposed to view her bare legs, embellished with spiral tattooing, +and somewhat resembling two miniature Trajan’s columns. Upon her head was +a fanciful turban of purple velvet, figured with silver sprigs, and surmounted +by a tuft of variegated feathers. +</p> + +<p> +The ship’s company, crowding into the gangway to view the sight, soon +arrested her majesty’s attention. She singled out from their number an +old salt, whose bare arms and feet, and exposed breast, were covered with as +many inscriptions in India ink as the lid of an Egyptian sarcophagus. +Notwithstanding all the sly hints and remonstrances of the French officers, she +immediately approached the man, and pulling further open the bosom of his duck +frock, and rolling up the leg of his wide trousers, she gazed with admiration +at the bright blue and vermilion pricking thus disclosed to view. She hung over +the fellow, caressing him, and expressing her delight in a variety of wild +exclamations and gestures. The embarrassment of the polite Gauls at such an +unlooked-for occurrence may be easily imagined, but picture their +consternation, when all at once the royal lady, eager to display the +hieroglyphics on her own sweet form, bent forward for a moment, and turning +sharply round, threw up the skirt of her mantle and revealed a sight from which +the aghast Frenchmen retreated precipitately, and tumbling into their boats, +fled the scene of so shocking a catastrophe. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"></a> +CHAPTER TWO</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +PASSAGE FROM THE CRUISING GROUND TO THE MARQUESAS—SLEEPY TIMES ABOARD +SHIP—SOUTH SEA SCENERY—LAND HO—THE FRENCH SQUADRON DISCOVERED +AT ANCHOR IN THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA—STRANGE PILOT—ESCORT OF +CANOES—A FLOTILLA OF COCOANUTS—SWIMMING VISITORS—THE DOLLY +BOARDED BY THEM—STATE OF AFFAIRS THAT ENSUE +</p> + +<p> +I can never forget the eighteen or twenty days during which the light +trade-winds were silently sweeping us towards the islands. In pursuit of the +sperm whale, we had been cruising on the line some twenty degrees to the +westward of the Gallipagos; and all that we had to do, when our course was +determined on, was to square in the yards and keep the vessel before the +breeze, and then the good ship and the steady gale did the rest between them. +The man at the wheel never vexed the old lady with any superfluous steering, +but comfortably adjusting his limbs at the tiller, would doze away by the hour. +True to her work, the Dolly headed to her course, and like one of those +characters who always do best when let alone, she jogged on her way like a +veteran old sea-pacer as she was. +</p> + +<p> +What a delightful, lazy, languid time we had whilst we were thus gliding along! +There was nothing to be done; a circumstance that happily suited our +disinclination to do anything. We abandoned the fore-peak altogether, and +spreading an awning over the forecastle, slept, ate, and lounged under it the +live-long day. Every one seemed to be under the influence of some narcotic. +Even the officers aft, whose duty required them never to be seated while +keeping a deck watch, vainly endeavoured to keep on their pins; and were +obliged invariably to compromise the matter by leaning up against the bulwarks, +and gazing abstractedly over the side. Reading was out of the question; take a +book in your hand, and you were asleep in an instant. +</p> + +<p> +Although I could not avoid yielding in a great measure to the general languor, +still at times I contrived to shake off the spell, and to appreciate the beauty +of the scene around me. The sky presented a clear expanse of the most delicate +blue, except along the skirts of the horizon, where you might see a thin +drapery of pale clouds which never varied their form or colour. The long, +measured, dirge-like well of the Pacific came rolling along, with its surface +broken by little tiny waves, sparkling in the sunshine. Every now and then a +shoal of flying fish, scared from the water under the bows, would leap into the +air, and fall the next moment like a shower of silver into the sea. Then you +would see the superb albicore, with his glittering sides, sailing aloft, and +often describing an arc in his descent, disappear on the surface of the water. +Far off, the lofty jet of the whale might be seen, and nearer at hand the +prowling shark, that villainous footpad of the seas, would come skulking along, +and, at a wary distance, regard us with his evil eye. At times, some shapeless +monster of the deep, floating on the surface, would, as we approached, sink +slowly into the blue waters, and fade away from the sight. But the most +impressive feature of the scene was the almost unbroken silence that reigned +over sky and water. Scarcely a sound could be heard but the occasional +breathing of the grampus, and the rippling at the cut-water. +</p> + +<p> +As we drew nearer the land, I hailed with delight the appearance of innumerable +sea-fowl. Screaming and whirling in spiral tracks, they would accompany the +vessel, and at times alight on our yards and stays. That piratical-looking +fellow, appropriately named the man-of-war’s-hawk, with his blood-red +bill and raven plumage, would come sweeping round us in gradually diminishing +circles, till you could distinctly mark the strange flashings of his eye; and +then, as if satisfied with his observation, would sail up into the air and +disappear from the view. Soon, other evidences of our vicinity to the land were +apparent, and it was not long before the glad announcement of its being in +sight was heard from aloft,—given with that peculiar prolongation of +sound that a sailor loves—‘Land ho!’ +</p> + +<p> +The captain, darting on deck from the cabin, bawled lustily for his spy-glass; +the mate in still louder accents hailed the masthead with a tremendous +‘where-away?’ The black cook thrust his woolly head from the +galley, and Boatswain, the dog, leaped up between the knight-heads, and barked +most furiously. Land ho! Aye, there it was. A hardly perceptible blue irregular +outline, indicating the bold contour of the lofty heights of Nukuheva. +</p> + +<p> +This island, although generally called one of the Marquesas, is by some +navigators considered as forming one of a distinct cluster, comprising the +islands of Ruhooka, Ropo, and Nukuheva; upon which three the appellation of the +Washington Group has been bestowed. They form a triangle, and lie within the +parallels of 8° 38″ and 9° 32″ South latitude and 139° 20′ +and 140° 10′ West longitude from Greenwich. With how little propriety +they are to be regarded as forming a separate group will be at once apparent, +when it is considered that they lie in the immediate vicinity of the other +islands, that is to say, less than a degree to the northwest of them; that +their inhabitants speak the Marquesan dialect, and that their laws, religion, +and general customs are identical. The only reason why they were ever thus +arbitrarily distinguished may be attributed to the singular fact, that their +existence was altogether unknown to the world until the year 1791, when they +were discovered by Captain Ingraham, of Boston, Massachusetts, nearly two +centuries after the discovery of the adjacent islands by the agent of the +Spanish Viceroy. Notwithstanding this, I shall follow the example of most +voyagers, and treat of them as forming part and parcel of Marquesas. +</p> + +<p> +Nukuheva is the most important of these islands, being the only one at which +ships are much in the habit of touching, and is celebrated as being the place +where the adventurous Captain Porter refitted his ships during the late war +between England and the United States, and whence he sallied out upon the large +whaling fleet then sailing under the enemy’s flag in the surrounding +seas. This island is about twenty miles in length and nearly as many in +breadth. It has three good harbours on its coast; the largest and best of which +is called by the people living in its vicinity ‘Taiohae’, and by +Captain Porter was denominated Massachusetts Bay. Among the adverse tribes +dwelling about the shores of the other bays, and by all voyagers, it is +generally known by the name bestowed upon the island itself—Nukuheva. Its +inhabitants have become somewhat corrupted, owing to their recent commerce with +Europeans, but so far as regards their peculiar customs and general mode of +life, they retain their original primitive character, remaining very nearly in +the same state of nature in which they were first beheld by white men. The +hostile clans, residing in the more remote sections of the island, and very +seldom holding any communication with foreigners, are in every respect +unchanged from their earliest known condition. +</p> + +<p> +In the bay of Nukuheva was the anchorage we desired to reach. We had perceived +the loom of the mountains about sunset; so that after running all night with a +very light breeze, we found ourselves close in with the island the next +morning, but as the bay we sought lay on its farther side, we were obliged to +sail some distance along the shore, catching, as we proceeded, short glimpses +of blooming valleys, deep glens, waterfalls, and waving groves hidden here and +there by projecting and rocky headlands, every moment opening to the view some +new and startling scene of beauty. +</p> + +<p> +Those who for the first time visit the South Sea, generally are surprised at +the appearance of the islands when beheld from the sea. From the vague accounts +we sometimes have of their beauty, many people are apt to picture to themselves +enamelled and softly swelling plains, shaded over with delicious groves, and +watered by purling brooks, and the entire country but little elevated above the +surrounding ocean. The reality is very different; bold rock-bound coasts, with +the surf beating high against the lofty cliffs, and broken here and there into +deep inlets, which open to the view thickly-wooded valleys, separated by the +spurs of mountains clothed with tufted grass, and sweeping down towards the sea +from an elevated and furrowed interior, form the principal features of these +islands. +</p> + +<p> +Towards noon we drew abreast the entrance go the harbour, and at last we slowly +swept by the intervening promontory, and entered the bay of Nukuheva. No +description can do justice to its beauty; but that beauty was lost to me then, +and I saw nothing but the tri-coloured flag of France trailing over the stern +of six vessels, whose black hulls and bristling broadsides proclaimed their +warlike character. There they were, floating in that lovely bay, the green +eminences of the shore looking down so tranquilly upon them, as if rebuking the +sternness of their aspect. To my eye nothing could be more out of keeping than +the presence of these vessels; but we soon learnt what brought them there. The +whole group of islands had just been taken possession of by Rear-Admiral Du +Petit Thouars, in the name of the invincible French nation. +</p> + +<p> +This item of information was imparted to us by a most extraordinary individual, +a genuine South-Sea vagabond, who came alongside of us in a whale-boat as soon +as we entered the bay, and, by the aid of some benevolent persons at the +gangway, was assisted on board, for our visitor was in that interesting stage +of intoxication when a man is amiable and helpless. Although he was utterly +unable to stand erect or to navigate his body across the deck, he still +magnanimously proffered his services to pilot the ship to a good and secure +anchorage. Our captain, however, rather distrusted his ability in this respect, +and refused to recognize his claim to the character he assumed; but our +gentleman was determined to play his part, for, by dint of much scrambling, he +succeeded in getting into the weather-quarter boat, where he steadied himself +by holding on to a shroud, and then commenced issuing his commands with amazing +volubility and very peculiar gestures. Of course no one obeyed his orders; but +as it was impossible to quiet him, we swept by the ships of the squadron with +this strange fellow performing his antics in full view of all the French +officers. +</p> + +<p> +We afterwards learned that our eccentric friend had been a lieutenant in the +English navy; but having disgraced his flag by some criminal conduct in one of +the principal ports on the main, he had deserted his ship, and spent many years +wandering among the islands of the Pacific, until accidentally being at +Nukuheva when the French took possession of the place, he had been appointed +pilot of the harbour by the newly constituted authorities. +</p> + +<p> +As we slowly advanced up the bay, numerous canoes pushed off from the +surrounding shores, and we were soon in the midst of quite a flotilla of them, +their savage occupants struggling to get aboard of us, and jostling one another +in their ineffectual attempts. Occasionally the projecting out-riggers of their +slight shallops running foul of one another, would become entangled beneath the +water, threatening to capsize the canoes, when a scene of confusion would ensue +that baffles description. Such strange outcries and passionate gesticulations I +never certainly heard or saw before. You would have thought the islanders were +on the point of flying at each other’s throats, whereas they were only +amicably engaged in disentangling their boats. +</p> + +<p> +Scattered here and there among the canoes might be seen numbers of cocoanuts +floating closely together in circular groups, and bobbing up and down with +every wave. By some inexplicable means these cocoanuts were all steadily +approaching towards the ship. As I leaned curiously over the side, endeavouring +to solve their mysterious movements, one mass far in advance of the rest +attracted my attention. In its centre was something I could take for nothing +else than a cocoanut, but which I certainly considered one of the most +extraordinary specimens of the fruit I had ever seen. It kept twirling and +dancing about among the rest in the most singular manner, and as it drew nearer +I thought it bore a remarkable resemblance to the brown shaven skull of one of +the savages. Presently it betrayed a pair of eyes, and soon I became aware that +what I had supposed to have been one of the fruit was nothing else than the +head of an islander, who had adopted this singular method of bringing his +produce to market. The cocoanuts were all attached to one another by strips of +the husk, partly torn from the shell and rudely fastened together. Their +proprietor inserting his head into the midst of them, impelled his necklace of +cocoanuts through the water by striking out beneath the surface with his feet. +</p> + +<p> +I was somewhat astonished to perceive that among the number of natives that +surrounded us, not a single female was to be seen. At that time I was ignorant +of the fact that by the operation of the ‘taboo’ the use of canoes +in all parts of the island is rigorously prohibited to the entire sex, for whom +it is death even to be seen entering one when hauled on shore; consequently, +whenever a Marquesan lady voyages by water, she puts in requisition the paddles +of her own fair body. +</p> + +<p> +We had approached within a mile and a half perhaps of this foot of the bay, +when some of the islanders, who by this time had managed to scramble aboard of +us at the risk of swamping their canoes, directed our attention to a singular +commotion in the water ahead of the vessel. At first I imagined it to be +produced by a shoal of fish sporting on the surface, but our savage friends +assured us that it was caused by a shoal of ‘whinhenies’ (young +girls), who in this manner were coming off from the shore to welcome is. As +they drew nearer, and I watched the rising and sinking of their forms, and +beheld the uplifted right arm bearing above the water the girdle of tappa, and +their long dark hair trailing beside them as they swam, I almost fancied they +could be nothing else than so many mermaids—and very like mermaids they +behaved too. +</p> + +<p> +We were still some distance from the beach, and under slow headway, when we +sailed right into the midst of these swimming nymphs, and they boarded us at +every quarter; many seizing hold of the chain-plates and springing into the +chains; others, at the peril of being run over by the vessel in her course, +catching at the bob-stays, and wreathing their slender forms about the ropes, +hung suspended in the air. All of them at length succeeded in getting up the +ship’s side, where they clung dripping with the brine and glowing from +the bath, their jet-black tresses streaming over their shoulders, and half +enveloping their otherwise naked forms. There they hung, sparkling with savage +vivacity, laughing gaily at one another, and chattering away with infinite +glee. Nor were they idle the while, for each one performed the simple offices +of the toilette for the other. Their luxuriant locks, wound up and twisted into +the smallest possible compass, were freed from the briny element; the whole +person carefully dried, and from a little round shell that passed from hand to +hand, anointed with a fragrant oil: their adornments were completed by passing +a few loose folds of white tappa, in a modest cincture, around the waist. Thus +arrayed they no longer hesitated, but flung themselves lightly over the +bulwarks, and were quickly frolicking about the decks. Many of them went +forward, perching upon the headrails or running out upon the bowsprit, while +others seated themselves upon the taffrail, or reclined at full length upon the +boats. What a sight for us bachelor sailors! How avoid so dire a temptation? +For who could think of tumbling these artless creatures overboard, when they +had swum miles to welcome us? +</p> + +<p> +Their appearance perfectly amazed me; their extreme youth, the light clear +brown of their complexions, their delicate features, and inexpressibly graceful +figures, their softly moulded limbs, and free unstudied action, seemed as +strange as beautiful. +</p> + +<p> +The Dolly was fairly captured; and never I will say was vessel carried before +by such a dashing and irresistible party of boarders! The ship taken, we could +not do otherwise than yield ourselves prisoners, and for the whole period that +she remained in the bay, the Dolly, as well as her crew, were completely in the +hands of the mermaids. +</p> + +<p> +In the evening after we had come to an anchor the deck was illuminated with +lanterns, and this picturesque band of sylphs, tricked out with flowers, and +dressed in robes of variegated tappa, got up a ball in great style. These +females are passionately fond of dancing, and in the wild grace and spirit of +the style excel everything I have ever seen. The varied dances of the Marquesan +girls are beautiful in the extreme, but there is an abandoned voluptuousness in +their character which I dare not attempt to describe. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"></a> +CHAPTER THREE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +SOME ACCOUNT OF THE LATE OPERATIONS OF THE FRENCH AT THE +MARQUESAS—PRUDENT CONDUCT OF THE ADMIRAL—SENSATION PRODUCED BY THE +ARRIVAL OF THE STRANGERS—THE FIRST HORSE SEEN BY THE +ISLANDERS—REFLECTIONS—MISERABLE SUBTERFUGE OF THE +FRENCH—DIGRESSION CONCERNING TAHITI—SEIZURE OF THE ISLAND BY THE +ADMIRAL—SPIRITED CONDUCT OF AN ENGLISH LADY +</p> + +<p> +It was in the summer of 1842 that we arrived at the islands; the French had +then held possession of them for several weeks. During this time they had +visited some of the principal places in the group, and had disembarked at +various points about five hundred troops. These were employed in constructing +works of defence, and otherwise providing against the attacks of the natives, +who at any moment might be expected to break out in open hostility. The +islanders looked upon the people who made this cavalier appropriation of their +shores with mingled feelings of fear and detestation. They cordially hated +them; but the impulses of their resentment were neutralized by their dread of +the floating batteries, which lay with their fatal tubes ostentatiously +pointed, not at fortifications and redoubts, but at a handful of bamboo sheds, +sheltered in a grove of cocoanuts! A valiant warrior doubtless, but a prudent +one too, was this same Rear-Admiral Du Petit Thouars. Four heavy, doublebanked +frigates and three corvettes to frighten a parcel of naked heathen into +subjection! Sixty-eight pounders to demolish huts of cocoanut boughs, and +Congreve rockets to set on fire a few canoe sheds! +</p> + +<p> +At Nukuheva, there were about one hundred soldiers ashore. They were encamped +in tents, constructed of the old sails and spare spars of the squadron, within +the limits of a redoubt mounted with a few nine-pounders, and surrounded with a +fosse. Every other day, these troops were marched out in martial array, to a +level piece of ground in the vicinity, and there for hours went through all +sorts of military evolutions, surrounded by flocks of the natives, who looked +on with savage admiration at the show, and as savage a hatred of the actors. A +regiment of the Old Guard, reviewed on a summer’s day in the Champs +Elysees, could not have made a more critically correct appearance. The +officers’ regimentals, resplendent with gold lace and embroidery as if +purposely calculated to dazzle the islanders, looked as if just unpacked from +their Parisian cases. +</p> + +<p> +The sensation produced by the presence of the strangers had not in the least +subsided at the period of our arrival at the islands. The natives still flocked +in numbers about the encampment, and watched with the liveliest curiosity +everything that was going forward. A blacksmith’s forge, which had been +set up in the shelter of a grove near the beach, attracted so great a crowd, +that it required the utmost efforts of the sentries posted around to keep the +inquisitive multitude at a sufficient distance to allow the workmen to ply +their vocation. But nothing gained so large a share of admiration as a horse, +which had been brought from Valparaiso by the Achille, one of the vessels of +the squadron. The animal, a remarkably fine one, had been taken ashore, and +stabled in a hut of cocoanut boughs within the fortified enclosure. +Occasionally it was brought out, and, being gaily caparisoned, was ridden by +one of the officers at full speed over the hard sand beach. This performance +was sure to be hailed with loud plaudits, and the ‘puarkee nuee’ +(big hog) was unanimously pronounced by the islanders to be the most +extraordinary specimen of zoology that had ever come under their observation. +</p> + +<p> +The expedition for the occupation of the Marquesas had sailed from Brest in the +spring of 1842, and the secret of its destination was solely in the possession +of its commander. No wonder that those who contemplated such a signal +infraction of the rights of humanity should have sought to veil the enormity +from the eyes of the world. And yet, notwithstanding their iniquitous conduct +in this and in other matters, the French have ever plumed themselves upon being +the most humane and polished of nations. A high degree of refinement, however, +does not seem to subdue our wicked propensities so much after all; and were +civilization itself to be estimated by some of its results, it would seem +perhaps better for what we call the barbarous part of the world to remain +unchanged. +</p> + +<p> +One example of the shameless subterfuges under which the French stand prepared +to defend whatever cruelties they may hereafter think fit to commit in bringing +the Marquesan natives into subjection is well worthy of being recorded. On some +flimsy pretext or other Mowanna, the king of Nukuheva, whom the invaders by +extravagant presents had cajoled over to their interests, and moved about like +a mere puppet, has been set up as the rightful sovereign of the entire +island—the alleged ruler by prescription of various clans, who for ages +perhaps have treated with each other as separate nations. To reinstate this +much-injured prince in the assumed dignities of his ancestors, the +disinterested strangers have come all the way from France: they are determined +that his title shall be acknowledged. If any tribe shall refuse to recognize +the authority of the French, by bowing down to the laced chapeau of Mowanna, +let them abide the consequences of their obstinacy. Under cover of a similar +pretence, have the outrages and massacres at Tahiti the beautiful, the queen of +the South Seas, been perpetrated. +</p> + +<p> +On this buccaneering expedition, Rear Admiral Du Petit Thouars, leaving the +rest of his squadron at the Marquesas,—which had then been occupied by +his forces about five months—set sail for the doomed island in the Reine +Blanche frigate. On his arrival, as an indemnity for alleged insults offered to +the flag of his country, he demanded some twenty or thirty thousand dollars to +be placed in his hands forthwith, and in default of payment, threatened to land +and take possession of the place. +</p> + +<p> +The frigate, immediately upon coming to an anchor, got springs on her cables, +and with her guns cast loose and her men at their quarters, lay in the circular +basin of Papeete, with her broadside bearing upon the devoted town; while her +numerous cutters, hauled in order alongside, were ready to effect a landing, +under cover of her batteries. She maintained this belligerent attitude for +several days, during which time a series of informal negotiations were pending, +and wide alarm spread over the island. Many of the Tahitians were at first +disposed to resort to arms, and drive the invaders from their shores; but more +pacific and feebler counsels ultimately prevailed. The unfortunate queen +Pomare, incapable of averting the impending calamity, terrified at the +arrogance of the insolent Frenchman, and driven at last to despair, fled by +night in a canoe to Emio. +</p> + +<p> +During the continuance of the panic there occurred an instance of feminine +heroism that I cannot omit to record. +</p> + +<p> +In the grounds of the famous missionary consul, Pritchard, then absent in +London, the consular flag of Britain waved as usual during the day, from a +lofty staff planted within a few yards of the beach, and in full view of the +frigate. One morning an officer, at the head of a party of men, presented +himself at the verandah of Mr Pritchard’s house, and inquired in broken +English for the lady his wife. The matron soon made her appearance; and the +polite Frenchman, making one of his best bows, and playing gracefully with the +aiguillettes that danced upon his breast, proceeded in courteous accents to +deliver his mission. ‘The admiral desired the flag to be hauled +down—hoped it would be perfectly agreeable—and his men stood ready +to perform the duty.’ ‘Tell the Pirate your master,’ replied +the spirited Englishwoman, pointing to the staff, ‘that if he wishes to +strike these colours, he must come and perform the act himself; I will suffer +no one else to do it.’ The lady then bowed haughtily and withdrew into +the house. As the discomfited officer slowly walked away, he looked up to the +flag, and perceived that the cord by which it was elevated to its place, led +from the top of the staff, across the lawn, to an open upper window of the +mansion, where sat the lady from whom he had just parted, tranquilly engaged in +knitting. Was that flag hauled down? Mrs Pritchard thinks not; and Rear-Admiral +Du Petit Thouars is believed to be of the same opinion. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"></a> +CHAPTER FOUR</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +STATE OF AFFAIRS ABOARD THE SHIP—CONTENTS OF HER LARDER—LENGTH OF +SOUTH SEAMEN’S VOYAGES—ACCOUNT OF A FLYING +WHALE-MAN—DETERMINATION TO LEAVE THE VESSEL—THE BAY OF +NUKUHEVA—THE TYPEES—INVASION OF THEIR VALLEY BY +PORTER—REFLECTIONS—GLEN OF TIOR—INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE OLD +KING AND THE FRENCH ADMIRAL +</p> + +<p> +Our ship had not been many days in the harbour of Nukuheva before I came to the +determination of leaving her. That my reasons for resolving to take this step +were numerous and weighty, may be inferred from the fact that I chose rather to +risk my fortunes among the savages of the island than to endure another voyage +on board the Dolly. To use the concise, pointblank phrase of the sailors. I had +made up my mind to ‘run away’. Now as a meaning is generally +attached to these two words no way flattering to the individual to whom they +are applied, it behoves me, for the sake of my own character, to offer some +explanation of my conduct. +</p> + +<p> +When I entered on board the Dolly, I signed as a matter of course the +ship’s articles, thereby voluntarily engaging and legally binding myself +to serve in a certain capacity for the period of the voyage; and, special +considerations apart, I was of course bound to fulfill the agreement. But in +all contracts, if one party fail to perform his share of the compact, is not +the other virtually absolved from his liability? Who is there who will not +answer in the affirmative? +</p> + +<p> +Having settled the principle, then, let me apply it to the particular case in +question. In numberless instances had not only the implied but the specified +conditions of the articles been violated on the part of the ship in which I +served. The usage on board of her was tyrannical; the sick had been inhumanly +neglected; the provisions had been doled out in scanty allowance; and her +cruises were unreasonably protracted. The captain was the author of the abuses; +it was in vain to think that he would either remedy them, or alter his conduct, +which was arbitrary and violent in the extreme. His prompt reply to all +complaints and remonstrances was—the butt-end of a handspike, so +convincingly administered as effectually to silence the aggrieved party. +</p> + +<p> +To whom could we apply for redress? We had left both law and equity on the +other side of the Cape; and unfortunately, with a very few exceptions, our crew +was composed of a parcel of dastardly and meanspirited wretches, divided among +themselves, and only united in enduring without resistance the unmitigated +tyranny of the captain. It would have been mere madness for any two or three of +the number, unassisted by the rest, to attempt making a stand against his ill +usage. They would only have called down upon themselves the particular +vengeance of this ‘Lord of the Plank’, and subjected their +shipmates to additional hardships. +</p> + +<p> +But, after all, these things could have been endured awhile, had we entertained +the hope of being speedily delivered from them by the due completion of the +term of our servitude. But what a dismal prospect awaited us in this quarter! +The longevity of Cape Horn whaling voyages is proverbial, frequently extending +over a period of four or five years. +</p> + +<p> +Some long-haired, bare-necked youths, who, forced by the united influences of +Captain Marryatt and hard times, embark at Nantucket for a pleasure excursion +to the Pacific, and whose anxious mothers provide them, with bottled milk for +the occasion, oftentimes return very respectable middle-aged gentlemen. +</p> + +<p> +The very preparations made for one of these expeditions are enough to frighten +one. As the vessel carries out no cargo, her hold is filled with provisions for +her own consumption. The owners, who officiate as caterers for the voyage, +supply the larder with an abundance of dainties. Delicate morsels of beef and +pork, cut on scientific principles from every part of the animal, and of all +conceivable shapes and sizes, are carefully packed in salt, and stored away in +barrels; affording a never-ending variety in their different degrees of +toughness, and in the peculiarities of their saline properties. Choice old +water too, decanted into stout six-barrel-casks, and two pints of which is +allowed every day to each soul on board; together with ample store of +sea-bread, previously reduced to a state of petrifaction, with a view to +preserve it either from decay or consumption in the ordinary mode, are likewise +provided for the nourishment and gastronomic enjoyment of the crew. +</p> + +<p> +But not to speak of the quality of these articles of sailors’ fare, the +abundance in which they are put onboard a whaling vessel is almost incredible. +Oftentimes, when we had occasion to break out in the hold, and I beheld the +successive tiers of casks and barrels, whose contents were all destined to be +consumed in due course by the ship’s company, my heart has sunk within +me. +</p> + +<p> +Although, as a general case, a ship unlucky in falling in with whales continues +to cruise after them until she has barely sufficient provisions remaining to +take her home, turning round then quietly and making the best of her way to her +friends, yet there are instances when even this natural obstacle to the further +prosecution of the voyage is overcome by headstrong captains, who, bartering +the fruits of their hard-earned toils for a new supply of provisions in some of +the ports of Chili or Peru, begin the voyage afresh with unabated zeal and +perseverance. It is in vain that the owners write urgent letters to him to sail +for home, and for their sake to bring back the ship, since it appears he can +put nothing in her. Not he. He has registered a vow: he will fill his vessel +with good sperm oil, or failing to do so, never again strike Yankee soundings. +</p> + +<p> +I heard of one whaler, which after many years’ absence was given up for +lost. The last that had been heard of her was a shadowy report of her having +touched at some of those unstable islands in the far Pacific, whose eccentric +wanderings are carefully noted in each new edition of the South-Sea charts. +After a long interval, however, ‘The Perseverance’—for that +was her name—was spoken somewhere in the vicinity of the ends of the +earth, cruising along as leisurely as ever, her sails all bepatched and be +quilted with rope-yarns, her spars fished with old pipe staves, and her rigging +knotted and spliced in every possible direction. Her crew was composed of some +twenty venerable Greenwich-pensioner-looking old salts, who just managed to +hobble about deck. The ends of all the running ropes, with the exception of the +signal halyards and poop-down-haul, were rove through snatch-blocks, and led to +the capstan or windlass, so that not a yard was braced or a sail set without +the assistance of machinery. +</p> + +<p> +Her hull was encrusted with barnacles, which completely encased her. Three pet +sharks followed in her wake, and every day came alongside to regale themselves +from the contents of the cook’s bucket, which were pitched over to them. +A vast shoal of bonetas and albicores always kept her company. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the account I heard of this vessel and the remembrance of it always +haunted me; what eventually became of her I never learned; at any rate: he +never reached home, and I suppose she is still regularly tacking twice in the +twenty-four hours somewhere off Desolate Island, or the Devil’s-Tail +Peak. +</p> + +<p> +Having said thus much touching the usual length of these voyages, when I inform +the reader that ours had as it were just commenced, we being only fifteen +months out, and even at that time hailed as a late arrival and boarded for +news, he will readily perceive that there was little to encourage one in +looking forward to the future, especially as I had always had a presentiment +that we should make an unfortunate voyage, and our experience so far had +justified the expectation. +</p> + +<p> +I may here state, and on my faith as an honest man, that though more than three +years have elapsed since I left this same identical vessel, she still +continues; in the Pacific, and but a few days since I saw her reported in the +papers as having touched at the Sandwich Islands previous to going on the coast +of Japan. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to my narrative. Placed in these circumstances then, with no +prospect of matters mending if I remained aboard the Dolly, I at once made up +my mind to leave her: to be sure it was rather an inglorious thing to steal +away privily from those at whose hands I had received wrongs and outrages that +I could not resent; but how was such a course to be avoided when it was the +only alternative left me? Having made up my mind, I proceeded to acquire all +the information I could obtain relating to the island and its inhabitants, with +a view of shaping my plans of escape accordingly. The result of these inquiries +I will now state, in order that the ensuing narrative may be the better +understood. +</p> + +<p> +The bay of Nukuheva in which we were then lying is an expanse of water not +unlike in figure the space included within the limits of a horse-shoe. It is, +perhaps, nine miles in circumference. You approach it from the sea by a narrow +entrance, flanked on each side by two small twin islets which soar conically to +the height of some five hundred feet. From these the shore recedes on both +hands, and describes a deep semicircle. +</p> + +<p> +From the verge of the water the land rises uniformly on all sides, with green +and sloping acclivities, until from gently rolling hill-sides and moderate +elevations it insensibly swells into lofty and majestic heights, whose blue +outlines, ranged all around, close in the view. The beautiful aspect of the +shore is heightened by deep and romantic glens, which come down to it at almost +equal distances, all apparently radiating from a common centre, and the upper +extremities of which are lost to the eye beneath the shadow of the mountains. +Down each of these little valleys flows a clear stream, here and there assuming +the form of a slender cascade, then stealing invisibly along until it bursts +upon the sight again in larger and more noisy waterfalls, and at last demurely +wanders along to the sea. +</p> + +<p> +The houses of the natives, constructed of the yellow bamboo, tastefully twisted +together in a kind of wicker-work, and thatched with the long tapering leaves +of the palmetto, are scattered irregularly along these valleys beneath the +shady branches of the cocoanut trees. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing can exceed the imposing scenery of this bay. Viewed from our ship as +she lay at anchor in the middle of the harbour, it presented the appearance of +a vast natural amphitheatre in decay, and overgrown with vines, the deep glens +that furrowed it’s sides appearing like enormous fissures caused by the +ravages of time. Very often when lost in admiration at its beauty, I have +experienced a pang of regret that a scene so enchanting should be hidden from +the world in these remote seas, and seldom meet the eyes of devoted lovers of +nature. +</p> + +<p> +Besides this bay the shores of the island are indented by several other +extensive inlets, into which descend broad and verdant valleys. These are +inhabited by as many distinct tribes of savages, who, although speaking kindred +dialects of a common language, and having the same religion and laws, have from +time immemorial waged hereditary warfare against each other. The intervening +mountains generally two or three thousand feet above the level of the sea +geographically define the territories of each of these hostile tribes, who +never cross them, save on some expedition of war or plunder. Immediately +adjacent to Nukuheva, and only separated from it by the mountains seen from the +harbour, lies the lovely valley of Happar, whose inmates cherish the most +friendly relations with the inhabitants of Nukuheva. On the other side of +Happar, and closely adjoining it, is the magnificent valley of the dreaded +Typees, the unappeasable enemies of both these tribes. +</p> + +<p> +These celebrated warriors appear to inspire the other islanders with +unspeakable terrors. Their very name is a frightful one; for the word +‘Typee’ in the Marquesan dialect signifies a lover of human flesh. +It is rather singular that the title should have been bestowed upon them +exclusively, inasmuch as the natives of all this group are irreclaimable +cannibals. The name may, perhaps, have been given to denote the peculiar +ferocity of this clan, and to convey a special stigma along with it. +</p> + +<p> +These same Typees enjoy a prodigious notoriety all over the islands. The +natives of Nukuheva would frequently recount in pantomime to our ship’s +company their terrible feats, and would show the marks of wounds they had +received in desperate encounters with them. When ashore they would try to +frighten us by pointing, to one of their own number, and calling him a Typee, +manifesting no little surprise that we did not take to our heels at so terrible +an announcement. It was quite amusing, too, to see with what earnestness they +disclaimed all cannibal propensities on their own part, while they denounced +their enemies—the Typees—as inveterate gourmandizers of human +flesh; but this is a peculiarity to which I shall hereafter have occasion to +allude. +</p> + +<p> +Although I was convinced that the inhabitants of our bay were as arrant +cannibals as any of the other tribes on the island, still I could not but feel +a particular and most unqualified repugnance to the aforesaid Typees. Even +before visiting the Marquesas, I had heard from men who had touched at the +group on former voyages some revolting stories in connection with these +savages; and fresh in my remembrance was the adventure of the master of the +Katherine, who only a few months previous, imprudently venturing into this bay +in an armed boat for the purpose of barter, was seized by the natives, carried +back a little distance into their valley, and was only saved from a cruel death +by the intervention of a young girl, who facilitated his escape by night along +the beach to Nukuheva. +</p> + +<p> +I had heard too of an English vessel that many years ago, after a weary cruise, +sought to enter the bay of Nukuheva, and arriving within two or three miles of +the land, was met by a large canoe filled with natives, who offered to lead the +way to the place of their destination. The captain, unacquainted with the +localities of the island, joyfully acceded to the proposition—the canoe +paddled on, the ship followed. She was soon conducted to a beautiful inlet, and +dropped her anchor in its waters beneath the shadows of the lofty shore. That +same night the perfidious Typees, who had thus inveigled her into their fatal +bay, flocked aboard the doomed vessel by hundreds, and at a given signal +murdered every soul on board. +</p> + +<p> +I shall never forget the observation of one of our crew as we were passing +slowly by the entrance of the bay in our way to Nukuheva. As we stood gazing +over the side at the verdant headlands, Ned, pointing with his hand in the +direction of the treacherous valley, exclaimed, +‘There—there’s Typee. Oh, the bloody cannibals, what a meal +they’d make of us if we were to take it into our heads to land! but they +say they don’t like sailor’s flesh, it’s too salt. I say, +maty, how should you like to be shoved ashore there, eh?’ I little +thought, as I shuddered at the question, that in the space of a few weeks I +should actually be a captive in that self-same valley. +</p> + +<p> +The French, although they had gone through the ceremony of hoisting their +colours for a few hours at all the principal places of the group, had not as +yet visited the bay of Typee, anticipating a fierce resistance on the part of +the savages there, which for the present at least they wished to avoid. Perhaps +they were not a little influenced in the adoption of this unusual policy from a +recollection of the warlike reception given by the Typees to the forces of +Captain Porter, about the year 1814, when that brave and accomplished officer +endeavoured to subjugate the clan merely to gratify the mortal hatred of his +allies the Nukuhevas and Happars. +</p> + +<p> +On that occasion I have been told that a considerable detachment of sailors and +marines from the frigate Essex, accompanied by at least two thousand warriors +of Happar and Nukuheva, landed in boats and canoes at the head of the bay, and +after penetrating a little distance into the valley, met with the stoutest +resistance from its inmates. Valiantly, although with much loss, the Typees +disputed every inch of ground, and after some hard fighting obliged their +assailants to retreat and abandon their design of conquest. +</p> + +<p> +The invaders, on their march back to the sea, consoled themselves for their +repulse by setting fire to every house and temple in their route; and a long +line of smoking ruins defaced the once-smiling bosom of the valley, and +proclaimed to its pagan inhabitants the spirit that reigned in the breasts of +Christian soldiers. Who can wonder at the deadly hatred of the Typees to all +foreigners after such unprovoked atrocities? +</p> + +<p> +Thus it is that they whom we denominate ‘savages’ are made to +deserve the title. When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry +the ‘big canoe’ of the European rolling through the blue waters +towards their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms +stand ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosom +the vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; and the +instinctive feeling of love within their breast is soon converted into the +bitterest hate. +</p> + +<p> +The enormities perpetrated in the South Seas upon some of the inoffensive +islanders will nigh pass belief. These things are seldom proclaimed at home; +they happen at the very ends of the earth; they are done in a corner, and there +are none to reveal them. But there is, nevertheless, many a petty trader that +has navigated the Pacific whose course from island to island might be traced by +a series of cold-blooded robberies, kidnappings, and murders, the iniquity of +which might be considered almost sufficient to sink her guilty timbers to the +bottom of the sea. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes vague accounts of such thing’s reach our firesides, and we +coolly censure them as wrong, impolitic, needlessly severe, and dangerous to +the crews of other vessels. How different is our tone when we read the +highly-wrought description of the massacre of the crew of the Hobomak by the +Feejees; how we sympathize for the unhappy victims, and with what horror do we +regard the diabolical heathens, who, after all, have but avenged the unprovoked +injuries which they have received. We breathe nothing but vengeance, and equip +armed vessels to traverse thousands of miles of ocean in order to execute +summary punishment upon the offenders. On arriving at their destination, they +burn, slaughter, and destroy, according to the tenor of written instructions, +and sailing away from the scene of devastation, call upon all Christendom to +applaud their courage and their justice. +</p> + +<p> +How often is the term ‘savages’ incorrectly applied! None really +deserving of it were ever yet discovered by voyagers or by travellers. They +have discovered heathens and barbarians whom by horrible cruelties they have +exasperated into savages. It may be asserted without fear of contradictions +that in all the cases of outrages committed by Polynesians, Europeans have at +some time or other been the aggressors, and that the cruel and bloodthirsty +disposition of some of the islanders is mainly to be ascribed to the influence +of such examples. +</p> + +<p> +But to return. Owing to the mutual hostilities of the different tribes I have +mentioned, the mountainous tracts which separate their respective territories +remain altogether uninhabited; the natives invariably dwelling in the depths of +the valleys, with a view of securing themselves from the predatory incursions +of their enemies, who often lurk along their borders, ready to cut off any +imprudent straggler, or make a descent upon the inmates of some sequestered +habitation. I several times met with very aged men, who from this cause had +never passed the confines of their native vale, some of them having never even +ascended midway up the mountains in the whole course of their lives, and who, +accordingly had little idea of the appearance of any other part of the island, +the whole of which is not perhaps more than sixty miles in circuit. The little +space in which some of these clans pass away their days would seem almost +incredible. +</p> + +<p> +The glen of the Tior will furnish a curious illustration of this. +</p> + +<p> +The inhabited part is not more than four miles in length, and varies in breadth +from half a mile to less than a quarter. The rocky vine-clad cliffs on one side +tower almost perpendicularly from their base to the height of at least fifteen +hundred feet; while across the vale—in striking contrast to the scenery +opposite—grass-grown elevations rise one above another in blooming +terraces. Hemmed in by these stupendous barriers, the valley would be +altogether shut out from the rest of the world, were it not that it is +accessible from the sea at one end, and by a narrow defile at the other. +</p> + +<p> +The impression produced upon the mind, when I first visited this beautiful +glen, will never be obliterated. +</p> + +<p> +I had come from Nukuheva by water in the ship’s boat, and when we entered +the bay of Tior it was high noon. The heat had been intense, as we had been +floating upon the long smooth swell of the ocean, for there was but little +wind. The sun’s rays had expended all their fury upon us; and to add to +our discomfort, we had omitted to supply ourselves with water previous to +starting. What with heat and thirst together, I became so impatient to get +ashore, that when at last we glided towards it, I stood up in the bow of the +boat ready for a spring. As she shot two-thirds of her length high upon the +beach, propelled by three or four strong strokes of the oars, I leaped among a +parcel of juvenile savages, who stood prepared to give us a kind reception; and +with them at my heels, yelling like so many imps, I rushed forward across the +open ground in the vicinity of the sea, and plunged, diver fashion, into the +recesses of the first grove that offered. +</p> + +<p> +What a delightful sensation did I experience! I felt as if floating in some new +element, while all sort of gurgling, trickling, liquid sounds fell upon my ear. +People may say what they will about the refreshing influences of a coldwater +bath, but commend me when in a perspiration to the shade baths of Tior, beneath +the cocoanut trees, and amidst the cool delightful atmosphere which surrounds +them. +</p> + +<p> +How shall I describe the scenery that met my eye, as I looked out from this +verdant recess! The narrow valley, with its steep and close adjoining sides +draperied with vines, and arched overhead with a fret-work of interlacing +boughs, nearly hidden from view by masses of leafy verdure, seemed from where I +stood like an immense arbour disclosing its vista to the eye, whilst as I +advanced it insensibly widened into the loveliest vale eye ever beheld. +</p> + +<p> +It so happened that the very day I was in Tior the French admiral, attended by +all the boats of his squadron, came down in state from Nukuheva to take formal +possession of the place. He remained in the valley about two hours, during +which time he had a ceremonious interview with the king. The +patriarch-sovereign of Tior was a man very far advanced in years; but though +age had bowed his form and rendered him almost decrepid, his gigantic frame +retained its original magnitude and grandeur of appearance. +</p> + +<p> +He advanced slowly and with evident pain, assisting his tottering steps with +the heavy warspear he held in his hand, and attended by a group of grey-bearded +chiefs, on one of whom he occasionally leaned for support. The admiral came +forward with head uncovered and extended hand, while the old king saluted him +by a stately flourish of his weapon. The next moment they stood side by side, +these two extremes of the social scale,—the polished, splendid Frenchman, +and the poor tattooed savage. They were both tall and noble-looking men; but in +other respects how strikingly contrasted! Du Petit Thouars exhibited upon his +person all the paraphernalia of his naval rank. He wore a richly decorated +admiral’s frock-coat, a laced chapeau bras, and upon his breast were a +variety of ribbons and orders; while the simple islander, with the exception of +a slight cincture about his loins, appeared in all the nakedness of nature. +</p> + +<p> +At what an immeasurable distance, thought I, are these two beings removed from +each other. In the one is shown the result of long centuries of progressive +Civilization and refinement, which have gradually converted the mere creature +into the semblance of all that is elevated and grand; while the other, after +the lapse of the same period, has not advanced one step in the career of +improvement, ‘Yet, after all,’ quoth I to myself, ‘insensible +as he is to a thousand wants, and removed from harassing cares, may not the +savage be the happier man of the two?’ Such were the thoughts that arose +in my mind as I gazed upon the novel spectacle before me. In truth it was an +impressive one, and little likely to be effaced. I can recall even now with +vivid distinctness every feature of the scene. The umbrageous shades where the +interview took place—the glorious tropical vegetation around—the +picturesque grouping of the mingled throng of soldiery and natives—and +even the golden-hued bunch of bananas that I held in my hand at the time, and +of which I occasionally partook while making the aforesaid philosophical +reflections. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"></a> +CHAPTER FIVE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THOUGHTS PREVIOUS TO ATTEMPTING AN ESCAPE—TOBY, A FELLOW SAILOR, AGREES +TO SHARE THE ADVENTURE—LAST NIGHT ABOARD THE SHIP +</p> + +<p> +Having fully resolved to leave the vessel clandestinely, and having acquired +all the knowledge concerning the bay that I could obtain under the +circumstances in which I was placed, I now deliberately turned over in my mind +every plan to escape that suggested itself, being determined to act with all +possible prudence in an attempt where failure would be attended with so many +disagreeable consequences. The idea of being taken and brought back +ignominiously to the ship was so inexpressibly repulsive to me, that I was +determined by no hasty and imprudent measures to render such an event probable. +</p> + +<p> +I knew that our worthy captain, who felt, such a paternal solicitude for the +welfare of his crew, would not willingly consent that one of his best hands +should encounter the perils of a sojourn among the natives of a barbarous +island; and I was certain that in the event of my disappearance, his fatherly +anxiety would prompt him to offer, by way of a reward, yard upon yard of gaily +printed calico for my apprehension. He might even have appreciated my services +at the value of a musket, in which case I felt perfectly certain that the whole +population of the bay would be immediately upon my track, incited by the +prospect of so magnificent a bounty. +</p> + +<p> +Having ascertained the fact before alluded to, that the islanders,—from +motives of precaution, dwelt altogether in the depths of the valleys, and +avoided wandering about the more elevated portions of the shore, unless bound +on some expedition of war or plunder, I concluded that if I could effect +unperceived a passage to the mountain, I might easily remain among them, +supporting myself by such fruits as came in my way until the sailing of the +ship, an event of which I could not fail to be immediately apprised, as from my +lofty position I should command a view of the entire harbour. +</p> + +<p> +The idea pleased me greatly. It seemed to combine a great deal of +practicability with no inconsiderable enjoyment in a quiet way; for how +delightful it would be to look down upon the detested old vessel from the +height of some thousand feet, and contrast the verdant scenery about me with +the recollection of her narrow decks and gloomy forecastle! Why, it was really +refreshing even to think of it; and so I straightway fell to picturing myself +seated beneath a cocoanut tree on the brow of the mountain, with a cluster of +plantains within easy reach, criticizing her nautical evolutions as she was +working her way out of the harbour. +</p> + +<p> +To be sure there was one rather unpleasant drawback to these agreeable +anticipations—the possibility of falling in with a foraging party of +these same bloody-minded Typees, whose appetites, edged perhaps by the air of +so elevated a region, might prompt them to devour one. This, I must confess, +was a most disagreeable view of the matter. +</p> + +<p> +Just to think of a party of these unnatural gourmands taking it into their +heads to make a convivial meal of a poor devil, who would have no means of +escape or defence: however, there was no help for it. I was willing to +encounter some risks in order to accomplish my object, and counted much upon my +ability to elude these prowling cannibals amongst the many coverts which the +mountains afforded. Besides, the chances were ten to one in my favour that they +would none of them quit their own fastnesses. +</p> + +<p> +I had determined not to communicate my design of withdrawing from the vessel to +any of my shipmates, and least of all to solicit any one to accompany me in my +flight. But it so happened one night, that being upon deck, revolving over in +my mind various plans of escape, I perceived one of the ship’s company +leaning over the bulwarks, apparently plunged in a profound reverie. He was a +young fellow about my own age, for whom I had all along entertained a great +regard; and Toby, such was the name by which he went among us, for his real +name he would never tell us, was every way worthy of it. He was active, ready +and obliging, of dauntless courage, and singularly open and fearless in the +expression of his feelings. I had on more than one occasion got him out of +scrapes into which this had led him; and I know not whether it was from this +cause, or a certain congeniality of sentiment between us, that he had always +shown a partiality for my society. We had battled out many a long watch +together, beguiling the weary hours with chat, song, and story, mingled with a +good many imprecations upon the hard destiny it seemed our common fortune to +encounter. +</p> + +<p> +Toby, like myself, had evidently moved in a different sphere of life, and his +conversation at times betrayed this, although he was anxious to conceal it. He +was one of that class of rovers you sometimes meet at sea, who never reveal +their origin, never allude to home, and go rambling over the world as if +pursued by some mysterious fate they cannot possibly elude. +</p> + +<p> +There was much even in the appearance of Toby calculated to draw me towards +him, for while the greater part of the crew were as coarse in person as in +mind, Toby was endowed with a remarkably prepossessing exterior. Arrayed in his +blue frock and duck trousers, he was as smart a looking sailor as ever stepped +upon a deck; he was singularly small and slightly made, with great flexibility +of limb. His naturally dark complexion had been deepened by exposure to the +tropical sun, and a mass of jetty locks clustered about his temples, and threw +a darker shade into his large black eyes. He was a strange wayward being, +moody, fitful, and melancholy—at times almost morose. He had a quick and +fiery temper too, which, when thoroughly roused, transported him into a state +bordering on delirium. +</p> + +<p> +It is strange the power that a mind of deep passion has over feebler natures. I +have seen a brawny, fellow, with no lack of ordinary courage, fairly quail +before this slender stripling, when in one of his curious fits. But these +paroxysms seldom occurred, and in them my big-hearted shipmate vented the bile +which more calm-tempered individuals get rid of by a continual pettishness at +trivial annoyances. +</p> + +<p> +No one ever saw Toby laugh. I mean in the hearty abandonment of broad-mouthed +mirth. He did smile sometimes, it is true; and there was a good deal of dry, +sarcastic humour about him, which told the more from the imperturbable gravity +of his tone and manner. +</p> + +<p> +Latterly I had observed that Toby’s melancholy had greatly increased, and +I had frequently seen him since our arrival at the island gazing wistfully upon +the shore, when the remainder of the crew would be rioting below. I was aware +that he entertained a cordial detestation of the ship, and believed that, +should a fair chance of escape present itself, he would embrace it willingly. +</p> + +<p> +But the attempt was so perilous in the place where we then lay, that I supposed +myself the only individual on board the ship who was sufficiently reckless to +think of it. In this, however, I was mistaken. +</p> + +<p> +When I perceived Toby leaning, as I have mentioned, against the bulwarks and +buried in thought, it struck me at once that the subject of his meditations +might be the same as my own. And if it be so, thought I, is he not the very one +of all my shipmates whom I would choose: for the partner of my adventure? and +why should I not have some comrade with me to divide its dangers and alleviate +its hardships? Perhaps I might be obliged to lie concealed among the mountains +for weeks. In such an event what a solace would a companion be? +</p> + +<p> +These thoughts passed rapidly through my mind, and I wondered why I had not +before considered the matter in this light. But it was not too late. A tap upon +the shoulder served to rouse Toby from his reverie; I found him ripe for the +enterprise, and a very few words sufficed for a mutual understanding between +us. In an hour’s time we had arranged all the preliminaries, and decided +upon our plan of action. We then ratified our engagement with an affectionate +wedding of palms, and to elude suspicion repaired each to his hammock, to spend +the last night on board the Dolly. +</p> + +<p> +The next day the starboard watch, to which we both belonged, was to be sent +ashore on liberty; and, availing ourselves of this opportunity, we determined, +as soon after landing as possible, to separate ourselves from the rest of the +men without exciting their suspicions, and strike back at once for the +mountains. Seen from the ship, their summits appeared inaccessible, but here +and there sloping spurs extended from them almost into the sea, buttressing the +lofty elevations with which they were connected, and forming those radiating +valleys I have before described. One of these ridges, which appeared more +practicable than the rest, we determined to climb, convinced that it would +conduct us to the heights beyond. Accordingly, we carefully observed its +bearings and locality from the ship, so that when ashore we should run no +chance of missing it. +</p> + +<p> +In all this the leading object we had in view was to seclude ourselves from +sight until the departure of the vessel; then to take our chance as to the +reception the Nukuheva natives might give us; and after remaining upon the +island as long as we found our stay agreeable, to leave it the first favourable +opportunity that offered. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"></a> +CHAPTER SIX</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +A SPECIMEN OF NAUTICAL ORATORY—CRITICISMS OF THE SAILORS—THE +STARBOARD WATCH ARE GIVEN A HOLIDAY—THE ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS +</p> + +<p> +Early the next morning the starboard watch were mustered upon the quarter-deck, +and our worthy captain, standing in the cabin gangway, harangued us as +follows:— +</p> + +<p> +‘Now, men, as we are just off a six months’ cruise, and have got +through most all our work in port here, I suppose you want to go ashore. Well, +I mean to give your watch liberty today, so you may get ready as soon all you +please, and go; but understand this, I am going to give you liberty because I +suppose you would growl like so many old quarter gunners if I didn’t; at +the same time, if you’ll take my advice, every mother’s son of you +will stay aboard and keep out of the way of the bloody cannibals altogether. +Ten to one, men, if you go ashore, you will get into some infernal row, and +that will be the end of you; for if those tattooed scoundrels get you a little +ways back into their valleys, they’ll nab you—that you may be +certain of. Plenty of white men have gone ashore here and never been seen any +more. There was the old Dido, she put in here about two years ago, and sent one +watch off on liberty; they never were heard of again for a week—the +natives swore they didn’t know where they were—and only three of +them ever got back to the ship again, and one with his face damaged for life, +for the cursed heathens tattooed a broad patch clean across his figure-head. +But it will be no use talking to you, for go you will, that I see plainly; so +all I have to say is, that you need not blame me if the islanders make a meal +of you. You may stand some chance of escaping them though, if you keep close +about the French encampment,—and are back to the ship again before +sunset. Keep that much in your mind, if you forget all the rest I’ve been +saying to you. There, go forward: bear a hand and rig yourselves, and stand by +for a call. At two bells the boat will be manned to take you off, and the Lord +have mercy on you!’ +</p> + +<p> +Various were the emotions depicted upon the countenances of the starboard watch +whilst listening to this address; but on its conclusion there was a general +move towards the forecastle, and we soon were all busily engaged in getting +ready for the holiday so auspiciously announced by the skipper. During these +preparations his harangue was commented upon in no very measured terms; and one +of the party, after denouncing him as a lying old son of a seacook who +begrudged a fellow a few hours’ liberty, exclaimed with an oath, +‘But you don’t bounce me out of my liberty, old chap, for all your +yarns; for I would go ashore if every pebble on the beach was a live coal, and +every stick a gridiron, and the cannibals stood ready to broil me on +landing.’ +</p> + +<p> +The spirit of this sentiment was responded to by all hands, and we resolved +that in spite of the captain’s croakings we would make a glorious day of +it. +</p> + +<p> +But Toby and I had our own game to play, and we availed ourselves of the +confusion which always reigns among a ship’s company preparatory to going +ashore, to confer together and complete our arrangements. As our object was to +effect as rapid a flight as possible to the mountains, we determined not to +encumber ourselves with any superfluous apparel; and accordingly, while the +rest were rigging themselves out with some idea of making a display, we were +content to put on new stout duck trousers, serviceable pumps, and heavy +Havre-frocks, which with a Payta hat completed our equipment. +</p> + +<p> +When our shipmates wondered at this, Toby exclaimed in his odd grave way that +the rest might do, as they liked, but that he for one preserved his go-ashore +traps for the Spanish main, where the tie of a sailor’s neckerchief might +make some difference; but as for a parcel of unbreeched heathen, he +wouldn’t go to the bottom of his chest for any of them, and was half +disposed to appear among them in buff himself. The men laughed at what they +thought was one of his strange conceits, and so we escaped suspicion. +</p> + +<p> +It may appear singular that we should have been thus on our guard with our own +shipmates; but there were some among us who, had they possessed the least +inkling of our project, would, for a paltry hope of reward, have immediately +communicated it to the captain. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as two bells were struck, the word was passed for the liberty-men to +get into the boat. I lingered behind in the forecastle a moment to take a +parting glance at its familiar features, and just as I was about to ascend to +the deck my eye happened to light on the bread-barge and beef-kid, which +contained the remnants of our last hasty meal. Although I had never before +thought of providing anything in the way of food for our expedition, as I fully +relied upon the fruits of the island to sustain us wherever we might wander, +yet I could not resist the inclination I felt to provide luncheon from the +relics before me. Accordingly I took a double handful of those small, broken, +flinty bits of biscuit which generally go by the name of +‘midshipmen’s nuts’, and thrust them into the bosom of my +frock in which same simple receptacle I had previously stowed away several +pounds of tobacco and a few yards of cotton cloth—articles with which I +intended to purchase the good-will of the natives, as soon as we should appear +among them after the departure of our vessel. +</p> + +<p> +This last addition to my stock caused a considerable protuberance in front, +which I abated in a measure by shaking the bits of bread around my waist, and +distributing the plugs of tobacco among the folds of the garment. +</p> + +<p> +Hardly had I completed these arrangements when my name was sung out by a dozen +voices, and I sprung upon the deck, where I found all the party in the boat, +and impatient to shove off. I dropped over the side and seated myself with the +rest of the watch in the stern sheets, while the poor larboarders shipped their +oars, and commenced pulling us ashore. +</p> + +<p> +This happened to be the rainy season at the islands, and the heavens had nearly +the whole morning betokened one of those heavy showers which during this period +so frequently occur. The large drops fell bubbling into the water shortly after +our leaving the ship, and by the time we had affected a landing it poured down +in torrents. We fled for shelter under cover of an immense canoe-house which +stood hard by the beach, and waited for the first fury of the storm to pass. +</p> + +<p> +It continued, however, without cessation; and the monotonous beating of the +rain over head began to exert a drowsy influence upon the men, who, throwing +themselves here and there upon the large war-canoes, after chatting awhile, all +fell asleep. +</p> + +<p> +This was the opportunity we desired, and Toby and I availed ourselves of it at +once by stealing out of the canoe-house and plunging into the depths of an +extensive grove that was in its rear. After ten minutes’ rapid progress +we gained an open space from which we could just descry the ridge we intended +to mount looming dimly through the mists of the tropical shower, and distant +from us, as we estimated, something more than a mile. Our direct course towards +it lay through a rather populous part of the bay; but desirous as we were of +evading the natives and securing an unmolested retreat to the mountains, we +determined, by taking a circuit through some extensive thickets, to avoid their +vicinity altogether. +</p> + +<p> +The heavy rain that still continued to fall without intermission favoured our +enterprise, as it drove the islanders into their houses, and prevented any +casual meeting with them. Our heavy frocks soon became completely saturated +with water, and by their weight, and that of the articles we had concealed +beneath them, not a little impeded our progress. But it was no time to pause +when at any moment we might be surprised by a body of the savages, and forced +at the very outset to relinquish our undertaking. +</p> + +<p> +Since leaving the canoe-house we had scarcely exchanged a single syllable with +one another; but when we entered a second narrow opening in the wood, and again +caught sight of the ridge before us, I took Toby by the arm, and pointing along +its sloping outline to the lofty heights at its extremity, said in a low tone, +‘Now, Toby, not a word, nor a glance backward, till we stand on the +summit of yonder mountain—so no more lingering but let us shove ahead +while we can, and in a few hours’ time we may laugh aloud. You are the +lightest and the nimblest, so lead on, and I will follow.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘All right, brother,’ said Toby, ‘quick’s our play; +only lets keep close together, that’s all;’ and so saying with a +bound like a young roe, he cleared a brook which ran across our path, and +rushed forward with a quick step. +</p> + +<p> +When we arrived within a short distance of the ridge, we were stopped by a mass +of tall yellow reeds, growing together as thickly as they could stand, and as +tough and stubborn as so many rods of steel; and we perceived, to our chagrin, +that they extended midway up the elevation we proposed to ascend. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment we gazed about us in quest of a more practicable route; it was, +however, at once apparent that there was no resource but to pierce this thicket +of canes at all hazards. We now reversed our order of march, I, being the +heaviest, taking the lead, with a view of breaking a path through the +obstruction, while Toby fell into the rear. +</p> + +<p> +Two or three times I endeavoured to insinuate myself between the canes, and by +dint of coaxing and bending them to make some progress; but a bull-frog might +as well have tried to work a passage through the teeth of a comb, and I gave up +the attempt in despair. +</p> + +<p> +Half wild with meeting an obstacle we had so little anticipated, I threw myself +desperately against it, crushing to the ground the canes with which I came in +contact, and, rising to my feet again, repeated the action with like effect. +Twenty minutes of this violent exercise almost exhausted me, but it carried us +some way into the thicket; when Toby, who had been reaping the benefit of my +labours by following close at my heels, proposed to become pioneer in turn, and +accordingly passed ahead with a view of affording me a respite from my +exertions. As however with his slight frame he made but bad work of it, I was +soon obliged to resume my old place again. On we toiled, the perspiration +starting from our bodies in floods, our limbs torn and lacerated with the +splintered fragments of the broken canes, until we had proceeded perhaps as far +as the middle of the brake, when suddenly it ceased raining, and the atmosphere +around us became close and sultry beyond expression. The elasticity of the +reeds quickly recovering from the temporary pressure of our bodies, caused them +to spring back to their original position; so that they closed in upon us as we +advanced, and prevented the circulation of little air which might otherwise +have reached us. Besides this, their great height completely shut us out from +the view of surrounding objects, and we were not certain but that we might have +been going all the time in a wrong direction. +</p> + +<p> +Fatigued with my long-continued efforts, and panting for breath, I felt myself +completely incapacitated for any further exertion. I rolled up the sleeve of my +frock, and squeezed the moisture it contained into my parched mouth. But the +few drops I managed to obtain gave me little relief, and I sank down for a +moment with a sort of dogged apathy, from which I was aroused by Toby, who had +devised a plan to free us from the net in which we had become entangled. +</p> + +<p> +He was laying about him lustily with his sheath-knive, lopping the canes right +and left, like a reaper, and soon made quite a clearing around us. This sight +reanimated me; and seizing my own knife, I hacked and hewed away without mercy. +But alas! the farther we advanced the thicker and taller, and apparently the +more interminable, the reeds became. +</p> + +<p> +I began to think we were fairly snared, and had almost made up my mind that +without a pair of wings we should never be able to escape from the toils; when +all at once I discerned a peep of daylight through the canes on my right, and, +communicating the joyful tidings to Toby, we both fell to with fresh spirit, +and speedily opening the passage towards it we found ourselves clear of +perplexities, and in the near vicinity of the ridge. After resting for a few +moments we began the ascent, and after a little vigorous climbing found +ourselves close to its summit. Instead however of walking along its ridge, +where we should have been in full view of the natives in the vales beneath, and +at a point where they could easily intercept us were they so inclined, we +cautiously advanced on one side, crawling on our hands and knees, and screened +from observation by the grass through which we glided, much in the fashion of a +couple of serpents. After an hour employed in this unpleasant kind of +locomotion, we started to our feet again and pursued our way boldly along the +crest of the ridge. +</p> + +<p> +This salient spur of the lofty elevations that encompassed the bay rose with a +sharp angle from the valleys at its base, and presented, with the exception of +a few steep acclivities, the appearance of a vast inclined plane, sweeping down +towards the sea from the heights in the distance. We had ascended it near the +place of its termination and at its lowest point, and now saw our route to the +mountains distinctly defined along its narrow crest, which was covered with a +soft carpet of verdure, and was in many parts only a few feet wide. +</p> + +<p> +Elated with the success which had so far attended our enterprise, and +invigorated by the refreshing atmosphere we now inhaled, Toby and I in high +spirits were making our way rapidly along the ridge, when suddenly from the +valleys below which lay on either side of us we heard the distant shouts of the +natives, who had just descried us, and to whom our figures, brought in bold +relief against the sky, were plainly revealed. +</p> + +<p> +Glancing our eyes into these valleys, we perceived their savage inhabitants +hurrying to and fro, seemingly under the influence of some sudden alarm, and +appearing to the eye scarcely bigger than so many pigmies; while their white +thatched dwellings, dwarfed by the distance, looked like baby-houses. As we +looked down upon the islanders from our lofty elevation, we experienced a sense +of security; feeling confident that, should they undertake a pursuit, it would, +from the start we now had, prove entirely fruitless, unless they followed us +into the mountains, where we knew they cared not to venture. +</p> + +<p> +However, we thought it as well to make the most of our time; and accordingly, +where the ground would admit of it, we ran swiftly along the summit of the +ridge, until we were brought to a stand by a steep cliff, which at first seemed +to interpose an effectual barrier to our farther advance. By dint of much hard +scrambling however, and at some risk to our necks, we at last surmounted it, +and continued our fight with unabated celerity. +</p> + +<p> +We had left the beach early in the morning, and after an uninterrupted, though +at times difficult and dangerous ascent, during which we had never once turned +our faces to the sea, we found ourselves, about three hours before sunset, +standing on the top of what seemed to be the highest land on the island, an +immense overhanging cliff composed of basaltic rocks, hung round with +parasitical plants. We must have been more than three thousand feet above the +level of the sea, and the scenery viewed from this height was magnificent. +</p> + +<p> +The lonely bay of Nukuheva, dotted here and there with the black hulls of the +vessels composing the French squadron, lay reposing at the base of a circular +range of elevations, whose verdant sides, perforated with deep glens or +diversified with smiling valleys, formed altogether the loveliest view I ever +beheld, and were I to live a hundred years, I shall never forget the feeling of +admiration which I then experienced. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"></a> +CHAPTER SEVEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN—DISAPPOINTMENT—INVENTORY OF ARTICLES +BROUGHT FROM THE SHIP—DIVISION OF THE STOCK OF BREAD—APPEARANCE OF +THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLAND—A DISCOVERY—A RAVINE AND +WATERFALLS—A SLEEPLESS NIGHT—FURTHER DISCOVERIES—MY +ILLNESS—A MARQUESAN LANDSCAPE +</p> + +<p> +My curiosity had been not a little raised with regard to the description of +country we should meet on the other side of the mountains; and I had supposed, +with Toby, that immediately on gaining the heights we should be enabled to view +the large bays of Happar and Typee reposing at our feet on one side, in the +same way that Nukuheva lay spread out below on the other. But here we were +disappointed. Instead of finding the mountain we had ascended sweeping down in +the opposite direction into broad and capacious valleys, the land appeared to +retain its general elevation, only broken into a series of ridges and +inter-vales which so far as the eye could reach stretched away from us, with +their precipitous sides covered with the brightest verdure, and waving here and +there with the foliage of clumps of woodland; among which, however, we +perceived none of those trees upon whose fruit we had relied with such +certainty. +</p> + +<p> +This was a most unlooked-for discovery, and one that promised to defeat our +plans altogether, for we could not think of descending the mountain on the +Nukuheva side in quest of food. Should we for this purpose be induced to +retrace our steps, we should run no small chance of encountering the natives, +who in that case, if they did nothing worse to us, would be certain to convey +us back to the ship for the sake of the reward in calico and trinkets, which we +had no doubt our skipper would hold out to them as an inducement to our +capture. +</p> + +<p> +What was to be done? The Dolly would not sail perhaps for ten days, and how +were we to sustain life during this period? I bitterly repented our +improvidence in not providing ourselves, as we easily might have done, with a +supply of biscuits. With a rueful visage I now bethought me of the scanty +handful of bread I had stuffed into the bosom of my frock, and felt somewhat +desirous to ascertain what part of it had weathered the rather rough usage it +had experienced in ascending the mountain. I accordingly proposed to Toby that +we should enter into a joint examination of the various articles we had brought +from the ship. +</p> + +<p> +With this intent we seated ourselves upon the grass; and a little curious to +see with what kind of judgement my companion had filled his frock—which I +remarked seemed about as well lined as my own—I requested him to commence +operations by spreading out its contents. +</p> + +<p> +Thrusting his hand, then, into the bosom of this capacious receptacle, he first +brought to light about a pound of tobacco, whose component parts still adhered +together, the whole outside being covered with soft particles of sea-bread. Wet +and dripping, it had the appearance of having been just recovered from the +bottom of the sea. But I paid slight attention to a substance of so little +value to us in our present situation, as soon as I perceived the indications it +gave of Toby’s foresight in laying in a supply of food for the +expedition. +</p> + +<p> +I eagerly inquired what quantity he had brought with him, when rummaging once +more beneath his garment, he produced a small handful of something so soft, +pulpy, and discoloured, that for a few moments he was as much puzzled as myself +to tell by what possible instrumentality such a villainous compound had become +engendered in his bosom. I can only describe it as a hash of soaked bread and +bits of tobacco, brought to a doughy consistency by the united agency of +perspiration and rain. But repulsive as it might otherwise have been, I now +regarded it as an invaluable treasure, and proceeded with great care to +transfer this paste-like mass to a large leaf which I had plucked from a bush +beside me. Toby informed me that in the morning he had placed two whole +biscuits in his bosom, with a view of munching them, should he feel so +inclined, during our flight. These were now reduced to the equivocal substance +which I had just placed on the leaf. +</p> + +<p> +Another dive into the frock brought to view some four or five yards of calico +print, whose tasteful pattern was rather disfigured by the yellow stains of the +tobacco with which it had been brought in contact. In drawing this calico +slowly from his bosom inch by inch, Toby reminded me of a juggler performing +the feat of the endless ribbon. The next cast was a small one, being a +sailor’s little ‘ditty bag’, containing needles, thread, and +other sewing utensils, then came a razor-case, followed by two or three +separate plugs of negro-head, which were fished up from the bottom of the now +empty receptacle. These various matters, being inspected, I produced the few +things which I had myself brought. +</p> + +<p> +As might have been anticipated from the state of my companion’s edible +supplies, I found my own in a deplorable condition, and diminished to a +quantity that would not have formed half a dozen mouthfuls for a hungry man who +was partial enough to tobacco not to mind swallowing it. A few morsels of +bread, with a fathom or two of white cotton cloth, and several pounds of choice +pigtail, composed the extent of my possessions. +</p> + +<p> +Our joint stock of miscellaneous articles were now made up into a compact +bundle, which it was agreed we should carry alternately. But the sorry remains +of the biscuit were not to be disposed of so summarily: the precarious +circumstances in which we were placed made us regard them as something on which +very probably, depended the fate of our adventure. After a brief discussion, in +which we both of us expressed our resolution of not descending into the bay +until the ship’s departure, I suggested to my companion that little of it +as there was, we should divide the bread into six equal portions, each of which +should be a day’s allowance for both of us. This proposition he assented +to; so I took the silk kerchief from my neck, and cutting it with my knife into +half a dozen equal pieces, proceeded to make an exact division. +</p> + +<p> +At first, Toby with a degree of fastidiousness that seemed to me ill-timed, was +for picking out the minute particles of tobacco with which the spongy mass was +mixed; but against this proceeding I protested, as by such an operation we must +have greatly diminished its quantity. +</p> + +<p> +When the division was accomplished, we found that a day’s allowance for +the two was not a great deal more than what a table-spoon might hold. Each +separate portion we immediately rolled up in the bit of silk prepared for it, +and joining them all together into a small package, I committed them, with +solemn injunctions of fidelity, to the custody of Toby. For the remainder of +that day we resolved to fast, as we had been fortified by a breakfast in the +morning; and now starting again to our feet, we looked about us for a shelter +during the night, which, from the appearance of the heavens, promised to be a +dark and tempestuous one. +</p> + +<p> +There was no place near us which would in any way answer our purpose, so +turning our backs upon Nukuheva, we commenced exploring the unknown regions +which lay upon the other side of the mountain. +</p> + +<p> +In this direction, as far as our vision extended, not a sign of life, nor +anything that denoted even the transient residence of man, could be seen. The +whole landscape seemed one unbroken solitude, the interior of the island having +apparently been untenanted since the morning of the creation; and as we +advanced through this wilderness, our voices sounded strangely in our ears, as +though human accents had never before disturbed the fearful silence of the +place, interrupted only by the low murmurings of distant waterfalls. +</p> + +<p> +Our disappointment, however, in not finding the various fruits with which we +had intended to regale ourselves during our stay in these wilds, was a good +deal lessened by the consideration that from this very circumstance we should +be much less exposed to a casual meeting with the savage tribes about us, who +we knew always dwelt beneath the shadows of those trees which supplied them +with food. +</p> + +<p> +We wandered along, casting eager glances into every bush we passed, until just +as we had succeeded in mounting one of the many ridges that intersected the +ground, I saw in the grass before me something like an indistinctly traced +footpath, which appeared to lead along the top of the ridge, and to +descend—with it into a deep ravine about half a mile in advance of us. +</p> + +<p> +Robinson Crusoe could not have been more startled at the footprint in the sand +than we were at this unwelcome discovery. My first impulse was to make as rapid +a retreat as possible, and bend our steps in some other direction; but our +curiosity to see whither this path might lead, prompted us to pursue it. So on +we went, the track becoming more and more visible the farther we proceeded, +until it conducted us to the verge of the ravine, where it abruptly terminated. +</p> + +<p> +‘And so,’ said Toby, peering down into the chasm, ‘everyone +that travels this path takes a jump here, eh?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Not so,’ said I, ‘for I think they might manage to descend +without it; what say you,—shall we attempt the feat?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘And what, in the name of caves and coal-holes, do you expect to find at +the bottom of that gulf but a broken neck—why it looks blacker than our +ship’s hold, and the roar of those waterfalls down there would batter +one’s brains to pieces.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Oh, no, Toby,’ I exclaimed, laughing; ‘but there’s +something to be seen here, that’s plain, or there would have been no +path, and I am resolved to find out what it is.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘I will tell you what, my pleasant fellow,’ rejoined Toby quickly, +‘if you are going to pry into everything you meet with here that excites +your curiosity, you will marvellously soon get knocked on the head; to a dead +certainty you will come bang upon a party of these savages in the midst of your +discovery-makings, and I doubt whether such an event would particularly delight +you, just take my advice for once, and let us ‘bout ship and steer in +some other direction; besides, it’s getting late and we ought to be +mooring ourselves for the night.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘That is just the thing I have been driving at,’ replied I; +‘and I am thinking that this ravine will exactly answer our purpose, for +it is roomy, secluded, well watered, and may shelter us from the +weather.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Aye, and from sleep too, and by the same token will give us sore +throats, and rheumatisms into the bargain,’ cried Toby, with evident +dislike at the idea. +</p> + +<p> +‘Oh, very well then, my lad,’ said I, ‘since you will not +accompany me, here I go alone. You will see me in the morning;’ and +advancing to the edge of the cliff upon which we had been standing, I proceeded +to lower myself down by the tangled roots which clustered about all the +crevices of the rock. As I had anticipated, Toby, in spite of his previous +remonstrances, followed my example, and dropping himself with the activity of a +squirrel from point to point, he quickly outstripped me and effected a landing +at the bottom before I had accomplished two-thirds of the descent. +</p> + +<p> +The sight that now greeted us was one that will ever be vividly impressed upon +my mind. Five foaming streams, rushing through as many gorges, and swelled and +turbid by the recent rains, united together in one mad plunge of nearly eighty +feet, and fell with wild uproar into a deep black pool scooped out of the +gloomy looking rocks that lay piled around, and thence in one collected body +dashed down a narrow sloping channel which seemed to penetrate into the very +bowels of the earth. Overhead, vast roots of trees hung down from the sides of +the ravine dripping with moisture, and trembling with the concussions produced +by the fall. It was now sunset, and the feeble uncertain light that found its +way into these caverns and woody depths heightened their strange appearance, +and reminded us that in a short time we should find ourselves in utter +darkness. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as I had satisfied my curiosity by gazing at this scene, I fell to +wondering how it was that what we had taken for a path should have conducted us +to so singular a place, and began to suspect that after all I might have been +deceived in supposing it to have been a trick formed by the islanders. This was +rather an agreeable reflection than otherwise, for it diminished our dread of +accidentally meeting with any of them, and I came to the conclusion that +perhaps we could not have selected a more secure hiding-place than this very +spot we had so accidentally hit upon. +</p> + +<p> +Toby agreed with me in this view of the matter, and we immediately began +gathering together the limbs of trees which lay scattered about, with the view +of constructing a temporary hut for the night. This we were obliged to build +close to the foot of the cataract, for the current of water extended very +nearly to the sides of the gorge. The few moments of light that remained we +employed in covering our hut with a species of broad-bladed grass that grew in +every fissure of the ravine. Our hut, if it deserved to be called one, +consisted of six or eight of the straightest branches we could find laid +obliquely against the steep wall of rock, with their lower ends within a foot +of the stream. Into the space thus covered over we managed to crawl, and +dispose our wearied bodies as best we could. +</p> + +<p> +Shall I ever forget that horrid night! As for poor Toby, I could scarcely get a +word out of him. It would have been some consolation to have heard his voice, +but he lay shivering the live-long night like a man afflicted with the palsy, +with his knees drawn up to his head, while his back was supported against the +dripping side of the rock. During this wretched night there seemed nothing +wanting to complete the perfect misery of our condition. The rain descended in +such torrents that our poor shelter proved a mere mockery. In vain did I try to +elude the incessant streams that poured upon me; by protecting one part I only +exposed another, and the water was continually finding some new opening through +which to drench us. +</p> + +<p> +I have had many a ducking in the course of my life, and in general cared little +about it; but the accumulated horrors of that night, the deathlike coldness of +the place, the appalling darkness and the dismal sense of our forlorn +condition, almost unmanned me. +</p> + +<p> +It will not be doubted that the next morning we were early risers, and as soon +as I could catch the faintest glimpse of anything like daylight I shook my +companion by the arm, and told him it was sunrise. Poor Toby lifted up his +head, and after a moment’s pause said, in a husky voice, ‘Then, +shipmate, my toplights have gone out, for it appears darker now with my eyes +open that it did when they were shut.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Nonsense!’ exclaimed I; ‘You are not awake yet.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Awake!’ roared Toby in a rage, ‘awake! You mean to insinuate +I’ve been asleep, do you? It is an insult to a man to suppose he could +sleep in such an infernal place as this.’ +</p> + +<p> +By the time I had apologized to my friend for having misconstrued his silence, +it had become somewhat more light, and we crawled out of our lair. The rain had +ceased, but everything around us was dripping with moisture. We stripped off +our saturated garments, and wrung them as dry as we could. We contrived to make +the blood circulate in our benumbed limbs by rubbing them vigorously with our +hands; and after performing our ablutions in the stream, and putting on our +still wet clothes, we began to think it advisable to break our long fast, it +being now twenty-four hours since we had tasted food. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly our day’s ration was brought out, and seating ourselves on a +detached fragment of rock, we proceeded to discuss it. First we divided it into +two equal portions, and carefully rolling one of them up for our +evening’s repast, divided the remainder again as equally as possible, and +then drew lots for the first choice. I could have placed the morsel that fell +to my share upon the tip of my finger; but notwithstanding this I took care +that it should be full ten minutes before I had swallowed the last crumb. What +a true saying it is that ‘appetite furnishes the best sauce.’ There +was a flavour and a relish to this small particle of food that under other +circumstances it would have been impossible for the most delicate viands to +have imparted. A copious draught of the pure water which flowed at our feet +served to complete the meal, and after it we rose sensibly refreshed, and +prepared for whatever might befall us. +</p> + +<p> +We now carefully examined the chasm in which we had passed the night. We +crossed the stream, and gaining the further side of the pool I have mentioned, +discovered proofs that the spot must have been visited by some one but a short +time previous to our arrival. Further observation convinced us that it had been +regularly frequented, and, as we afterwards conjectured from particular +indications, for the purpose of obtaining a certain root, from which the +natives obtained a kind of ointment. +</p> + +<p> +These discoveries immediately determined us to abandon a place which had +presented no inducement for us to remain, except the promise of security; and +as we looked about us for the means of ascending again into the upper regions, +we at last found a practicable part of the rock, and half an hour’s toil +carried us to the summit of the same cliff from which the preceding evening we +had descended. +</p> + +<p> +I now proposed to Toby that instead of rambling about the island, exposing +ourselves to discovery at every turn, we should select some place as our fixed +abode for as long a period as our food should hold out, build ourselves a +comfortable hut, and be as prudent and circumspect as possible. To all this my +companion assented, and we at once set about carrying the plan into execution. +</p> + +<p> +With this view, after exploring without success a little glen near us, we +crossed several of the ridges of which I have before spoken; and about noon +found ourselves ascending a long and gradually rising slope, but still without +having discovered any place adapted to our purpose. Low and heavy clouds +betokened an approaching storm, and we hurried on to gain a covert in a clump +of thick bushes, which appeared to terminate the long ascent. We threw +ourselves under the lee of these bushes, and pulling up the long grass that +grew around, covered ourselves completely with it, and awaited the shower. +</p> + +<p> +But it did not come as soon as we had expected, and before many minutes my +companion was fast asleep, and I was rapidly falling into the same state of +happy forgetfulness. Just at this juncture, however, down came the rain with +the violence that put all thoughts of slumber to flight. Although in some +measure sheltered, our clothes soon became as wet as ever; this, after all the +trouble we had taken to dry them, was provoking enough: but there was no help +for it; and I recommend all adventurous youths who abandon vessels in romantic +islands during the rainy season to provide themselves with umbrellas. +</p> + +<p> +After an hour or so the shower passed away. My companion slept through it all, +or at least appeared so to do; and now that it was over I had not the heart to +awaken him. As I lay on my back completely shrouded with verdure, the leafy +branches drooping over me, my limbs buried in grass, I could not avoid +comparing our situation with that of the interesting babes in the wood. Poor +little sufferers!—no wonder their constitutions broke down under the +hardships to which they were exposed. +</p> + +<p> +During the hour or two spent under the shelter of these bushes, I began to feel +symptoms which I at once attributed to the exposure of the preceding night. +Cold shiverings and a burning fever succeeded one another at intervals, while +one of my legs was swelled to such a degree, and pained me so acutely, that I +half suspected I had been bitten by some venomous reptile, the congenial +inhabitant of the chasm from which we had lately emerged. I may here remark by +the way—what I subsequently gleamed—that all the islands of +Polynesia enjoy the reputation, in common with the Hibernian isle, of being +free from the presence of any vipers; though whether Saint Patrick ever visited +them, is a question I shall not attempt to decide. +</p> + +<p> +As the feverish sensation increased upon me I tossed about, still unwilling to +disturb my slumbering companion, from whose side I removed two or three yards. +I chanced to push aside a branch, and by so doing suddenly disclosed to my view +a scene which even now I can recall with all the vividness of the first +impression. Had a glimpse of the gardens of Paradise been revealed to me, I +could scarcely have been more ravished with the sight. +</p> + +<p> +From the spot where I lay transfixed with surprise and delight, I looked +straight down into the bosom of a valley, which swept away in long wavy +undulations to the blue waters in the distance. Midway towards the sea, and +peering here and there amidst the foliage, might be seen the palmetto-thatched +houses of its inhabitants glistening in the sun that had bleached them to a +dazzling whiteness. The vale was more than three leagues in length, and about a +mile across at its greatest width. +</p> + +<p> +On either side it appeared hemmed in by steep and green acclivities, which, +uniting near the spot where I lay, formed an abrupt and semicircular +termination of grassy cliffs and precipices hundreds of feet in height, over +which flowed numberless small cascades. But the crowning beauty of the prospect +was its universal verdure; and in this indeed consists, I believe, the peculiar +charm of every Polynesian landscape. Everywhere below me, from the base of the +precipice upon whose very verge I had been unconsciously reposing, the surface +of the vale presented a mass of foliage, spread with such rich profusion that +it was impossible to determine of what description of trees it consisted. +</p> + +<p> +But perhaps there was nothing about the scenery I beheld more impressive than +those silent cascades, whose slender threads of water, after leaping down the +steep cliffs, were lost amidst the rich herbage of the valley. +</p> + +<p> +Over all the landscape there reigned the most hushed repose, which I almost +feared to break, lest, like the enchanted gardens in the fairy tale, a single +syllable might dissolve the spell. For a long time, forgetful alike of my own +situation, and the vicinity of my still slumbering companion, I remained gazing +around me, hardly able to comprehend by what means I had thus suddenly been +made a spectator of such a scene. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"></a> +CHAPTER EIGHT</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE IMPORTANT QUESTION, TYPEE OR HAPPAR?—A WILD GOOSE CHASE—MY +SUFFERINGS—DISHEARTENING SITUATION—A NIGHT IN A +RAVINE—MORNING MEAL—HAPPY IDEA OF TOBY—JOURNEY TOWARDS THE +VALLEY +</p> + +<p> +Recovering from my astonishment at the beautiful scene before me, I quickly +awakened Toby, and informed him of the discovery I had made. Together we now +repaired to the border of the precipice, and my companion’s admiration +was equal to my own. A little reflection, however, abated our surprise at +coming so unexpectedly upon this valley, since the large vales of Happar and +Typee, lying upon this side of Nukuheva, and extending a considerable distance +from the sea towards the interior, must necessarily terminate somewhere about +this point. +</p> + +<p> +The question now was as to which of those two places we were looking down upon. +Toby insisted that it was the abode of the Happar, and I that it was tenanted +by their enemies the ferocious Typees. To be sure I was not entirely convinced +by my own arguments, but Toby’s proposition to descend at once into the +valley, and partake of the hospitality of its inmates, seemed to me to be +risking so much upon the strength of a mere supposition, that I resolved to +oppose it until we had more evidence to proceed upon. +</p> + +<p> +The point was one of vital importance, as the natives of Happar were not only +at peace with Nukuheva, but cultivated with its inhabitants the most friendly +relations, and enjoyed besides a reputation for gentleness and humanity which +led us to expect from them, if not a cordial reception, at least a shelter +during the short period we should remain in their territory. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, the very name of Typee struck a panic into my heart which I +did not attempt to disguise. The thought of voluntarily throwing ourselves into +the hands of these cruel savages, seemed to me an act of mere madness; and +almost equally so the idea of venturing into the valley, uncertain by which of +these two tribes it was inhabited. That the vale at our feet was tenanted by +one of them, was a point that appeared to us past all doubt, since we knew that +they resided in this quarter, although our information did not enlighten us +further. +</p> + +<p> +My companion, however, incapable of resisting the tempting prospect which the +place held out of an abundant supply of food and other means of enjoyment, +still clung to his own inconsiderate view of the subject, nor could all my +reasoning shake it. When I reminded him that it was impossible for either of us +to know anything with certainty, and when I dwelt upon the horrible fate we +should encounter were we rashly to descend into the valley, and discover too +late the error we had committed, he replied by detailing all the evils of our +present condition, and the sufferings we must undergo should we continue to +remain where we then were. +</p> + +<p> +Anxious to draw him away from the subject, if possible—for I saw that it +would be in vain to attempt changing his mind—I directed his attention to +a long bright unwooded tract of land which, sweeping down from the elevations +in the interior, descended into the valley before us. I then suggested to him +that beyond this ridge might lie a capacious and untenanted valley, abounding +with all manner of delicious fruits; for I had heard that there were several +such upon the island, and proposed that we should endeavour to reach it, and if +we found our expectations realized we should at once take refuge in it and +remain there as long as we pleased. +</p> + +<p> +He acquiesced in the suggestion; and we immediately, therefore, began surveying +the country lying before us, with a view of determining upon the best route for +us to pursue; but it presented little choice, the whole interval being broken +into steep ridges, divided by dark ravines, extending in parallel lines at +right angles to our direct course. All these we would be obliged to cross +before we could hope to arrive at our destination. +</p> + +<p> +A weary journey! But we decided to undertake it, though, for my own part, I +felt little prepared to encounter its fatigues, shivering and burning by turns +with the ague and fever; for I know not how else to describe the alternate +sensations I experienced, and suffering not a little from the lameness which +afflicted me. Added to this was the faintness consequent on our meagre +diet—a calamity in which Toby participated to the same extent as myself. +</p> + +<p> +These circumstances, however, only augmented my anxiety to reach a place which +promised us plenty and repose, before I should be reduced to a state which +would render me altogether unable to perform the journey. Accordingly we now +commenced it by descending the almost perpendicular side of a steep and narrow +gorge, bristling with a thick growth of reeds. Here there was but one mode for +us to adopt. We seated ourselves upon the ground, and guided our descent by +catching at the canes in our path. This velocity with which we thus slid down +the side of the ravine soon brought us to a point where we could use our feet, +and in a short time we arrived at the edge of the torrent, which rolled +impetuously along the bed of the chasm. +</p> + +<p> +After taking a refreshing draught from the water of the stream, we addressed +ourselves to a much more difficult undertaking than the last. Every foot of our +late descent had to be regained in ascending the opposite side of the +gorge—an operation rendered the less agreeable from the consideration +that in these perpendicular episodes we did not progress a hundred yards on our +journey. But, ungrateful as the task was, we set about it with exemplary +patience, and after a snail-like progress of an hour or more, had scaled +perhaps one half of the distance, when the fever which had left me for a while +returned with such violence, and accompanied by so raging a thirst, that it +required all the entreaties of Toby to prevent me from losing all the fruits of +my late exertion, by precipitating myself madly down the cliffs we had just +climbed, in quest of the water which flowed so temptingly at their base. At the +moment all my hopes and fears appeared to be merged in this one desire, +careless of the consequences that might result from its gratification. I am +aware of no feeling, either of pleasure or of pain, that so completely deprives +one of an power to resist its impulses, as this same raging thirst. +</p> + +<p> +Toby earnestly conjured me to continue the ascent, assuring me that a little +more exertion would bring us to the summit, and that then in less than five +minutes we should find ourselves at the brink of the stream, which must +necessarily flow on the other side of the ridge. +</p> + +<p> +‘Do not,’ he exclaimed, ‘turn back, now that we have +proceeded thus far; for I tell you that neither of us will have the courage to +repeat the attempt, if once more we find ourselves looking up to where we now +are from the bottom of these rocks!’ +</p> + +<p> +I was not yet so perfectly beside myself as to be heedless of these +representations, and therefore toiled on, ineffectually endeavouring to appease +the thirst which consumed me, by thinking that in a short time I should be able +to gratify it to my heart’s content. +</p> + +<p> +At last we gained the top of the second elevation, the loftiest of those I have +described as extending in parallel lines between us and the valley we desired +to reach. It commanded a view of the whole intervening distance; and, +discouraged as I was by other circumstances, this prospect plunged me into the +very depths of despair. Nothing but dark and fearful chasms, separated by +sharp-crested and perpendicular ridges as far as the eye could reach. Could we +have stepped from summit to summit of these steep but narrow elevations we +could easily have accomplished the distance; but we must penetrate to the +bottom of every yawning gulf, and scale in succession every one of the +eminences before us. Even Toby, although not suffering as I did, was not proof +against the disheartening influences of the sight. +</p> + +<p> +But we did not long stand to contemplate it, impatient as I was to reach the +waters of the torrent which flowed beneath us. With an insensibility to danger +which I cannot call to mind without shuddering, we threw ourselves down the +depths of the ravine, startling its savage solitudes with the echoes produced +by the falling fragments of rock we every moment dislodged from their places, +careless of the insecurity of our footing, and reckless whether the slight +roots and twigs we clutched at sustained us for the while, or treacherously +yielded to our grasp. For my own part, I scarcely knew whether I was helplessly +falling from the heights above, or whether the fearful rapidity with which I +descended was an act of my own volition. +</p> + +<p> +In a few minutes we reached the foot of the gorge, and kneeling upon a small +ledge of dripping rocks, I bent over to the stream. What a delicious sensation +was I now to experience! I paused for a second to concentrate all my +capabilities of enjoyment, and then immerged my lips in the clear element +before me. Had the apples of Sodom turned to ashes in my mouth, I could not +have felt a more startling revulsion. A single drop of the cold fluid seemed to +freeze every drop of blood in my body; the fever that had been burning in my +veins gave place on the instant to death-like chills, which shook me one after +another like so many shocks of electricity, while the perspiration produced by +my late violent exertions congealed in icy beads upon my forehead. My thirst +was gone, and I fairly loathed the water. Starting to my feet, the sight of +those dank rocks, oozing forth moisture at every crevice, and the dark stream +shooting along its dismal channel, sent fresh chills through my shivering +frame, and I felt as uncontrollable a desire to climb up towards the genial +sunlight as I before had to descend the ravine. +</p> + +<p> +After two hours’ perilous exertions we stood upon the summit of another +ridge, and it was with difficulty I could bring myself to believe that we had +ever penetrated the black and yawning chasm which then gaped at our feet. Again +we gazed upon the prospect which the height commanded, but it was just as +depressing as the one which had before met our eyes. I now felt that in our +present situation it was in vain for us to think of ever overcoming the +obstacles in our way, and I gave up all thoughts of reaching the vale which lay +beyond this series of impediments; while at the same time I could not devise +any scheme to extricate ourselves from the difficulties in which we were +involved. +</p> + +<p> +The remotest idea of returning to Nukuheva, unless assured of our +vessel’s departure, never once entered my mind, and indeed it was +questionable whether we could have succeeded in reaching it, divided as we were +from the bay by a distance we could not compute, and perplexed too in our +remembrance of localities by our recent wanderings. Besides, it was unendurable +the thought of retracing our steps and rendering all our painful exertions of +no avail. +</p> + +<p> +There is scarcely anything when a man is in difficulties that he is more +disposed to look upon with abhorrence than a rightabout retrograde +movement—a systematic going over of the already trodden ground: and +especially if he has a love of adventure, such a course appears indescribably +repulsive, so long as there remains the least hope to be derived from braving +untried difficulties. +</p> + +<p> +It was this feeling that prompted us to descend the opposite side of the +elevation we had just scaled, although with what definite object in view it +would have been impossible for either of us to tell. +</p> + +<p> +Without exchanging a syllable upon the subject, Toby and myself simultaneously +renounced the design which had lured us thus far—perceiving in each +other’s countenances that desponding expression which speaks more +eloquently than words. +</p> + +<p> +Together we stood towards the close of this weary day in the cavity of the +third gorge we had entered, wholly incapacitated for any further exertion, +until restored to some degree of strength by food and repose. +</p> + +<p> +We seated ourselves upon the least uncomfortable spot we could select, and Toby +produced from the bosom of his frock the sacred package. In silence we partook +of the small morsel of refreshment that had been left from the morning’s +repast, and without once proposing to violate the sanctity of our engagement +with respect to the remainder, we rose to our feet, and proceeded to construct +some sort of shelter under which we might obtain the sleep we so greatly +needed. +</p> + +<p> +Fortunately the spot was better adapted to our purpose than the one in which we +had passed the last wretched night. We cleared away the tall reeds from the +small but almost level bit of ground, and twisted them into a low basket-like +hut, which we covered with a profusion of long thick leaves, gathered from a +tree near at hand. We disposed them thickly all around, reserving only a slight +opening that barely permitted us to crawl under the shelter we had thus +obtained. +</p> + +<p> +These deep recesses, though protected from the winds that assail the summits of +their lofty sides, are damp and chill to a degree that one would hardly +anticipate in such a climate; and being unprovided with anything but our +woollen frocks and thin duck trousers to resist the cold of the place, we were +the more solicitous to render our habitation for the night as comfortable as we +could. Accordingly, in addition to what we had already done, we plucked down +all the leaves within our reach and threw them in a heap over our little hut, +into which we now crept, raking after us a reserved supply to form our couch. +</p> + +<p> +That night nothing but the pain I suffered prevented me from sleeping most +refreshingly. As it was, I caught two or three naps, while Toby slept away at +my side as soundly as though he had been sandwiched between two Holland sheets. +Luckily it did not rain, and we were preserved from the misery which a heavy +shower would have occasioned us. In the morning I was awakened by the sonorous +voice of my companion ringing in my ears and bidding me rise. I crawled out +from our heap of leaves, and was astonished at the change which a good +night’s rest had wrought in his appearance. He was as blithe and joyous +as a young bird, and was staying the keenness of his morning’s appetite +by chewing the soft bark of a delicate branch he held in his hand, and he +recommended the like to me as an admirable antidote against the gnawings of +hunger. +</p> + +<p> +For my own part, though feeling materially better than I had done the preceding +evening, I could not look at the limb that had pained me so violently at +intervals during the last twenty-four hours, without experiencing a sense of +alarm that I strove in vain to shake off. Unwilling to disturb the flow of my +comrade’s spirits, I managed to stifle the complaints to which I might +otherwise have given vent, and calling upon him good-humouredly to speed our +banquet, I prepared myself for it by washing in the stream. This operation +concluded, we swallowed, or rather absorbed, by a peculiar kind of slow sucking +process, our respective morsels of nourishment, and then entered into a +discussion as to the steps is was necessary for us to pursue. +</p> + +<p> +‘What’s to be done now?’ inquired I, rather dolefully. +</p> + +<p> +‘Descend into that same valley we descried yesterday.’ rejoined +Toby, with a rapidity and loudness of utterance that almost led me to suspect +he had been slyly devouring the broadside of an ox in some of the adjoining +thickets. ‘What else,’ he continued, ‘remains for us to do +but that, to be sure? Why, we shall both starve to a certainty if we remain +here; and as to your fears of those Typees—depend upon it, it is all +nonsense.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘It is impossible that the inhabitants of such a lovely place as we saw +can be anything else but good fellows; and if you choose rather to perish with +hunger in one of these soppy caverns, I for one prefer to chance a bold descent +into the valley, and risk the consequences’. +</p> + +<p> +‘And who is to pilot us thither,’ I asked, ‘even if we should +decide upon the measure you propose? Are we to go again up and down those +precipices that we crossed yesterday, until we reach the place we started from, +and then take a flying leap from the cliffs to the valley?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Faith, I didn’t think of that,’ said Toby; ‘sure +enough, both sides of the valley appeared to be hemmed in by precipices, +didn’t they?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Yes,’ answered I, ‘as steep as the sides of a line-of-battle +ship, and about a hundred times as high.’ My companion sank his head upon +his breast, and remained for a while in deep thought. Suddenly he sprang to his +feet, while his eyes lighted up with that gleam of intelligence that marks the +presence of some bright idea. +</p> + +<p> +‘Yes, yes,’ he exclaimed; ‘the streams all run in the same +direction, and must necessarily flow into the valley before they reach the sea; +all we have to do is just to follow this stream, and sooner or later it will +lead us into the vale.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘You are right, Toby,’ I exclaimed, ‘you are right; it must +conduct us thither, and quickly too; for, see with what a steep inclination the +water descends.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘It does, indeed,’ burst forth my companion, overjoyed at my +verification of his theory, ‘it does indeed; why, it is as plain as a +pike-staff. Let us proceed at once; come, throw away all those stupid ideas +about the Typees, and hurrah for the lovely valley of the Happars.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘You will have it to be Happar, I see, my dear fellow; pray Heaven you +may not find yourself deceived,’ observed I, with a shake of my head. +</p> + +<p> +‘Amen to all that, and much more,’ shouted Toby, rushing forward; +‘but Happar it is, for nothing else than Happar can it be. So glorious a +valley—such forests of bread-fruit trees—such groves of +cocoanut—such wilderness of guava-bushes! Ah! shipmate! don’t +linger behind: in the name of all delightful fruits, I am dying to be at them. +Come on, come on; shove ahead, there’s a lively lad; never mind the +rocks; kick them out of the way, as I do; and tomorrow, old fellow, take my +word for it, we shall be in clover. Come on;’ and so saying, he dashed +along the ravine like a madman, forgetting my inability to keep up with him. In +a few minutes, however, the exuberance of his spirits abated, and, pausing for +a while, he permitted me to overtake him. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"></a> +CHAPTER NINE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +PERILOUS PASSAGE OF THE RAVINE—DESCENT INTO THE VALLEY +</p> + +<p> +The fearless confidence of Toby was contagious, and I began to adopt the Happar +side of the question. I could not, however, overcome a certain feeling of +trepidation as we made our way along these gloomy solitudes. Our progress, at +first comparatively easy, became more and more difficult. The bed of the +watercourse was covered with fragments of broken rocks, which had fallen from +above, offering so many obstructions to the course of the rapid stream, which +vexed and fretted about them,—forming at intervals small waterfalls, +pouring over into deep basins, or splashing wildly upon heaps of stones. +</p> + +<p> +From the narrowness of the gorge, and the steepness of its sides, there was no +mode of advancing but by wading through the water; stumbling every moment over +the impediments which lay hidden under its surface, or tripping against the +huge roots of trees. But the most annoying hindrance we encountered was from a +multitude of crooked boughs, which, shooting out almost horizontally from the +sides of the chasm, twisted themselves together in fantastic masses almost to +the surface of the stream, affording us no passage except under the low arches +which they formed. Under these we were obliged to crawl on our hands and feet, +sliding along the oozy surface of the rocks, or slipping into the deep pools, +and with scarce light enough to guide us. Occasionally we would strike our +heads against some projecting limb of a tree; and while imprudently engaged in +rubbing the injured part, would fall sprawling amongst flinty fragments, +cutting and bruising ourselves, whilst the unpitying waters flowed over our +prostrate bodies. Belzoni, worming himself through the subterranean passages of +the Egyptian catacombs, could not have met with great impediments than those we +here encountered. But we struggled against them manfully, well knowing our only +hope lay in advancing. +</p> + +<p> +Towards sunset we halted at a spot where we made preparations for passing the +night. Here we constructed a hut, in much the same way as before, and crawling +into it, endeavoured to forget our sufferings. My companion, I believe, slept +pretty soundly; but at day break, when we rolled out of our dwelling, I felt +nearly disqualified for any further efforts. Toby prescribed as a remedy for my +illness the contents of one of our little silk packages, to be taken at once in +a single dose. To this species of medical treatment, however, I would by no +means accede, much as he insisted upon it; and so we partook of our usual +morsel, and silently resumed our journey. It was now the fourth day since we +left Nukuheva, and the gnawings of hunger became painfully acute. We were fain +to pacify them by chewing the tender bark of roots and twigs, which, if they +did not afford us nourishment, were at least sweet and pleasant to the taste. +</p> + +<p> +Our progress along the steep watercourse was necessarily slow, and by noon we +had not advanced more than a mile. It was somewhere near this part of the day +that the noise of falling waters, which we had faintly caught in the early +morning, became more distinct; and it was not long before we were arrested by a +rocky precipice of nearly a hundred feet in depth, that extended all across the +channel, and over which the wild stream poured in an unbroken leap. On each +hand the walls of the ravine presented their overhanging sides both above and +below the fall, affording no means whatever of avoiding the cataract by taking +a circuit round it. +</p> + +<p> +‘What’s to be done now, Toby?’ said I. +</p> + +<p> +‘Why,’ rejoined he, ‘as we cannot retreat, I suppose we must +keep shoving along.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Very true, my dear Toby; but how do you purpose accomplishing that +desirable object?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘By jumping from the top of the fall, if there be no other way,’ +unhesitatingly replied my companion: ‘it will be much the quickest way of +descent; but as you are not quite as active as I am, we will try some other +way.’ +</p> + +<p> +And, so saying, he crept cautiously along and peered over into the abyss, while +I remained wondering by what possible means we could overcome this apparently +insuperable obstruction. As soon as my companion had completed his survey, I +eagerly inquired the result. +</p> + +<p> +‘The result of my observations you wish to know, do you?’ began +Toby, deliberately, with one of his odd looks: ‘well, my lad, the result +of my observations is very quickly imparted. It is at present uncertain which +of our two necks will have the honour to be broken first; but about a hundred +to one would be a fair bet in favour of the man who takes the first +jump.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Then it is an impossible thing, is it?’ inquired I gloomily. +</p> + +<p> +‘No, shipmate; on the contrary, it is the easiest thing in life: the only +awkward point is the sort of usage which our unhappy limbs may receive when we +arrive at the bottom, and what sort of travelling trim we shall be in +afterwards. But follow me now, and I will show you the only chance we +have.’ With this he conducted me to the verge of the cataract, and +pointed along the side of the ravine to a number of curious looking roots, some +three or four inches in thickness, and several feet long, which, after twisting +among the fissures of the rock, shot perpendicularly from it and ran tapering +to a point in the air, hanging over the gulf like so many dark icicles. They +covered nearly the entire surface of one side of the gorge, the lowest of them +reaching even to the water. Many were moss grown and decayed, with their +extremities snapped short off, and those in the immediate vicinity of the fall +were slippery with moisture. +</p> + +<p> +Toby’s scheme, and it was a desperate one, was to entrust ourselves to +these treacherous-looking roots, and by slipping down from one to another to +gain the bottom. +</p> + +<p> +‘Are you ready to venture it?’ asked Toby, looking at me earnestly +but without saying a word as to the practicability of the plan. +</p> + +<p> +‘I am,’ was my reply; for I saw it was our only resource if we +wished to advance, and as for retreating, all thoughts of that sort had been +long abandoned. +</p> + +<p> +After I had signified my assent, Toby, without uttering a a single word, +crawled along the dripping ledge until he gained a point from whence he could +just reach one of the largest of the pendant roots; he shook it—it +quivered in his grasp, and when he let it go it twanged in the air like a +strong, wire sharply struck. Satisfied by his scrutiny, my light limbed +companion swung himself nimbly upon it, and twisting his legs round it in +sailor fashion, slipped down eight or ten feet, where his weight gave it a +motion not un-like that of a pendulum. He could not venture to descend any +further; so holding on with one hand, he with the other shook one by one all +the slender roots around him, and at last, finding one which he thought +trustworthy, shifted him self to it and continued his downward progress. +</p> + +<p> +So far so well; but I could not avoid comparing my heavier frame and disabled +condition with his light figure and remarkable activity; but there was no help +for it, and in less than a minute’s time I was swinging directly over his +head. As soon as his upturned eyes caught a glimpse of me, he exclaimed in his +usual dry tone, for the danger did not seem to daunt him in the least, +‘Mate, do me the kindness not to fall until I get out of your way;’ +and then swinging himself more on one side, he continued his descent. In the +mean time I cautiously transferred myself from the limb down which I had been +slipping to a couple of others that were near it, deeming two strings to my bow +better than one, and taking care to test their strength before I trusted my +weight to them. +</p> + +<p> +On arriving towards the end of the second stage in this vertical journey, and +shaking the long roots which were round me, to my consternation they snapped +off one after another like so many pipe stems, and fell in fragments against +the side of the gulf, splashing at last into the waters beneath. +</p> + +<p> +As one after another the treacherous roots yielded to my grasp, and fell into +the torrent, my heart sunk within me. The branches on which I was suspended +over the yawning chasm swang to and fro in the air, and I expected them every +moment to snap in twain. Appalled at the dreadful fate that menaced me, I +clutched frantically at the only large root which remained near me, but in +vain; I could not reach it, though my fingers were within a few inches of it. +Again and again I tried to reach it, until at length, maddened with the thought +of my situation, I swayed myself violently by striking my foot against the side +of the rock, and at the instant that I approached the large root caught +desperately at it, and transferred myself to it. It vibrated violently under +the sudden weight, but fortunately did not give way. +</p> + +<p> +My brain grew dizzy with the idea of the frightful risk I had just run, and I +involuntarily closed my eyes to shut out the view of the depth beneath me. For +the instant I was safe, and I uttered a devout ejaculation of thanksgiving for +my escape. +</p> + +<p> +‘Pretty well done,’ shouted Toby underneath me; ‘you are +nimbler than I thought you to be—hopping about up there from root to root +like any young squirrel. As soon as you have diverted yourself sufficiently, I +would advise you to proceed.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Aye, aye, Toby, all in good time: two or three more such famous roots as +this, and I shall be with you.’ +</p> + +<p> +The residue of my downward progress was comparatively easy; the roots were in +greater abundance, and in one or two places jutting out points of rock assisted +me greatly. In a few moments I was standing by the side of my companion. +</p> + +<p> +Substituting a stout stick for the one I had thrown aside at the top of the +precipice, we now continued our course along the bed of the ravine. Soon we +were saluted by a sound in advance, that grew by degrees louder and louder, as +the noise of the cataract we were leaving behind gradually died on our ears. +</p> + +<p> +‘Another precipice for us, Toby.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Very good; we can descend them, you know—come on.’ +</p> + +<p> +Nothing indeed appeared to depress or intimidate this intrepid fellow. Typees +or Niagaras, he was as ready to engage one as the other, and I could not avoid +a thousand times congratulating myself upon having such a companion in an +enterprise like the present. +</p> + +<p> +After an hour’s painful progress, we reached the verge of another fall, +still loftier than the preceding and flanked both above and below with the same +steep masses of rock, presenting, however, here and there narrow irregular +ledges, supporting a shallow soil, on which grew a variety of bushes and trees, +whose bright verdure contrasted beautifully with the foamy waters that flowed +between them. +</p> + +<p> +Toby, who invariably acted as pioneer, now proceeded to reconnoitre. On his +return, he reported that the shelves of rock on our right would enable us to +gain with little risk the bottom of the cataract. Accordingly, leaving the bed +of the stream at the very point where it thundered down, we began crawling +along one of those sloping ledges until it carried us to within a few feet of +another that inclined downwards at a still sharper angle, and upon which, by +assisting each other we managed to alight in safety. We warily crept along +this, steadying ourselves by the naked roots of the shrubs that clung to every +fissure. As we proceeded, the narrow path became still more contracted, +rendering it difficult for us to maintain our footing, until suddenly, as we +reached an angle of the wall of rock where we had expected it to widen, we +perceived to our consternation that a yard or two further on it abruptly +terminated at a place we could not possibly hope to pass. +</p> + +<p> +Toby as usual led the van, and in silence I waited to learn from him how he +proposed to extricate us from this new difficulty. +</p> + +<p> +‘Well, my boy,’ I exclaimed, after the expiration of several +minutes, during which time my companion had not uttered a word, +‘what’s to be done now?’ +</p> + +<p> +He replied in a tranquil tone, that probably the best thing we could do in our +present strait was to get out of it as soon as possible. +</p> + +<p> +‘Yes, my dear Toby, but tell me how we are to get out of it.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Something in this sort of style,’ he replied, and at the same +moment to my horror he slipped sideways off the rocks and, as I then thought, +by good fortune merely, alighted among the spreading branches of a species of +palm tree, that shooting its hardy roots along a ledge below, curved its trunk +upwards into the air, and presented a thick mass of foliage about twenty feet +below the spot where we had thus suddenly been brought to a standstill. I +involuntarily held my breath, expecting to see the form of my companion, after +being sustained for a moment by the branches of the tree, sink through their +frail support, and fall headlong to the bottom. To my surprise and joy, +however, he recovered himself, and disentangling his limbs from the fractured +branches, he peered out from his leafy bed, and shouted lustily, ‘Come +on, my hearty there is no other alternative!’ and with this he ducked +beneath the foliage, and slipping down the trunk, stood in a moment at least +fifty feet beneath me, upon the broad shelf of rock from which sprung the tree +he had descended. +</p> + +<p> +What would I not have given at that moment to have been by his side. The feat +he had just accomplished seemed little less than miraculous, and I could hardly +credit the evidence of my senses when I saw the wide distance that a single +daring act had so suddenly placed between us. +</p> + +<p> +Toby’s animating ‘come on’ again sounded in my ears, and +dreading to lose all confidence in myself if I remained meditating upon the +step, I once more gazed down to assure myself of the relative bearing of the +tree and my own position, and then closing my eyes and uttering one +comprehensive ejaculation of prayer, I inclined myself over towards the abyss, +and after one breathless instant fell with a crash into the tree, the branches +snapping and cracking with my weight, as I sunk lower and lower among them, +until I was stopped by coming in contact with a sturdy limb. +</p> + +<p> +In a few moments I was standing at the foot of the tree manipulating myself all +over with a view of ascertaining the extent of the injuries I had received. To +my surprise the only effects of my feat were a few slight contusions too +trifling to care about. The rest of our descent was easily accomplished, and in +half an hour after regaining the ravine we had partaken of our evening morsel, +built our hut as usual, and crawled under its shelter. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, in spite of our debility and the agony of hunger under which +we were now suffering, though neither of us confessed to the fact, we struggled +along our dismal and still difficult and dangerous path, cheered by the hope of +soon catching a glimpse of the valley before us, and towards evening the voice +of a cataract which had for some time sounded like a low deep bass to the music +of the smaller waterfalls, broke upon our ears in still louder tones, and +assured us that we were approaching its vicinity. +</p> + +<p> +That evening we stood on the brink of a precipice, over which the dark stream +bounded in one final leap of full 300 feet. The sheer descent terminated in the +region we so long had sought. On each side of the fall, two lofty and +perpendicular bluffs buttressed the sides of the enormous cliff, and projected +into the sea of verdure with which the valley waved, and a range of similar +projecting eminences stood disposed in a half circle about the head if the +vale. A thick canopy of trees hung over the very verge of the fall, leaving an +arched aperture for the passage of the waters, which imparted a strange +picturesqueness to the scene. +</p> + +<p> +The valley was now before us; but instead of being conducted into its smiling +bosom by the gradual descent of the deep watercourse we had thus far pursued, +all our labours now appeared to have been rendered futile by its abrupt +termination. But, bitterly disappointed, we did not entirely despair. +</p> + +<p> +As it was now near sunset we determined to pass the night where we were, and on +the morrow, refreshed by sleep, and by eating at one meal all our stock of +food, to accomplish a descent into the valley, or perish in the attempt. +</p> + +<p> +We laid ourselves down that night on a spot, the recollection of which still +makes me shudder. A small table of rock which projected over the precipice on +one side of the stream, and was drenched by the spray of the fall, sustained a +huge trunk of a tree which must have been deposited there by some heavy +freshet. It lay obliquely, with one end resting on the rock and the other +supported by the side of the ravine. Against it we placed in a sloping +direction a number of the half decayed boughs that were strewn about, and +covering the whole with twigs and leaves, awaited the morning’s light +beneath such shelter as it afforded. +</p> + +<p> +During the whole of this night the continual roaring of the cataract—the +dismal moaning of the gale through the trees—the pattering of the rain, +and the profound darkness, affected my spirits to a degree which nothing had +ever before produced. Wet, half famished, and chilled to the heart with the +dampness of the place, and nearly wild with the pain I endured, I fairly +cowered down to the earth under this multiplication of hardships, and abandoned +myself to frightful anticipations of evil; and my companion, whose spirit at +last was a good deal broken, scarcely uttered a word during the whole night. +</p> + +<p> +At length the day dawned upon us, and rising from our miserable pallet, we +stretched our stiffened joints, and after eating all that remained of our +bread, prepared for the last stage of our journey. I will not recount every +hair-breadth escape, and every fearful difficulty that occurred before we +succeeded in reaching the bosom of the valley. As I have already described +similar scenes, it will be sufficient to say that at length, after great toil +and great dangers, we both stood with no limbs broken at the head of that +magnificent vale which five days before had so suddenly burst upon my sight, +and almost beneath the shadow of those very cliffs from whose summits we had +gazed upon the prospect. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"></a> +CHAPTER TEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE HEAD OF THE VALLEY—CAUTIOUS ADVANCE—A +PATH—FRUIT—DISCOVERY OF TWO OF THE NATIVES—THEIR SINGULAR +CONDUCT—APPROACH TOWARDS THE INHABITED PARTS OF THE VALE—SENSATION +PRODUCED BY OUR APPEARANCE—RECEPTION AT THE HOUSE OF ONE OF THE NATIVES +</p> + +<p> +How to obtain the fruit which we felt convinced must grow near at hand was our +first thought. +</p> + +<p> +Typee or Happar? A frightful death at the hands of the fiercest of cannibals, +or a kindly reception from a gentler race of savages? Which? But it was too +late now to discuss a question which would so soon be answered. +</p> + +<p> +The part of the valley in which we found ourselves appeared to be altogether +uninhabited. An almost impenetrable thicket extended from side to side, without +presenting a single plant affording the nourishment we had confidently +calculated upon; and with this object, we followed the course of the stream, +casting quick glances as we proceeded into the thick jungles on each hand. My +companion—to whose solicitations I had yielded in descending into the +valley—now that the step was taken, began to manifest a degree of caution +I had little expected from him. He proposed that in the event of our finding an +adequate supply of fruit, we should remain in this unfrequented portion of the +country—where we should run little chance of being surprised by its +occupants, whoever they might be—until sufficiently recruited to resume +our journey; when laying a store of food equal to our wants, we might easily +regain the bay of Nukuheva, after the lapse of a sufficient interval to ensure +the departure of our vessel. +</p> + +<p> +I objected strongly to this proposition, plausible as it was, as the +difficulties of the route would be almost insurmountable, unacquainted as we +were with the general bearings of the country, and I reminded my companion of +the hardships which we had already encountered in our uncertain wanderings; in +a word, I said that since we had deemed it advisable to enter the valley, we +ought manfully to face the consequences, whatever they might be; the more +especially as I was convinced there was no alternative left us but to fall in +with the natives at once, and boldly risk the reception they might give us; and +that as to myself, I felt the necessity of rest and shelter, and that until I +had obtained them, I should be wholly unable to encounter such sufferings as we +had lately passed through. To the justice of these observations Toby somewhat +reluctantly assented. +</p> + +<p> +We were surprised that, after moving as far as we had along the valley, we +should still meet with the same impervious thickets; and thinking, that +although the borders of the stream might be lined for some distance with them, +yet beyond there might be more open ground, I requested Toby to keep a bright +look-out upon one side, while I did the same on the other, in order to discover +some opening in the bushes, and especially to watch for the slightest +appearance of a path or anything else that might indicate the vicinity of the +islanders. +</p> + +<p> +What furtive and anxious glances we cast into those dim-looking shadows! With +what apprehensions we proceeded, ignorant at what moment we might be greeted by +the javelin of some ambushed savage. At last my companion paused, and directed +my attention to a narrow opening in the foliage. We struck into it, and it soon +brought us by an indistinctly traced path to a comparatively clear space, at +the further end of which we descried a number of the trees, the native name of +which is ‘annuee’, and which bear a most delicious fruit. What a +race! I hobbling over the ground like some decrepid wretch, and Toby leaping +forward like a greyhound. He quickly cleared one of the trees on which there +were two or three of the fruit, but to our chagrin they proved to be much +decayed; the rinds partly opened by the birds, and their hearts half devoured. +However, we quickly despatched them, and no ambrosia could have been more +delicious. +</p> + +<p> +We looked about us uncertain whither to direct our steps, since the path we had +so far followed appeared to be lost in the open space around us. At last we +resolved to enter a grove near at hand, and had advanced a few rods, when, just +upon its skirts, I picked up a slender bread-fruit shoot perfectly green, and +with the tender bark freshly stripped from it. It was still slippery with +moisture, and appeared as if it had been but that moment thrown aside. I said +nothing, but merely held it up to Toby, who started at this undeniable evidence +of the vicinity of the savages. +</p> + +<p> +The plot was now thickening.—A short distance further lay a little faggot +of the same shoots bound together with a strip of bark. Could it have been +thrown down by some solitary native, who, alarmed at seeing us, had hurried +forward to carry the tidings of our approach to his countrymen?—Typee or +Happar?—But it was too late to recede, so we moved on slowly, my +companion in advance casting eager glances under the trees on each side, until +all at once I saw him recoil as if stung by an adder. Sinking on his knee, he +waved me off with one hand, while with the other he held aside some intervening +leaves, and gazed intently at some object. +</p> + +<p> +Disregarding his injunction, I quickly approached him and caught a glimpse of +two figures partly hidden by the dense foliage; they were standing close +together, and were perfectly motionless. They must have previously perceived +us, and withdrawn into the depths of the wood to elude our observation. +</p> + +<p> +My mind was at once made up. Dropping my staff, and tearing open the package of +things we had brought from the ship, I unrolled the cotton cloth, and holding +it in one hand picked with the other a twig from the bushes beside me, and +telling Toby to follow my example, I broke through the covert and advanced, +waving the branch in token of peace towards the shrinking forms before me. They +were a boy and a girl, slender and graceful, and completely naked, with the +exception of a slight girdle of bark, from which depended at opposite points +two of the russet leaves of the bread-fruit tree. An arm of the boy, half +screened from sight by her wild tresses, was thrown about the neck of the girl, +while with the other he held one of her hands in his; and thus they stood +together, their heads inclined forward, catching the faint noise we made in our +progress, and with one foot in advance, as if half inclined to fly from our +presence. +</p> + +<p> +As we drew near, their alarm evidently increased. Apprehensive that they might +fly from us altogether, I stopped short and motioned them to advance and +receive the gift I extended towards them, but they would not; I then uttered a +few words of their language with which I was acquainted, scarcely expected that +they would understand me, but to show that we had not dropped from the clouds +upon them. This appeared to give them a little confidence, so I approached +nearer, presenting the cloth with one hand, and holding the bough with the +other, while they slowly retreated. At last they suffered us to approach so +near to them that we were enabled to throw the cotton cloth across their +shoulders, giving them to understand that it was theirs, and by a variety of +gestures endeavouring to make them understand that we entertained the highest +possible regard for them. +</p> + +<p> +The frightened pair now stood still, whilst we endeavoured to make them +comprehend the nature of our wants. In doing this Toby went through with a +complete series of pantomimic illustrations—opening his mouth from ear to +ear, and thrusting his fingers down his throat, gnashing his teeth and rolling +his eyes about, till I verily believe the poor creatures took us for a couple +of white cannibals who were about to make a meal of them. When, however, they +understood us, they showed no inclination to relieve our wants. At this +juncture it began to rain violently, and we motioned them to lead us to some +place of shelter. With this request they appeared willing to comply, but +nothing could evince more strongly the apprehension with which they regarded +us, than the way in which, whilst walking before us, they kept their eyes +constantly turned back to watch every movement we made, and even our very +looks. +</p> + +<p> +‘Typee or Happar, Toby?’ asked I as we walked after them. +</p> + +<p> +‘Of course Happar,’ he replied, with a show of confidence which was +intended to disguise his doubts. +</p> + +<p> +‘We shall soon know,’ I exclaimed; and at the same moment I stepped +forward towards our guides, and pronouncing the two names interrogatively and +pointing to the lowest part of the valley, endeavoured to come to the point at +once. They repeated the words after me again and again, but without giving any +peculiar emphasis to either, so that I was completely at a loss to understand +them; for a couple of wilier young things than we afterwards found them to have +been on this particular occasion never probably fell in any traveller’s +way. +</p> + +<p> +More and more curious to ascertain our fate, I now threw together in the form +of a question the words ‘Happar’ and ‘Motarkee’, the +latter being equivalent to the word ‘good’. The two natives +interchanged glances of peculiar meaning with one another at this, and +manifested no little surprise; but on the repetition of the question after some +consultation together, to the great joy of Toby, they answered in the +affirmative. Toby was now in ecstasies, especially as the young savages +continued to reiterate their answer with great energy, as though desirous of +impressing us with the idea that being among the Happars, we ought to consider +ourselves perfectly secure. +</p> + +<p> +Although I had some lingering doubts, I feigned great delight with Toby at this +announcement, while my companion broke out into a pantomimic abhorrence of +Typee, and immeasurable love for the particular valley in which we were; our +guides all the while gazing uneasily at one another as if at a loss to account +for our conduct. +</p> + +<p> +They hurried on, and we followed them; until suddenly they set up a strange +halloo, which was answered from beyond the grove through which we were passing, +and the next moment we entered upon some open ground, at the extremity of which +we descried a long, low hut, and in front of it were several young girls. As +soon as they perceived us they fled with wild screams into the adjoining +thickets, like so many startled fawns. A few moments after the whole valley +resounded with savage outcries, and the natives came running towards us from +every direction. +</p> + +<p> +Had an army of invaders made an irruption into their territory they could not +have evinced greater excitement. We were soon completely encircled by a dense +throng, and in their eager desire to behold us they almost arrested our +progress; an equal number surrounded our youthful guides, who with amazing +volubility appeared to be detailing the circumstances which had attended their +meeting with us. Every item of intelligence appeared to redouble the +astonishment of the islanders, and they gazed at us with inquiring looks. +</p> + +<p> +At last we reached a large and handsome building of bamboos, and were by signs +told to enter it, the natives opening a lane for us through which to pass; on +entering without ceremony, we threw our exhausted frames upon the mats that +covered the floor. In a moment the slight tenement was completely full of +people, whilst those who were unable to obtain admittance gazed at us through +its open cane-work. +</p> + +<p> +It was now evening, and by the dim light we could just discern the savage +countenances around us, gleaming with wild curiosity and wonder; the naked +forms and tattooed limbs of brawny warriors, with here and there the slighter +figures of young girls, all engaged in a perfect storm of conversation, of +which we were of course the one only theme, whilst our recent guides were fully +occupied in answering the innumerable questions which every one put to them. +Nothing can exceed the fierce gesticulation of these people when animated in +conversation, and on this occasion they gave loose to all their natural +vivacity, shouting and dancing about in a manner that well nigh intimidated us. +</p> + +<p> +Close to where we lay, squatting upon their haunches, were some eight or ten +noble-looking chiefs—for such they subsequently proved to be—who, +more reserved than the rest, regarded us with a fixed and stern attention, +which not a little discomposed our equanimity. One of them in particular, who +appeared to be the highest in rank, placed himself directly facing me, looking +at me with a rigidity of aspect under which I absolutely quailed. He never once +opened his lips, but maintained his severe expression of countenance, without +turning his face aside for a single moment. Never before had I been subjected +to so strange and steady a glance; it revealed nothing of the mind of the +savage, but it appeared to be reading my own. +</p> + +<p> +After undergoing this scrutiny till I grew absolutely nervous, with a view of +diverting it if possible, and conciliating the good opinion of the warrior, I +took some tobacco from the bosom of my frock and offered it to him. He quietly +rejected the proffered gift, and, without speaking, motioned me to return it to +its place. +</p> + +<p> +In my previous intercourse with the natives of Nukuheva and Tior, I had found +that the present of a small piece of tobacco would have rendered any of them +devoted to my service. Was this act of the chief a token of his enmity? Typee +or Happar? I asked within myself. I started, for at the same moment this +identical question was asked by the strange being before me. I turned to Toby, +the flickering light of a native taper showed me his countenance pale with +trepidation at this fatal question. I paused for a second, and I know not by +what impulse it was that I answered ‘Typee’. The piece of dusky +statuary nodded in approval, and then murmured ‘Motarkee!’ +‘Motarkee,’ said I, without further hesitation ‘Typee +motarkee.’ +</p> + +<p> +What a transition! The dark figures around us leaped to their feet, clapped +their hands in transport, and shouted again and again the talismanic syllables, +the utterance of which appeared to have settled everything. +</p> + +<p> +When this commotion had a little subsided, the principal chief squatted once +more before me, and throwing himself into a sudden rage, poured forth a string +of philippics, which I was at no loss to understand, from the frequent +recurrence of the word Happar, as being directed against the natives of the +adjoining valley. In all these denunciations my companion and I acquiesced, +while we extolled the character of the warlike Typees. To be sure our +panegyrics were somewhat laconic, consisting in the repetition of that name, +united with the potent adjective ‘motarkee’. But this was +sufficient, and served to conciliate the good will of the natives, with whom +our congeniality of sentiment on this point did more towards inspiring a +friendly feeling than anything else that could have happened. +</p> + +<p> +At last the wrath of the chief evaporated, and in a few moments he was as +placid as ever. Laying his hand upon his breast, he gave me to understand that +his name was ‘Mehevi’, and that, in return, he wished me to +communicate my appellation. I hesitated for an instant, thinking that it might +be difficult for him to pronounce my real name, and then with the most +praiseworthy intentions intimated that I was known as ‘Tom’. But I +could not have made a worse selection; the chief could not master it. +‘Tommo,’ ‘Tomma’, ‘Tommee’, everything but +plain ‘Tom’. As he persisted in garnishing the word with an +additional syllable, I compromised the matter with him at the word +‘Tommo’; and by that name I went during the entire period of my +stay in the valley. The same proceeding was gone through with Toby, whose +mellifluous appellation was more easily caught. +</p> + +<p> +An exchange of names is equivalent to a ratification of good will and amity +among these simple people; and as we were aware of this fact, we were delighted +that it had taken place on the present occasion. +</p> + +<p> +Reclining upon our mats, we now held a kind of levee, giving audience to +successive troops of the natives, who introduced themselves to us by +pronouncing their respective names, and retired in high good humour on +receiving ours in return. During this ceremony the greatest merriment prevailed +nearly every announcement on the part of the islanders being followed by a +fresh sally of gaiety, which induced me to believe that some of them at least +were innocently diverting the company at our expense, by bestowing upon +themselves a string of absurd titles, of the humour of which we were of course +entirely ignorant. +</p> + +<p> +All this occupied about an hour, when the throng having a little diminished, I +turned to Mehevi and gave him to understand that we were in need of food and +sleep. Immediately the attentive chief addressed a few words to one of the +crowd, who disappeared, and returned in a few moments with a calabash of +‘poee-poee’, and two or three young cocoanuts stripped of their +husks, and with their shells partly broken. We both of us forthwith placed one +of these natural goblets to our lips, and drained it in a moment of the +refreshing draught it contained. The poee-poee was then placed before us, and +even famished as I was, I paused to consider in what manner to convey it to my +mouth. +</p> + +<p> +This staple article of food among the Marquese islanders is manufactured from +the produce of the bread-fruit tree. It somewhat resembles in its plastic +nature our bookbinders’ paste, is of a yellow colour, and somewhat tart +to the taste. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the dish, the merits of which I was now eager to discuss. I eyed it +wistfully for a moment, and then, unable any longer to stand on ceremony, +plunged my hand into the yielding mass, and to the boisterous mirth of the +natives drew it forth laden with the poee-poee, which adhered in lengthy +strings to every finger. So stubborn was its consistency, that in conveying my +heavily-weighted hand to my mouth, the connecting links almost raised the +calabash from the mats on which it had been placed. This display of +awkwardness—in which, by-the-bye, Toby kept me company—convulsed +the bystanders with uncontrollable laughter. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as their merriment had somewhat subsided, Mehevi, motioning us to be +attentive, dipped the forefinger of his right hand in the dish, and giving it a +rapid and scientific twirl, drew it out coated smoothly with the preparation. +With a second peculiar flourish he prevented the poee-poee from dropping to the +ground as he raised it to his mouth, into which the finger was inserted and +drawn forth perfectly free from any adhesive matter. +</p> + +<p> +This performance was evidently intended for our instruction; so I again essayed +the feat on the principles inculcated, but with very ill success. +</p> + +<p> +A starving man, however, little heeds conventional proprieties, especially on a +South-Sea Island, and accordingly Toby and I partook of the dish after our own +clumsy fashion, beplastering our faces all over with the glutinous compound, +and daubing our hands nearly to the wrist. This kind of food is by no means +disagreeable to the palate of a European, though at first the mode of eating it +may be. For my own part, after the lapse of a few days I became accustomed to +its singular flavour, and grew remarkably fond of it. +</p> + +<p> +So much for the first course; several other dishes followed it, some of which +were positively delicious. We concluded our banquet by tossing off the contents +of two more young cocoanuts, after which we regaled ourselves with the soothing +fumes of tobacco, inhaled from a quaintly carved pipe which passed round the +circle. +</p> + +<p> +During the repast, the natives eyed us with intense curiosity, observing our +minutest motions, and appearing to discover abundant matter for comment in the +most trifling occurrence. Their surprise mounted the highest, when we began to +remove our uncomfortable garments, which were saturated with rain. They scanned +the whiteness of our limbs, and seemed utterly unable to account for the +contrast they presented to the swarthy hue of our faces embrowned from a six +months’ exposure to the scorching sun of the Line. They felt our skin, +much in the same way that a silk mercer would handle a remarkably fine piece of +satin; and some of them went so far in their investigation as to apply the +olfactory organ. +</p> + +<p> +Their singular behaviour almost led me to imagine that they never before had +beheld a white man; but a few moments’ reflection convinced me that this +could not have been the case; and a more satisfactory reason for their conduct +has since suggested itself to my mind. +</p> + +<p> +Deterred by the frightful stories related of its inhabitants, ships never enter +this bay, while their hostile relations with the tribes in the adjoining +valleys prevent the Typees from visiting that section of the island where +vessels occasionally lie. At long intervals, however, some intrepid captain +will touch on the skirts of the bay, with two or three armed boats’ crews +and accompanied by interpreters. The natives who live near the sea descry the +strangers long before they reach their waters, and aware of the purpose for +which they come, proclaim loudly the news of their approach. By a species of +vocal telegraph the intelligence reaches the inmost recesses of the vale in an +inconceivably short space of time, drawing nearly its whole population down to +the beach laden with every variety of fruit. The interpreter, who is invariably +a ‘tabooed Kanaka’ *, leaps ashore with the goods intended for +barter, while the boats, with their oars shipped, and every man on his thwart, +lie just outside the surf, heading off the shore, in readiness at the first +untoward event to escape to the open sea. As soon as the traffic is concluded, +one of the boats pulls in under cover of the muskets of the others, the fruit +is quickly thrown into her, and the transient visitors precipitately retire +from what they justly consider so dangerous a vicinity. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +* The word ‘Kanaka’ is at the present day universally used in the +South Seas by Europeans to designate the Islanders. In the various dialects of +the principal groups it is simply a sexual designation applied to the males; +but it is now used by the natives in their intercourse with foreigners in the +same sense in which the latter employ it. +</p> + +<p> +A ‘Tabooed Kanaka’ is an islander whose person has been made to a +certain extent sacred by the operation of a singular custom hereafter to be +explained. +</p> + +<p> +The intercourse occurring with Europeans being so restricted, no wonder that +the inhabitants of the valley manifested so much curiosity with regard to us, +appearing as we did among them under such singular circumstances. I have no +doubt that we were the first white men who ever penetrated thus far back into +their territories, or at least the first who had ever descended from the head +of the vale. What had brought us thither must have appeared a complete mystery +to them, and from our ignorance of the language it was impossible for us to +enlighten them. In answer to inquiries which the eloquence of their gestures +enabled us to comprehend, all that we could reply was, that we had come from +Nukuheva, a place, be it remembered, with which they were at open war. This +intelligence appeared to affect them with the most lively emotions. +‘Nukuheva motarkee?’ they asked. Of course we replied most +energetically in the negative. +</p> + +<p> +Then they plied us with a thousand questions, of which we could understand +nothing more than that they had reference to the recent movements of the +French, against whom they seemed to cherish the most fierce hatred. So eager +were they to obtain information on this point, that they still continued to +propound their queries long after we had shown that we were utterly unable to +answer them. Occasionally we caught some indistinct idea of their meaning, when +we would endeavour by every method in our power to communicate the desired +intelligence. At such times their gratification was boundless, and they would +redouble their efforts to make us comprehend them more perfectly. But all in +vain; and in the end they looked at us despairingly, as if we were the +receptacles of invaluable information; but how to come at it they knew not. +</p> + +<p> +After a while the group around us gradually dispersed, and we were left about +midnight (as we conjectured) with those who appeared to be permanent residents +of the house. These individuals now provided us with fresh mats to lie upon, +covered us with several folds of tappa, and then extinguishing the tapers that +had been burning, threw themselves down beside us, and after a little desultory +conversation were soon sound asleep. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"></a> +CHAPTER ELEVEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +MIDNIGHT REFLECTIONS—MORNING VISITORS—A WARRIOR IN COSTUME—A +SAVAGE AESCULAPIUS—PRACTICE OF THE HEALING ART—BODY SERVANT—A +DWELLING-HOUSE OF THE VALLEY DESCRIBED—PORTRAITS OF ITS INMATES +</p> + +<p> +Various and conflicting were the thoughts which oppressed me during the silent +hours that followed the events related in the preceding chapter. Toby, wearied +with the fatigues of the day, slumbered heavily by my side; but the pain under +which I was suffering effectually prevented my sleeping, and I remained +distressingly alive to all the fearful circumstances of our present situation. +Was it possible that, after all our vicissitudes, we were really in the +terrible valley of Typee, and at the mercy of its inmates, a fierce and +unrelenting tribe of savages? Typee or Happar? I shuddered when I reflected +that there was no longer any room for doubt; and that, beyond all hope of +escape, we were now placed in those very circumstances from the bare thought of +which I had recoiled with such abhorrence but a few days before. What might not +be our fearful destiny? To be sure, as yet we had been treated with no +violence; nay, had been even kindly and hospitably entertained. But what +dependence could be placed upon the fickle passions which sway the bosom of a +savage? His inconstancy and treachery are proverbial. Might it not be that +beneath these fair appearances the islanders covered some perfidious design, +and that their friendly reception of us might only precede some horrible +catastrophe? How strongly did these forebodings spring up in my mind as I lay +restlessly upon a couch of mats surrounded by the dimly revealed forms of those +whom I so greatly dreaded! +</p> + +<p> +From the excitement of these fearful thoughts I sank towards morning into an +uneasy slumber; and on awaking, with a start, in the midst of an appalling +dream, looked up into the eager countenance of a number of the natives, who +were bending over me. +</p> + +<p> +It was broad day; and the house was nearly filled with young females, +fancifully decorated with flowers, who gazed upon me as I rose with faces in +which childish delight and curiosity were vividly portrayed. After waking Toby, +they seated themselves round us on the mats, and gave full play to that prying +inquisitiveness which time out of mind has been attributed to the adorable sex. +</p> + +<p> +As these unsophisticated young creatures were attended by no jealous duennas, +their proceedings were altogether informal, and void of artificial restraint. +Long and minute was the investigation with which they honoured us, and so +uproarious their mirth, that I felt infinitely sheepish; and Toby was +immeasurably outraged at their familiarity. +</p> + +<p> +These lively young ladies were at the same time wonderfully polite and humane; +fanning aside the insects that occasionally lighted on our brows; presenting us +with food; and compassionately regarding me in the midst of my afflictions. But +in spite of all their blandishments, my feelings of propriety were exceedingly +shocked, for I could but consider them as having overstepped the due limits of +female decorum. +</p> + +<p> +Having diverted themselves to their hearts’ content, our young visitants +now withdrew, and gave place to successive troops of the other sex, who +continued flocking towards the house until near noon; by which time I have no +doubt that the greater part of the inhabitants of the valley had bathed +themselves in the light of our benignant countenances. +</p> + +<p> +At last, when their numbers began to diminish, a superb-looking warrior stooped +the towering plumes of his head-dress beneath the low portal, and entered the +house. I saw at once that he was some distinguished personage, the natives +regarding him with the utmost deference, and making room for him as he +approached. His aspect was imposing. The splendid long drooping tail-feathers +of the tropical bird, thickly interspersed with the gaudy plumage of the cock, +were disposed in an immense upright semicircle upon his head, their lower +extremities being fixed in a crescent of guinea-heads which spanned the +forehead. Around his neck were several enormous necklaces of boar’s +tusks, polished like ivory, and disposed in such a manner as that the longest +and largest were upon his capacious chest. Thrust forward through the large +apertures in his ears were two small and finely-shaped sperm whale teeth, +presenting their cavities in front, stuffed with freshly-plucked leaves, and +curiously wrought at the other end into strange little images and devices. +These barbaric trinkets, garnished in this manner at their open extremities, +and tapering and curving round to a point behind the ear, resembled not a +little a pair of cornucopias. +</p> + +<p> +The loins of the warrior were girt about with heavy folds of a dark-coloured +tappa, hanging before and behind in clusters of braided tassels, while anklets +and bracelets of curling human hair completed his unique costume. In his right +hand he grasped a beautifully carved paddle-spear, nearly fifteen feet in +length, made of the bright koar-wood, one end sharply pointed, and the other +flattened like an oar-blade. Hanging obliquely from his girdle by a loop of +sinnate was a richly decorated pipe; the slender reed forming its stem was +coloured with a red pigment, and round it, as well as the idol-bowl, fluttered +little streamers of the thinnest tappa. +</p> + +<p> +But that which was most remarkable in the appearance of this splendid islander +was the elaborate tattooing displayed on every noble limb. All imaginable lines +and curves and figures were delineated over his whole body, and in their +grotesque variety and infinite profusion I could only compare them to the +crowded groupings of quaint patterns we sometimes see in costly pieces of +lacework. The most simple and remarkable of all these ornaments was that which +decorated the countenance of the chief. Two broad stripes of tattooing, +diverging from the centre of his shaven crown, obliquely crossed both +eyes—staining the lids—to a little below each ear, where they +united with another stripe which swept in a straight line along the lips and +formed the base of the triangle. The warrior, from the excellence of his +physical proportions, might certainly have been regarded as one of +Nature’s noblemen, and the lines drawn upon his face may possibly have +denoted his exalted rank. +</p> + +<p> +This warlike personage, upon entering the house, seated himself at some +distance from the spot where Toby and myself reposed, while the rest of the +savages looked alternately from us to him, as if in expectation of something +they were disappointed in not perceiving. Regarding the chief attentively, I +thought his lineaments appeared familiar to me. As soon as his full face was +turned upon me, and I again beheld its extraordinary embellishment, and met the +strange gaze to which I had been subjected the preceding night, I immediately, +in spite of the alteration in his appearance, recognized the noble Mehevi. On +addressing him, he advanced at once in the most cordial manner, and greeting me +warmly, seemed to enjoy not a little the effect his barbaric costume had +produced upon me. +</p> + +<p> +I forthwith determined to secure, if possible, the good-will of this +individual, as I easily perceived he was a man of great authority in his tribe, +and one who might exert a powerful influence upon our subsequent fate. In the +endeavour I was not repulsed; for nothing could surpass the friendliness he +manifested towards both my companion and myself. He extended his sturdy limbs +by our side, and endeavoured to make us comprehend the full extent of the +kindly feelings by which he was actuated. The almost insuperable difficulty in +communicating to one another our ideas affected the chief with no little +mortification. He evinced a great desire to be enlightened with regard to the +customs and peculiarities of the far-off country we had left behind us, and to +which under the name of Maneeka he frequently alluded. +</p> + +<p> +But that which more than any other subject engaged his attention was the late +proceedings of the ‘Frannee’ as he called the French, in the +neighbouring bay of Nukuheva. This seemed a never-ending theme with him, and +one concerning which he was never weary of interrogating us. All the +information we succeeded in imparting to him on this subject was little more +than that we had seen six men-of-war lying in the hostile bay at the time we +had left it. When he received this intelligence, Mehevi, by the aid of his +fingers, went through a long numerical calculation, as if estimating the number +of Frenchmen the squadron might contain. +</p> + +<p> +It was just after employing his faculties in this way that he happened to +notice the swelling in my limb. He immediately examined it with the utmost +attention, and after doing so, despatched a boy who happened to be standing by +with some message. +</p> + +<p> +After the lapse of a few moments the stripling re-entered the house with an +aged islander, who might have been taken for old Hippocrates himself. His head +was as bald as the polished surface of a cocoanut shell, which article it +precisely resembled in smoothness and colour, while a long silvery beard swept +almost to his girdle of bark. Encircling his temples was a bandeau of the +twisted leaves of the Omoo tree, pressed closely over the brows to shield his +feeble vision from the glare of the sun. His tottering steps were supported by +a long slim staff, resembling the wand with which a theatrical magician appears +on the stage, and in one hand he carried a freshly plaited fan of the green +leaflets of the cocoanut tree. A flowing robe of tappa, knotted over the +shoulder, hung loosely round his stooping form, and heightened the +venerableness of his aspect. +</p> + +<p> +Mehevi, saluting this old gentleman, motioned him to a seat between us, and +then uncovering my limb, desired him to examine it. The leech gazed intently +from me to Toby, and then proceeded to business. After diligently observing the +ailing member, he commenced manipulating it; and on the supposition probably +that the complaint had deprived the leg of all sensation, began to pinch and +hammer it in such a manner that I absolutely roared with pain. Thinking that I +was as capable of making an application of thumps and pinches to the part as +any one else, I endeavoured to resist this species of medical treatment. But it +was not so easy a matter to get out of the clutches of the old wizard; he +fastened on the unfortunate limb as if it were something for which he had been +long seeking, and muttering some kind of incantation continued his discipline, +pounding it after a fashion that set me well nigh crazy; while Mehevi, upon the +same principle which prompts an affectionate mother to hold a struggling child +in a dentist’s chair, restrained me in his powerful grasp, and actually +encouraged the wretch in this infliction of torture. +</p> + +<p> +Almost frantic with rage and pain, I yelled like a bedlamite; while Toby, +throwing himself into all the attitudes of a posture-master, vainly endeavoured +to expostulate with the natives by signs and gestures. To have looked at my +companion, as, sympathizing with my sufferings, he strove to put an end to +them, one would have thought that he was the deaf and dumb alphabet incarnated. +Whether my tormentor yielded to Toby’s entreaties, or paused from sheer +exhaustion, I do not know; but all at once he ceased his operations, and at the +same time the chief relinquishing his hold upon me, I fell back, faint and +breathless with the agony I had endured. +</p> + +<p> +My unfortunate limb was now left much in the same condition as a rump-steak +after undergoing the castigating process which precedes cooking. My physician, +having recovered from the fatigues of his exertions, as if anxious to make +amends for the pain to which he had subjected me, now took some herbs out of a +little wallet that was suspended from his waist, and moistening them in water, +applied them to the inflamed part, stooping over it at the same time, and +either whispering a spell, or having a little confidential chat with some +imaginary demon located in the calf of my leg. My limb was now swathed in leafy +bandages, and grateful to Providence for the cessation of hostilities, I was +suffered to rest. +</p> + +<p> +Mehevi shortly after rose to depart; but before he went he spoke +authoritatively to one of the natives whom he addressed as Kory-Kory; and from +the little I could understand of what took place, pointed him out to me as a +man whose peculiar business thenceforth would be to attend upon my person. I am +not certain that I comprehended as much as this at the time, but the subsequent +conduct of my trusty body-servant fully assured me that such must have been the +case. +</p> + +<p> +I could not but be amused at the manner in which the chief addressed me upon +this occasion, talking to me for at least fifteen or twenty minutes as calmly +as if I could understand every word that he said. I remarked this peculiarity +very often afterwards in many other of the islanders. +</p> + +<p> +Mehevi having now departed, and the family physician having likewise made his +exit, we were left about sunset with ten or twelve natives, who by this time I +had ascertained composed the household of which Toby and I were members. As the +dwelling to which we had been first introduced was the place of my permanent +abode while I remained in the valley, and as I was necessarily placed upon the +most intimate footing with its occupants, I may as well here enter into a +little description of it and its inhabitants. This description will apply also +to nearly all the other dwelling-places in the vale, and will furnish some idea +of the generality of the natives. +</p> + +<p> +Near one side of the valley, and about midway up the ascent of a rather abrupt +rise of ground waving with the richest verdure, a number of large stones were +laid in successive courses, to the height of nearly eight feet, and disposed in +such a manner that their level surface corresponded in shape with the +habitation which was perched upon it. A narrow space, however, was reserved in +front of the dwelling, upon the summit of this pile of stones (called by the +natives a ‘pi-pi’), which being enclosed by a little picket of +canes, gave it somewhat the appearance of a verandah. The frame of the house +was constructed of large bamboos planted uprightly, and secured together at +intervals by transverse stalks of the light wood of the habiscus, lashed with +thongs of bark. The rear of the tenement—built up with successive ranges +of cocoanut boughs bound one upon another, with their leaflets cunningly woven +together—inclined a little from the vertical, and extended from the +extreme edge of the ‘pi-pi’ to about twenty feet from its surface; +whence the shelving roof—thatched with the long tapering leaves of the +palmetto—sloped steeply off to within about five feet of the floor; +leaving the eaves drooping with tassel-like appendages over the front of the +habitation. This was constructed of light and elegant canes in a kind of open +screenwork, tastefully adorned with bindings of variegated sinnate, which +served to hold together its various parts. The sides of the house were +similarly built; thus presenting three quarters for the circulation of the air, +while the whole was impervious to the rain. +</p> + +<p> +In length this picturesque building was perhaps twelve yards, while in breadth +it could not have exceeded as many feet. So much for the exterior; which, with +its wire-like reed-twisted sides, not a little reminded me of an immense +aviary. +</p> + +<p> +Stooping a little, you passed through a narrow aperture in its front; and +facing you, on entering, lay two long, perfectly straight, and well-polished +trunks of the cocoanut tree, extending the full length of the dwelling; one of +them placed closely against the rear, and the other lying parallel with it some +two yards distant, the interval between them being spread with a multitude of +gaily-worked mats, nearly all of a different pattern. This space formed the +common couch and lounging place of the natives, answering the purpose of a +divan in Oriental countries. Here would they slumber through the hours of the +night, and recline luxuriously during the greater part of the day. The +remainder of the floor presented only the cool shining surfaces of the large +stones of which the ‘pi-pi’ was composed. +</p> + +<p> +From the ridge-pole of the house hung suspended a number of large packages +enveloped in coarse tappa; some of which contained festival dresses, and +various other matters of the wardrobe, held in high estimation. These were +easily accessible by means of a line, which, passing over the ridge-pole, had +one end attached to a bundle, while with the other, which led to the side of +the dwelling and was there secured, the package could be lowered or elevated at +pleasure. +</p> + +<p> +Against the farther wall of the house were arranged in tasteful figures a +variety of spears and javelins, and other implements of savage warfare. Outside +of the habitation, and built upon the piazza-like area in its front, was a +little shed used as a sort of larder or pantry, and in which were stored +various articles of domestic use and convenience. A few yards from the pi-pi +was a large shed built of cocoanut boughs, where the process of preparing the +‘poee-poee’ was carried on, and all culinary operations attended +to. +</p> + +<p> +Thus much for the house, and its appurtenances; and it will be readily +acknowledged that a more commodious and appropriate dwelling for the climate +and the people could not possibly be devised. It was cool, free to admit the +air, scrupulously clean, and elevated above the dampness and impurities of the +ground. +</p> + +<p> +But now to sketch the inmates; and here I claim for my tried servitor and +faithful valet Kory-Kory the precedence of a first description. As his +character will be gradually unfolded in the course of my narrative, I shall for +the present content myself with delineating his personal appearance. Kory-Kory, +though the most devoted and best natured serving-man in the world, was, alas! a +hideous object to look upon. He was some twenty-five years of age, and about +six feet in height, robust and well made, and of the most extraordinary aspect. +His head was carefully shaven with the exception of two circular spots, about +the size of a dollar, near the top of the cranium, where the hair, permitted to +grow of an amazing length, was twisted up in two prominent knots, that gave him +the appearance of being decorated with a pair of horns. His beard, plucked out +by the root from every other part of his face, was suffered to droop in hairy +pendants, two of which garnished his under lip, and an equal number hung from +the extremity of his chin. +</p> + +<p> +Kory-Kory, with a view of improving the handiwork of nature, and perhaps +prompted by a desire to add to the engaging expression of his countenance, had +seen fit to embellish his face with three broad longitudinal stripes of +tattooing, which, like those country roads that go straight forward in defiance +of all obstacles, crossed his nasal organ, descended into the hollow of his +eyes, and even skirted the borders of his mouth. Each completely spanned his +physiognomy; one extending in a line with his eyes, another crossing the face +in the vicinity of the nose, and the third sweeping along his lips from ear to +ear. His countenance thus triply hooped, as it were, with tattooing, always +reminded me of those unhappy wretches whom I have sometimes observed gazing out +sentimentally from behind the grated bars of a prison window; whilst the entire +body of my savage valet, covered all over with representations of birds and +fishes, and a variety of most unaccountable-looking creatures, suggested to me +the idea of a pictorial museum of natural history, or an illustrated copy of +‘Goldsmith’s Animated Nature.’ +</p> + +<p> +But it seems really heartless in me to write thus of the poor islander, when I +owe perhaps to his unremitting attentions the very existence I now enjoy. +Kory-Kory, I mean thee no harm in what I say in regard to thy outward +adornings; but they were a little curious to my unaccustomed sight, and +therefore I dilate upon them. But to underrate or forget thy faithful services +is something I could never be guilty of, even in the giddiest moment of my +life. +</p> + +<p> +The father of my attached follower was a native of gigantic frame, and had once +possessed prodigious physical powers; but the lofty form was now yielding to +the inroads of time, though the hand of disease seemed never to have been laid +upon the aged warrior. Marheyo—for such was his name—appeared to +have retired from all active participation in the affairs of the valley, seldom +or never accompanying the natives in their various expeditions; and employing +the greater part of his time in throwing up a little shed just outside the +house, upon which he was engaged to my certain knowledge for four months, +without appearing to make any sensible advance. I suppose the old gentleman was +in his dotage, for he manifested in various ways the characteristics which mark +this particular stage of life. +</p> + +<p> +I remember in particular his having a choice pair of ear-ornaments, fabricated +from the teeth of some sea-monster. These he would alternately wear and take +off at least fifty times in the course of the day, going and coming from his +little hut on each occasion with all the tranquillity imaginable. Sometimes +slipping them through the slits in his ears, he would seize his +spear—which in length and slightness resembled a fishing-pole—and +go stalking beneath the shadows of the neighbouring groves, as if about to give +a hostile meeting to some cannibal knight. But he would soon return again, and +hiding his weapon under the projecting eaves of the house, and rolling his +clumsy trinkets carefully in a piece of tappa, would resume his more pacific +operations as quietly as if he had never interrupted them. +</p> + +<p> +But despite his eccentricities, Marheyo was a most paternal and warm-hearted +old fellow, and in this particular not a little resembled his son Kory-Kory. +The mother of the latter was the mistress of the family, and a notable +housewife, and a most industrious old lady she was. If she did not understand +the art of making jellies, jams, custard, tea-cakes, and such like trashy +affairs, she was profoundly skilled in the mysteries of preparing +‘amar’, ‘poee-poee’, and ‘kokoo’, with +other substantial matters. +</p> + +<p> +She was a genuine busy-body; bustling about the house like a country landlady +at an unexpected arrival; for ever giving the young girls tasks to perform, +which the little hussies as often neglected; poking into every corner, and +rummaging over bundles of old tappa, or making a prodigious clatter among the +calabashes. Sometimes she might have been seen squatting upon her haunches in +front of a huge wooden basin, and kneading poee-poee with terrific vehemence, +dashing the stone pestle about as if she would shiver the vessel into +fragments; on other occasions, galloping about the valley in search of a +particular kind of leaf, used in some of her recondite operations, and +returning home, toiling and sweating, with a bundle of it, under which most +women would have sunk. +</p> + +<p> +To tell the truth, Kory-Kory’s mother was the only industrious person in +all the valley of Typee; and she could not have employed herself more actively +had she been left an exceedingly muscular and destitute widow, with an +inordinate ate supply of young children, in the bleakest part of the civilized +world. There was not the slightest necessity for the greater portion of the +labour performed by the old lady: but she seemed to work from some irresistible +impulse; her limbs continually swaying to and fro, as if there were some +indefatigable engine concealed within her body which kept her in perpetual +motion. +</p> + +<p> +Never suppose that she was a termagant or a shrew for all this; she had the +kindliest heart in the world, and acted towards me in particular in a truly +maternal manner, occasionally putting some little morsel of choice food into my +hand, some outlandish kind of savage sweetmeat or pastry, like a doting mother +petting a sickly urchin with tarts and sugar plums. Warm indeed are my +remembrances of the dear, good, affectionate old Tinor! +</p> + +<p> +Besides the individuals I have mentioned, there belonged to the household three +young men, dissipated, good-for-nothing, roystering blades of savages, who were +either employed in prosecuting love affairs with the maidens of the tribe, or +grew boozy on ‘arva’ and tobacco in the company of congenial +spirits, the scapegraces of the valley. +</p> + +<p> +Among the permanent inmates of the house were likewise several lovely damsels, +who instead of thrumming pianos and reading novels, like more enlightened young +ladies, substituted for these employments the manufacture of a fine species of +tappa; but for the greater portion of the time were skipping from house to +house, gadding and gossiping with their acquaintances. +</p> + +<p> +From the rest of these, however, I must except the beauteous nymph Fayaway, who +was my peculiar favourite. Her free pliant figure was the very perfection of +female grace and beauty. Her complexion was a rich and mantling olive, and when +watching the glow upon her cheeks I could almost swear that beneath the +transparent medium there lurked the blushes of a faint vermilion. +</p> + +<p> +The face of this girl was a rounded oval, and each feature as perfectly formed +as the heart or imagination of man could desire. +</p> + +<p> +Her full lips, when parted with a smile, disclosed teeth of dazzling whiteness +and when her rosy mouth opened with a burst of merriment, they looked like the +milk-white seeds of the ‘arta,’ a fruit of the valley, which, when +cleft in twain, shows them reposing in rows on each side, imbedded in the red +and juicy pulp. Her hair of the deepest brown, parted irregularly in the +middle, flowed in natural ringlets over her shoulders, and whenever she chanced +to stoop, fell over and hid from view her lovely bosom. Gazing into the depths +of her strange blue eyes, when she was in a contemplative mood, they seemed +most placid yet unfathomable; but when illuminated by some lively emotion, they +beamed upon the beholder like stars. The hands of Fayaway were as soft and +delicate as those of any countess; for an entire exemption from rude labour +marks the girlhood and even prime of a Typee woman’s life. Her feet, +though wholly exposed, were as diminutive and fairly shaped as those which peep +from beneath the skirts of a Lima lady’s dress. The skin of this young +creature, from continual ablutions and the use of mollifying ointments, was +inconceivably smooth and soft. +</p> + +<p> +I may succeed, perhaps, in particularizing some of the individual features of +Fayaway’s beauty, but that general loveliness of appearance which they +all contributed to produce I will not attempt to describe. The easy unstudied +graces of a child of nature like this, breathing from infancy an atmosphere of +perpetual summer, and nurtured by the simple fruits of the earth; enjoying a +perfect freedom from care and anxiety, and removed effectually from all +injurious tendencies, strike the eye in a manner which cannot be pourtrayed. +This picture is no fancy sketch; it is drawn from the most vivid recollections +of the person delineated. +</p> + +<p> +Were I asked if the beauteous form of Fayaway was altogether free from the +hideous blemish of tattooing, I should be constrained to answer that it was +not. But the practitioners of the barbarous art, so remorseless in their +inflictions upon the brawny limbs of the warriors of the tribe, seem to be +conscious that it needs not the resources of their profession to augment the +charms of the maidens of the vale. +</p> + +<p> +The females are very little embellished in this way, and Fayaway, and all the +other young girls of her age, were even less so than those of their sex more +advanced in years. The reason of this peculiarity will be alluded to hereafter. +All the tattooing that the nymph in question exhibited upon her person may be +easily described. Three minute dots, no bigger than pin-heads, decorated each +lip, and at a little distance were not at all discernible. Just upon the fall +of the shoulder were drawn two parallel lines half an inch apart, and perhaps +three inches in length, the interval being filled with delicately executed +figures. These narrow bands of tattooing, thus placed, always reminded me of +those stripes of gold lace worn by officers in undress, and which are in lieu +of epaulettes to denote their rank. +</p> + +<p> +Thus much was Fayaway tattooed. The audacious hand which had gone so far in its +desecrating work stopping short, apparently wanting the heart to proceed. +</p> + +<p> +But I have omitted to describe the dress worn by this nymph of the valley. +</p> + +<p> +Fayaway—I must avow the fact—for the most part clung to the +primitive and summer garb of Eden. But how becoming the costume! +</p> + +<p> +It showed her fine figure to the best possible advantage; and nothing could +have been better adapted to her peculiar style of beauty. On ordinary occasions +she was habited precisely as I have described the two youthful savages whom we +had met on first entering the valley. At other times, when rambling among the +groves, or visiting at the houses of her acquaintances, she wore a tunic of +white tappa, reaching from her waist to a little below the knees; and when +exposed for any length of time to the sun, she invariably protected herself +from its rays by a floating mantle of—the same material, loosely gathered +about the person. Her gala dress will be described hereafter. +</p> + +<p> +As the beauties of our own land delight in bedecking themselves with fanciful +articles of jewellery, suspending them from their ears, hanging them about +their necks, and clasping them around their wrists; so Fayaway and her +companions were in the habit of ornamenting themselves with similar appendages. +</p> + +<p> +Flora was their jeweller. Sometimes they wore necklaces of small carnation +flowers, strung like rubies upon a fibre of tappa, or displayed in their ears a +single white bud, the stem thrust backward through the aperture, and showing in +front the delicate petals folded together in a beautiful sphere, and looking +like a drop of the purest pearl. Chaplets too, resembling in their arrangement +the strawberry coronal worn by an English peeress, and composed of intertwined +leaves and blossoms, often crowned their temples; and bracelets and anklets of +the same tasteful pattern were frequently to be seen. Indeed, the maidens of +the island were passionately fond of flowers, and never wearied of decorating +their persons with them; a lovely trait in their character, and one that ere +long will be more fully alluded to. +</p> + +<p> +Though in my eyes, at least, Fayaway was indisputably the loveliest female I +saw in Typee, yet the description I have given of her will in some measure +apply to nearly all the youthful portion of her sex in the valley. Judge ye +then, reader, what beautiful creatures they must have been. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"></a> +CHAPTER TWELVE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +OFFICIOUSNESS OF KORY-KORY—HIS DEVOTION—A BATH IN THE +STREAM—WANT OF REFINEMENT OF THE TYPEE DAMSELS—STROLL WITH +MEHEVI—A TYPEE HIGHWAY—THE TABOO GROVES—THE HOOLAH HOOLAH +GROUND—THE TI—TIMEWORN SAVAGES—HOSPITALITY OF +MEHEVI—MIDNIGHT MUSINGS—ADVENTURES IN THE DARK—DISTINGUISHED +HONOURS PAID TO THE VISITORS—STRANGE PROCESSION AND RETURN TO THE HOUSE +OF MARHEYO +</p> + +<p> +When Mehevi had departed from the house, as related in the preceding chapter, +Kory-Kory commenced the functions of the post assigned him. He brought out, +various kinds of food; and, as if I were an infant, insisted upon feeding me +with his own hands. To this procedure I, of course, most earnestly objected, +but in vain; and having laid a calabash of kokoo before me, he washed his +fingers in a vessel of water, and then putting his hands into the dish and +rolling the food into little balls, put them one after another into my mouth. +All my remonstrances against this measure only provoked so great a clamour on +his part, that I was obliged to acquiesce; and the operation of feeding being +thus facilitated, the meal was quickly despatched. As for Toby, he was allowed +to help himself after his own fashion. +</p> + +<p> +The repast over, my attendant arranged the mats for repose, and, bidding me lie +down, covered me with a large robe of tappa, at the same time looking +approvingly upon me, and exclaiming ‘Ki-Ki, nuee nuee, ah! moee moee +motarkee’ (eat plenty, ah! sleep very good). The philosophy of this +sentiment I did not pretend to question; for deprived of sleep for several +preceding nights, and the pain of my limb having much abated, I now felt +inclined to avail myself of the opportunity afforded me. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, on waking, I found Kory-Kory stretched out on one side of me, +while my companion lay upon the other. I felt sensibly refreshed after a night +of sound repose, and immediately agreed to the proposition of my valet that I +should repair to the water and wash, although dreading the suffering that the +exertion might produce. From this apprehension, however, I was quickly +relieved; for Kory-Kory, leaping from the pi-pi, and then backing himself up +against it, like a porter in readiness to shoulder a trunk, with loud +vociferations and a superabundance of gestures, gave me to understand that I +was to mount upon his back and be thus transported to the stream, which flowed +perhaps two hundred yards from the house. +</p> + +<p> +Our appearance upon the verandah in front of the habitation drew together quite +a crowd, who stood looking on and conversing with one another in the most +animated manner. They reminded one of a group of idlers gathered about the door +of a village tavern when the equipage of some distinguished traveller is +brought round previously to his departure. As soon as I clasped my arms about +the neck of the devoted fellow, and he jogged off with me, the +crowd—composed chiefly of young girls and boys—followed after, +shouting and capering with infinite glee, and accompanied us to the banks of +the stream. +</p> + +<p> +On gaining it, Kory-Kory, wading up to his hips in the water, carried me half +way across, and deposited me on a smooth black stone which rose a few inches +above the surface. The amphibious rabble at our heels plunged in after us, and +climbing to the summit of the grass-grown rocks with which the bed of the brook +was here and there broken, waited curiously to witness our morning ablutions. +</p> + +<p> +Somewhat embarrassed by the presence of the female portion of the company, and +feeling my cheeks burning with bashful timidity, I formed a primitive basin by +joining my hands together, and cooled my blushes in the water it contained; +then removing my frock, bent over and washed myself down to my waist in the +stream. As soon as Kory-Kory comprehended from my motions that this was to be +the extent of my performance, he appeared perfectly aghast with astonishment, +and rushing towards me, poured out a torrent of words in eager deprecation of +so limited an operation, enjoining me by unmistakable signs to immerse my whole +body. To this I was forced to consent; and the honest fellow regarding me as a +froward, inexperienced child, whom it was his duty to serve at the risk of +offending, lifted me from the rocks, and tenderly bathed my limbs. This over, +and resuming my seat, I could not avoid bursting into admiration of the scene +around me. +</p> + +<p> +From the verdant surfaces of the large stones that lay scattered about, the +natives were now sliding off into the water, diving and ducking beneath the +surface in all directions—the young girls springing buoyantly into the +air, and revealing their naked forms to the waist, with their long tresses +dancing about their shoulders, their eyes sparkling like drops of dew in the +sun, and their gay laughter pealing forth at every frolicsome incident. On the +afternoon of the day that I took my first bath in the valley, we received +another visit from Mehevi. The noble savage seemed to be in the same pleasant +mood, and was quite as cordial in his manner as before. After remaining about +an hour, he rose from the mats, and motioning to leave the house, invited Toby +and myself to accompany him. I pointed to my leg; but Mehevi in his turn +pointed to Kory-Kory, and removed that objection; so, mounting upon the +faithful fellow’s shoulders again—like the old man of the sea +astride of Sindbad—I followed after the chief. +</p> + +<p> +The nature of the route we now pursued struck me more forcibly than anything I +had yet seen, as illustrating the indolent disposition of the islanders. The +path was obviously the most beaten one in the valley, several others leading +from each side into it, and perhaps for successive generations it had formed +the principal avenue of the place. And yet, until I grew more familiar with its +impediments, it seemed as difficult to travel as the recesses of a wilderness. +Part of it swept around an abrupt rise of ground, the surface of which was +broken by frequent inequalities, and thickly strewn with projecting masses of +rocks, whose summits were often hidden from view by the drooping foliage of the +luxurious vegetation. Sometimes directly over, sometimes evading these +obstacles with a wide circuit, the path wound along;—one moment climbing +over a sudden eminence smooth with continued wear, then descending on the other +side into a steep glen, and crossing the flinty channel of a brook. Here it +pursued the depths of a glade, occasionally obliging you to stoop beneath vast +horizontal branches; and now you stepped over huge trunks and boughs that lay +rotting across the track. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the grand thoroughfare of Typee. After proceeding a little distance +along it—Kory-Kory panting and blowing with the weight of his +burden—I dismounted from his back, and grasping the long spear of Mehevi +in my hand, assisted my steps over the numerous obstacles of the road; +preferring this mode of advance to one which, from the difficulties of the way, +was equally painful to myself and my wearied servitor. +</p> + +<p> +Our journey was soon at an end; for, scaling a sudden height, we came abruptly +upon the place of our destination. I wish that it were possible to sketch in +words this spot as vividly as I recollect it. +</p> + +<p> +Here were situated the Taboo groves of the valley—the scene of many a +prolonged feast, of many a horrid rite. Beneath the dark shadows of the +consecrated bread-fruit trees there reigned a solemn twilight—a +cathedral-like gloom. The frightful genius of pagan worship seemed to brood in +silence over the place, breathing its spell upon every object around. Here and +there, in the depths of these awful shades, half screened from sight by masses +of overhanging foliage, rose the idolatrous altars of the savages, built of +enormous blocks of black and polished stone, placed one upon another, without +cement, to the height of twelve or fifteen feet, and surmounted by a rustic +open temple, enclosed with a low picket of canes, within which might be seen, +in various stages of decay, offerings of bread-fruit and cocoanuts, and the +putrefying relics of some recent sacrifice. +</p> + +<p> +In the midst of the wood was the hallowed ‘Hoolah Hoolah’ +ground—set apart for the celebration of the fantastical religious ritual +of these people—comprising an extensive oblong pi-pi, terminating at +either end in a lofty terraced altar, guarded by ranks of hideous wooden idols, +and with the two remaining sides flanked by ranges of bamboo sheds, opening +towards the interior of the quadrangle thus formed. Vast trees, standing in the +middle of this space, and throwing over it an umbrageous shade, had their +massive trunks built round with slight stages, elevated a few feet above the +ground, and railed in with canes, forming so many rustic pulpits, from which +the priests harangued their devotees. +</p> + +<p> +This holiest of spots was defended from profanation by the strictest edicts of +the all-pervading ‘taboo’, which condemned to instant death the +sacrilegious female who should enter or touch its sacred precincts, or even so +much as press with her feet the ground made holy by the shadows that it cast. +</p> + +<p> +Access was had to the enclosure through an embowered entrance, on one side, +facing a number of towering cocoanut trees, planted at intervals along a level +area of a hundred yards. At the further extremity of this space was to be seen +a building of considerable size, reserved for the habitation of the priests and +religious attendants of the groves. +</p> + +<p> +In its vicinity was another remarkable edifice, built as usual upon the summit +of a pi-pi, and at least two hundred feet in length, though not more than +twenty in breadth. The whole front of this latter structure was completely +open, and from one end to the other ran a narrow verandah, fenced in on the +edge of the pi-pi with a picket of canes. Its interior presented the appearance +of an immense lounging place, the entire floor being strewn with successive +layers of mats, lying between parallel trunks of cocoanut trees, selected for +the purpose from the straightest and most symmetrical the vale afforded. +</p> + +<p> +To this building, denominated in the language of the natives the +‘Ti’, Mehevi now conducted us. Thus far we had been accompanied by +a troop of the natives of both sexes; but as soon as we approached its +vicinity, the females gradually separated themselves from the crowd, and +standing aloof, permitted us to pass on. The merciless prohibitions of the +taboo extended likewise to this edifice, and were enforced by the same dreadful +penalty that secured the Hoolah-Hoolah ground from the imaginary pollution of a +woman’s presence. +</p> + +<p> +On entering the house, I was surprised to see six muskets ranged against the +bamboo on one side, from the barrels of which depended as many small canvas +pouches, partly filled with powder. +</p> + +<p> +Disposed about these muskets, like the cutlasses that decorate the bulkhead of +a man-of-war’s cabin, were a great variety of rude spears and paddles, +javelins, and war-clubs. This then, said I to Toby, must be the armoury of the +tribe. +</p> + +<p> +As we advanced further along the building, we were struck with the aspect of +four or five hideous old wretches, on whose decrepit forms time and tattooing +seemed to have obliterated every trace of humanity. Owing to the continued +operation of this latter process, which only terminates among the warriors of +the island after all the figures stretched upon their limbs in youth have been +blended together—an effect, however, produced only in cases of extreme +longevity—the bodies of these men were of a uniform dull green +colour—the hue which the tattooing gradually assumes as the individual +advances in age. Their skin had a frightful scaly appearance, which, united +with its singular colour, made their limbs not a little resemble dusty +specimens of verde-antique. Their flesh, in parts, hung upon them in huge +folds, like the overlapping plaits on the flank of a rhinoceros. Their heads +were completely bald, whilst their faces were puckered into a thousand +wrinkles, and they presented no vestige of a beard. But the most remarkable +peculiarity about them was the appearance of their feet; the toes, like the +radiating lines of the mariner’s compass, pointed to every quarter of the +horizon. This was doubtless attributable to the fact, that during nearly a +hundred years of existence the said toes never had been subjected to any +artificial confinement, and in their old age, being averse to close +neighbourhood, bid one another keep open order. +</p> + +<p> +These repulsive-looking creatures appeared to have lost the use of their lower +limbs altogether; sitting upon the floor cross-legged in a state of torpor. +They never heeded us in the least, scarcely looking conscious of our presence, +while Mehevi seated us upon the mats, and Kory-Kory gave utterance to some +unintelligible gibberish. +</p> + +<p> +In a few moments a boy entered with a wooden trencher of poee-poee; and in +regaling myself with its contents I was obliged again to submit to the +officious intervention of my indefatigable servitor. Various other dishes +followed, the chief manifesting the most hospitable importunity in pressing us +to partake, and to remove all bashfulness on our part, set us no despicable +example in his own person. +</p> + +<p> +The repast concluded, a pipe was lighted, which passed from mouth to mouth, and +yielding to its soporific influence, the quiet of the place, and the deepening +shadows of approaching night, my companion and I sank into a kind of drowsy +repose, while the chief and Kory-Kory seemed to be slumbering beside us. +</p> + +<p> +I awoke from an uneasy nap, about midnight, as I supposed; and, raising myself +partly from the mat, became sensible that we were enveloped in utter darkness. +Toby lay still asleep, but our late companions had disappeared. The only sound +that interrupted the silence of the place was the asthmatic breathing of the +old men I have mentioned, who reposed at a little distance from us. Besides +them, as well as I could judge, there was no one else in the house. +</p> + +<p> +Apprehensive of some evil, I roused my comrade, and we were engaged in a +whispered conference concerning the unexpected withdrawal of the natives when +all at once, from the depths of the grove, in full view of us where we lay, +shoots of flame were seen to rise, and in a few moments illuminated the +surrounding trees, casting, by contrast, into still deeper gloom the darkness +around us. +</p> + +<p> +While we continued gazing at this sight, dark figures appeared moving to and +fro before the flames; while others, dancing and capering about, looked like so +many demons. +</p> + +<p> +Regarding this new phenomenon with no small degree of trepidation, I said to my +companion, ‘What can all this mean, Toby?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Oh, nothing,’ replied he; ‘getting the fire ready, I +suppose.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Fire!’ exclaimed I, while my heart took to beating like a +trip-hammer, ‘what fire?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Why, the fire to cook us, to be sure, what else would the cannibals be +kicking up such a row about if it were not for that?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Oh, Toby! have done with your jokes; this is no time for them; something +is about to happen, I feel confident.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Jokes, indeed?’ exclaimed Toby indignantly. ‘Did you ever +hear me joke? Why, for what do you suppose the devils have been feeding us up +in this kind of style during the last three days, unless it were for something +that you are too much frightened at to talk about? Look at that Kory-Kory +there!—has he not been stuffing you with his confounded mushes, just in +the way they treat swine before they kill them? Depend upon it, we will be +eaten this blessed night, and there is the fire we shall be roasted by.’ +</p> + +<p> +This view of the matter was not at all calculated to allay my apprehensions, +and I shuddered when I reflected that we were indeed at the mercy of a tribe of +cannibals, and that the dreadful contingency to which Toby had alluded was by +no means removed beyond the bounds of possibility. +</p> + +<p> +‘There! I told you so! they are coming for us!’ exclaimed my +companion the next moment, as the forms of four of the islanders were seen in +bold relief against the illuminated back-ground mounting the pi-pi and +approaching towards us. +</p> + +<p> +They came on noiselessly, nay stealthily, and glided along through the gloom +that surrounded us as if about to spring upon some object they were fearful of +disturbing before they should make sure of it.—Gracious heaven! the +horrible reflections which crowded upon me that moment.—A cold sweat +stood upon my brow, and spell-bound with terror I awaited my fate! +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly the silence was broken by the well-remembered tones of Mehevi, and at +the kindly accents of his voice my fears were immediately dissipated. +‘Tommo, Toby, ki ki!’ (eat). He had waited to address us, until he +had assured himself that we were both awake, at which he seemed somewhat +surprised. +</p> + +<p> +‘Ki ki! is it?’ said Toby in his gruff tones; ‘Well, cook us +first, will you—but what’s this?’ he added, as another savage +appeared, bearing before him a large trencher of wood containing some kind of +steaming meat, as appeared from the odours it diffused, and which he deposited +at the feet of Mehevi. ‘A baked baby, I dare say I but I will have none +of it, never mind what it is.—A pretty fool I should make of myself, +indeed, waked up here in the middle of the night, stuffing and guzzling, and +all to make a fat meal for a parcel of booby-minded cannibals one of these +mornings!—No, I see what they are at very plainly, so I am resolved to +starve myself into a bunch of bones and gristle, and then, if they serve me up, +they are welcome! But I say, Tommo, you are not going to eat any of that mess +there, in the dark, are you? Why, how can you tell what it is?’ +</p> + +<p> +‘By tasting it, to be sure,’ said I, masticating a morsel that +Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth, ‘and excellently good it is, too, +very much like veal.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘A baked baby, by the soul of Captain Cook!’ burst forth Toby, with +amazing vehemence; ‘Veal? why there never was a calf on the island till +you landed. I tell you you are bolting down mouthfuls from a dead +Happar’s carcass, as sure as you live, and no mistake!’ +</p> + +<p> +Emetics and lukewarm water! What a sensation in the abdominal region! Sure +enough, where could the fiends incarnate have obtained meat? But I resolved to +satisfy myself at all hazards; and turning to Mehevi, I soon made the ready +chief understand that I wished a light to be brought. When the taper came, I +gazed eagerly into the vessel, and recognized the mutilated remains of a +juvenile porker! ‘Puarkee!’ exclaimed Kory-Kory, looking +complacently at the dish; and from that day to this I have never forgotten that +such is the designation of a pig in the Typee lingo. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, after being again abundantly feasted by the hospitable +Mehevi, Toby and myself arose to depart. But the chief requested us to postpone +our intention. ‘Abo, abo’ (Wait, wait), he said and accordingly we +resumed our seats, while, assisted by the zealous Kory-Kory, he appeared to be +engaged in giving directions to a number of the natives outside, who were +busily employed in making arrangements, the nature of which we could not +comprehend. But we were not left long in our ignorance, for a few moments only +had elapsed, when the chief beckoned us to approach, and we perceived that he +had been marshalling a kind of guard of honour to escort us on our return to +the house of Marheyo. +</p> + +<p> +The procession was led off by two venerable-looking savages, each provided with +a spear, from the end of which streamed a pennon of milk-white tappa. After +them went several youths, bearing aloft calabashes of poee-poee, and followed +in their turn by four stalwart fellows, sustaining long bamboos, from the tops +of which hung suspended, at least twenty feet from the ground, large baskets of +green bread-fruits. Then came a troop of boys, carrying bunches of ripe +bananas, and baskets made of the woven leaflets of cocoanut boughs, filled with +the young fruit of the tree, the naked shells stripped of their husks peeping +forth from the verdant wicker-work that surrounded them. Last of all came a +burly islander, holding over his head a wooden trencher, in which lay disposed +the remnants of our midnight feast, hidden from view, however, by a covering of +bread-fruit leaves. +</p> + +<p> +Astonished as I was at this exhibition, I could not avoid smiling at its +grotesque appearance, and the associations it naturally called up. Mehevi, it +seemed, was bent on replenishing old Marheyo’s larder, fearful perhaps +that without this precaution his guests might not fare as well as they could +desire. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as I descended from the pi-pi, the procession formed anew, enclosing us +in its centre; where I remained part of the time, carried by Kory-Kory, and +occasionally relieving him from his burden by limping along with spear. When we +moved off in this order, the natives struck up a musical recitative, which with +various alternations, they continued until we arrived at the place of our +destination. +</p> + +<p> +As we proceeded on our way, bands of young girls, darting from the surrounding +groves, hung upon our skirts, and accompanied us with shouts of merriment and +delight, which almost drowned the deep notes of the recitative. On approaching +old Marheyo’s domicile, its inmates rushed out to receive us; and while +the gifts of Mehevi were being disposed of, the superannuated warrior did the +honours of his mansion with all the warmth of hospitality evinced by an English +squire when he regales his friends at some fine old patrimonial mansion. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"></a> +CHAPTER THIRTEEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +ATTEMPT TO PROCURE RELIEF FROM NUKUHEVA—PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY IN THE +HAPPAR MOUNTAINS—ELOQUENCE OF KORY-KORY +</p> + +<p> +Amidst these novel scenes a week passed away almost imperceptibly. The natives, +actuated by some mysterious impulse, day after day redoubled their attentions +to us. Their manner towards us was unaccountable. Surely, thought I, they would +not act thus if they meant us any harm. But why this excess of deferential +kindness, or what equivalent can they imagine us capable of rendering them for +it? +</p> + +<p> +We were fairly puzzled. But despite the apprehensions I could not dispel, the +horrible character imputed to these Typees appeared to be wholly undeserved. +</p> + +<p> +‘Why, they are cannibals!’ said Toby on one occasion when I +eulogized the tribe. ‘Granted,’ I replied, ‘but a more +humane, gentlemanly and amiable set of epicures do not probably exist in the +Pacific.’ +</p> + +<p> +But, notwithstanding the kind treatment we received, I was too familiar with +the fickle disposition of savages not to feel anxious to withdraw from the +valley, and put myself beyond the reach of that fearful death which, under all +these smiling appearances, might yet menace us. But here there was an obstacle +in the way of doing so. It was idle for me to think of moving from the place +until I should have recovered from the severe lameness that afflicted me; +indeed my malady began seriously to alarm me; for, despite the herbal remedies +of the natives, it continued to grow worse and worse. Their mild applications, +though they soothed the pain, did not remove the disorder, and I felt convinced +that without better aid I might anticipate long and acute suffering. +</p> + +<p> +But how was this aid to be procured? From the surgeons of the French fleet, +which probably still lay in the bay of Nukuheva, it might easily have been +obtained, could I have made my case known to them. But how could that be +effected? +</p> + +<p> +At last, in the exigency to which I was reduced, I proposed to Toby that he +should endeavour to go round to Nukuheva, and if he could not succeed in +returning to the valley by water, in one of the boats of the squadron, and +taking me off, he might at least procure me some proper medicines, and effect +his return overland. +</p> + +<p> +My companion listened to me in silence, and at first did not appear to relish +the idea. The truth was, he felt impatient to escape from the place, and wished +to avail himself of our present high favour with the natives to make good our +retreat, before we should experience some sudden alteration in their behaviour. +As he could not think of leaving me in my helpless condition, he implored me to +be of good cheer; assured me that I should soon be better, and enabled in a few +days to return with him to Nukuheva. +</p> + +<p> +Added to this, he could not bear the idea of again returning to this dangerous +place; and as for the expectation of persuading the Frenchmen to detach a +boat’s crew for the purpose of rescuing me from the Typees, he looked +upon it as idle; and with arguments that I could not answer, urged the +improbability of their provoking the hostilities of the clan by any such +measure; especially, as for the purpose of quieting its apprehensions, they had +as yet refrained from making any visit to the bay. ‘And even should they +consent,’ said Toby, ‘they would only produce a commotion in the +valley, in which we might both be sacrificed by these ferocious +islanders.’ This was unanswerable; but still I clung to the belief that +he might succeed in accomplishing the other part of my plan; and at last I +overcame his scruples, and he agreed to make the attempt. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as we succeeded in making the natives understand our intention, they +broke out into the most vehement opposition to the measure, and for a while I +almost despaired of obtaining their consent. At the bare thought of one of us +leaving them, they manifested the most lively concern. The grief and +consternation of Kory-Kory, in particular, was unbounded; he threw himself into +a perfect paroxysm of gestures which were intended to convey to us not only his +abhorrence of Nukuheva and its uncivilized inhabitants, but also his +astonishment that after becoming acquainted with the enlightened Typees, we +should evince the least desire to withdraw, even for a time, from their +agreeable society. +</p> + +<p> +However, I overbore his objections by appealing to my lameness; from which I +assured the natives I should speedily recover if Toby were permitted to obtain +the supplies I needed. +</p> + +<p> +It was agreed that on the following morning my companion should depart, +accompanied by some one or two of the household, who should point out to him an +easy route, by which the bay might be reached before sunset. +</p> + +<p> +At early dawn of the next day, our habitation was astir. One of the young men +mounted into an adjoining cocoanut tree, and threw down a number of the young +fruit, which old Marheyo quickly stripped of the green husks, and strung +together upon a short pole. These were intended to refresh Toby on his route. +</p> + +<p> +The preparations being completed, with no little emotion I bade my companion +adieu. He promised to return in three days at farthest; and, bidding me keep up +my spirits in the interval, turned round the corner of the pi-pi, and, under +the guidance of the venerable Marheyo, was soon out of sight. His departure +oppressed me with melancholy, and, re-entering the dwelling, I threw myself +almost in despair upon the matting of the floor. +</p> + +<p> +In two hours’ time the old warrior returned, and gave me to understand +that after accompanying my companion a little distance, and showing him the +route, he had left him journeying on his way. +</p> + +<p> +It was about noon of this same day, a season which these people are wont to +pass in sleep, that I lay in the house, surrounded by its slumbering inmates, +and painfully affected by the strange silence which prevailed. All at once I +thought I heard a faint shout, as if proceeding from some persons in the depth +of the grove which extended in front of our habitation. +</p> + +<p> +The sounds grew louder and nearer, and gradually the whole valley rang with +wild outcries. The sleepers around me started to their feet in alarm, and +hurried outside to discover the cause of the commotion. Kory-Kory, who had been +the first to spring up, soon returned almost breathless, and nearly frantic +with the excitement under which he seemed to be labouring. All that I could +understand from him was that some accident had happened to Toby. Apprehensive +of some dreadful calamity, I rushed out of the house, and caught sight of a +tumultuous crowd, who, with shrieks and lamentations, were just emerging from +the grove bearing in their arms some object, the sight of which produced all +this transport of sorrow. As they drew near, the men redoubled their cries, +while the girls, tossing their bare arms in the air, exclaimed plaintively, +‘Awha! awha! Toby mukee moee!’—Alas! alas! Toby is killed! +</p> + +<p> +In a moment the crowd opened, and disclosed the apparently lifeless body of my +companion home between two men, the head hanging heavily against the breast of +the foremost. The whole face, neck, back, and bosom were covered with blood, +which still trickled slowly from a wound behind the temple. In the midst of the +greatest uproar and confusion the body was carried into the house and laid on a +mat. Waving the natives off to give room and air, I bent eagerly over Toby, +and, laying my hand upon the breast, ascertained that the heart still beat. +Overjoyed at this, I seized a calabash of water, and dashed its contents upon +his face, then wiping away the blood, anxiously examined the wound. It was +about three inches long, and on removing the clotted hair from about it, showed +the skull laid completely bare. Immediately with my knife I cut away the heavy +locks, and bathed the part repeatedly in water. +</p> + +<p> +In a few moments Toby revived, and opening his eyes for a second—closed +them again without speaking. Kory-Kory, who had been kneeling beside me, now +chafed his limbs gently with the palms of his hands, while a young girl at his +head kept fanning him, and I still continued to moisten his lips and brow. Soon +my poor comrade showed signs of animation, and I succeeded in making him +swallow from a cocoanut shell a few mouthfuls of water. +</p> + +<p> +Old Tinor now appeared, holding in her hand some simples she had gathered, the +juice of which she by signs besought me to squeeze into the wound. Having done +so, I thought it best to leave Toby undisturbed until he should have had time +to rally his faculties. Several times he opened his lips, but fearful for his +safety I enjoined silence. In the course of two or three hours, however, he sat +up, and was sufficiently recovered to tell me what had occurred. +</p> + +<p> +‘After leaving the house with Marheyo,’ said Toby, ‘we struck +across the valley, and ascended the opposite heights. Just beyond them, my +guide informed me, lay the valley of Happar, while along their summits, and +skirting the head of the vale, was my route to Nukuheva. After mounting a +little way up the elevation my guide paused, and gave me to understand that he +could not accompany me any farther, and by various signs intimated that he was +afraid to approach any nearer the territories of the enemies of his tribe. He +however pointed out my path, which now lay clearly before me, and bidding me +farewell, hastily descended the mountain. +</p> + +<p> +‘Quite elated at being so near the Happars, I pushed up the acclivity, +and soon gained its summit. It tapered to a sharp ridge, from whence I beheld +both the hostile valleys. Here I sat down and rested for a moment, refreshing +myself with my cocoanuts. I was soon again pursuing my way along the height, +when suddenly I saw three of the islanders, who must have just come out of +Happar valley, standing in the path ahead of me. They were each armed with a +heavy spear, and one from his appearance I took to be a chief. They sung out +something, I could not understand what, and beckoned me to come on. +</p> + +<p> +‘Without the least hesitation I advanced towards them, and had approached +within about a yard of the foremost, when, pointing angrily into the Typee +valley, and uttering some savage exclamation, he wheeled round his weapon like +lightning, and struck me in a moment to the ground. The blow inflicted this +wound, and took away my senses. As soon as I came to myself, I perceived the +three islanders standing a little distance off, and apparently engaged in some +violent altercation respecting me. +</p> + +<p> +‘My first impulse was to run for it; but, in endeavouring to rise, I fell +back, and rolled down a little grassy precipice. The shock seemed to rally my +faculties; so, starting to my feet, I fled down the path I had just ascended. I +had no need to look behind me, for, from the yells I heard, I knew that my +enemies were in full pursuit. Urged on by their fearful outcries, and heedless +of the injury I had received—though the blood flowing from the wound +trickled over into my eyes and almost blinded me—I rushed down the +mountain side with the speed of the wind. In a short time I had descended +nearly a third of the distance, and the savages had ceased their cries, when +suddenly a terrific howl burst upon my ear, and at the same moment a heavy +javelin darted past me as I fled, and stuck quivering in a tree close to me. +Another yell followed, and a second spear and a third shot through the air +within a few feet of my body, both of them piercing the ground obliquely in +advance of me. The fellows gave a roar of rage and disappointment; but they +were afraid, I suppose, of coming down further into the Typee valley, and so +abandoned the chase. I saw them recover their weapons and turn back; and I +continued my descent as fast as I could. +</p> + +<p> +‘What could have caused this ferocious attack on the part of these +Happars I could not imagine, unless it were that they had seen me ascending the +mountain with Marheyo, and that the mere fact of coming from the Typee valley +was sufficient to provoke them. +</p> + +<p> +‘As long as I was in danger I scarcely felt the wound I had received; but +when the chase was over I began to suffer from it. I had lost my hat in the +flight, and the run scorched my bare head. I felt faint and giddy; but, fearful +of falling to the ground beyond the reach of assistance, I staggered on as well +as I could, and at last gained the level of the valley, and then down I sank; +and I knew nothing more until I found myself lying upon these mats, and you +stooping over me with the calabash of water.’ +</p> + +<p> +Such was Toby’s account of this sad affair. I afterwards learned that, +fortunately, he had fallen close to a spot where the natives go for fuel. A +party of them caught sight of him as he fell, and sounding the alarm, had +lifted him up; and after ineffectually endeavouring to restore him at the +brook, had hurried forward with him to the house. +</p> + +<p> +This incident threw a dark cloud over our prospects. It reminded us that we +were hemmed in by hostile tribes, whose territories we could not hope to pass, +on our route to Nukuheva, without encountering the effects of their savage +resentment. There appeared to be no avenue opened to our escape but the sea, +which washed the lower extremities of the vale. +</p> + +<p> +Our Typee friends availed themselves of the recent disaster of Toby to exhort +us to a due appreciation of the blessings we enjoyed among them, contrasting +their own generous reception of us with the animosity of their neighbours. They +likewise dwelt upon the cannibal propensities of the Happars, a subject which +they were perfectly aware could not fail to alarm us; while at the same time +they earnestly disclaimed all participation in so horrid a custom. Nor did they +omit to call upon us to admire the natural loveliness of their own abode, and +the lavish abundance with which it produced all manner of luxuriant fruits; +exalting it in this particular above any of the surrounding valleys. +</p> + +<p> +Kory-Kory seemed to experience so heartfelt a desire to infuse into our minds +proper views on these subjects, that, assisted in his endeavours by the little +knowledge of the language we had acquired, he actually made us comprehend a +considerable part of what he said. To facilitate our correct apprehension of +his meaning, he at first condensed his ideas into the smallest possible +compass. +</p> + +<p> +‘Happar keekeeno nuee,’ he exclaimed, ‘nuee, nuee, ki ki +kannaka!—ah! owle motarkee!’ which signifies, ‘Terrible +fellows those Happars!—devour an amazing quantity of men!—ah, +shocking bad!’ Thus far he explained himself by a variety of gestures, +during the performance of which he would dart out of the house, and point +abhorrently towards the Happar valley; running in to us again with a rapidity +that showed he was fearful he would lose one part of his meaning before he +could complete the other; and continuing his illustrations by seizing the +fleshy part of my arm in his teeth, intimating by the operation that the people +who lived over in that direction would like nothing better than to treat me in +that manner. +</p> + +<p> +Having assured himself that we were fully enlightened on this point, he +proceeded to another branch of his subject. ‘Ah! Typee +mortakee!—nuee, nuee mioree—nuee, nuee wai—nuee, nuee +poee-poee—nuee, nuee kokoo—ah! nuee, nuee kiki—ah! nuee, +nuee, nuee!’ Which literally interpreted as before, would imply, +‘Ah, Typee! isn’t it a fine place though!—no danger of +starving here, I tell you!—plenty of bread-fruit—plenty of +water—plenty of pudding—ah! plenty of everything! ah! heaps, heaps +heaps!’ All this was accompanied by a running commentary of signs and +gestures which it was impossible not to comprehend. +</p> + +<p> +As he continued his harangue, however, Kory-Kory, in emulation of our more +polished orators, began to launch out rather diffusely into other branches of +his subject, enlarging probably upon the moral reflections it suggested; and +proceeded in such a strain of unintelligible and stunning gibberish, that he +actually gave me the headache for the rest of the day. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"></a> +CHAPTER FOURTEEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +A GREAT EVENT HAPPENS IN THE VALLEY—THE ISLAND TELEGRAPH—SOMETHING +BEFALLS TOBY—FAYAWAY DISPLAYS A TENDER HEART—MELANCHOLY +REFLECTIONS—MYSTERIOUS CONDUCT OF THE ISLANDERS—DEVOTION OF +KORY-KORY—A RURAL COUCH—A LUXURY—KORY-KORY STRIKES A LIGHT A +LA TYPEE +</p> + +<p> +In the course of a few days Toby had recovered from the effects of his +adventure with the Happar warriors; the wound on his head rapidly healing under +the vegetable treatment of the good Tinor. Less fortunate than my companion +however, I still continued to languish under a complaint, the origin and nature +of which were still a mystery. Cut off as I was from all intercourse with the +civilized world, and feeling the inefficacy of anything the natives could do to +relieve me; knowing, too, that so long as I remained in my present condition, +it would be impossible for me to leave the valley, whatever opportunity might +present itself; and apprehensive that ere long we might be exposed to some +caprice on the part of the islanders, I now gave up all hopes of recovery, and +became a prey to the most gloomy thoughts. A deep dejection fell upon me, which +neither the friendly remonstrances of my companion, the devoted attentions of +Kory-Kory nor all the soothing influences of Fayaway could remove. +</p> + +<p> +One morning as I lay on the mats in the house, plunged in melancholy reverie, +and regardless of everything around me, Toby, who had left me about an hour, +returned in haste, and with great glee told me to cheer up and be of good +heart; for he believed, from what was going on among the natives, that there +were boats approaching the bay. +</p> + +<p> +These tidings operated upon me like magic. The hour of our deliverance was at +hand, and starting up, I was soon convinced that something unusual was about to +occur. The word ‘botee! botee!’ was vociferated in all directions; +and shouts were heard in the distance, at first feebly and faintly; but growing +louder and nearer at each successive repetition, until they were caught up by a +fellow in a cocoanut tree a few yards off, who sounding them in turn, they were +reiterated from a neighbouring grove, and so died away gradually from point to +point, as the intelligence penetrated into the farthest recess of the valley. +This was the vocal telegraph of the islanders; by means of which condensed +items of information could be carried in a very few minutes from the sea to +their remotest habitation, a distance of at least eight or nine miles. On the +present occasion it was in active operation; one piece of information following +another with inconceivable rapidity. +</p> + +<p> +The greatest commotion now appeared to prevail. At every fresh item of +intelligence the natives betrayed the liveliest interest, and redoubled the +energy with which they employed themselves in collecting fruit to sell to the +expected visitors. Some were tearing off the husks from cocoanuts; some perched +in the trees were throwing down bread-fruit to their companions, who gathered +them into heaps as they fell; while others were plying their fingers rapidly in +weaving leafen baskets in which to carry the fruit. +</p> + +<p> +There were other matters too going on at the same time. Here you would see a +stout warrior polishing his spear with a bit of old tappa, or adjusting the +folds of the girdle about his waist; and there you might descry a young damsel +decorating herself with flowers, as if having in her eye some maidenly +conquest; while, as in all cases of hurry and confusion in every part of the +world, a number of individuals kept hurrying to and fro, with amazing vigour +and perseverance, doing nothing themselves, and hindering others. +</p> + +<p> +Never before had we seen the islanders in such a state of bustle and +excitement; and the scene furnished abundant evidence of the fact—that it +was only at long intervals any such events occur. +</p> + +<p> +When I thought of the length of time that might intervene before a similar +chance of escape would be presented, I bitterly lamented that I had not the +power of availing myself effectually of the present opportunity. +</p> + +<p> +From all that we could gather, it appeared that the natives were fearful of +arriving too late upon the beach, unless they made extraordinary exertions. +Sick and lame as I was, I would have started with Toby at once, had not +Kory-Kory not only refused to carry me, but manifested the most invincible +repugnance to our leaving the neighbourhood of the house. The rest of the +savages were equally opposed to our wishes, and seemed grieved and astonished +at the earnestness of my solicitations. I clearly perceived that while my +attendant avoided all appearance of constraining my movements, he was +nevertheless determined to thwart my wishes. He seemed to me on this particular +occasion, as well as often afterwards, to be executing the orders of some other +person with regard to me, though at the same time feeling towards me the most +lively affection. +</p> + +<p> +Toby, who had made up his mind to accompany the islanders if possible, as soon +as they were in readiness to depart, and who for that reason had refrained from +showing the same anxiety that I had done, now represented to me that it was +idle for me to entertain the hope of reaching the beach in time to profit by +any opportunity that might then be presented. +</p> + +<p> +‘Do you not see,’ said he, ‘the savages themselves are +fearful of being too late, and I should hurry forward myself at once did I not +think that if I showed too much eagerness I should destroy all our hopes of +reaping any benefit from this fortunate event. If you will only endeavour to +appear tranquil or unconcerned, you will quiet their suspicions, and I have no +doubt they will then let me go with them to the beach, supposing that I merely +go out of curiosity. Should I succeed in getting down to the boats, I will make +known the condition in which I have left you, and measures may then be taken to +secure our escape.’ +</p> + +<p> +In the expediency of this I could not but acquiesce; and as the natives had now +completed their preparations, I watched with the liveliest interest the +reception that Toby’s application might meet with. As soon as they +understood from my companion that I intended to remain, they appeared to make +no objection to his proposition, and even hailed it with pleasure. Their +singular conduct on this occasion not a little puzzled me at the time, and +imparted to subsequent events an additional mystery. +</p> + +<p> +The islanders were now to be seen hurrying along the path which led to the sea. +I shook Toby warmly by the hand, and gave him my Payta hat to shield his +wounded head from the sun, as he had lost his own. He cordially returned the +pressure of my hand, and solemnly promising to return as soon as the boats +should leave the shore, sprang from my side, and the next minute disappeared in +a turn of the grove. +</p> + +<p> +In spite of the unpleasant reflections that crowded upon my mind, I could not +but be entertained by the novel and animated sight which by now met my view. +One after another the natives crowded along the narrow path, laden with every +variety of fruit. Here, you might have seen one, who, after ineffectually +endeavouring to persuade a surly porker to be conducted in leading strings, was +obliged at last to seize the perverse animal in his arms, and carry him +struggling against his naked breast, and squealing without intermission. There +went two, who at a little distance might have been taken for the Hebrew spies, +on their return to Moses with the goodly bunch of grape. One trotted before the +other at a distance of a couple of yards, while between them, from a pole +resting on the shoulders, was suspended a huge cluster of bananas, which swayed +to and fro with the rocking gait at which they proceeded. Here ran another, +perspiring with his exertions, and bearing before him a quantity of cocoanuts, +who, fearful of being too late, heeded not the fruit that dropped from his +basket, and appeared solely intent upon reaching his destination, careless how +many of his cocoanuts kept company with him. +</p> + +<p> +In a short time the last straggler was seen hurrying on his way, and the faint +shouts of those in advance died insensibly upon the ear. Our part of the valley +now appeared nearly deserted by its inhabitants, Kory-Kory, his aged father, +and a few decrepit old people, being all that were left. +</p> + +<p> +Towards sunset the islanders in small parties began to return from the beach, +and among them, as they drew near to the house, I sought to descry the form of +my companion. But one after another they passed the dwelling, and I caught no +glimpse of him. Supposing, however, that he would soon appear with some of the +members of the household, I quieted my apprehensions, and waited patiently to +see him advancing in company with the beautiful Fayaway. At last, I perceived +Tinor coming forward, followed by the girls and young men who usually resided +in the house of Marheyo; but with them came not my comrade, and, filled with a +thousand alarms, I eagerly sought to discover the cause of his delay. +</p> + +<p> +My earnest questions appeared to embarrass the natives greatly. All their +accounts were contradictory: one giving me to understand that Toby would be +with me in a very short time; another that he did not know where he was; while +a third, violently inveighing, against him, assured me that he had stolen away, +and would never come back. It appeared to me, at the time, that in making these +various statements they endeavoured to conceal from me some terrible disaster, +lest the knowledge of it should overpower me. +</p> + +<p> +Fearful lest some fatal calamity had overtaken him, I sought out young Fayaway, +and endeavoured to learn from her, if possible, the truth. +</p> + +<p> +This gentle being had early attracted my regard, not only from her +extraordinary beauty, but from the attractive cast of her countenance, +singularly expressive of intelligence and humanity. Of all the natives she +alone seemed to appreciate the effect which the peculiarity of the +circumstances in which we were placed had produced upon the minds of my +companion and myself. In addressing me—especially when I lay reclining +upon the mats suffering from pain—there was a tenderness in her manner +which it was impossible to misunderstand or resist. Whenever she entered the +house, the expression of her face indicated the liveliest sympathy for me; and +moving towards the place where I lay, with one arm slightly elevated in a +gesture of pity, and her large glistening eyes gazing intently into mine, she +would murmur plaintively, ‘Awha! awha! Tommo,’ and seat herself +mournfully beside me. +</p> + +<p> +Her manner convinced me that she deeply compassionated my situation, as being +removed from my country and friends, and placed beyond the reach of all relief. +Indeed, at times I was almost led to believe that her mind was swayed by gentle +impulses hardly to be anticipated from one in her condition; that she appeared +to be conscious there were ties rudely severed, which had once bound us to our +homes; that there were sisters and brothers anxiously looking forward to our +return, who were, perhaps, never more to behold us. +</p> + +<p> +In this amiable light did Fayaway appear in my eyes; and reposing full +confidence in her candour and intelligence, I now had recourse to her, in the +midst of my alarm, with regard to my companion. +</p> + +<p> +My questions evidently distressed her. She looked round from one to another of +the bystanders, as if hardly knowing what answer to give me. At last, yielding +to my importunities, she overcame her scruples, and gave me to understand that +Toby had gone away with the boats which had visited the bay, but had promised +to return at the expiration of three days. At first I accused him of +perfidiously deserting me; but as I grew more composed, I upbraided myself for +imputing so cowardly an action to him, and tranquillized myself with the belief +that he had availed himself, of the opportunity to go round to Nukuheva, in +order to make some arrangement by which I could be removed from the valley. At +any rate, thought I, he will return with the medicines I require, and then, as +soon as I recover, there will be no difficulty in the way of our departure. +</p> + +<p> +Consoling myself with these reflections, I lay down that night in a happier +frame of mind than I had done for some time. The next day passed without any +allusion to Toby on the part of the natives, who seemed desirous of avoiding +all reference to the subject. This raised some apprehensions in my breast; but +when night came, I congratulated myself that the second day had now gone by, +and that on the morrow Toby would again be with me. But the morrow came and +went, and my companion did not appear. Ah! thought I, he reckons three days +from the morning of his departure,—tomorrow he will arrive. But that +weary day also closed upon me, without his return. Even yet I would not +despair; I thought that something detained him—that he was waiting for +the sailing of a boat, at Nukuheva, and that in a day or two at farthest I +should see him again. But day after day of renewed disappointment passed by; at +last hope deserted me, and I fell a victim to despair. +</p> + +<p> +Yes; thought I, gloomily, he has secured his own escape, and cares not what +calamity may befall his unfortunate comrade. Fool that I was, to suppose that +any one would willingly encounter the perils of this valley, after having once +got beyond its limits! He has gone, and has left me to combat alone all the +dangers by which I am surrounded. Thus would I sometimes seek to derive a +desperate consolation from dwelling upon the perfidity of Toby: whilst at other +times I sunk under the bitter remorse which I felt as having by my own +imprudence brought upon myself the fate which I was sure awaited me. +</p> + +<p> +At other times I thought that perhaps after all these treacherous savages had +made away with him, and thence the confusion into which they were thrown by my +questions, and their contradictory answers, or he might be a captive in some +other part of the valley, or, more dreadful still, might have met with that +fate at which my very soul shuddered. But all these speculations were vain; no +tidings of Toby ever reached me; he had gone never to return. +</p> + +<p> +The conduct of the islanders appeared inexplicable. All reference to my lost +comrade was carefully evaded, and if at any time they were forced to make some +reply to my frequent inquiries on the subject, they would uniformly denounce +him as an ungrateful runaway, who had deserted his friend, and taken himself +off to that vile and detestable place Nukuheva. +</p> + +<p> +But whatever might have been his fate, now that he was gone the natives +multiplied their acts of kindness and attention towards myself, treating me +with a degree of deference which could hardly have been surpassed had I been +some celestial visitant. Kory-Kory never for one moment left my side, unless it +were to execute my wishes. The faithful fellow, twice every day, in the cool of +the morning and in the evening, insisted upon carrying me to the stream, and +bathing me in its refreshing water. +</p> + +<p> +Frequently in the afternoon he would carry me to a particular part of the +stream, where the beauty of the scene produced a soothing influence upon my +mind. At this place the waters flowed between grassy banks, planted with +enormous bread-fruit trees, whose vast branches interlacing overhead, formed a +leafy canopy; near the stream were several smooth black rocks. One of these, +projecting several feet above the surface of the water, had upon its summit a +shallow cavity, which, filled with freshly-gathered leaves, formed a delightful +couch. +</p> + +<p> +Here I often lay for hours, covered with a gauze-like veil of tappa, while +Fayaway, seated beside me, and holding in her hand a fan woven from the +leaflets of a young cocoanut bough, brushed aside the insects that occasionally +lighted on my face, and Kory-Kory, with a view of chasing away my melancholy, +performed a thousand antics in the water before us. +</p> + +<p> +As my eye wandered along this romantic stream, it would fall upon the +half-immersed figure of a beautiful girl, standing in the transparent water, +and catching in a little net a species of diminutive shell-fish, of which these +people are extraordinarily fond. Sometimes a chattering group would be seated +upon the edge of a low rock in the midst of the brook, busily engaged in +thinning and polishing the shells of cocoanuts, by rubbing them briskly with a +small stone in the water, an operation which soon converts them into a light +and elegant drinking vessel, somewhat resembling goblets made of tortoise +shell. +</p> + +<p> +But the tranquillizing influence of beautiful scenery, and the exhibition of +human life under so novel and charming an aspect were not my only sources of +consolation. +</p> + +<p> +Every evening the girls of the house gathered about me on the mats, and after +chasing away Kory-Kory from my side—who nevertheless, retired only to a +little distance and watched their proceedings with the most jealous +attention—would anoint my whole body with a fragrant oil, squeezed from a +yellow root, previously pounded between a couple of stones, and which in their +language is denominated ‘aka’. And most refreshing and agreeable +are the juices of the ‘aka’, when applied to ones, limbs by the +soft palms of sweet nymphs, whose bright eyes are beaming upon you with +kindness; and I used to hail with delight the daily recurrence of this +luxurious operation, in which I forgot all my troubles, and buried for the time +every feeling of sorrow. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes in the cool of the evening my devoted servitor would lead me out upon +the pi-pi in front of the house, and seating me near its edge, protect my body +from the annoyance of the insects which occasionally hovered in the air, by +wrapping me round with a large roll of tappa. He then bustled about, and +employed himself at least twenty minutes in adjusting everything to secure my +personal comfort. +</p> + +<p> +Having perfected his arrangements, he would get my pipe, and, lighting it, +would hand it to me. Often he was obliged to strike a light for the occasion, +and as the mode he adopted was entirely different from what I had ever seen or +heard of before I will describe it. +</p> + +<p> +A straight, dry, and partly decayed stick of the Hibiscus, about six feet in +length, and half as many inches in diameter, with a small, bit of wood not more +than a foot long, and scarcely an inch wide, is as invariably to be met with in +every house in Typee as a box of lucifer matches in the corner of a kitchen +cupboard at home. +</p> + +<p> +The islander, placing the larger stick obliquely against some object, with one +end elevated at an angle of forty-five degrees, mounts astride of it like an +urchin about to gallop off upon a cane, and then grasping the smaller one +firmly in both hands, he rubs its pointed end slowly up and down the extent of +a few inches on the principal stick, until at last he makes a narrow groove in +the wood, with an abrupt termination at the point furthest from him, where all +the dusty particles which the friction creates are accumulated in a little +heap. +</p> + +<p> +At first Kory-Kory goes to work quite leisurely, but gradually quickens his +pace, and waxing warm in the employment, drives the stick furiously along the +smoking channel, plying his hands to and fro with amazing rapidity, the +perspiration starting from every pore. As he approaches the climax of his +effort, he pants and gasps for breath, and his eyes almost start from their +sockets with the violence of his exertions. This is the critical stage of the +operation; all his previous labours are vain if he cannot sustain the rapidity +of the movement until the reluctant spark is produced. Suddenly he stops, +becoming perfectly motionless. His hands still retain their hold of the smaller +stick, which is pressed convulsively against the further end of the channel +among the fine powder there accumulated, as if he had just pierced through and +through some little viper that was wriggling and struggling to escape from his +clutches. The next moment a delicate wreath of smoke curls spirally into the +air, the heap of dusty particles glows with fire, and Kory-Kory, almost +breathless, dismounts from his steed. +</p> + +<p> +This operation appeared to me to be the most laborious species of work +performed in Typee; and had I possessed a sufficient intimacy with the language +to have conveyed my ideas upon the subject, I should certainly have suggested +to the most influential of the natives the expediency of establishing a college +of vestals to be centrally located in the valley, for the purpose of keeping +alive the indispensable article of fire; so as to supersede the necessity of +such a vast outlay of strength and good temper, as were usually squandered on +these occasions. There might, however, be special difficulties in carrying this +plan into execution. +</p> + +<p> +What a striking evidence does this operation furnish of the wide difference +between the extreme of savage and civilized life. A gentleman of Typee can +bring up a numerous family of children and give them all a highly respectable +cannibal education, with infinitely less toil and anxiety than he expends in +the simple process of striking a light; whilst a poor European artisan, who +through the instrumentality of a lucifer performs the same operation in one +second, is put to his wit’s end to provide for his starving offspring +that food which the children of a Polynesian father, without troubling their +parents, pluck from the branches of every tree around them. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"></a> +CHAPTER FIFTEEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +KINDNESS OF MARHEYO AND THE REST OF THE ISLANDERS—A FULL DESCRIPTION OF +THE BREAD-FRUIT TREE—DIFFERENT MODES OF PREPARING THE FRUIT +</p> + +<p> +All the inhabitants of the valley treated me with great kindness; but as to the +household of Marheyo, with whom I was now permanently domiciled, nothing could +surpass their efforts to minister to my comfort. To the gratification of my +palate they paid the most unwearied attention. They continually invited me to +partake of food, and when after eating heartily I declined the viands they +continued to offer me, they seemed to think that my appetite stood in need of +some piquant stimulant to excite its activity. +</p> + +<p> +In pursuance of this idea, old Marheyo himself would hie him away to the +sea-shore by the break of day, for the purpose of collecting various species of +rare sea-weed; some of which among these people are considered a great luxury. +After a whole day spent in this employment, he would return about nightfall +with several cocoanut shells filled with different descriptions of kelp. In +preparing these for use he manifested all the ostentation of a professed cook, +although the chief mystery of the affair appeared to consist in pouring water +in judicious quantities upon the slimy contents of his cocoanut shells. +</p> + +<p> +The first time he submitted one of these saline salads to my critical attention +I naturally thought that anything collected at such pains must possess peculiar +merits; but one mouthful was a complete dose; and great was the consternation +of the old warrior at the rapidity with which I ejected his Epicurean treat. +</p> + +<p> +How true it is, that the rarity of any particular article enhances its value +amazingly. In some part of the valley—I know not where, but probably in +the neighbourhood of the sea—the girls were sometimes in the habit of +procuring small quantities of salt, a thimble-full or so being the result of +the united labours of a party of five or six employed for the greater part of +the day. This precious commodity they brought to the house, enveloped in +multitudinous folds of leaves; and as a special mark of the esteem in which +they held me, would spread an immense leaf on the ground, and dropping one by +one a few minute particles of the salt upon it, invite me to taste them. +</p> + +<p> +From the extravagant value placed upon the article, I verily believe, that with +a bushel of common Liverpool salt all the real estate in Typee might have been +purchased. With a small pinch of it in one hand, and a quarter section of a +bread-fruit in the other, the greatest chief in the valley would have laughed +at all luxuries of a Parisian table. +</p> + +<p> +The celebrity of the bread-fruit tree, and the conspicuous place it occupies in +a Typee bill of fare, induces me to give at some length a general description +of the tree, and the various modes in which the fruit is prepared. +</p> + +<p> +The bread-fruit tree, in its glorious prime, is a grand and towering object, +forming the same feature in a Marquesan landscape that the patriarchal elm does +in New England scenery. The latter tree it not a little resembles in height, in +the wide spread of its stalwart branches, and in its venerable and imposing +aspect. +</p> + +<p> +The leaves of the bread-fruit are of great size, and their edges are cut and +scolloped as fantastically as those of a lady’s lace collar. As they +annually tend towards decay, they almost rival in brilliant variety of their +gradually changing hues the fleeting shades of the expiring dolphin. The +autumnal tints of our American forests, glorious as they are, sink into nothing +in comparison with this tree. +</p> + +<p> +The leaf, in one particular stage, when nearly all the prismatic colours are +blended on its surface, is often converted by the natives into a superb and +striking head-dress. The principal fibre traversing its length being split open +a convenient distance, and the elastic sides of the aperture pressed apart, the +head is inserted between them, the leaf drooping on one side, with its forward +half turned jauntily up on the brows, and the remaining part spreading +laterally behind the ears. +</p> + +<p> +The fruit somewhat resembles in magnitude and general appearance one of our +citron melons of ordinary size; but, unlike the citron, it has no sectional +lines drawn along the outside. Its surface is dotted all over with little +conical prominences, looking not unlike the knobs, on an antiquated church +door. The rind is perhaps an eighth of an inch in thickness; and denuded of +this at the time when it is in the greatest perfection, the fruit presents a +beautiful globe of white pulp, the whole of which may be eaten, with the +exception of a slender core, which is easily removed. +</p> + +<p> +The bread-fruit, however, is never used, and is indeed altogether unfit to be +eaten, until submitted in one form or other to the action of fire. +</p> + +<p> +The most simple manner in which this operation is performed, and I think, the +best, consists in placing any number of the freshly plucked fruit, when in a +particular state of greenness, among the embers of a fire, in the same way that +you would roast a potato. After the lapse of ten or fifteen minutes, the green +rind embrowns and cracks, showing through the fissures in its sides the +milk-white interior. As soon as it cools the rind drops off, and you then have +the soft round pulp in its purest and most delicious state. Thus eaten, it has +a mild and pleasing flavour. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes after having been roasted in the fire, the natives snatch it briskly +from the embers, and permitting it to slip out of the yielding rind into a +vessel of cold water, stir up the mixture, which they call +‘bo-a-sho’. I never could endure this compound, and indeed the +preparation is not greatly in vogue among the more polite Typees. +</p> + +<p> +There is one form, however, in which the fruit is occasionally served, that +renders it a dish fit for a king. As soon as it is taken from the fire the +exterior is removed, the core extracted, and the remaining part is placed in a +sort of shallow stone mortar, and briskly worked with a pestle of the same +substance. While one person is performing this operation, another takes a ripe +cocoanut, and breaking it in halves, which they also do very cleverly, proceeds +to grate the juicy meat into fine particles. This is done by means of a piece +of mother-of-pearl shell, lashed firmly to the extreme end of a heavy stick, +with its straight side accurately notched like a saw. The stick is sometimes a +grotesquely-formed limb of a tree, with three or four branches twisting from +its body like so many shapeless legs, and sustaining it two or three feet from +the ground. +</p> + +<p> +The native, first placing a calabash beneath the nose, as it were, of his +curious-looking log-steed, for the purpose of receiving the grated fragments as +they fall, mounts astride of it as if it were a hobby-horse, and twirling the +inside of his hemispheres of cocoanut around the sharp teeth of the +mother-of-pearl shell, the pure white meat falls in snowy showers into the +receptacle provided. Having obtained a quantity sufficient for his purpose, he +places it in a bag made of the net-like fibrous substance attached to all +cocoanut trees, and compressing it over the bread-fruit, which being now +sufficiently pounded, is put into a wooden bowl—extracts a thick creamy +milk. The delicious liquid soon bubbles round the fruit, and leaves it at last +just peeping above its surface. +</p> + +<p> +This preparation is called ‘kokoo’, and a most luscious preparation +it is. The hobby-horse and the pestle and mortar were in great requisition +during the time I remained in the house of Marheyo, and Kory-Kory had frequent +occasion to show his skill in their use. +</p> + +<p> +But the great staple articles of food into which the bread-fruit is converted +by these natives are known respectively by the names of Amar and Poee-Poee. +</p> + +<p> +At a certain season of the year, when the fruit of the hundred groves of the +valley has reached its maturity, and hangs in golden spheres from every branch, +the islanders assemble in harvest groups, and garner in the abundance which +surrounds them. +</p> + +<p> +The trees are stripped of their nodding burdens, which, easily freed from the +rind and core, are gathered together in capacious wooden vessels, where the +pulpy fruit is soon worked by a stone pestle, vigorously applied, into a +blended mass of a doughy consistency, called by the natives +‘Tutao’. This is then divided into separate parcels, which, after +being made up into stout packages, enveloped in successive folds of leaves, and +bound round with thongs of bark, are stored away in large receptacles hollowed +in the earth, from whence they are drawn as occasion may require. In this +condition the Tutao sometimes remains for years, and even is thought to improve +by age. Before it is fit to be eaten, however, it has to undergo an additional +process. A primitive oven is scooped in the ground, and its bottom being +loosely covered with stones, a large fire is kindled within it. As soon as the +requisite degree of heat is attained, the embers are removed, and the surface +of the stones being covered with thick layers of leaves, one of the large +packages of Tutao is deposited upon them and overspread with another layer of +leaves. The whole is then quickly heaped up with earth, and forms a sloping +mound. +</p> + +<p> +The Tutao thus baked is called ‘Amar’; the action of the oven +having converted it into an amber-coloured caky substance, a little tart, but +not at all disagreeable to the taste. +</p> + +<p> +By another and final process the ‘Amar’ is changed into +‘Poee-Poee’. This transition is rapidly effected. The Amar is +placed in a vessel, and mixed with water until it gains a proper pudding-like +consistency, when, without further preparation, it is in readiness for use. +This is the form in which the ‘Tutao’ is generally consumed. The +singular mode of eating it I have already described. +</p> + +<p> +Were it not that the bread-fruit is thus capable of being preserved for a +length of time, the natives might be reduced to a state of starvation; for +owing to some unknown cause the trees sometimes fail to bear fruit; and on such +occasions the islanders chiefly depend upon the supplies they have been enabled +to store away. +</p> + +<p> +This stately tree, which is rarely met with upon the Sandwich Islands, and then +only of a very inferior quality, and at Tahiti does not abound to a degree that +renders its fruit the principal article of food, attains its greatest +excellence in the genial climate of the Marquesan group, where it grows to an +enormous magnitude, and flourishes in the utmost abundance. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"></a> +CHAPTER SIXTEEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +MELANCHOLY CONDITION—OCCURRENCE AT THE TI—ANECDOTE OF +MARHEYO—SHAVING THE HEAD OF A WARRIOR +</p> + +<p> +In looking back to this period, and calling to remembrance the numberless +proofs of kindness and respect which I received from the natives of the valley, +I can scarcely understand how it was that, in the midst of so many consolatory +circumstances, my mind should still have been consumed by the most dismal +forebodings, and have remained a prey to the profoundest melancholy. It is true +that the suspicious circumstances which had attended the disappearance of Toby +were enough of themselves to excite distrust with regard to the savages, in +whose power I felt myself to be entirely placed, especially when it was +combined with the knowledge that these very men, kind and respectful as they +were to me, were, after all, nothing better than a set of cannibals. +</p> + +<p> +But my chief source of anxiety, and that which poisoned every temporary +enjoyment, was the mysterious disease in my leg, which still remained unabated. +All the herbal applications of Tinor, united with the severer discipline of the +old leech, and the affectionate nursing of Kory-Kory, had failed to relieve me. +I was almost a cripple, and the pain I endured at intervals was agonizing. The +unaccountable malady showed no signs of amendment: on the contrary, its +violence increased day by day, and threatened the most fatal results, unless +some powerful means were employed to counteract it. It seemed as if I were +destined to sink under this grievous affliction, or at least that it would +hinder me from availing myself of any opportunity of escaping from the valley. +</p> + +<p> +An incident which occurred as nearly as I can estimate about three weeks after +the disappearance of Toby, convinced me that the natives, from some reason or +other, would interpose every possible obstacle to my leaving them. +</p> + +<p> +One morning there was no little excitement evinced by the people near my abode, +and which I soon discovered proceeded from a vague report that boats, had been +seen at a great distance approaching the bay. Immediately all was bustle and +animation. It so happened that day that the pain I suffered having somewhat +abated, and feeling in much better spirits than usual, I had complied with +Kory-Kory’s invitation to visit the chief Mehevi at the place called the +‘Ti’, which I have before described as being situated within the +precincts of the Taboo Groves. These sacred recesses were at no great distance +from Marheyo’s habitation, and lay between it and the sea; the path that +conducted to the beach passing directly in front of the Ti, and thence skirting +along the border of the groves. +</p> + +<p> +I was reposing upon the mats, within the sacred building, in company with +Mehevi and several other chiefs, when the announcement was first made. It sent +a thrill of joy through my whole frame;—perhaps Toby was about to return. +I rose at once to my feet, and my instinctive impulse was to hurry down to the +beach, equally regardless of the distance that separated me from it, and of my +disabled condition. As soon as Mehevi noticed the effect the intelligence had +produced upon me, and the impatience I betrayed to reach the sea, his +countenance assumed that inflexible rigidity of expression which had so awed me +on the afternoon of our arrival at the house of Marheyo. As I was proceeding to +leave the Ti, he laid his hand upon my shoulder, and said gravely, ‘abo, +abo’ (wait, wait). Solely intent upon the one thought that occupied my +mind, and heedless of his request, I was brushing past him, when suddenly he +assumed a tone of authority, and told me to ‘moee’ (sit down). +Though struck by the alteration in his demeanour, the excitement under which I +laboured was too strong to permit me to obey the unexpected command, and I was +still limping towards the edge of the pi-pi with Kory-Kory clinging to one arm +in his efforts to restrain me, when the natives around started to their feet, +ranged themselves along the open front of the building, while Mehevi looked at +me scowlingly, and reiterated his commands still more sternly. +</p> + +<p> +It was at this moment, when fifty savage countenances were glaring upon me, +that I first truly experienced I was indeed a captive in the valley. The +conviction rushed upon me with staggering force, and I was overwhelmed by this +confirmation of my worst fears. I saw at once that it was useless for me to +resist, and sick at heart, I reseated myself upon the mats, and for the moment +abandoned myself to despair. +</p> + +<p> +I now perceived the natives one after the other hurrying past the Ti and +pursuing the route that conducted to the sea. These savages, thought I, will +soon be holding communication with some of my own countrymen perhaps, who with +ease could restore me to liberty did they know of the situation I was in. No +language can describe the wretchedness which I felt; and in the bitterness of +my soul I imprecated a thousand curses on the perfidious Toby, who had thus +abandoned me to destruction. It was in vain that Kory-Kory tempted me with +food, or lighted my pipe, or sought to attract my attention by performing the +uncouth antics that had sometimes diverted me. I was fairly knocked down by +this last misfortune, which, much as I had feared it, I had never before had +the courage calmly to contemplate. +</p> + +<p> +Regardless of everything but my own sorrow, I remained in the Ti for several +hours, until shouts proceeding at intervals from the groves beyond the house +proclaimed the return of the natives from the beach. +</p> + +<p> +Whether any boats visited the bay that morning or not, I never could ascertain. +The savages assured me that there had not—but I was inclined to believe +that by deceiving me in this particular they sought to allay the violence of my +grief. However that might be, this incident showed plainly that the Typees +intended to hold me a prisoner. As they still treated me with the same sedulous +attention as before, I was utterly at a loss how to account for their singular +conduct. Had I been in a situation to instruct them in any of the rudiments of +the mechanic arts, or had I manifested a disposition to render myself in any +way useful among them, their conduct might have been attributed to some +adequate motive, but as it was, the matter seemed to me inexplicable. +</p> + +<p> +During my whole stay on the island there occurred but two or three instances +where the natives applied to me with the view of availing themselves of my +superior information; and these now appear so ludicrous that I cannot forbear +relating them. +</p> + +<p> +The few things we had brought from Nukuheva had been done up into a small +bundle which we had carried with us in our descent to the valley. This bundle, +the first night of our arrival, I had used as a pillow, but on the succeeding +morning, opening it for the inspection of the natives, they gazed upon the +miscellaneous contents as though I had just revealed to them a casket of +diamonds, and they insisted that so precious a treasure should be properly +secured. A line was accordingly attached to it, and the other end being passed +over the ridge-pole of the house, it was hoisted up to the apex of the roof, +where it hung suspended directly over the mats where I usually reclined. When I +desired anything from it I merely raised my finger to a bamboo beside me, and +taking hold of the string which was there fastened, lowered the package. This +was exceedingly handy, and I took care to let the natives understand how much I +applauded the invention. Of this package the chief contents were a razor with +its case, a supply of needles and thread, a pound or two of tobacco and a few +yards of bright-coloured calico. +</p> + +<p> +I should have mentioned that shortly after Toby’s disappearance, +perceiving the uncertainty of the time I might be obliged to remain in the +valley—if, indeed, I ever should escape from it—and considering +that my whole wardrobe consisted of a shirt and a pair of trousers, I resolved +to doff these garments at once, in order to preserve them in a suitable +condition for wear should I again appear among civilized beings. I was +consequently obliged to assume the Typee costume, a little altered, however, to +suit my own views of propriety, and in which I have no doubt I appeared to as +much advantage as a senator of Rome enveloped in the folds of his toga. A few +folds of yellow tappa tucked about my waist, descended to my feet in the style +of a lady’s petticoat, only I did not have recourse to those voluminous +paddings in the rear with which our gentle dames are in the habit of augmenting +the sublime rotundity of their figures. This usually comprised my in-door +dress; whenever I walked out, I superadded to it an ample robe of the same +material, which completely enveloped my person, and screened it from the rays +of the sun. +</p> + +<p> +One morning I made a rent in this mantle; and to show the islanders with what +facility it could be repaired, I lowered my bundle, and taking from it a needle +and thread, proceeded to stitch up the opening. They regarded this wonderful +application of science with intense admiration; and whilst I was stitching +away, old Marheyo, who was one of the lookers-on, suddenly clapped his hand to +his forehead, and rushing to a corner of the house, drew forth a soiled and +tattered strip of faded calico which he must have procured some time or other +in traffic on the beach—and besought me eagerly to exercise a little of +my art upon it. I willingly complied, though certainly so stumpy a needle as +mine never took such gigantic strides over calico before. The repairs +completed, old Marheyo gave me a paternal hug; and divesting himself of his +‘maro’ (girdle), swathed the calico about his loins, and slipping +the beloved ornaments into his ears, grasped his spear and sallied out of the +house, like a valiant Templar arrayed in a new and costly suit of armour. +</p> + +<p> +I never used my razor during my stay in the island, but although a very +subordinate affair, it had been vastly admired by the Typees; and Narmonee, a +great hero among them, who was exceedingly precise in the arrangements of his +toilet and the general adjustment of is person, being the most accurately +tattooed and laboriously horrified individual in all the valley, thought it +would be a great advantage to have it applied to the already shaven crown of +his head. +</p> + +<p> +The implement they usually employ is a shark’s tooth, which is about as +well adapted to the purpose as a one-pronged fork for pitching hay. No wonder, +then, that the acute Narmonee perceived the advantage my razor possessed over +the usual implement. Accordingly, one day he requested as a personal favour +that I would just run over his head with the razor. In reply, I gave him to +understand that it was too dull, and could not be used to any purpose without +being previously sharpened. To assist my meaning, I went through an imaginary +honing process on the palm of my hand. Narmonee took my meaning in an instant, +and running out of the house, returned the next moment with a huge rough mass +of rock as big as a millstone, and indicated to me that that was exactly the +thing I wanted. Of course there was nothing left for me but to proceed to +business, and I began scraping away at a great rate. He writhed and wriggled +under the infliction, but, fully convinced of my skill, endured the pain like a +martyr. +</p> + +<p> +Though I never saw Narmonee in battle I will, from what I then observed, stake +my life upon his courage and fortitude. Before commencing operations, his head +had presented a surface of short bristling hairs, and by the time I had +concluded my unskilful operation it resembled not a little a stubble field +after being gone over with a harrow. However, as the chief expressed the +liveliest satisfaction at the result, I was too wise to dissent from his +opinion. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"></a> +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH AND SPIRITS—FELICITY OF THE TYPEES—THEIR +ENJOYMENTS COMPARED WITH THOSE OF MORE ENLIGHTENED +COMMUNITIES—COMPARATIVE WICKEDNESS OF CIVILIZED AND UNENLIGHTENED +PEOPLE—A SKIRMISH IN THE MOUNTAIN WITH THE WARRIORS OF HAPPAR +</p> + +<p> +Day after day wore on, and still there was no perceptible change in the conduct +of the islanders towards me. Gradually I lost all knowledge of the regular +recurrence of the days of the week, and sunk insensibly into that kind of +apathy which ensues after some violent outburst of despair. My limb suddenly +healed, the swelling went down, the pain subsided, and I had every reason to +suppose I should soon completely recover from the affliction that had so long +tormented me. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as I was enabled to ramble about the valley in company with the +natives, troops of whom followed me whenever I sallied out of the house, I +began to experience an elasticity of mind which placed me beyond the reach of +those dismal forebodings to which I had so lately been a prey. Received +wherever I went with the most deferential kindness; regaled perpetually with +the most delightful fruits; ministered to by dark-eyed nymphs, and enjoying +besides all the services of the devoted Kory-Kory, I thought that, for a +sojourn among cannibals, no man could have well made a more agreeable one. +</p> + +<p> +To be sure there were limits set to my wanderings. Toward the sea my progress +was barred by an express prohibition of the savages; and after having made two +or three ineffectual attempts to reach it, as much to gratify my curiosity as +anything else, I gave up the idea. It was in vain to think of reaching it by +stealth, since the natives escorted me in numbers wherever I went, and not for +one single moment that I can recall to mind was I ever permitted to be alone. +</p> + +<p> +The green and precipitous elevations that stood ranged around the head of the +vale where Marheyo’s habitation was situated effectually precluded all +hope of escape in that quarter, even if I could have stolen away from the +thousand eyes of the savages. +</p> + +<p> +But these reflections now seldom obtruded upon me; I gave myself up to the +passing hour, and if ever disagreeable thoughts arose in my mind, I drove them +away. When I looked around the verdant recess in which I was buried, and gazed +up to the summits of the lofty eminence that hemmed me in, I was well disposed +to think that I was in the ‘Happy Valley’, and that beyond those +heights there was naught but a world of care and anxiety. As I extended my +wanderings in the valley and grew more familiar with the habits of its inmates, +I was fain to confess that, despite the disadvantages of his condition, the +Polynesian savage, surrounded by all the luxurious provisions of nature, +enjoyed an infinitely happier, though certainly a less intellectual existence +than the self-complacent European. +</p> + +<p> +The naked wretch who shivers beneath the bleak skies, and starves among the +inhospitable wilds of Tierra-del-Fuego, might indeed be made happier by +civilization, for it would alleviate his physical wants. But the voluptuous +Indian, with every desire supplied, whom Providence has bountifully provided +with all the sources of pure and natural enjoyment, and from whom are removed +so many of the ills and pains of life—what has he to desire at the hands +of Civilization? She may ‘cultivate his mind—may elevate his +thoughts,’—these I believe are the established phrases—but +will he be the happier? Let the once smiling and populous Hawaiian islands, +with their now diseased, starving, and dying natives, answer the question. The +missionaries may seek to disguise the matter as they will, but the facts are +incontrovertible; and the devoutest Christian who visits that group with an +unbiased mind, must go away mournfully asking—‘Are these, alas! the +fruits of twenty-five years of enlightening?’ +</p> + +<p> +In a primitive state of society, the enjoyments of life, though few and simple, +are spread over a great extent, and are unalloyed; but Civilization, for every +advantage she imparts, holds a hundred evils in reserve;—the +heart-burnings, the jealousies, the social rivalries, the family dissentions, +and the thousand self-inflicted discomforts of refined life, which make up in +units the swelling aggregate of human misery, are unknown among these +unsophisticated people. +</p> + +<p> +But it will be urged that these shocking unprincipled wretches are cannibals. +Very true; and a rather bad trait in their character it must be allowed. But +they are such only when they seek to gratify the passion of revenge upon their +enemies; and I ask whether the mere eating of human flesh so very far exceeds +in barbarity that custom which only a few years since was practised in +enlightened England:—a convicted traitor, perhaps a man found guilty of +honesty, patriotism, and suchlike heinous crimes, had his head lopped off with +a huge axe, his bowels dragged out and thrown into a fire; while his body, +carved into four quarters, was with his head exposed upon pikes, and permitted +to rot and fester among the public haunts of men! +</p> + +<p> +The fiend-like skill we display in the invention of all manner of death-dealing +engines, the vindictiveness with which we carry on our wars, and the misery and +desolation that follow in their train, are enough of themselves to distinguish +the white civilized man as the most ferocious animal on the face of the earth. +</p> + +<p> +His remorseless cruelty is seen in many of the institutions of our own favoured +land. There is one in particular lately adopted in one of the States of the +Union, which purports to have been dictated by the most merciful +considerations. To destroy our malefactors piece-meal, drying up in their +veins, drop by drop, the blood we are too chicken-hearted to shed by a single +blow which would at once put a period to their sufferings, is deemed to be +infinitely preferable to the old-fashioned punishment of gibbeting—much +less annoying to the victim, and more in accordance with the refined spirit of +the age; and yet how feeble is all language to describe the horrors we inflict +upon these wretches, whom we mason up in the cells of our prisons, and condemn +to perpetual solitude in the very heart of our population. +</p> + +<p> +But it is needless to multiply the examples of civilized barbarity; they far +exceed in the amount of misery they cause the crimes which we regard with such +abhorrence in our less enlightened fellow-creatures. +</p> + +<p> +The term ‘Savage’ is, I conceive, often misapplied, and indeed, +when I consider the vices, cruelties, and enormities of every kind that spring +up in the tainted atmosphere of a feverish civilization, I am inclined to think +that so far as the relative wickedness of the parties is concerned, four or +five Marquesan Islanders sent to the United States as Missionaries might be +quite as useful as an equal number of Americans despatched to the Islands in a +similar capacity. +</p> + +<p> +I once heard it given as an instance of the frightful depravity of a certain +tribe in the Pacific that they had no word in their language to express the +idea of virtue. The assertion was unfounded; but were it otherwise, it might be +met by stating that their language is almost entirely destitute of terms to +express the delightful ideas conveyed by our endless catalogue of civilized +crimes. +</p> + +<p> +In the altered frame of mind to which I have referred, every object that +presented itself to my notice in the valley struck me in a new light, and the +opportunities I now enjoyed of observing the manners of its inmates, tended to +strengthen my favourable impressions. One peculiarity that fixed my admiration +was the perpetual hilarity reigning through the whole extent of the vale. +</p> + +<p> +There seemed to be no cares, griefs, troubles, or vexations, in all Typee. The +hours tripped along as gaily as the laughing couples down a country dance. +</p> + +<p> +There were none of those thousand sources of irritation that the ingenuity of +civilized man has created to mar his own felicity. There were no foreclosures +of mortgages, no protested notes, no bills payable, no debts of honour in +Typee; no unreasonable tailors and shoemakers perversely bent on being paid; no +duns of any description and battery attorneys, to foment discord, backing their +clients up to a quarrel, and then knocking their heads together; no poor +relations, everlastingly occupying the spare bed-chamber, and diminishing the +elbow room at the family table; no destitute widows with their children +starving on the cold charities of the world; no beggars; no debtors’ +prisons; no proud and hard-hearted nabobs in Typee; or to sum up all in one +word—no Money! ‘That root of all evil’ was not to be found in +the valley. +</p> + +<p> +In this secluded abode of happiness there were no cross old women, no cruel +step-dames, no withered spinsters, no lovesick maidens, no sour old bachelors, +no inattentive husbands, no melancholy young men, no blubbering youngsters, and +no squalling brats. All was mirth, fun and high good humour. Blue devils, +hypochondria, and doleful dumps, went and hid themselves among the nooks and +crannies of the rocks. +</p> + +<p> +Here you would see a parcel of children frolicking together the live-long day, +and no quarrelling, no contention, among them. The same number in our own land +could not have played together for the space of an hour without biting or +scratching one another. There you might have seen a throng of young females, +not filled with envyings of each other’s charms, nor displaying the +ridiculous affectations of gentility, nor yet moving in whalebone corsets, like +so many automatons, but free, inartificially happy, and unconstrained. +</p> + +<p> +There were some spots in that sunny vale where they would frequently resort to +decorate themselves with garlands of flowers. To have seen them reclining +beneath the shadows of one of the beautiful groves; the ground about them +strewn with freshly gathered buds and blossoms, employed in weaving chaplets +and necklaces, one would have thought that all the train of Flora had gathered +together to keep a festival in honour of their mistress. +</p> + +<p> +With the young men there seemed almost always some matter of diversion or +business on hand that afforded a constant variety of enjoyment. But whether +fishing, or carving canoes, or polishing their ornaments, never was there +exhibited the least sign of strife or contention among them. As for the +warriors, they maintained a tranquil dignity of demeanour, journeying +occasionally from house to house, where they were always sure to be received +with the attention bestowed upon distinguished guests. The old men, of whom +there were many in the vale, seldom stirred from their mats, where they would +recline for hours and hours, smoking and talking to one another with all the +garrulity of age. +</p> + +<p> +But the continual happiness, which so far as I was able to judge appeared to +prevail in the valley, sprang principally from that all-pervading sensation +which Rousseau has told us be at one time experienced, the mere buoyant sense +of a healthful physical existence. And indeed in this particular the Typees had +ample reason to felicitate themselves, for sickness was almost unknown. During +the whole period of my stay I saw but one invalid among them; and on their +smooth skins you observed no blemish or mark of disease. +</p> + +<p> +The general repose, however, upon which I have just been descanting, was broken +in upon about this time by an event which proved that the islanders were not +entirely exempt from those occurrences which disturb the quiet of more +civilized communities. +</p> + +<p> +Having now been a considerable time in the valley, I began to feel surprised +that the violent hostility subsisting between its inhabitants, and those of the +adjoining bay of Happar, should never have manifested itself in any warlike +encounter. Although the valiant Typees would often by gesticulations declare +their undying hatred against their enemies, and the disgust they felt at their +cannibal propensities; although they dilated upon the manifold injuries they +had received at their hands, yet with a forbearance truly commendable, they +appeared to sit down under their grievances, and to refrain from making any +reprisals. The Happars, entrenched behind their mountains, and never even +showing themselves on their summits, did not appear to me to furnish adequate +cause for that excess of animosity evinced towards them by the heroic tenants +of our vale, and I was inclined to believe that the deeds of blood attributed +to them had been greatly exaggerated. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, as the clamours of war had not up to this period disturbed +the serenity of the tribe, I began to distrust the truth of those reports which +ascribed so fierce and belligerent a character to the Typee nation. Surely, +thought I, all these terrible stories I have heard about the inveteracy with +which they carried on the feud, their deadly intensity, of hatred and the +diabolical malice with which they glutted their revenge upon the inanimate +forms of the slain, are nothing more than fables, and I must confess that I +experienced something like a sense of regret at having my hideous anticipations +thus disappointed. I felt in some sort like a ‘prentice boy who, going to +the play in the expectation of being delighted with a cut-and-thrust tragedy, +is almost moved to tears of disappointment at the exhibition of a genteel +comedy. +</p> + +<p> +I could not avoid thinking that I had fallen in with a greatly traduced people, +and I moralized not a little upon the disadvantage of having a bad name, which +in this instance had given a tribe of savages, who were as pacific as so many +lambkins, the reputation of a confederacy of giant-killers. +</p> + +<p> +But subsequent events proved that I had been a little too premature in coming +to this conclusion. One, day about noon, happening to be at the Ti, I had lain +down on the mats with several of the chiefs, and had gradually sunk into a most +luxurious siesta, when I was awakened by a tremendous outcry, and starting up +beheld the natives seizing their spears and hurrying out, while the most +puissant of the chiefs, grasping the six muskets which were ranged against the +bamboos, followed after, and soon disappeared in the groves. These movements +were accompanied by wild shouts, in which ‘Happar, Happar,’ greatly +predominated. The islanders were now seen running past the Ti, and striking +across the valley to the Happar side. Presently I heard the sharp report of a +musket from the adjoining hills, and then a burst of voices in the same +direction. At this the women who had congregated in the groves, set up the most +violent clamours, as they invariably do here as elsewhere on every occasion of +excitement and alarm, with a view of tranquillizing their own minds and +disturbing other people. On this particular occasion they made such an +outrageous noise, and continued it with such perseverance, that for awhile, had +entire volleys of musketry been fired off in the neighbouring mountains, I +should not have been able to have heard them. +</p> + +<p> +When this female commotion had a little subsided I listened eagerly for further +information. At last bang went another shot, and then a second volley of yells +from the hills. Again all was quiet, and continued so for such a length of time +that I began to think the contending armies had agreed upon a suspension of +hostilities; when pop went a third gun, followed as before with a yell. After +this, for nearly two hours nothing occurred worthy of comment, save some +straggling shouts from the hillside, sounding like the halloos of a parcel of +truant boys who had lost themselves in the woods. +</p> + +<p> +During this interval I had remained standing on the piazza of the +‘Ti,’ which directly fronted the Happar mountain, and with no one +near me but Kory-Kory and the old superannuated savages I have described. These +latter never stirred from their mats, and seemed altogether unconscious that +anything unusual was going on. +</p> + +<p> +As for Kory-Kory, he appeared to think that we were in the midst of great +events, and sought most zealously to impress me with a due sense of their +importance. Every sound that reached us conveyed some momentous item of +intelligence to him. At such times, as if he were gifted with second sight, he +would go through a variety of pantomimic illustrations, showing me the precise +manner in which the redoubtable Typees were at that very moment chastising the +insolence of the enemy. ‘Mehevi hanna pippee nuee Happar,’ he +exclaimed every five minutes, giving me to understand that under that +distinguished captain the warriors of his nation were performing prodigies of +valour. +</p> + +<p> +Having heard only four reports from the muskets, I was led to believe that they +were worked by the islanders in the same manner as the Sultan Solyman’s +ponderous artillery at the siege of Byzantium, one of them taking an hour or +two to load and train. At last, no sound whatever proceeding from the +mountains, I concluded that the contest had been determined one way or the +other. Such appeared, indeed, to be the case, for in a little while a courier +arrived at the ‘Ti’, almost breathless with his exertions, and +communicated the news of a great victory having been achieved by his +countrymen: ‘Happar poo arva!—Happar poo arva!’ (the cowards +had fled). Kory-Kory was in ecstasies, and commenced a vehement harangue, +which, so far as I understood it, implied that the result exactly agreed with +his expectations, and which, moreover, was intended to convince me that it +would be a perfectly useless undertaking, even for an army of fire-eaters, to +offer battle to the irresistible heroes of our valley. In all this I of course +acquiesced, and looked forward with no little interest to the return of the +conquerors, whose victory I feared might not have been purchased without cost +to themselves. +</p> + +<p> +But here I was again mistaken; for Mehevi, in conducting his warlike +operations, rather inclined to the Fabian than to the Bonapartean tactics, +husbanding his resources and exposing his troops to no unnecessary hazards. The +total loss of the victors in this obstinately contested affair was, in killed, +wounded, and missing—one forefinger and part of a thumb-nail (which the +late proprietor brought along with him in his hand), a severely contused arm, +and a considerable effusion of blood flowing from the thigh of a chief, who had +received an ugly thrust from a Happar spear. What the enemy had suffered I +could not discover, but I presume they had succeeded in taking off with them +the bodies of their slain. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the issue of the battle, as far as its results came under my +observation: and as it appeared to be considered an event of prodigious +importance, I reasonably concluded that the wars of the natives were marked by +no very sanguinary traits. I afterwards learned how the skirmish had +originated. A number of the Happars had been discovered prowling for no good +purpose on the Typee side of the mountain; the alarm sounded, and the invaders, +after a protracted resistance, had been chased over the frontier. But why had +not the intrepid Mehevi carried the war into Happar? Why had he not made a +descent into the hostile vale, and brought away some trophy of his +victory—some materials for the cannibal entertainment which I had heard +usually terminated every engagement? After all, I was much inclined to believe +that these shocking festivals must occur very rarely among the islanders, if, +indeed, they ever take place. +</p> + +<p> +For two or three days the late event was the theme of general comment; after +which the excitement gradually wore away, and the valley resumed its accustomed +tranquility. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"></a> +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +SWIMMING IN COMPANY WITH THE GIRLS OF THE VALLEY—A CANOE—EFFECTS OF +THE TABOO—A PLEASURE EXCURSION ON THE POND—BEAUTIFUL FREAK OF +FAYAWAY—MANTUA-MAKING—A STRANGER ARRIVES IN THE VALLEY—HIS +MYSTERIOUS CONDUCT—NATIVE ORATORY—THE INTERVIEW—ITS +RESULTS—DEPARTURE OF THE STRANGER +</p> + +<p> +Returning health and peace of mind gave a new interest to everything around me. +I sought to diversify my time by as many enjoyments as lay within my reach. +Bathing in company with troops of girls formed one of my chief amusements. We +sometimes enjoyed the recreation in the waters of a miniature lake, to which +the central stream of the valley expanded. This lovely sheet of water was +almost circular in figure, and about three hundred yards across. Its beauty was +indescribable. All around its banks waved luxuriant masses of tropical foliage, +soaring high above which were seen, here and there, the symmetrical shaft of +the cocoanut tree, surmounted by its tufts of graceful branches, drooping in +the air like so many waving ostrich plumes. +</p> + +<p> +The ease and grace with which the maidens of the valley propelled themselves +through the water, and their familiarity with the element, were truly +astonishing. Sometimes they might be seen gliding along just under the surface, +without apparently moving hand or foot—then throwing themselves on their +sides, they darted through the water, revealing glimpses of their forms, as, in +the course of their rapid progress, they shot for an instant partly into the +air—at one moment they dived deep down into the water, and the next they +rose bounding to the surface. +</p> + +<p> +I remember upon one occasion plunging in among a parcel of these river-nymphs, +and counting vainly on my superior strength, sought to drag some of them under +the water, but I quickly repented my temerity. The amphibious young creatures +swarmed about me like a shoal of dolphins, and seizing hold of my devoted +limbs, tumbled me about and ducked me under the surface, until from the strange +noises which rang in my ears, and the supernatural visions dancing before my +eyes, I thought I was in the land of the spirits. I stood indeed as little +chance among them as a cumbrous whale attacked on all sides by a legion of +swordfish. When at length they relinquished their hold of me, they swam away in +every direction, laughing at my clumsy endeavours to reach them. +</p> + +<p> +There was no boat on the lake; but at my solicitation and for my special use, +some of the young men attached to Marheyo’s household, under the +direction of the indefatigable Kory-Kory, brought up a light and tastefully +carved canoe from the sea. It was launched upon the sheet of water, and floated +there as gracefully as a swan. But, melancholy to relate, it produced an effect +I had not anticipated. The sweet nymphs, who had sported with me before on the +lake, now all fled its vicinity. The prohibited craft, guarded by the edicts of +the ‘taboo,’ extended the prohibition to the waters in which it +lay. +</p> + +<p> +For a few days, Kory-Kory, with one or two other youths, accompanied me in my +excursions to the lake, and while I paddled about in my light canoe, would swim +after me shouting and gambolling in pursuit. But I as ever partial to what is +termed in the ‘Young Men’s Own Book’—‘the society +of virtuous and intelligent young ladies;’ and in the absence of the +mermaids, the amusement became dull and insipid. One morning I expressed to my +faithful servitor my desire for the return of the nymphs. The honest fellow +looked at me bewildered for a moment, and then shook his head solemnly, and +murmured ‘taboo! taboo!’ giving me to understand that unless the +canoe was removed I could not expect to have the young ladies back again. But +to this procedure I was averse; I not only wanted the canoe to stay where it +was, but I wanted the beauteous Fayaway to get into it, and paddle with me +about the lake. This latter proposition completely horrified Kory-Kory’s +notions of propriety. He inveighed against it, as something too monstrous to be +thought of. It not only shocked their established notions of propriety, but was +at variance with all their religious ordinances. +</p> + +<p> +However, although the ‘taboo’ was a ticklish thing to meddle with, +I determined to test its capabilities of resisting an attack. I consulted the +chief Mehevi, who endeavoured to dissuade me from my object; but I was not to +be repulsed; and accordingly increased the warmth of my solicitations. At last +he entered into a long, and I have no doubt a very learned and eloquent +exposition of the history and nature of the ‘taboo’ as affecting +this particular case; employing a variety of most extraordinary words, which, +from their amazing length and sonorousness, I have every reason to believe were +of a theological nature. But all that he said failed to convince me: partly, +perhaps, because I could not comprehend a word that he uttered; but chiefly, +that for the life of me I could not understand why a woman would not have as +much right to enter a canoe as a man. At last he became a little more rational, +and intimated that, out of the abundant love he bore me, he would consult with +the priests and see what could be done. +</p> + +<p> +How it was that the priesthood of Typee satisfied the affair with their +consciences, I know not; but so it was, and Fayaway dispensation from this +portion of the taboo was at length procured. Such an event I believe never +before had occurred in the valley; but it was high time the islanders should be +taught a little gallantry, and I trust that the example I set them may produce +beneficial effects. Ridiculous, indeed, that the lovely creatures should be +obliged to paddle about in the water, like so many ducks, while a parcel of +great strapping fellows skimmed over its surface in their canoes. +</p> + +<p> +The first day after Fayaway’s emancipation, I had a delightful little +party on the lake—the damsels’ Kory-Kory, and myself. My zealous +body-servant brought from the house a calabash of poee-poee, half a dozen young +cocoanuts—stripped of their husks—three pipes, as many yams, and me +on his back a part of the way. Something of a load; but Kory-Kory was a very +strong man for his size, and by no means brittle in the spine. We had a very +pleasant day; my trusty valet plied the paddle and swept us gently along the +margin of the water, beneath the shades of the overhanging thickets. Fayaway +and I reclined in the stern of the canoe, on the very best terms possible with +one another; the gentle nymph occasionally placing her pipe to her lip, and +exhaling the mild fumes of the tobacco, to which her rosy breath added a fresh +perfume. Strange as it may seem, there is nothing in which a young and +beautiful female appears to more advantage than in the act of smoking. How +captivating is a Peruvian lady, swinging in her gaily-woven hammock of grass, +extended between two orange-trees, and inhaling the fragrance of a choice +cigarro! +</p> + +<p> +But Fayaway, holding in her delicately formed olive hand the long yellow reed +of her pipe, with its quaintly carved bowl, and every few moments languishingly +giving forth light wreaths of vapour from her mouth and nostrils, looked still +more engaging. +</p> + +<p> +We floated about thus for several hours, when I looked up to the warm, glowing, +tropical sky, and then down into the transparent depths below; and when my eye, +wandering from the bewitching scenery around, fell upon the +grotesquely-tattooed form of Kory-Kory, and finally, encountered the pensive +gaze of Fayaway, I thought I had been transported to some fairy region, so +unreal did everything appear. +</p> + +<p> +This lovely piece of water was the coolest spot in all the valley, and I now +made it a place of continual resort during the hottest period of the day. One +side of it lay near the termination of a long gradually expanding gorge, which +mounted to the heights that environed the vale. The strong trade wind, met in +its course by these elevations, circled and eddied about their summits, and was +sometimes driven down the steep ravine and swept across the valley, ruffling in +its passage the otherwise tranquil surface of the lake. +</p> + +<p> +One day, after we had been paddling about for some time, I disembarked +Kory-Kory, and paddled the canoe to the windward side of the lake. As I turned +the canoe, Fayaway, who was with me, seemed all at once to be struck with some +happy idea. With a wild exclamation of delight, she disengaged from her person +the ample robe of tappa which was knotted over her shoulder (for the purpose of +shielding her from the sun), and spreading it out like a sail, stood erect with +upraised arms in the head of the canoe. We American sailors pride ourselves +upon our straight, clean spars, but a prettier little mast than Fayaway made +was never shipped aboard of any craft. +</p> + +<p> +In a moment the tappa was distended by the breeze—the long brown tresses +of Fayaway streamed in the air—and the canoe glided rapidly through the +water, and shot towards the shore. Seated in the stern, I directed its course +with my paddle until it dashed up the soft sloping bank, and Fayaway, with a +light spring alighted on the ground; whilst Kory-Kory, who had watched our +manoeuvres with admiration, now clapped his hands in transport, and shouted +like a madman. Many a time afterwards was this feat repeated. +</p> + +<p> +If the reader has not observed ere this that I was the declared admirer of Miss +Fayaway, all I can say is that he is little conversant with affairs of the +heart, and I certainly shall not trouble myself to enlighten him any farther. +Out of the calico I had brought from the ship I made a dress for this lovely +girl. In it she looked, I must confess, something like an opera-dancer. +</p> + +<p> +The drapery of the latter damsel generally commences a little above the elbows, +but my island beauty’s began at the waist, and terminated sufficiently +far above the ground to reveal the most bewitching ankle in the universe. +</p> + +<p> +The day that Fayaway first wore this robe was rendered memorable by a new +acquaintance being introduced to me. In the afternoon I was lying in the house +when I heard a great uproar outside; but being by this time pretty well +accustomed to the wild halloos which were almost continually ringing through +the valley, I paid little attention to it, until old Marheyo, under the +influence of some strange excitement, rushed into my presence and communicated +the astounding tidings, ‘Marnoo pemi!’ which being interpreted, +implied that an individual by the name of Marnoo was approaching. +</p> + +<p> +My worthy old friend evidently expected that this intelligence would produce a +great effect upon me, and for a time he stood earnestly regarding me, as if +curious to see how I should conduct myself, but as I remained perfectly +unmoved, the old gentleman darted out of the house again, in as great a hurry +as he had entered it. +</p> + +<p> +‘Marnoo, Marnoo,’ cogitated I, ‘I have never heard that name +before. Some distinguished character, I presume, from the prodigious riot the +natives are making;’ the tumultuous noise drawing nearer and nearer every +moment, while ‘Marnoo!—Marnoo!’ was shouted by every tongue. +</p> + +<p> +I made up my mind that some savage warrior of consequence, who had not yet +enjoyed the honour of an audience, was desirous of paying his respects on the +present occasion. So vain had I become by the lavish attention to which I had +been accustomed, that I felt half inclined, as a punishment for such neglect, +to give this Marnoo a cold reception, when the excited throng came within view, +convoying one of the most striking specimens of humanity that I ever beheld. +</p> + +<p> +The stranger could not have been more than twenty-five years of age, and was a +little above the ordinary height; had he a single hair’s breadth taller, +the matchless symmetry of his form would have been destroyed. His unclad limbs +were beautifully formed; whilst the elegant outline of his figure, together +with his beardless cheeks, might have entitled him to the distinction of +standing for the statue of the Polynesian Apollo; and indeed the oval of his +countenance and the regularity of every feature reminded one of an antique +bust. But the marble repose of art was supplied by a warmth and liveliness of +expression only to be seen in the South Sea Islander under the most favourable +developments of nature. The hair of Marnoo was a rich curling brown, and twined +about his temples and neck in little close curling ringlets, which danced up +and down continually, when he was animated in conversation. His cheek was of a +feminine softness, and his face was free from the least blemish of tattooing, +although the rest of his body was drawn all over with fanciful figures, +which—unlike the unconnected sketching usual among these +natives—appeared to have been executed in conformity with some general +design. +</p> + +<p> +The tattooing on his back in particular attracted my attention. The artist +employed must indeed have excelled in his profession. Traced along the course +of the spine was accurately delineated the slender, tapering and diamond +checkered shaft of the beautiful ‘artu’ tree. Branching from the +stem on each side, and disposed alternately, were the graceful branches +drooping with leaves all correctly drawn and elaborately finished. Indeed the +best specimen of the Fine Arts I had yet seen in Typee. A rear view of the +stranger might have suggested the idea of a spreading vine tacked against a +garden wall. Upon his breast, arms and legs, were exhibited an infinite variety +of figures; every one of which, however, appeared to have reference to the +general effect sought to be produced. The tattooing I have described was of the +brightest blue, and when contrasted with the light olive-colour of the skin, +produced an unique and even elegant effect. A slight girdle of white tappa, +scarcely two inches in width, but hanging before and behind in spreading +tassels, composed the entire costume of the stranger. +</p> + +<p> +He advanced surrounded by the islanders, carrying under one arm a small roll of +native cloth, and grasping in his other hand a long and richly decorated spear. +His manner was that of a traveller conscious that he is approaching a +comfortable stage in his journey. Every moment he turned good-humouredly on the +throng around him, and gave some dashing sort of reply to their incessant +queries, which appeared to convulse them with uncontrollable mirth. +</p> + +<p> +Struck by his demeanour, and the peculiarity of his appearance, so unlike that +of the shaven-crowned and face-tattooed natives in general, I involuntarily +rose as he entered the house, and proffered him a seat on the mats beside me. +But without deigning to notice the civility, or even the more incontrovertible +fact of my existence, the stranger passed on, utterly regardless of me, and +flung himself upon the further end of the long couch that traversed the sole +apartment of Marheyo’s habitation. +</p> + +<p> +Had the belle of the season, in the pride of her beauty and power, been cut in +a place of public resort by some supercilious exquisite, she could not have +felt greater indignation than I did at this unexpected slight. +</p> + +<p> +I was thrown into utter astonishment. The conduct of the savages had prepared +me to anticipate from every newcomer the same extravagant expressions of +curiosity and regard. The singularity of his conduct, however, only roused my +desire to discover who this remarkable personage might be, who now engrossed +the attention of every one. +</p> + +<p> +Tinor placed before him a calabash of poee-poee, from which the stranger +regaled himself, alternating every mouthful with some rapid exclamation, which +was eagerly caught up and echoed by the crowd that completely filled the house. +When I observed the striking devotion of the natives to him, and their +temporary withdrawal of all attention from myself, I felt not a little piqued. +The glory of Tommo is departed, thought I, and the sooner he removes from the +valley the better. These were my feelings at the moment, and they were prompted +by that glorious principle inherent in all heroic natures—the +strong-rooted determination to have the biggest share of the pudding or to go +without any of it. +</p> + +<p> +Marnoo, that all-attractive personage, having satisfied his hunger and inhaled +a few whiffs from a pipe which was handed to him, launched out into an harangue +which completely enchained the attention of his auditors. +</p> + +<p> +Little as I understood of the language, yet from his animated gestures and the +varying expression of his features—reflected as from so many mirrors in +the countenances around him, I could easily discover the nature of those +passions which he sought to arouse. From the frequent recurrence of the words +‘Nukuheva’ and ‘Frannee’ (French), and some others with +the meaning of which I was acquainted, he appeared to be rehearsing to his +auditors events which had recently occurred in the neighbouring bays. But how +he had gained the knowledge of these matters I could not understand, unless it +were that he had just come from Nukuheva—a supposition which his +travel-stained appearance not a little supported. But, if a native of that +region, I could not account for his friendly reception at the hands of the +Typees. +</p> + +<p> +Never, certainly, had I beheld so powerful an exhibition of natural eloquence +as Marnoo displayed during the course of his oration. The grace of the +attitudes into which he threw his flexible figure, the striking gestures of his +naked arms, and above all, the fire which shot from his brilliant eyes, +imparted an effect to the continually changing accents of his voice, of which +the most accomplished orator might have been proud. At one moment reclining +sideways upon the mat, and leaning calmly upon his bended arm, he related +circumstantially the aggressions of the French—their hostile visits to +the surrounding bays, enumerating each one in succession—Happar, Puerka, +Nukuheva, Tior,—and then starting to his feet and precipitating himself +forward with clenched hands and a countenance distorted with passion, he poured +out a tide of invectives. Falling back into an attitude of lofty command, he +exhorted the Typees to resist these encroachments; reminding them, with a +fierce glance of exultation, that as yet the terror of their name had preserved +them from attack, and with a scornful sneer he sketched in ironical terms the +wondrous intrepidity of the French, who, with five war-canoes and hundreds of +men, had not dared to assail the naked warriors of their valley. +</p> + +<p> +The effect he produced upon his audience was electric; one and all they stood +regarding him with sparkling eyes and trembling limbs, as though they were +listening to the inspired voice of a prophet. +</p> + +<p> +But it soon appeared that Marnoo’s powers were as versatile as they were +extraordinary. As soon as he had finished his vehement harangue, he threw +himself again upon the mats, and, singling out individuals in the crowd, +addressed them by name, in a sort of bantering style, the humour of which, +though nearly hidden from me filled the whole assembly with uproarious delight. +</p> + +<p> +He had a word for everybody; and, turning rapidly from one to another, gave +utterance to some hasty witticism, which was sure to be followed by peals of +laughter. To the females as well as to the men, he addressed his discourse. +Heaven only knows what he said to them, but he caused smiles and blushes to +mantle their ingenuous faces. I am, indeed, very much inclined to believe that +Marnoo, with his handsome person and captivating manners, was a sad deceiver +among the simple maidens of the island. +</p> + +<p> +During all this time he had never, for one moment, deigned to regard me. He +appeared, indeed, to be altogether unconscious of my presence. I was utterly at +a loss how to account for this extraordinary conduct. I easily perceived that +he was a man of no little consequence among the islanders; that he possessed +uncommon talents; and was gifted with a higher degree of knowledge than the +inmates of the valley. For these reasons, I therefore greatly feared lest +having, from some cause or other, unfriendly feelings towards me, he might +exert his powerful influence to do me mischief. +</p> + +<p> +It seemed evident that he was not a permanent resident of the vale, and yet, +whence could he have come? On all sides the Typees were girt in by hostile +tribes, and how could he possibly, if belonging to any of these, be received +with so much cordiality? +</p> + +<p> +The personal appearance of the enigmatical stranger suggested additional +perplexities. The face, free from tattooing, and the unshaven crown, were +peculiarities I had never before remarked in any part of the island, and I had +always heard that the contrary were considered the indispensable distinction of +a Marquesan warrior. Altogether the matter was perfectly incomprehensible to +me, and I awaited its solution with no small degree of anxiety. +</p> + +<p> +At length, from certain indications, I suspected that he was making me the +subject of his remarks, although he appeared cautiously to avoid either +pronouncing my name, or looking in the direction where I lay. All at once he +rose from the mats where he had been reclining, and, still conversing, moved +towards me, his eye purposely evading mine, and seated himself within less than +a yard of me. I had hardly recovered from my surprise, when he suddenly turned +round, and, with a most benignant countenance extended his right hand +gracefully towards me. Of course I accepted the courteous challenge, and, as +soon as our palms met, he bent towards me, and murmured in musical +accents—‘How you do?’ ‘How long you been in this +bay?’ ‘You like this bay?’ +</p> + +<p> +Had I been pierced simultaneously by three Happar spears, I could not have +started more than I did at hearing these simple questions. For a moment I was +overwhelmed with astonishment, and then answered something I know not what; but +as soon as I regained my self-possession, the thought darted through my mind +that from this individual I might obtain that information regarding Toby which +I suspected the natives had purposely withheld from me. Accordingly I +questioned him concerning the disappearance of my companion, but he denied all +knowledge of the matter. I then inquired from whence he had come? He replied, +from Nukuheva. When I expressed my surprise, he looked at me for a moment, as +if enjoying my perplexity, and then with his strange vivacity, +exclaimed,—‘Ah! Me taboo,—me go Nukuheva,—me go +Tior,—me go Typee,—me go everywhere,—nobody harm me,—me +taboo.’ +</p> + +<p> +This explanation would have been altogether unintelligible to me, had it not +recalled to my mind something I had previously heard concerning a singular +custom among these islanders. Though the country is possessed by various +tribes, whose mutual hostilities almost wholly prelude any intercourse between +them; yet there are instances where a person having ratified friendly relations +with some individual belonging longing to the valley, whose inmates are at war +with his own, may, under particular restrictions, venture with impunity into +the country of his friend, where, under other circumstances, he would have been +treated as an enemy. In this light are personal friendships regarded among +them, and the individual so protected is said to be ‘taboo’, and +his person, to a certain extent, is held as sacred. Thus the stranger informed +me he had access to all the valleys in the island. +</p> + +<p> +Curious to know how he had acquired his knowledge of English, I questioned him +on the subject. At first, for some reason or other, he evaded the inquiry, but +afterwards told me that, when a boy, he had been carried to sea by the captain +of a trading vessel, with whom he had stayed three years, living part of the +time with him at Sidney in Australia, and that at a subsequent visit to the +island, the captain had, at his own request, permitted him to remain among his +countrymen. The natural quickness of the savage had been wonderfully improved +by his intercourse with the white men, and his partial knowledge of a foreign +language gave him a great ascendancy over his less accomplished countrymen. +</p> + +<p> +When I asked the now affable Marnoo why it was that he had not previously +spoken to me, he eagerly inquired what I had been led to think of him from his +conduct in that respect. I replied, that I had supposed him to be some great +chief or warrior, who had seen plenty of white men before, and did not think it +worth while to notice a poor sailor. At this declaration of the exalted opinion +I had formed of him, he appeared vastly gratified, and gave me to understand +that he had purposely behaved in that manner, in order to increase my +astonishment, as soon as he should see proper to address me. +</p> + +<p> +Marnoo now sought to learn my version of the story as to how I came to be an +inmate of the Typee valley. When I related to him the circumstances under which +Toby and I had entered it, he listened with evident interest; but as soon as I +alluded to the absence, yet unaccounted for, of my comrade, he endeavoured to +change the subject, as if it were something he desired not to agitate. It +seemed, indeed, as if everything connected with Toby was destined to beget +distrust and anxiety in my bosom. Notwithstanding Marnoo’s denial of any +knowledge of his fate, I could not avoid suspecting that he was deceiving me; +and this suspicion revived those frightful apprehensions with regard to my own +fate, which, for a short time past, had subsided in my breast. +</p> + +<p> +Influenced by these feelings, I now felt a strong desire to avail myself of the +stranger’s protection, and under his safeguard to return to Nukuheva. But +as soon as I hinted at this, he unhesitatingly pronounced it to be entirely +impracticable; assuring me that the Typees would never consent to my leaving +the valley. Although what he said merely confirmed the impression which I had +before entertained, still it increased my anxiety to escape from a captivity +which, however endurable, nay, delightful it might be in some respects, +involved in its issues a fate marked by the most frightful contingencies. +</p> + +<p> +I could not conceal from my mind that Toby had been treated in the same +friendly manner as I had been, and yet all their kindness terminated with his +mysterious disappearance. Might not the same fate await me?—a fate too +dreadful to think of. Stimulated by these considerations, I urged anew my +request to Marnoo; but he only set forth in stronger colours the impossibility +of my escape, and repeated his previous declaration that the Typees would never +be brought to consent to my departure. +</p> + +<p> +When I endeavoured to learn from him the motives which prompted them to hold me +a prisoner, Marnoo again presumed that mysterious tone which had tormented me +with apprehension when I had questioned him with regard to the fate of my +companion. +</p> + +<p> +Thus repulsed, in a manner which only served, by arousing the most dreadful +forebodings, to excite me to renewed attempts, I conjured him to intercede for +me with the natives, and endeavour to procure their consent to my leaving them. +To this he appeared strongly averse; but, yielding at last to my importunities, +he addressed several of the chiefs, who with the rest had been eyeing us +intently during the whole of our conversation. His petition, however, was at +once met with the most violent disapprobation, manifesting itself in angry +glances and gestures, and a perfect torrent of passionate words, directed to +both him and myself. Marnoo, evidently repenting the step he had taken, +earnestly deprecated the resentment of the crowd, and, in a few moments +succeeded in pacifying to some extent the clamours which had broken out as soon +as his proposition had been understood. +</p> + +<p> +With the most intense interest had I watched the reception his intercession +might receive; and a bitter pang shot through my heart at the additional +evidence, now furnished, of the unchangeable determination of the islanders. +Marnoo told me with evident alarm in his countenance, that although admitted +into the bay on a friendly footing with its inhabitants, he could not presume +to meddle with their concerns, as such procedure, if persisted in, would at +once absolve the Typees from the restraints of the ‘taboo’, +although so long as he refrained from such conduct, it screened him effectually +from the consequences of the enmity they bore his tribe. At this moment, +Mehevi, who was present, angrily interrupted him; and the words which he +uttered in a commanding tone, evidently meant that he must at once cease +talking to me and withdraw to the other part of the house. Marnoo immediately +started up, hurriedly enjoining me not to address him again, and as I valued my +safety, to refrain from all further allusion to the subject of my departure; +and then, in compliance with the order of the determined chief, but not before +it had again been angrily repeated, he withdrew to a distance. +</p> + +<p> +I now perceived, with no small degree of apprehension, the same savage +expression in the countenances of the natives, which had startled me during the +scene at the Ti. They glanced their eyes suspiciously from Marnoo to me, as if +distrusting the nature of an intercourse carried on, as it was, in a language +they could not understand, and they seemed to harbour the belief that already +we had concerted measures calculated to elude their vigilance. +</p> + +<p> +The lively countenances of these people are wonderfully indicative of the +emotions of the soul, and the imperfections of their oral language are more +than compensated for by the nervous eloquence of their looks and gestures. I +could plainly trace, in every varying expression of their faces, all those +passions which had been thus unexpectedly aroused in their bosoms. +</p> + +<p> +It required no reflection to convince me, from what was going on, that the +injunction of Marnoo was not to be rashly slighted; and accordingly, great as +was the effort to suppress my feelings, I accosted Mehevi in a good-humoured +tone, with a view of dissipating any ill impression he might have received. But +the ireful, angry chief was not so easily mollified. He rejected my advances +with that peculiarly stern expression I have before described, and took care by +the whole of his behaviour towards me to show the displeasure and resentment +which he felt. +</p> + +<p> +Marnoo, at the other extremity of the house, apparently desirous of making a +diversion in my favour, exerted himself to amuse with his pleasantries the +crowd about him; but his lively attempts were not so successful as they had +previously been, and, foiled in his efforts, he rose gravely to depart. No one +expressed any regret at this movement, so seizing his roll of tappa, and +grasping his spear, he advanced to the front of the pi-pi, and waving his hand +in adieu to the now silent throng, cast upon me a glance of mingled pity and +reproach, and flung himself into the path which led from the house. I watched +his receding figure until it was lost in the obscurity of the grove, and then +gave myself up to the most desponding reflections. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"></a> +CHAPTER NINETEEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +REFLECTIONS AFTER MARNOO’S DEPARTURE-BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS—STRANGE +CONCEIT OF MARHEYO—PROCESS OF MAKING TAPPA +</p> + +<p> +The knowledge I had now obtained as to the intention of the savages deeply +affected me. +</p> + +<p> +Marnoo, I perceived, was a man who, by reason of his superior acquirements, and +the knowledge he possessed of the events which were taking place in the +different bays of the island, was held in no little estimation by the +inhabitants of the valley. He had been received with the most cordial welcome +and respect. The natives had hung upon the accents of his voice, and, had +manifested the highest gratification at being individually noticed by him. And +yet despite all this, a few words urged in my behalf, with the intent of +obtaining my release from captivity, had sufficed not only to banish all +harmony and good-will; but, if I could believe what he told me, had gone on to +endanger his own personal safety. +</p> + +<p> +How strongly rooted, then, must be the determination of the Typees with regard +to me, and how suddenly could they display the strangest passions! The mere +suggestion of my departure had estranged from me, for the time at least, +Mehevi, who was the most influential of all the chiefs, and who had previously +exhibited so many instances of his friendly sentiments. The rest of the natives +had likewise evinced their strong repugnance to my wishes, and even Kory-Kory +himself seemed to share in the general disapprobation bestowed upon me. +</p> + +<p> +In vain I racked my invention to find out some motive for them, but I could +discover none. +</p> + +<p> +But however this might be, the scene which had just occurred admonished me of +the danger of trifling with the wayward and passionate spirits against whom it +was vain to struggle, and might even be fatal to do go. My only hope was to +induce the natives to believe that I was reconciled to my detention in the +valley, and by assuming a tranquil and cheerful demeanour, to allay the +suspicions which I had so unfortunately aroused. Their confidence revived, they +might in a short time remit in some degree their watchfulness over my +movements, and I should then be the better enabled to avail myself of any +opportunity which presented itself for escape. I determined, therefore, to make +the best of a bad bargain, and to bear up manfully against whatever might +betide. In this endeavour, I succeeded beyond my own expectations. At the +period of Marnoo’s visit, I had been in the valley, as nearly as I could +conjecture, some two months. Although not completely recovered from my strange +illness, which still lingered about me, I was free from pain and able to take +exercise. In short, I had every reason to anticipate a perfect recovery. Freed +from apprehension on this point, and resolved to regard the future without +flinching, I flung myself anew into all the social pleasures of the valley, and +sought to bury all regrets, and all remembrances of my previous existence in +the wild enjoyments it afforded. +</p> + +<p> +In my various wanderings through the vale, and as I became better acquainted +with the character of its inhabitants, I was more and more struck with the +light-hearted joyousness that everywhere prevailed. The minds of these simple +savages, unoccupied by matters of graver moment, were capable of deriving the +utmost delight from circumstances which would have passed unnoticed in more +intelligent communities. All their enjoyment, indeed, seemed to be made up of +the little trifling incidents of the passing hour; but these diminutive items +swelled altogether to an amount of happiness seldom experienced by more +enlightened individuals, whose pleasures are drawn from more elevated but rarer +sources. +</p> + +<p> +What community, for instance, of refined and intellectual mortals would derive +the least satisfaction from shooting pop-guns? The mere supposition of such a +thing being possible would excite their indignation, and yet the whole +population of Typee did little else for ten days but occupy themselves with +that childish amusement, fairly screaming, too, with the delight it afforded +them. +</p> + +<p> +One day I was frolicking with a little spirited urchin, some six years old, who +chased me with a piece of bamboo about three feet long, with which he +occasionally belaboured me. Seizing the stick from him, the idea happened to +suggest itself, that I might make for the youngster, out of the slender tube, +one of those nursery muskets with which I had sometimes seen children playing. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, with my knife I made two parallel slits in the cane several inches +in length, and cutting loose at one end the elastic strip between them, bent it +back and slipped the point into a little notch made for the purse. Any small +substance placed against this would be projected with considerable force +through the tube, by merely springing the bent strip out of the notch. +</p> + +<p> +Had I possessed the remotest idea of the sensation this piece of ordnance was +destined to produce, I should certainly have taken out a patent for the +invention. The boy scampered away with it, half delirious with ecstasy, and in +twenty minutes afterwards I might have been seen surrounded by a noisy +crowd—venerable old graybeards—responsible fathers of +families—valiant warriors—matrons—young men—girls and +children, all holding in their hands bits of bamboo, and each clamouring to be +served first. +</p> + +<p> +For three or four hours I was engaged in manufacturing pop-guns, but at last +made over my good-will and interest in the concern to a lad of remarkably quick +parts, whom I soon initiated into the art and mystery. +</p> + +<p> +Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, now resounded all over the valley. Duels, skirmishes, +pitched battles, and general engagements were to be seen on every side. Here, +as you walked along a path which led through a thicket, you fell into a +cunningly laid ambush, and became a target for a body of musketeers whose +tattooed limbs you could just see peeping into view through the foliage. There +you were assailed by the intrepid garrison of a house, who levelled their +bamboo rifles at you from between the upright canes which composed its sides. +Farther on you were fired upon by a detachment of sharpshooters, mounted upon +the top of a pi-pi. +</p> + +<p> +Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop! green guavas, seeds, and berries were flying about in every +direction, and during this dangerous state of affairs I was half afraid that, +like the man and his brazen bull, I should fall a victim to my own ingenuity. +Like everything else, however, the excitement gradually wore away, though ever +after occasionally pop-guns might be heard at all hours of the day. +</p> + +<p> +It was towards the close of the pop-gun war, that I was infinitely diverted +with a strange freak of Marheyo’s. +</p> + +<p> +I had worn, when I quitted the ship, a pair of thick pumps, which, from the +rough usage they had received in scaling precipices and sliding down gorges, +were so dilapidated as to be altogether unfit for use—so, at least, would +have thought the generality of people, and so they most certainly were, when +considered in the light of shoes. But things unservicable in one way, may with +advantage be applied in another, that is, if one have genius enough for the +purpose. This genius Marheyo possessed in a superlative degree, as he +abundantly evinced by the use to which he put those sorely bruised and battered +old shoes. +</p> + +<p> +Every article, however trivial, which belonged to me, the natives appeared to +regard as sacred; and I observed that for several days after becoming an inmate +of the house, my pumps were suffered to remain, untouched, where I had first +happened to throw them. I remembered, however, that after awhile I had missed +them from their accustomed place; but the matter gave me no concern, supposing +that Tinor—like any other tidy housewife, having come across them in some +of her domestic occupations—had pitched the useless things out of the +house. But I was soon undeceived. +</p> + +<p> +One day I observed old Marheyo bustling about me with unusual activity, and to +such a degree as almost to supersede Kory-Kory in the functions of his office. +One moment he volunteered to trot off with me on his back to the stream; and +when I refused, noways daunted by the repulse, he continued to frisk about me +like a superannuated house-dog. I could not for the life of me conjecture what +possessed the old gentleman, until all at once, availing himself of the +temporary absence of the household, he went through a variety of of uncouth +gestures, pointing eagerly down to my feet, then up to a little bundle, which +swung from the ridge pole overhead. At last I caught a faint idea of his +meaning, and motioned him to lower the package. He executed the order in the +twinkling of an eye, and unrolling a piece of tappa, displayed to my astonished +gaze the identical pumps which I thought had been destroyed long before. +</p> + +<p> +I immediately comprehended his desire, and very generously gave him the shoes, +which had become quite mouldy, wondering for what earthly purpose he could want +them. The same afternoon I descried the venerable warrior approaching the +house, with a slow, stately gait, ear-rings in ears, and spear in hand, with +this highly ornamental pair of shoes suspended from his neck by a strip of +bark, and swinging backwards and forwards on his capacious chest. In the gala +costume of the tasteful Marheyo, these calf-skin pendants ever after formed the +most striking feature. +</p> + +<p> +But to turn to something a little more important. Although the whole existence +of the inhabitants of the valley seemed to pass away exempt from toil, yet +there were some light employments which, although amusing rather than laborious +as occupations, contributed to their comfort and luxury. Among these the most +important was the manufacture of the native +cloth,—‘tappa’,—so well known, under various +modifications, throughout the whole Polynesian Archipelago. As is generally +understood, this useful and sometimes elegant article is fabricated from the +bark of different trees. But, as I believe that no description of its +manufacture has ever been given, I shall state what I know regarding it. +</p> + +<p> +In the manufacture of the beautiful white tappa generally worn on the Marquesan +Islands, the preliminary operation consists in gathering a certain quantity of +the young branches of the cloth-tree. The exterior green bark being pulled off +as worthless, there remains a slender fibrous substance, which is carefully +stripped from the stick, to which it closely adheres. When a sufficient +quantity of it has been collected, the various strips are enveloped in a +covering of large leaves, which the natives use precisely as we do +wrapping-paper, and which are secured by a few turns of a line passed round +them. The package is then laid in the bed of some running stream, with a heavy +stone placed over it, to prevent its being swept away. After it has remained +for two or three days in this state, it is drawn out, and exposed, for a short +time, to the action of the air, every distinct piece being attentively +inspected, with a view of ascertaining whether it has yet been sufficiently +affected by the operation. This is repeated again and again, until the desired +result is obtained. +</p> + +<p> +When the substance is in a proper state for the next process, it betrays +evidences of incipient decomposition; the fibres are relaxed and softened, and +rendered perfectly malleable. The different strips are now extended, one by +one, in successive layers, upon some smooth surface—generally the +prostrate trunk of a cocoanut tree—and the heap thus formed is subjected, +at every new increase, to a moderate beating, with a sort of wooden mallet, +leisurely applied. The mallet is made of a hard heavy wood resembling ebony, is +about twelve inches in length, and perhaps two in breadth, with a rounded +handle at one end, and in shape is the exact counterpart of one of our +four-sided razor-strops. The flat surfaces of the implement are marked with +shallow parallel indentations, varying in depth on the different sides, so as +to be adapted to the several stages of the operation. These marks produce the +corduroy sort of stripes discernible in the tappa in its finished state. After +being beaten in the manner I have described, the material soon becomes blended +in one mass, which, moistened occasionally with water, is at intervals hammered +out, by a kind of gold-beating process, to any degree of thinness required. In +this way the cloth is easily made to vary in strength and thickness, so as to +suit the numerous purposes to which it is applied. +</p> + +<p> +When the operation last described has been concluded, the new-made tappa is +spread out on the grass to bleach and dry, and soon becomes of a dazzling +whiteness. Sometimes, in the first stages of the manufacture, the substance is +impregnated with a vegetable juice, which gives it a permanent colour. A rich +brown and a bright yellow are occasionally seen, but the simple taste of the +Typee people inclines them to prefer the natural tint. +</p> + +<p> +The notable wife of Kamehameha, the renowned conqueror and king of the Sandwich +Islands, used to pride herself in the skill she displayed in dyeing her tappa +with contrasting colours disposed in regular figures; and, in the midst of the +innovations of the times, was regarded, towards the decline of her life, as a +lady of the old school, clinging as she did to the national cloth, in +preference to the frippery of the European calicoes. But the art of printing +the tappa is unknown upon the Marquesan Islands. In passing along the valley, I +was often attracted by the noise of the mallet, which, when employed in the +manufacture of the cloth produces at every stroke of its hard, heavy wood, a +clear, ringing, and musical sound, capable of being heard at a great distance. +When several of these implements happen to be in operation at the same time, +near one another, the effect upon the ear of a person, at a little distance, is +really charming. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +HISTORY OF A DAY AS USUALLY SPENT IN TYPEE VALLEY—DANCES OF THE MARQUESAN +GIRLS +</p> + +<p> +Nothing can be more uniform and undiversified than the life of the Typees; one +tranquil day of ease and happiness follows another in quiet succession; and +with these unsophisicated savages the history of a day is the history of a +life. I will, therefore, as briefly as I can, describe one of our days in the +valley. +</p> + +<p> +To begin with the morning. We were not very early risers—the sun would be +shooting his golden spikes above the Happar mountain, ere I threw aside my +tappa robe, and girding my long tunic about my waist, sallied out with Fayaway +and Kory-Kory, and the rest of the household, and bent my steps towards the +stream. Here we found congregated all those who dwelt in our section of the +valley; and here we bathed with them. The fresh morning air and the cool +flowing waters put both soul and body in a glow, and after a half-hour employed +in this recreation, we sauntered back to the house—Tinor and Marheyo +gathering dry sticks by the way for fire-wood; some of the young men laying the +cocoanut trees under contribution as they passed beneath them; while Kory-Kory +played his outlandish pranks for my particular diversion, and Fayaway and I, +not arm in arm to be sure, but sometimes hand in hand, strolled along, with +feelings of perfect charity for all the world, and especial good-will towards +each other. +</p> + +<p> +Our morning meal was soon prepared. The islanders are somewhat abstemious at +this repast; reserving the more powerful efforts of their appetite to a later +period of the day. For my own part, with the assistance of my valet, who, as I +have before stated, always officiated as spoon on these occasions, I ate +sparingly from one of Tinor’s trenchers, of poee-poee; which was devoted +exclusively for my own use, being mixed with the milky meat of ripe cocoanut. A +section of a roasted bread-fruit, a small cake of ‘Amar’, or a mess +of ‘Cokoo,’ two or three bananas, or a mammee-apple; an annuee, or +some other agreeable and nutritious fruit served from day to day to diversify +the meal, which was finished by tossing off the liquid contents of a young +cocoanut or two. +</p> + +<p> +While partaking of this simple repast, the inmates of Marheyo’s house, +after the style of the ancient Romans, reclined in sociable groups upon the +divan of mats, and digestion was promoted by cheerful conversation. +</p> + +<p> +After the morning meal was concluded, pipes were lighted; and among them my own +especial pipe, a present from the noble Mehevi. +</p> + +<p> +The islanders, who only smoke a whiff or two at a time, and at long intervals, +and who keep their pipes going from hand to hand continually, regarded my +systematic smoking of four or five pipefuls of tobacco in succession, as +something quite wonderful. When two or three pipes had circulated freely, the +company gradually broke up. Marheyo went to the little hut he was forever +building. Tinor began to inspect her rolls of tappa, or employed her busy +fingers in plaiting grass-mats. The girls anointed themselves with their +fragrant oils, dressed their hair, or looked over their curious finery, and +compared together their ivory trinkets, fashioned out of boar’s tusks or +whale’s teeth. The young men and warriors produced their spears, paddles, +canoe-gear, battle-clubs, and war-conchs, and occupied themselves in carving, +all sorts of figures upon them with pointed bits of shell or flint, and +adorning them, especially the war-conchs, with tassels of braided bark and +tufts of human hair. Some, immediately after eating, threw themselves once more +upon the inviting mats, and resumed the employment of the previous night, +sleeping as soundly as if they had not closed their eyes for a week. Others +sallied out into the groves, for the purpose of gathering fruit or fibres of +bark and leaves; the last two being in constant requisition, and applied to a +hundred uses. A few, perhaps, among the girls, would slip into the woods after +flowers, or repair to the stream will; small calabashes and cocoanut shells, in +order to polish them by friction with a smooth stone in the water. In truth +these innocent people seemed to be at no loss for something to occupy their +time; and it would be no light task to enumerate all their employments, or +rather pleasures. +</p> + +<p> +My own mornings I spent in a variety of ways. Sometimes I rambled about from +house to house, sure of receiving a cordial welcome wherever I went; or from +grove to grove, and from one shady place to another, in company with Kory-Kory +and Fayaway, and a rabble rout of merry young idlers. Sometimes I was too +indolent for exercise, and accepting one of the many invitations I was +continually receiving, stretched myself out on the mats of some hospitable +dwelling, and occupied myself pleasantly either in watching the proceedings of +those around me or taking part in them myself. Whenever I chose to do the +latter, the delight of the islanders was boundless; and there was always a +throng of competitors for the honour of instructing me in any particular craft. +I soon became quite an accomplished hand at making tappa—could braid a +grass sling as well as the best of them—and once, with my knife, carved +the handle of a javelin so exquisitely, that I have no doubt, to this day, +Karnoonoo, its owner, preserves it as a surprising specimen of my skill. As +noon approached, all those who had wandered forth from our habitation, began to +return; and when midday was fairly come scarcely a sound was to be heard in the +valley: a deep sleep fell upon all. The luxurious siesta was hardly ever +omitted, except by old Marheyo, who was so eccentric a character, that he +seemed to be governed by no fixed principles whatever; but acting just +according to the humour of the moment, slept, ate, or tinkered away at his +little hut, without regard to the proprieties of time or place. Frequently he +might have been seen taking a nap in the sun at noon-day, or a bath in the +stream of mid-night. Once I beheld him perched eighty feet from the ground, in +the tuft of a cocoanut tree, smoking; and often I saw him standing up to the +waist in water, engaged in plucking out the stray hairs of his beard, using a +piece of muscle-shell for tweezers. +</p> + +<p> +The noon-tide slumber lasted generally an hour and a half: very often longer; +and after the sleepers had arisen from their mats they again had recourse to +their pipes, and then made preparations for the most important meal of the day. +</p> + +<p> +I, however, like those gentlemen of leisure who breakfast at home and dine at +their club, almost invariably, during my intervals of health, enjoyed the +afternoon repast with the bachelor chiefs of the Ti, who were always rejoiced +to see me, and lavishly spread before me all the good things which their larder +afforded. Mehevi generally introduced among other dainties a baked pig, an +article which I have every reason to suppose was provided for my sole +gratification. +</p> + +<p> +The Ti was a right jovial place. It did my heart, as well as my body, good to +visit it. Secure from female intrusion, there was no restraint upon the +hilarity of the warriors, who, like the gentlemen of Europe after the cloth is +drawn and the ladies retire, freely indulged their mirth. +</p> + +<p> +After spending a considerable portion of the afternoon at the Ti, I usually +found myself, as the cool of the evening came on, either sailing on the little +lake with Fayaway, or bathing in the waters of the stream with a number of the +savages, who, at this hour, always repaired thither. As the shadows of night +approached Marheyo’s household were once more assembled under his roof: +tapers were lit, long curious chants were raised, interminable stories were +told (for which one present was little the wiser), and all sorts of social +festivities served to while away the time. +</p> + +<p> +The young girls very often danced by moonlight in front of their dwellings. +There are a great variety of these dances, in which, however, I never saw the +men take part. They all consist of active, romping, mischievous evolutions, in +which every limb is brought into requisition. Indeed, the Marquesan girls dance +all over, as it were; not only do their feet dance, but their arms, hands, +fingers, ay, their very eyes, seem to dance in their heads. +</p> + +<p> +The damsels wear nothing but flowers and their compendious gala tunics; and +when they plume themselves for the dance, they look like a band of +olive-coloured Sylphides on the point of taking wing. In good sooth, they so +sway their floating forms, arch their necks, toss aloft their naked arms, and +glide, and swim, and whirl, that it was almost too much for a quiet, +sober-minded, modest young man like myself. +</p> + +<p> +Unless some particular festivity was going forward, the inmates of +Marheyo’s house retired to their mats rather early in the evening; but +not for the night, since, after slumbering lightly for a while, they rose +again, relit their tapers, partook of the third and last meal of the day, at +which poee-poee alone was eaten, and then, after inhaling a narcotic whiff from +a pipe of tobacco, disposed themselves for the great business of night, sleep. +With the Marquesans it might almost most be styled the great business of life, +for they pass a large portion of their time in the arms of Somnus. The native +strength of their constitution is no way shown more emphatically than in the +quantity of sleep they can endure. To many of them, indeed, life is little else +than an often interrupted and luxurious nap. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE SPRING OF ARVA WAI—REMARKABLE MONUMENTAL REMAINS—SOME IDEAS +WITH REGARD TO THE HISTORY OF THE PI-PIS FOUND IN THE VALLEY +</p> + +<p> +Almost every country has its medicinal springs famed for their healing virtues. +The Cheltenham of Typee is embosomed in the deepest solitude, and but seldom +receives a visitor. It is situated remote from any dwelling, a little way up +the mountain, near the head of the valley; and you approach it by a pathway +shaded by the most beautiful foliage, and adorned with a thousand fragrant +plants. +</p> + +<p> +The mineral waters of Arva Wai* ooze forth from the crevices of a rock, and +gliding down its mossy side, fall at last, in many clustering drops, into a +natural basin of stone fringed round with grass and dewy-looking little +violet-coloured flowers, as fresh and beautiful as the perpetual moisture they +enjoy can make them. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +* I presume this might be translated into ‘Strong Waters’. Arva is +the name bestowed upon a root the properties of which are both inebriating and +medicinal. ‘Wai’ is the Marquesan word for water. +</p> + +<p> +The water is held in high estimation by the islanders, some of whom consider it +an agreeable as well as a medicinal beverage; they bring it from the mountain +in their calabashes, and store it away beneath heaps of leaves in some shady +nook near the house. Old Marheyo had a great love for the waters of the spring. +Every now and then he lugged off to the mountain a great round demijohn of a +calabash, and, panting with his exertions, brought it back filled with his +darling fluid. +</p> + +<p> +The water tasted like a solution of a dozen disagreeable things, and was +sufficiently nauseous to have made the fortune of the proprietor, had the spa +been situated in the midst of any civilized community. +</p> + +<p> +As I am no chemist, I cannot give a scientific analysis of the water. All I +know about the matter is, that one day Marheyo in my presence poured out the +last drop from his huge calabash, and I observed at the bottom of the vessel a +small quantity of gravelly sediment very much resembling our common sand. +Whether this is always found in the water, and gives it its peculiar flavour +and virtues, or whether its presence was merely incidental, I was not able to +ascertain. +</p> + +<p> +One day in returning from this spring by a circuitous path, I came upon a scene +which reminded me of Stonehenge and the architectural labours of the Druids. +</p> + +<p> +At the base of one of the mountains, and surrounded on all sides by dense +groves, a series of vast terraces of stone rises, step by step, for a +considerable distance up the hill side. These terraces cannot be less than one +hundred yards in length and twenty in width. Their magnitude, however, is less +striking than the immense size of the blocks composing them. Some of the +stones, of an oblong shape, are from ten to fifteen feet in length, and five or +six feet thick. Their sides are quite smooth, but though square, and of pretty +regular formation, they bear no mark of the chisel. They are laid together +without cement, and here and there show gaps between. The topmost terrace and +the lower one are somewhat peculiar in their construction. They have both a +quadrangular depression in the centre, leaving the rest of the terrace elevated +several feet above it. In the intervals of the stones immense trees have taken +root, and their broad boughs stretching far over, and interlacing together, +support a canopy almost impenetrable to the sun. Overgrowing the greater part +of them, and climbing from one to another, is a wilderness of vines, in whose +sinewy embrace many of the stones lie half-hidden, while in some places a thick +growth of bushes entirely covers them. There is a wild pathway which obliquely +crosses two of these terraces; and so profound is the shade, so dense the +vegetation, that a stranger to the place might pass along it without being +aware of their existence. +</p> + +<p> +These structures bear every indication of a very high antiquity and Kory-Kory, +who was my authority in all matters of scientific research, gave me to +understand that they were coeval with the creation of the world; that the great +gods themselves were the builders; and that they would endure until time shall +be no more. +</p> + +<p> +Kory-Kory’s prompt explanation and his attributing the work to a divine +origin, at once convinced me that neither he nor the rest of his country-men +knew anything about them. +</p> + +<p> +As I gazed upon this monument, doubtless the work of an extinct and forgotten +race, thus buried in the green nook of an island at the ends of the earth, the +existence of which was yesterday unknown, a stronger feeling of awe came over +me than if I had stood musing at the mighty base of the Pyramid of Cheops. +There are no inscriptions, no sculpture, no clue, by which to conjecture its +history; nothing but the dumb stones. How many generations of the majestic +trees which overshadow them have grown and flourished and decayed since first +they were erected! +</p> + +<p> +These remains naturally suggest many interesting reflections. They establish +the great age of the island, an opinion which the builders of theories +concerning, the creation of the various groups in the South Seas are not always +inclined to admit. For my own part, I think it just as probable that human +beings were living in the valleys of the Marquesas three thousand years ago as +that they were inhabiting the land of Egypt. The origin of the island of +Nukuheva cannot be imputed to the coral insect; for indefatigable as that +wonderful creature is, it would be hardly muscular enough to pile rocks one +upon the other more than three thousand feet above the level of the sea. That +the land may have been thrown up by a submarine volcano is as possible as +anything else. No one can make an affidavit to the contrary, and therefore I +still say nothing against the supposition: indeed, were geologists to assert +that the whole continent of America had in like manner been formed by the +simultaneous explosion of a train of Etnas laid under the water all the way +from the North Pole to the parallel of Cape Horn, I am the last man in the +world to contradict them. +</p> + +<p> +I have already mentioned that the dwellings of the islanders were almost +invariably built upon massive stone foundations, which they call pi-pis. The +dimensions of these, however, as well as of the stones composing them, are +comparatively small: but there are other and larger erections of a similar +description comprising the ‘morais’, or burying grounds, and +festival-places, in nearly all the valleys of the island. Some of these piles +are so extensive, and so great a degree of labour and skill must have been +requisite in constructing them, that I can scarcely believe they were built by +the ancestors of the present inhabitants. If indeed they were, the race has +sadly deteriorated in their knowledge of the mechanic arts. To say nothing of +their habitual indolence, by what contrivance within the reach of so simple a +people could such enormous masses have been moved or fixed in their places? and +how could they with their rude implements have chiselled and hammered them into +shape? +</p> + +<p> +All of these larger pi-pis—like that of the Hoolah Hoolah ground in the +Typee valley—bore incontestible marks of great age; and I am disposed to +believe that their erection may be ascribed to the same race of men who were +the builders of the still more ancient remains I have just described. +</p> + +<p> +According to Kory-Kory’s account, the pi-pi upon which stands the Hoolah +Hoolah ground was built a great many moons ago, under the direction of Monoo, a +great chief and warrior, and, as it would appear, master-mason among the +Typees. It was erected for the express purpose to which it is at present +devoted, in the incredibly short period of one sun; and was dedicated to the +immortal wooden idols by a grand festival, which lasted ten days and nights. +</p> + +<p> +Among the smaller pi-pis, upon which stand the dwelling-houses of the natives, +I never observed any which intimated a recent erection. There are in every part +of the valley a great many of these massive stone foundations which have no +houses upon them. This is vastly convenient, for whenever an enterprising +islander chooses to emigrate a few hundred yards from the place where he was +born, all he has to do in order to establish himself in some new locality, is +to select one of the many unappropriated pi-pis, and without further ceremony +pitch his bamboo tent upon it. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +PREPARATIONS FOR A GRAND FESTIVAL IN THE VALLEY—STRANGE DOINGS IN THE +TABOO GROVES—MONUMENT OF CALABASHES—GALA COSTUME OF THE TYPEE +DAMSELS—DEPARTURE FOR THE FESTIVAL +</p> + +<p> +From the time that my lameness had decreased I had made a daily practice of +visiting Mehevi at the Ti, who invariably gave me a most cordial reception. I +was always accompanied in these excursions by Fayaway and the ever-present +Kory-Kory. The former, as soon as we reached the vicinity of the Ti—which +was rigorously tabooed to the whole female sex—withdrew to a neighbouring +hut, as if her feminine delicacy ‘restricted’ her from approaching +a habitation which might be regarded as a sort of Bachelor’s Hall. +</p> + +<p> +And in good truth it might well have been so considered. Although it was the +permanent residence of several distinguished chiefs, and of the noble Mehevi in +particular, it was still at certain seasons the favourite haunt of all the +jolly, talkative, and elderly savages of the vale, who resorted thither in the +same way that similar characters frequent a tavern in civilized countries. +There they would remain hour after hour, chatting, smoking, eating poee-poee, +or busily engaged in sleeping for the good of their constitutions. +</p> + +<p> +This building appeared to be the head-quarters of the valley, where all flying +rumours concentrated; and to have seen it filled with a crowd of the natives, +all males, conversing in animated clusters, while multitudes were continually +coming and going, one would have thought it a kind of savage Exchange, where +the rise and fall of Polynesian Stock was discussed. +</p> + +<p> +Mehevi acted as supreme lord over the place, spending the greater portion of +his time there: and often when, at particular hours of the day, it was deserted +by nearly every one else except the verd-antique looking centenarians, who were +fixtures in the building, the chief himself was sure to be found enjoying his +‘otium cum dignitate’—upon the luxurious mats which covered +the floor. Whenever I made my appearance he invariably rose, and like a +gentleman doing the honours of his mansion, invited me to repose myself +wherever I pleased, and calling out ‘tamaree!’ (boy), a little +fellow would appear, and then retiring for an instant, return with some savoury +mess, from which the chief would press me to regale myself. To tell the truth, +Mehevi was indebted to the excellence of his viands for the honour of my +repeated visits—a matter which cannot appear singular, when it is borne +in mind that bachelors, all the world over, are famous for serving up +unexceptionable repasts. +</p> + +<p> +One day, on drawing near to the Ti, I observed that extensive preparations were +going forward, plainly betokening some approaching festival. Some of the +symptoms reminded me of the stir produced among the scullions of a large hotel, +where a grand jubilee dinner is about to be given. The natives were hurrying +about hither and thither, engaged in various duties, some lugging off to the +stream enormous hollow bamboos, for the purpose of filling them with water; +others chasing furious-looking hogs through the bushes, in their endeavours to +capture them; and numbers employed in kneading great mountains of poee-poee +heaped up in huge wooden vessels. +</p> + +<p> +After observing these lively indications for a while, I was attracted to a +neighbouring grove by a prodigious squeaking which I heard there. On reaching +the spot I found it proceeded from a large hog which a number of natives were +forcibly holding to the earth, while a muscular fellow, armed with a bludgeon, +was ineffectually aiming murderous blows at the skull of the unfortunate +porker. Again and again he missed his writhing and struggling victim, but +though puffing and panting with his exertions, he still continued them; and +after striking a sufficient number of blows to have demolished an entire drove +of oxen, with one crashing stroke he laid him dead at his feet. +</p> + +<p> +Without letting any blood from the body, it was immediately carried to a fire +which had been kindled near at hand and four savages taking hold of the carcass +by its legs, passed it rapidly to and fro in the flames. In a moment the smell +of burning bristles betrayed the object of this procedure. Having got thus far +in the matter, the body was removed to a little distance and, being +disembowelled, the entrails were laid aside as choice parts, and the whole +carcass thoroughly washed with water. An ample thick green cloth, composed of +the long thick leaves of a species of palm-tree, ingeniously tacked together +with little pins of bamboo, was now spread upon the ground, in which the body +being carefully rolled, it was borne to an oven previously prepared to receive +it. Here it was at once laid upon the heated stones at the bottom, and covered +with thick layers of leaves, the whole being quickly hidden from sight by a +mound of earth raised over it. +</p> + +<p> +Such is the summary style in which the Typees convert perverse-minded and +rebellious hogs into the most docile and amiable pork; a morsel of which placed +on the tongue melts like a soft smile from the lips of Beauty. +</p> + +<p> +I commend their peculiar mode of proceeding to the consideration of all +butchers, cooks, and housewives. The hapless porker whose fate I have just +rehearsed, was not the only one who suffered in that memorable day. Many a +dismal grunt, many an imploring squeak, proclaimed what was going on throughout +the whole extent of the valley; and I verily believe the first-born of every +litter perished before the setting of that fatal sun. +</p> + +<p> +The scene around the Ti was now most animated. Hogs and poee-poee were baking +in numerous ovens, which, heaped up with fresh earth into slight elevations, +looked like so many ant-hills. Scores of the savages were vigorously plying +their stone pestles in preparing masses of poee-poee, and numbers were +gathering green bread-fruit and young cocoanuts in the surrounding groves; when +an exceeding great multitude, with a view of encouraging the rest in their +labours, stood still, and kept shouting most lustily without intermission. +</p> + +<p> +It is a peculiarity among these people, that, when engaged in an employment, +they always make a prodigious fuss about it. So seldom do they ever exert +themselves, that when they do work they seem determined that so meritorious an +action shall not escape the observation of those around if, for example, they +have occasion to remove a stone to a little distance, which perhaps might be +carried by two able-bodied men, a whole swarm gather about it, and, after a +vast deal of palavering, lift it up among them, every one struggling to get +hold of it, and bear it off yelling and panting as if accomplishing some mighty +achievement. Seeing them on these occasions, one is reminded of an infinity of +black ants clustering about and dragging away to some hole the leg of a +deceased fly. +</p> + +<p> +Having for some time attentively observed these demonstrations of good cheer, I +entered the Ti, where Mehevi sat complacently looking out upon the busy scene, +and occasionally issuing his orders. The chief appeared to be in an +extraordinary flow of spirits and gave me to understand that on the morrow +there would be grand doings in the Groves generally, and at the Ti in +particular; and urged me by no means to absent myself. In commemoration of what +event, however, or in honour of what distinguished personage, the feast was to +be given, altogether passed my comprehension. Mehevi sought to enlighten my +ignorance, but he failed as signally as when he had endeavoured to initiate me +into the perplexing arcana of the taboo. +</p> + +<p> +On leaving the Ti, Kory-Kory, who had as a matter of course accompanied me, +observing that my curiosity remained unabated, resolved to make everything +plain and satisfactory. With this intent, he escorted me through the Taboo +Groves, pointing out to my notice a variety of objects, and endeavoured to +explain them in such an indescribable jargon of words, that it almost put me in +bodily pain to listen to him. In particular, he led me to a remarkable +pyramidical structure some three yards square at the base, and perhaps ten feet +in height, which had lately been thrown up, and occupied a very conspicuous +position. It was composed principally of large empty calabashes, with a few +polished cocoanut shells, and looked not unlike a cenotaph of skulls. My +cicerone perceived the astonishment with which I gazed at this monument of +savage crockery, and immediately addressed himself in the task of enlightening +me: but all in vain; and to this hour the nature of the monument remains a +complete mystery to me. As, however, it formed so prominent a feature in the +approaching revels, I bestowed upon the latter, in my own mind, the title of +the ‘Feast of Calabashes’. +</p> + +<p> +The following morning, awaking rather late, I perceived the whole of +Marheyo’s family busily engaged in preparing for the festival. +</p> + +<p> +The old warrior himself was arranging in round balls the two grey locks of hair +that were suffered to grow from the crown of his head; his earrings and spear, +both well polished, lay beside him, while the highly decorative pair of shoes +hung suspended from a projecting cane against the side of the house. The young +men were similarly employed; and the fair damsels, including Fayaway, were +anointing themselves with ‘aka’, arranging their long tresses, and +performing other matters connected with the duties of the toilet. +</p> + +<p> +Having completed their preparations, the girls now exhibited themselves in gala +costume; the most conspicuous feature of which was a necklace of beautiful +white flowers, with the stems removed, and strung closely together upon a +single fibre of tappa. Corresponding ornaments were inserted in their ears, and +woven garlands upon their heads. About their waist they wore a short tunic of +spotless white tappa, and some of them super-added to this a mantle of the same +material, tied in an elaborate bow upon the left shoulder, and falling about +the figure in picturesque folds. +</p> + +<p> +Thus arrayed, I would have matched the charming Fayaway against any beauty in +the world. +</p> + +<p> +People may say what they will about the taste evinced by our fashionable ladies +in dress. Their jewels, their feathers, their silks, and their furbelows, would +have sunk into utter insignificance beside the exquisite simplicity of attire +adopted by the nymphs of the vale on this festive occasion. I should like to +have seen a gallery of coronation beauties, at Westminster Abbey, confronted +for a moment by this band of island girls; their stiffness, formality, and +affectation, contrasted with the artless vivacity and unconcealed natural +graces of these savage maidens. It would be the Venus de’ Medici placed +beside a milliner’s doll. It was not long before Kory-Kory and myself +were left alone in the house, the rest of its inmates having departed for the +Taboo Groves. My valet was all impatience to follow them; and was as fidgety +about my dilatory movements as a diner out waiting hat in hand at the bottom of +the stairs for some lagging companion. At last, yielding to his importunities, +I set out for the Ti. As we passed the houses peeping out from the groves +through which our route lay, I noticed that they were entirely deserted by +their inhabitants. +</p> + +<p> +When we reached the rock that abruptly terminated the path, and concealed from +us the festive scene, wild shouts and a confused blending of voices assured me +that the occasion, whatever it might be, had drawn together a great multitude. +Kory-Kory, previous to mounting the elevation, paused for a moment, like a +dandy at a ball-room door, to put a hasty finish to his toilet. During this +short interval, the thought struck me that I ought myself perhaps to be taking +some little pains with my appearance. +</p> + +<p> +But as I had no holiday raiment, I was not a little puzzled to devise some +means of decorating myself. However, as I felt desirous to create a sensation, +I determined to do all that lay in my power; and knowing that I could not +delight the savages more than by conforming to their style of dress, I removed +from my person the large robe of tappa which I was accustomed to wear over my +shoulders whenever I sallied into the open air, and remained merely girt about +with a short tunic descending from my waist to my knees. +</p> + +<p> +My quick-witted attendant fully appreciated the compliment I was paying to the +costume of his race, and began more sedulously to arrange the folds of the one +only garment which remained to me. Whilst he was doing this, I caught sight of +a knot of young lasses, who were sitting near us on the grass surrounded by +heaps of flowers which they were forming into garlands. I motioned to them to +bring some of their handywork to me; and in an instant a dozen wreaths were at +my disposal. One of them I put round the apology for a hat which I had been +forced to construct for myself out of palmetto-leaves, and some of the others I +converted into a splendid girdle. These operations finished, with the slow and +dignified step of a full-dressed beau I ascended the rock. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE FEAST OF CALABASHES +</p> + +<p> +The whole population of the valley seemed to be gathered within the precincts +of the grove. In the distance could be seen the long front of the Ti, its +immense piazza swarming with men, arrayed in every variety of fantastic +costume, and all vociferating with animated gestures; while the whole interval +between it and the place where I stood was enlivened by groups of females +fancifully decorated, dancing, capering, and uttering wild exclamations. As +soon as they descried me they set up a shout of welcome; and a band of them +came dancing towards me, chanting as they approached some wild recitative. The +change in my garb seemed to transport them with delight, and clustering about +me on all sides, they accompanied me towards the Ti. When however we drew near +it these joyous nymphs paused in their career, and parting on either side, +permitted me to pass on to the now densely thronged building. +</p> + +<p> +So soon as I mounted to the pi-pi I saw at a glance that the revels were fairly +under way. +</p> + +<p> +What lavish plenty reigned around?—Warwick feasting his retainers with +beef and ale, was a niggard to the noble Mehevi!—All along the piazza of +the Ti were arranged elaborately carved canoe-shaped vessels, some twenty feet +in length, tied with newly made poee-poee, and sheltered from the sun by the +broad leaves of the banana. At intervals were heaps of green bread-fruit, +raised in pyramidical stacks, resembling the regular piles of heavy shot to be +seen in the yard of an arsenal. Inserted into the interstices of the huge +stones which formed the pi-pi were large boughs of trees; hanging from the +branches of which, and screened from the sun by their foliage, were innumerable +little packages with leafy coverings, containing the meat of the numerous hogs +which had been slain, done up in this manner to make it more accessible to the +crowd. Leaning against the railing on the piazza were an immense number of +long, heavy bamboos, plugged at the lower end, and with their projecting +muzzles stuffed with a wad of leaves. These were filled with water from the +stream, and each of them might hold from four to five gallons. +</p> + +<p> +The banquet being thus spread, naught remained but for everyone to help himself +at his pleasure. Accordingly not a moment passed but the transplanted boughs I +have mentioned were rifled by the throng of the fruit they certainly had never +borne before. Calabashes of poee-poee were continually being replenished from +the extensive receptacle in which that article was stored, and multitudes of +little fires were kindled about the Ti for the purpose of roasting the +bread-fruit. +</p> + +<p> +Within the building itself was presented a most extraordinary scene. The +immense lounge of mats lying between the parallel rows of the trunks of +cocoanut trees, and extending the entire length of the house, at least two +hundred feet, was covered by the reclining forms of a host of chiefs and +warriors who were eating at a great rate, or soothing the cares of Polynesian +life in the sedative fumes of tobacco. The smoke was inhaled from large pipes, +the bowls of which, made out of small cocoanut shells, were curiously carved in +strange heathenish devices. These were passed from mouth to mouth by the +recumbent smokers, each of whom, taking two or three prodigious whiffs, handed +the pipe to his neighbour; sometimes for that purpose stretching indolently +across the body of some dozing individual whose exertions at the dinner-table +had already induced sleep. +</p> + +<p> +The tobacco used among the Typees was of a very mild and pleasing flavour, and +as I always saw it in leaves, and the natives appeared pretty well supplied +with it, I was led to believe that it must have been the growth of the valley. +Indeed Kory-Kory gave me to understand that this was the case; but I never saw +a single plant growing on the island. At Nukuheva, and, I believe, in all the +other valleys, the weed is very scarce, being only obtained in small quantities +from foreigners, and smoking is consequently with the inhabitants of these +places a very great luxury. How it was that the Typees were so well furnished +with it I cannot divine. I should think them too indolent to devote any +attention to its culture; and, indeed, as far as my observation extended, not a +single atom of the soil was under any other cultivation than that of shower and +sunshine. The tobacco-plant, however, like the sugar-cane, may grow wild in +some remote part of the vale. +</p> + +<p> +There were many in the Ti for whom the tobacco did not furnish a sufficient +stimulus, and who accordingly had recourse to ‘arva’, as a more +powerful agent in producing the desired effect. +</p> + +<p> +‘Arva’ is a root very generally dispersed over the South Seas, and +from it is extracted a juice, the effects of which upon the system are at first +stimulating in a moderate degree; but it soon relaxes the muscles, and exerting +a narcotic influence produces a luxurious sleep. In the valley this beverage +was universally prepared in the following way:—Some half-dozen young boys +seated themselves in a circle around an empty wooden vessel, each one of them +being supplied with a certain quantity of the roots of the ‘arva’, +broken into small bits and laid by his side. A cocoanut goblet of water was +passed around the juvenile company, who rinsing their mouths with its contents, +proceeded to the business before them. This merely consisted in thoroughly +masticating the ‘arva’, and throwing it mouthful after mouthful +into the receptacle provided. When a sufficient quantity had been thus obtained +water was poured upon the mass, and being stirred about with the forefinger of +the right hand, the preparation was soon in readiness for use. The +‘arva’ has medicinal qualities. +</p> + +<p> +Upon the Sandwich Islands it has been employed with no small success in the +treatment of scrofulous affections, and in combating the ravages of a disease +for whose frightful inroads the ill-starred inhabitants of that group are +indebted to their foreign benefactors. But the tenants of the Typee valley, as +yet exempt from these inflictions, generally employ the ‘arva’ as a +minister to social enjoyment, and a calabash of the liquid circulates among +them as the bottle with us. +</p> + +<p> +Mehevi, who was greatly delighted with the change in my costume, gave me a +cordial welcome. He had reserved for me a most delectable mess of +‘cokoo’, well knowing my partiality for that dish; and had likewise +selected three or four young cocoanuts, several roasted bread-fruit, and a +magnificent bunch of bananas, for my especial comfort and gratification. These +various matters were at once placed before me; but Kory-Kory deemed the banquet +entirely insufficient for my wants until he had supplied me with one of the +leafy packages of pork, which, notwithstanding the somewhat hasty manner in +which it had been prepared, possessed a most excellent flavour, and was +surprisingly sweet and tender. +</p> + +<p> +Pork is not a staple article of food among the people of the Marquesas; +consequently they pay little attention to the BREEDING of the swine. The hogs +are permitted to roam at large on the groves, where they obtain no small part +of their nourishment from the cocoanuts which continually fall from the trees. +But it is only after infinite labour and difficulty, that the hungry animal can +pierce the husk and shell so as to get at the meat. I have frequently been +amused at seeing one of them, after crunching the obstinate nut with his teeth +for a long time unsuccessfully, get into a violent passion with it. He would +then root furiously under the cocoanut, and, with a fling of his snout, toss it +before him on the ground. Following it up, he would crunch at it again savagely +for a moment, and then next knock it on one side, pausing immediately after, as +if wondering how it could so suddenly have disappeared. In this way the +persecuted cocoanuts were often chased half across the valley. +</p> + +<p> +The second day of the Feast of Calabashes was ushered in by still more +uproarious noises than the first. The skins of innumerable sheep seemed to be +resounding to the blows of an army of drummers. Startled from my slumbers by +the din, I leaped up, and found the whole household engaged in making +preparations for immediate departure. Curious to discover of what strange +events these novel sounds might be the precursors, and not a little desirous to +catch a sight of the instruments which produced the terrific noise, I +accompanied the natives as soon as they were in readiness to depart for the +Taboo Groves. +</p> + +<p> +The comparatively open space that extended from the Ti toward the rock, to +which I have before alluded as forming the ascent to the place, was, with the +building itself, now altogether deserted by the men; the whole distance being +filled by bands of females, shouting and dancing under the influence of some +strange excitement. +</p> + +<p> +I was amused at the appearance of four or five old women who, in a state of +utter nudity, with their arms extended flatly down their sides, and holding +themselves perfectly erect, were leaping stiffly into the air, like so many +sticks bobbing to the surface, after being pressed perpendicularly into the +water. They preserved the utmost gravity of countenance, and continued their +extraordinary movements without a single moment’s cessation. They did not +appear to attract the observation of the crowd around them, but I must candidly +confess that for my own part, I stared at them most pertinaciously. +</p> + +<p> +Desirous of being enlightened in regard to the meaning of this peculiar +diversion, I turned, inquiringly to Kory-Kory; that learned Typee immediately +proceeded to explain the whole matter thoroughly. But all that I could +comprehend from what he said was, that the leaping figures before me were +bereaved widows, whose partners had been slain in battle many moons previously; +and who, at every festival, gave public evidence in this manner of their +calamities. It was evident that Kory-Kory considered this an all-sufficient +reason for so indecorous a custom; but I must say that it did not satisfy me as +to its propriety. +</p> + +<p> +Leaving these afflicted females, we passed on to the Hoolah Hoolah ground. +Within the spacious quadrangle, the whole population of the valley seemed to be +assembled, and the sight presented was truly remarkable. Beneath the sheds of +bamboo which opened towards the interior of the square reclined the principal +chiefs and warriors, while a miscellaneous throng lay at their ease under the +enormous trees which spread a majestic canopy overhead. Upon the terraces of +the gigantic altars, at each end, were deposited green bread-fruit in baskets +of cocoanut leaves, large rolls of tappa, bunches of ripe bananas, clusters of +mammee-apples, the golden-hued fruit of the artu-tree, and baked hogs, laid out +in large wooden trenchers, fancifully decorated with freshly plucked leaves, +whilst a variety of rude implements of war were piled in confused heaps before +the ranks of hideous idols. Fruits of various kinds were likewise suspended in +leafen baskets, from the tops of poles planted uprightly, and at regular +intervals, along the lower terraces of both altars. At their base were arranged +two parallel rows of cumbersome drums, standing at least fifteen feet in +height, and formed from the hollow trunks of large trees. Their heads were +covered with shark skins, and their barrels were elaborately carved with +various quaint figures and devices. At regular intervals they were bound round +by a species of sinnate of various colours, and strips of native cloth +flattened upon them here and there. Behind these instruments were built slight +platforms, upon which stood a number of young men who, beating violently with +the palms of their hands upon the drum-heads, produced those outrageous sounds +which had awakened me in the morning. Every few minutes these musical +performers hopped down from their elevation into the crowd below, and their +places were immediately supplied by fresh recruits. Thus an incessant din was +kept up that might have startled Pandemonium. +</p> + +<p> +Precisely in the middle of the quadrangle were placed perpendicularly in the +ground, a hundred or more slender, fresh-cut poles, stripped of their bark, and +decorated at the end with a floating pennon of white tappa; the whole being +fenced about with a little picket of canes. For what purpose these angular +ornaments were intended I in vain endeavoured to discover. +</p> + +<p> +Another most striking feature of the performance was exhibited by a score of +old men, who sat cross-legged in the little pulpits, which encircled the trunks +of the immense trees growing in the middle of the enclosure. These venerable +gentlemen, who I presume were the priests, kept up an uninterrupted monotonous +chant, which was partly drowned in the roar of drums. In the right hand they +held a finely woven grass fan, with a heavy black wooden handle curiously +chased: these fans they kept in continual motion. +</p> + +<p> +But no attention whatever seemed to be paid to the drummers or to the old +priests; the individuals who composed the vast crowd present being entirely +taken up in chanting and laughing with one another, smoking, drinking +‘arva’, and eating. For all the observation it attracted, or the +good it achieved, the whole savage orchestra might with great advantage to its +own members and the company in general, have ceased the prodigious uproar they +were making. +</p> + +<p> +In vain I questioned Kory-Kory and others of the natives, as to the meaning of +the strange things that were going on; all their explanations were conveyed in +such a mass of outlandish gibberish and gesticulation that I gave up the +attempt in despair. All that day the drums resounded, the priests chanted, and +the multitude feasted and roared till sunset, when the throng dispersed, and +the Taboo Groves were again abandoned to quiet and repose. The next day the +same scene was repeated until night, when this singular festival terminated. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +IDEAS SUGGESTED BY THE FEAST OF CALABASHES—INACCURACY OF CERTAIN +PUBLISHED ACCOUNTS OF THE ISLANDS—A REASON—NEGLECTED STATE OF +HEATHENISM IN THE VALLEY—EFFIGY OF A DEAD WARRIOR—A SINGULAR +SUPERSTITION—THE PRIEST KOLORY AND THE GOD MOA ARTUA—AMAZING +RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE—A DILAPIDATED SHRINE—KORY-KORY AND THE +IDOL—AN INFERENCE +</p> + +<p> +Although I had been baffled in my attempts to learn the origin of the Feast of +Calabashes, yet it seemed very plain to me that it was principally, if not +wholly, of a religious character. As a religious solemnity, however, it had not +at all corresponded with the horrible descriptions of Polynesian worship which +we have received in some published narratives, and especially in those accounts +of the evangelized islands with which the missionaries have favoured us. Did +not the sacred character of these persons render the purity of their intentions +unquestionable, I should certainly be led to suppose that they had exaggerated +the evils of Paganism, in order to enhance the merit of their own disinterested +labours. +</p> + +<p> +In a certain work incidentally treating of the ‘Washington, or Northern +Marquesas Islands,’ I have seen the frequent immolation of human victims +upon the altars of their gods, positively and repeatedly charged upon the +inhabitants. The same work gives also a rather minute account of their +religion—enumerates a great many of their superstitions—and makes +known the particular designations of numerous orders of the priesthood. One +would almost imagine from the long list that is given of cannibal primates, +bishops, arch-deacons, prebendaries, and other inferior ecclesiastics, that the +sacerdotal order far outnumbered the rest of the population, and that the poor +natives were more severely priest-ridden than even the inhabitants of the papal +states. These accounts are likewise calculated to leave upon the reader’s +mind an impression that human victims are daily cooked and served up upon the +altars; that heathenish cruelties of every description are continually +practised; and that these ignorant Pagans are in a state of the extremest +wretchedness in consequence of the grossness of their superstitions. Be it +observed, however, that all this information is given by a man who, according +to his own statement, was only at one of the islands, and remained there but +two weeks, sleeping every night on board his ship, and taking little kid-glove +excursions ashore in the daytime, attended by an armed party. +</p> + +<p> +Now, all I can say is, that in all my excursions through the valley of Typee, I +never saw any of these alleged enormities. If any of them are practised upon +the Marquesas Islands they must certainly have come to my knowledge while +living for months with a tribe of savages, wholly unchanged from their original +primitive condition, and reputed the most ferocious in the South Seas. +</p> + +<p> +The fact is, that there is a vast deal of unintentional humbuggery in some of +the accounts we have from scientific men concerning the religious institutions +of Polynesia. These learned tourists generally obtain the greater part of their +information from retired old South-Sea rovers, who have domesticated themselves +among the barbarous tribes of the Pacific. Jack, who has long been accustomed +to the long-bow, and to spin tough yarns on the ship’s forecastle, +invariably officiates as showman of the island on which he has settled, and +having mastered a few dozen words of the language, is supposed to know all +about the people who speak it. A natural desire to make himself of consequence +in the eyes of the strangers, prompts him to lay claim to a much greater +knowledge of such matters than he actually possesses. In reply to incessant +queries, he communicates not only all he knows but a good deal more, and if +there be any information deficient still he is at no loss to supply it. The +avidity with which his anecdotes are noted down tickles his vanity, and his +powers of invention increase with the credulity auditors. He knows just the +sort of information wanted, and furnishes it to any extent. +</p> + +<p> +This is not a supposed case; I have met with several individuals like the one +described, and I have been present at two or three of their interviews with +strangers. +</p> + +<p> +Now, when the scientific voyager arrives at home with his collection of +wonders, he attempts, perhaps, to give a description of some of the strange +people he has been visiting. Instead of representing them as a community of +lusty savages, who are leading a merry, idle, innocent life, he enters into a +very circumstantial and learned narrative of certain unaccountable +superstitions and practices, about which he knows as little as the islanders +themselves. Having had little time, and scarcely any opportunity, to become +acquainted with the customs he pretends to describe, he writes them down one +after another in an off-hand, haphazard style; and were the book thus produced +to be translated into the tongue of the people of whom it purports to give the +history, it would appear quite as wonderful to them as it does to the American +public, and much more improbable. +</p> + +<p> +For my own part, I am free to confess my almost entire inability to gratify any +curiosity that may be felt with regard to the theology of the valley. I doubt +whether the inhabitants themselves could do so. They are either too lazy or too +sensible to worry themselves about abstract points of religious belief. While I +was among them, they never held any synods or councils to settle the principles +of their faith by agitating them. An unbounded liberty of conscience seemed to +prevail. Those who pleased to do so were allowed to repose implicit faith in an +ill-favoured god with a large bottle-nose and fat shapeless arms crossed upon +his breast; whilst others worshipped an image which, having no likeness either +in heaven or on earth, could hardly be called an idol. As the islanders always +maintained a discreet reserve with regard to my own peculiar views on religion, +I thought it would be excessively ill-bred of me to pry into theirs. +</p> + +<p> +But, although my knowledge of the religious faith of the Typees was unavoidably +limited, one of their superstitious observances with which I became acquainted +interested me greatly. +</p> + +<p> +In one of the most secluded portions of the valley within a stone’s cast +of Fayaway’s lake—for so I christened the scene of our island +yachting—and hard by a growth of palms, which stood ranged in order along +both banks of the stream, waving their green arms as if to do honour to its +passage, was the mausoleum of a deceased, warrior chief. Like all the other +edifices of any note, it was raised upon a small pi-pi of stones, which, being +of unusual height, was a conspicuous object from a distance. A light thatching +of bleached palmetto-leaves hung over it like a self supported canopy; for it +was not until you came very near that you saw it was supported by four slender +columns of bamboo rising at each corner to a little more than the height of a +man. A clear area of a few yards surrounded the pi-pi, and was enclosed by four +trunks of cocoanut trees resting at the angles on massive blocks of stone. The +place was sacred. The sign of the inscrutable Taboo was seen in the shape of a +mystic roll of white tappa, suspended by a twisted cord of the same material +from the top of a slight pole planted within the enclosure*. The sanctity of +the spot appeared never to have been violated. The stillness of the grave was +there, and the calm solitude around was beautiful and touching. The soft +shadows of those lofty palm-trees!—I can see them now—hanging over +the little temple, as if to keep out the intrusive sun. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +* White appears to be the sacred colour among the Marquesans. +</p> + +<p> +On all sides as you approached this silent spot you caught sight of the dead +chief’s effigy, seated in the stern of a canoe, which was raised on a +light frame a few inches above the level of the pi-pi. The canoe was about +seven feet in length; of a rich, dark coloured wood, handsomely carved and +adorned in many places with variegated bindings of stained sinnate, into which +were ingeniously wrought a number of sparkling seashells, and a belt of the +same shells ran all round it. The body of the figure—of whatever material +it might have been made—was effectually concealed in a heavy robe of +brown tappa, revealing; only the hands and head; the latter skilfully carved in +wood, and surmounted by a superb arch of plumes. These plumes, in the subdued +and gentle gales which found access to this sequestered spot, were never for +one moment at rest, but kept nodding and waving over the chief’s brow. +The long leaves of the palmetto drooped over the eaves, and through them you +saw the warrior holding his paddle with both hands in the act of rowing, +leaning forward and inclining his head, as if eager to hurry on his voyage. +Glaring at him forever, and face to face, was a polished human skull, which +crowned the prow of the canoe. The spectral figurehead, reversed in its +position, glancing backwards, seemed to mock the impatient attitude of the +warrior. +</p> + +<p> +When I first visited this singular place with Kory-Kory, he told me—or at +least I so understood him—that the chief was paddling his way to the +realms of bliss, and bread-fruit—the Polynesian heaven—where every +moment the bread-fruit trees dropped their ripened spheres to the ground, and +where there was no end to the cocoanuts and bananas: there they reposed through +the livelong eternity upon mats much finer than those of Typee; and every day +bathed their glowing limbs in rivers of cocoanut oil. In that happy land there +were plenty of plumes and feathers, and boars’-tusks and sperm-whale +teeth, far preferable to all the shining trinkets and gay tappa of the white +men; and, best of all, women far lovelier than the daughters of earth were +there in abundance. ‘A very pleasant place,’ Kory-Kory said it was; +‘but after all, not much pleasanter, he thought, than Typee.’ +‘Did he not then,’ I asked him, ‘wish to accompany the +warrior?’ ‘Oh no: he was very happy where he was; but supposed that +some time or other he would go in his own canoe.’ +</p> + +<p> +Thus far, I think, I clearly comprehended Kory-Kory. But there was a singular +expression he made use of at the time, enforced by as singular a gesture, the +meaning of which I would have given much to penetrate. I am inclined to believe +it must have been a proverb he uttered; for I afterwards heard him repeat the +same words several times, and in what appeared to me to be a somewhat: similar +sense. Indeed, Kory-Kory had a great variety of short, smart-sounding +sentences, with which he frequently enlivened his discourse; and he introduced +them with an air which plainly intimated, that in his opinion, they settled the +matter in question, whatever it might be. +</p> + +<p> +Could it have been then, that when I asked him whether he desired to go to this +heaven of bread-fruit, cocoanuts, and young ladies, which he had been +describing, he answered by saying something equivalent to our old +adage—‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’?—if +he did, Kory-Kory was a discreet and sensible fellow, and I cannot sufficiently +admire his shrewdness. +</p> + +<p> +Whenever, in the course of my rambles through the valley I happened to be near +the chief’s mausoleum, I always turned aside to visit it. The place had a +peculiar charm for me; I hardly know why, but so it was. As I leaned over the +railing and gazed upon the strange effigy and watched the play of the feathery +head-dress, stirred by the same breeze which in low tones breathed amidst the +lofty palm-trees, I loved to yield myself up to the fanciful superstition of +the islanders, and could almost believe that the grim warrior was bound +heavenward. In this mood when I turned to depart, I bade him ‘God speed, +and a pleasant voyage.’ Aye, paddle away, brave chieftain, to the land of +spirits! To the material eye thou makest but little progress; but with the eye +of faith, I see thy canoe cleaving the bright waves, which die away on those +dimly looming shores of Paradise. +</p> + +<p> +This strange superstition affords another evidence of the fact, that however +ignorant man may be, he still feels within him his immortal spirit yearning, +after the unknown future. +</p> + +<p> +Although the religious theories of the islands were a complete mystery to me, +their practical every-day operation could not be concealed. I frequently passed +the little temples reposing in the shadows of the taboo groves and beheld the +offerings—mouldy fruit spread out upon a rude altar, or hanging in +half-decayed baskets around some uncouth jolly-looking image; I was present +during the continuance of the festival; I daily beheld the grinning idols +marshalled rank and file in the Hoolah Hoolah ground, and was often in the +habit of meeting those whom I supposed to be the priests. But the temples +seemed to be abandoned to solitude; the festival had been nothing more than a +jovial mingling of the tribe; the idols were quite harmless as any other logs +of wood; and the priests were the merriest dogs in the valley. +</p> + +<p> +In fact religious affairs in Typee were at a very low ebb: all such matters sat +very lightly upon the thoughtless inhabitants; and, in the celebration of many +of their strange rites, they appeared merely to seek a sort of childish +amusement. +</p> + +<p> +A curious evidence of this was given in a remarkable ceremony in which I +frequently saw Mehevi and several other chefs and warriors of note take part; +but never a single female. +</p> + +<p> +Among those whom I looked upon as forming the priesthood of the valley, there +was one in particular who often attracted my notice, and whom I could not help +regarding as the head of the order. He was a noble looking man, in the prime of +his life, and of a most benignant aspect. The authority this man, whose name +was Kolory, seemed to exercise over the rest, the episcopal part he took in the +Feast of Calabashes, his sleek and complacent appearance, the mystic characters +which were tattooed upon his chest, and above all the mitre he frequently wore, +in the shape of a towering head-dress, consisting of part of a cocoanut branch, +the stalk planted uprightly on his brow, and the leaflets gathered together and +passed round the temples and behind the ears, all these pointed him out as Lord +Primate of Typee. Kolory was a sort of Knight Templar—a soldier-priest; +for he often wore the dress of a Marquesan warrior, and always carried a long +spear, which, instead of terminating in a paddle at the lower end, after the +general fashion of these weapons, was curved into a heathenish-looking little +image. This instrument, however, might perhaps have been emblematic of his +double functions. With one end in carnal combat he transfixed the enemies of +his tribe; and with the other as a pastoral crook he kept in order his +spiritual flock. But this is not all I have to say about Kolory. +</p> + +<p> +His martial grace very often carried about with him what seemed to me the half +of a broken war-club. It was swathed round with ragged bits of white tappa, and +the upper part, which was intended to represent a human head, was embellished +with a strip of scarlet cloth of European manufacture. It required little +observation to discover that this strange object was revered as a god. By the +side of the big and lusty images standing sentinel over the altars of the +Hoolah Hoolah ground, it seemed a mere pigmy in tatters. But appearances all +the world over are deceptive. Little men are sometimes very potent, and rags +sometimes cover very extensive pretensions. In fact, this funny little image +was the ‘crack’ god of the island; lording it over all the wooden +lubbers who looked so grim and dreadful; its name was Moa Artua*. And it was in +honour of Moa Artua, and for the entertainment of those who believe in him, +that the curious ceremony I am about to describe was observed. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +* The word ‘Artua’, although having some other significations, is +in nearly all the Polynesian dialects used as the general designation of the +gods. +</p> + +<p> +Mehevi and the chieftains of the Ti have just risen from their noontide +slumbers. There are no affairs of state to dispose of; and having eaten two or +three breakfasts in the course of the morning, the magnates of the valley feel +no appetite as yet for dinner. How are their leisure moments to be occupied? +They smoke, they chat, and at last one of their number makes a proposition to +the rest, who joyfully acquiescing, he darts out of the house, leaps from the +pi-pi, and disappears in the grove. Soon you see him returning with Kolory, who +bears the god Moa Artua in his arms, and carries in one hand a small trough, +hollowed out in the likeness of a canoe. The priest comes along dandling his +charge as if it were a lachrymose infant he was endeavouring to put into a good +humour. Presently entering the Ti, he seats himself on the mats as composedly +as a juggler about to perform his sleight-of-hand tricks; and with the chiefs +disposed in a circle around him, commences his ceremony. In the first place he +gives Moa Artua an affectionate hug, then caressingly lays him to his breast, +and, finally, whispers something in his ear; the rest of the company listening +eagerly for a reply. But the baby-god is deaf or dumb,—perhaps both, for +never a word does, he utter. At last Kolory speaks a little louder, and soon +growing angry, comes boldly out with what he has to say and bawls to him. He +put me in mind of a choleric fellow, who, after trying in vain to communicated +a secret to a deaf man, all at once flies into a passion and screams it out so +that every one may hear. Still Moa Artua remains as quiet as ever; and Kolory, +seemingly losing his temper, fetches him a box over the head, strips him of his +tappa and red cloth, and laying him in a state of nudity in a little trough, +covers him from sight. At this proceeding all present loudly applaud and +signify their approval by uttering the adjective ‘motarkee’ with +violent emphasis. Kolory however, is so desirous his conduct should meet with +unqualified approbation, that he inquires of each individual separately whether +under existing circumstances he has not done perfectly right in shutting up Moa +Artua. The invariable response is ‘Aa, Aa’ (yes, yes), repeated +over again and again in a manner which ought to quiet the scruples of the most +conscientious. After a few moments Kolory brings forth his doll again, and +while arraying it very carefully in the tappa and red cloth, alternately +fondles and chides it. The toilet being completed, he once more speaks to it +aloud. The whole company hereupon show the greatest interest; while the priest +holding Moa Artua to his ear interprets to them what he pretends the god is +confidentially communicating to him. Some items intelligence appear to tickle +all present amazingly; for one claps his hands in a rapture; another shouts +with merriment; and a third leaps to his feet and capers about like a madman. +</p> + +<p> +What under the sun Moa Artua on these occasions had to say to Kolory I never +could find out; but I could not help thinking that the former showed a sad want +of spirit in being disciplined into making those disclosures, which at first he +seemed bent on withholding. Whether the priest honestly interpreted what he +believed the divinity said to him, or whether he was not all the while guilty +of a vile humbug, I shall not presume to decide. At any rate, whatever as +coming from the god was imparted to those present seemed to be generally of a +complimentary nature: a fact which illustrates the sagacity of Kolory, or else +the timeserving disposition of this hardly used deity. +</p> + +<p> +Moa Artua having nothing more to say, his bearer goes to nursing him again, in +which occupation, however, he is soon interrupted by a question put by one of +the warriors to the god. Kolory hereupon snatches it up to his ear again, and +after listening attentively, once more officiates as the organ of +communication. A multitude of questions and answers having passed between the +parties, much to the satisfaction of those who propose them, the god is put +tenderly to bed in the trough, and the whole company unite in a long chant, led +off by Kolory. This ended, the ceremony is over; the chiefs rise to their feet +in high good humour, and my Lord Archbishop, after chatting awhile, and +regaling himself with a whiff or two from a pipe of tobacco, tucks the canoe +under his arm and marches off with it. +</p> + +<p> +The whole of these proceedings were like those of a parcel of children playing +with dolls and baby houses. +</p> + +<p> +For a youngster scarcely ten inches high, and with so few early advantages as +he doubtless had had, Moa Artua was certainly a precocious little fellow if he +really said all that was imputed to him; but for what reason this poor devil of +a deity, thus cuffed about, cajoled, and shut up in a box, was held in greater +estimation than the full-grown and dignified personages of the Taboo Groves, I +cannot divine. And yet Mehevi, and other chiefs of unquestionable +veracity—to say nothing of the Primate himself—assured me over and +over again that Moa Artua was the tutelary deity of Typee, and was more to be +held in honour than a whole battalion of the clumsy idols in the Hoolah Hoolah +grounds. +</p> + +<p> +Kory-Kory—who seemed to have devoted considerable attention to the study +of theology, as he knew the names of all the graven images in the valley, and +often repeated them over to me—likewise entertained some rather enlarged +ideas with regard to the character and pretensions of Moa Artua. He once gave +me to understand, with a gesture there was no misconceiving, that if he (Moa +Artua) were so minded he could cause a cocoanut tree to sprout out of his +(Kory-Kory’s) head; and that it would be the easiest thing in life for +him (Moa Artua) to take the whole island of Nukuheva in his mouth and dive down +to the bottom of the sea with it. +</p> + +<p> +But in sober seriousness, I hardly knew what to make of the religion of the +valley. There was nothing that so much perplexed the illustrious Cook, in his +intercourse with the South Sea islanders, as their sacred rites. Although this +prince of navigators was in many instances assisted by interpreters in the +prosecution of his researches, he still frankly acknowledges that he was at a +loss to obtain anything like a clear insight into the puzzling arcana of their +faith. A similar admission has been made by other eminent voyagers: by +Carteret, Byron, Kotzebue, and Vancouver. +</p> + +<p> +For my own part, although hardly a day passed while I remained upon the island +that I did not witness some religious ceremony or other, it was very much like +seeing a parcel of ‘Freemasons’ making secret signs to each other; +I saw everything, but could comprehend nothing. +</p> + +<p> +On the whole, I am inclined to believe, that the islanders in the Pacific have +no fixed and definite ideas whatever on the subject of religion. I am persuaded +that Kolory himself would be effectually posed were he called upon to draw up +the articles of his faith and pronounce the creed by which he hoped to be +saved. In truth, the Typees, so far as their actions evince, submitted to no +laws human or divine—always excepting the thrice mysterious Taboo. The +‘independent electors’ of the valley were not to be brow-beaten by +chiefs, priests, idol or devils. As for the luckless idols, they received more +hard knocks than supplications. I do not wonder that some of them looked so +grim, and stood so bolt upright as if fearful of looking to the right or the +left lest they should give any one offence. The fact is, they had to carry +themselves ‘PRETTY STRAIGHT,’ or suffer the consequences. Their +worshippers were such a precious set of fickle-minded and irreverent heathens, +that there was no telling when they might topple one of them over, break it to +pieces, and making a fire with it on the very altar itself, fall to roasting +the offerings of bread-fruit, and at them in spite of its teeth. +</p> + +<p> +In how little reverence these unfortunate deities were held by the natives was +on one occasion most convincingly proved to me.—Walking with Kory-Kory +through the deepest recesses of the groves, I perceived a curious looking +image, about six feet in height which originally had been placed upright +against a low pi-pi, surmounted by a ruinous bamboo temple, but having become +fatigued and weak in the knees, was now carelessly leaning against it. The idol +was partly concealed by the foliage of a tree which stood near, and whose leafy +boughs drooped over the pile of stones, as if to protect the rude fane from the +decay to which it was rapidly hastening. The image itself was nothing more than +a grotesquely shaped log, carved in the likeness of a portly naked man with the +arms clasped over the head, the jaws thrown wide apart, and its thick shapeless +legs bowed into an arch. It was much decayed. The lower part was overgrown with +a bright silky moss. Thin spears of grass sprouted from the distended mouth, +and fringed the outline of the head and arms. His godship had literally +attained a green old age. All its prominent points were bruised and battered, +or entirely rotted away. The nose had taken its departure, and from the general +appearance of the head it might have, been supposed that the wooden divinity, +in despair at the neglect of its worshippers, had been trying to beat its own +brains out against the surrounding trees. +</p> + +<p> +I drew near to inspect more closely this strange object of idolatry, but halted +reverently at the distance of two or three paces, out of regard to the +religious prejudices of my valet. As soon, however, as Kory-Kory perceived that +I was in one of my inquiring, scientific moods, to my astonishment, he sprang +to the side of the idol, and pushing it away from the stones against which it +rested, endeavoured to make it stand upon its legs. But the divinity had lost +the use of them altogether; and while Kory-Kory was trying to prop it up, +placing a stick between it and the pi-pi, the monster fell clumsily to the +ground, and would have infallibly have broken its neck had not Kory-Kory +providentially broken its fall by receiving its whole weight on his own +half-crushed back. I never saw the honest fellow in such a rage before. He +leaped furiously to his feet, and seizing the stick, began beating the poor +image: every moment, or two pausing and talking to it in the most violent +manner, as if upbraiding it for the accident. When his indignation had subsided +a little he whirled the idol about most profanely, so as to give me an +opportunity of examining it on all sides. I am quite sure I never should have +presumed to have taken such liberties with the god myself, and I was not a +little shocked at Kory-Kory’s impiety. +</p> + +<p> +This anecdote speaks for itself. When one of the inferior order of natives +could show such contempt for a venerable and decrepit God of the Groves, what +the state of religion must be among the people in general is easy to be +imagined. In truth, I regard the Typees as a back-slidden generation. They are +sunk in religious sloth, and require a spiritual revival. A long prosperity of +bread-fruit and cocoanuts has rendered them remiss in the performance of their +higher obligations. The wood-rot malady is spreading among the idols—the +fruit upon their altars is becoming offensive—the temples themselves need +rethatching—the tattooed clergy are altogether too light-hearted and +lazy—and their flocks are going astray. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +GENERAL INFORMATION GATHERED AT THE FESTIVAL—PERSONAL BEAUTY OF THE +TYPEES—THEIR SUPERIORITY OVER THE INHABITANTS OF THE OTHER +ISLANDS—DIVERSITY OF COMPLEXION—A VEGETABLE COSMETIC AND +OINTMENT—TESTIMONY OF VOYAGERS TO THE UNCOMMON BEAUTY OF THE +MARQUESANS—FEW EVIDENCES OF INTERCOURSE WITH CIVILIZED +BEINGS—DILAPIDATED MUSKET—PRIMITIVE SIMPLICITY OF +GOVERNMENT—REGAL DIGNITY OF MEHEVI +</p> + +<p> +Although I had been unable during the late festival to obtain information on +many interesting subjects which had much excited my curiosity, still that +important event had not passed by without adding materially to my general +knowledge of the islanders. +</p> + +<p> +I was especially struck by the physical strength and beauty which they +displayed, by their great superiority in these respects over the inhabitants of +the neighbouring bay of Nukuheva, and by the singular contrasts they presented +among themselves in their various shades of complexion. +</p> + +<p> +In beauty of form they surpassed anything I had ever seen. Not a single +instance of natural deformity was observable in all the throng attending the +revels. Occasionally I noticed among the men the scars of wounds they had +received in battle; and sometimes, though very seldom, the loss of a finger, an +eye, or an arm, attributable to the same cause. With these exceptions, every +individual appeared free from those blemishes which sometimes mar the effect of +an otherwise perfect form. But their physical excellence did not merely consist +in an exemption from these evils; nearly every individual of their number might +have been taken for a sculptor’s model. +</p> + +<p> +When I remembered that these islanders derived no advantage from dress, but +appeared in all the naked simplicity of nature, I could not avoid comparing +them with the fine gentlemen and dandies who promenade such unexceptionable +figures in our frequented thoroughfares. Stripped of the cunning artifices of +the tailor, and standing forth in the garb of Eden—what a sorry, set of +round-shouldered, spindle-shanked, crane-necked varlets would civilized men +appear! Stuffed calves, padded breasts, and scientifically cut pantaloons would +then avail them nothing, and the effect would be truly deplorable. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing in the appearance of the islanders struck me more forcibly than the +whiteness of their teeth. The novelist always compares the masticators of his +heroine to ivory; but I boldly pronounce the teeth of the Typee to be far more +beautiful than ivory itself. The jaws of the oldest graybeards among them were +much better garnished than those of most of the youths of civilized countries; +while the teeth of the young and middle-aged, in their purity and whiteness, +were actually dazzling to the eye. Their marvellous whiteness of the teeth is +to be ascribed to the pure vegetable diet of these people, and the +uninterrupted healthfulness of their natural mode of life. +</p> + +<p> +The men, in almost every instance, are of lofty stature, scarcely ever less +than six feet in height, while the other sex are uncommonly diminutive. The +early period of life at which the human form arrives at maturity in this +generous tropical climate, likewise deserves to be mentioned. A little +creature, not more than thirteen years of age, and who in other particulars +might be regarded as a mere child, is often seen nursing her own baby, whilst +lads who, under less ripening skies, would be still at school, are here +responsible fathers of families. +</p> + +<p> +On first entering the Typee Valley, I had been struck with the marked contrast +presented by its inhabitants with those of the bay I had previously left. In +the latter place, I had not been favourably impressed with the personal +appearance of the male portion of the population; although with the females, +excepting in some truly melancholy instances, I had been wonderfully pleased. I +had observed that even the little intercourse Europeans had carried on with the +Nukuheva natives had not failed to leave its traces amongst them. One of the +most dreadful curses under which humanity labours had commenced its havocks, +and betrayed, as it ever does among the South Sea islanders, the most +aggravated symptoms. From this, as from all other foreign inflictions, the yet +uncontaminated tenants of the Typee Valley were wholly exempt; and long may +they continue so. Better will it be for them for ever to remain the happy and +innocent heathens and barbarians that they now are, than, like the wretched +inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands, to enjoy the mere name of Christians +without experiencing any of the vital operations of true religion, whilst, at +the same time, they are made the victims of the worst vices and evils of +civilized life. +</p> + +<p> +Apart, however, from these considerations, I am inclined to believe that there +exists a radical difference between the two tribes, if indeed they are not +distinct races of men. To those who have merely touched at Nukuheva Bay, +without visiting other portions of the island, it would hardly appear credible +the diversities presented between the various small clans inhabiting so +diminutive a spot. But the hereditary hostility which has existed between them +for ages, fully accounts for this. +</p> + +<p> +Not so easy, however, is it to assign an adequate cause for the endless variety +of complexions to be seen in the Typee Valley. During the festival, I had +noticed several young females whose skins were almost as white as any Saxon +damsel’s; a slight dash of the mantling brown being all that marked the +difference. This comparative fairness of complexion, though in a great degree +perfectly natural, is partly the result of an artificial process, and of an +entire exclusion from the sun. The juice of the ‘papa’ root found +in great abundance at the head of the valley, is held in great esteem as a +cosmetic, with which many of the females daily anoint their whole person. The +habitual use of it whitens and beautifies the skin. Those of the young girls +who resort to this method of heightening their charms, never expose themselves +selves to the rays of the sun; an observance, however, that produces little or +no inconvenience, since there are but few of the inhabited portions of the vale +which are not shaded over with a spreading canopy of boughs, so that one may +journey from house to house, scarcely deviating from the direct course, and yet +never once see his shadow cast upon the ground. +</p> + +<p> +The ‘papa’, when used, is suffered to remain upon the skin for +several hours; being of a light green colour, it consequently imparts for the +time a similar hue to the complexion. Nothing, therefore, can be imagined more +singular than the appearance of these nearly naked damsels immediately after +the application of the cosmetic. To look at one of them you would almost +suppose she was some vegetable in an unripe state; and that, instead of living +in the shade for ever, she ought to be placed out in the sun to ripen. +</p> + +<p> +All the islanders are more or less in the habit of anointing themselves; the +women preferring the ‘aker’ to ‘papa’, and the men +using the oil of the cocoanut. Mehevi was remarkable fond of mollifying his +entire cuticle with this ointment. Sometimes he might be seen, with his whole +body fairly reeking with the perfumed oil of the nut, looking as if he had just +emerged from a soap-boiler’s vat, or had undergone the process of dipping +in a tallow-chandlery. To this cause perhaps, united to their frequent bathing +and extreme cleanliness, is ascribable, in a great measure, the marvellous +purity and smoothness of skin exhibited by the natives in general. +</p> + +<p> +The prevailing tint among the women of the valley was a light olive, and of +this style of complexion Fayaway afforded the most beautiful example. Others +were still darker; while not a few were of a genuine golden colour, and some of +a swarthy hue. +</p> + +<p> +As agreeing with much previously mentioned in this narrative I may here observe +that Mendanna, their discoverer, in his account of the Marquesas, described the +natives as wondrously beautiful to behold, and as nearly resembling the people +of southern Europe. The first of these islands seen by Mendanna was La +Madelena, which is not far distant from Nukuheva; and its inhabitants in every +respect resemble those dwelling on that and the other islands of the group. +Figueroa, the chronicler of Mendanna’s voyage, says, that on the morning +the land was descried, when the Spaniards drew near the shore, there sallied +forth, in rude progression, about seventy canoes, and at the same time many of +the inhabitants (females I presume) made towards the ships by swimming. He +adds, that ‘in complexion they were nearly white; of good stature, and +finely formed; and on their faces and bodies were delineated representations of +fishes and other devices’. The old Don then goes on to say, ‘There +came, among others, two lads paddling their canoe, whose eyes were fixed on the +ship; they had beautiful faces and the most promising animation of countenance; +and were in all things so becoming, that the pilot-mayor Quiros affirmed, +nothing in his life ever caused him so much regret as the leaving such fine +creatures to be lost in that country.‘* More than two hundred years have +gone by since the passage of which the above is a translation was written; and +it appears to me now, as I read it, as fresh and true as if written but +yesterday. The islanders are still the same; and I have seen boys in the Typee +Valley of whose ‘beautiful faces’ and promising ‘animation of +countenance’ no one who has not beheld them can form any adequate idea. +Cook, in the account of his voyage, pronounces the Marquesans as by far the +most splendid islanders in the South Seas. Stewart, the chaplain of the U.S. +ship Vincennes, in his ‘Scenes in the South Seas’, expresses, in +more than one place, his amazement at the surpassing loveliness of the women; +and says that many of the Nukuheva damsels reminded him forcibly of the most +celebrated beauties in his own land. Fanning, a Yankee mariner of some +reputation, likewise records his lively impressions of the physical appearance +of these people; and Commodore David Porter of the U.S. frigate Essex, is said +to have been vastly smitten by the beauty of the ladies. Their great +superiority over all other Polynesians cannot fail to attract the notice of +those who visit the principal groups in the Pacific. The voluptuous Tahitians +are the only people who at all deserve to be compared with them; while the +dark-haired Hawaiians and the woolly-headed Feejees are immeasurably inferior +to them. The distinguishing characteristic of the Marquesan islanders, and that +which at once strikes you, is the European cast of their features—a +peculiarity seldom observable among other uncivilized people. Many of their +faces present profiles classically beautiful, and in the valley of Typee I saw +several who, like the stranger Marnoo, were in every respect models of beauty. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +* This passage, which is cited as an almost literal translation from the +original, I found in a small volume entitled ‘Circumnavigation of the +Globe, in which volume are several extracts from ‘Dalrymple’s +Historical Collections’. The last-mentioned work I have never seen, but +it is said to contain a very correct English version of great part of the +learned Doctor Christoval Suaverde da Figueroa’s History of +Mendanna’s Voyage, published at Madrid, A.D. 1613. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the natives present at the Feast of Calabashes had displayed a few +articles of European dress; disposed however, about their persons after their +own peculiar fashion. Among these I perceived two pieces of cotton-cloth which +poor Toby and myself had bestowed upon our youthful guides the afternoon we +entered the valley. They were evidently reserved for gala days; and during +those of the festival they rendered the young islanders who wore them very +distinguished characters. The small number who were similarly adorned, and the +great value they appeared to place upon the most common and most trivial +articles, furnished ample evidence of the very restricted intercourse they held +with vessels touching at the island. A few cotton handkerchiefs, of a gay +pattern, tied about the neck, and suffered to fall over the shoulder; strips of +fanciful calico, swathed about the loins, were nearly all I saw. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, throughout the valley, there were few things of any kind to be seen of +European origin. All I ever saw, besides the articles just alluded to, were the +six muskets preserved in the Ti, and three or four similar implements of +warfare hung up in other houses; some small canvas bags, partly filled with +bullets and powder, and half a dozen old hatchet-heads, with the edges blunted +and battered to such a degree as to render them utterly useless. These last +seemed to be regarded as nearly worthless by the natives; and several times +they held up, one of them before me, and throwing it aside with a gesture of +disgust, manifested their contempt for anything that could so soon become +unserviceable. +</p> + +<p> +But the muskets, the powder, and the bullets were held in most extravagant +esteem. The former, from their great age and the peculiarities they exhibited, +were well worthy a place in any antiquarian’s armoury. I remember in +particular one that hung in the Ti, and which Mehevi—supposing as a +matter of course that I was able to repair it—had put into my hands for +that purpose. It was one of those clumsy, old-fashioned, English pieces known +generally as Tower Hill muskets, and, for aught I know, might have been left on +the island by Wallace, Carteret, Cook, or Vancouver. The stock was half rotten +and worm-eaten; the lock was as rusty and about as well adapted to its +ostensible purpose as an old door-hinge; the threading of the screws about the +trigger was completely worn away; while the barrel shook in the wood. Such was +the weapon the chief desired me to restore to its original condition. As I did +not possess the accomplishments of a gunsmith, and was likewise destitute of +the necessary tools, I was reluctantly obliged to signify my inability to +perform the task. At this unexpected communication Mehevi regarded me, for a +moment, as if he half suspected I was some inferior sort of white man, who +after all did not know much more than a Typee. However, after a most laboured +explanation of the matter, I succeeded in making him understand the extreme +difficulty of the task. Scarcely satisfied with my apologies, however, he +marched off with the superannuated musket in something of a huff, as if he +would no longer expose it to the indignity of being manipulated by such +unskilful fingers. +</p> + +<p> +During the festival I had not failed to remark the simplicity of manner, the +freedom from all restraint, and, to certain degree, the equality of condition +manifested by the natives in general. No one appeared to assume any arrogant +pretensions. There was little more than a slight difference in costume to +distinguish the chiefs from the other natives. All appeared to mix together +freely, and without any reserve; although I noticed that the wishes of a chief, +even when delivered in the mildest tone, received the same immediate obedience +which elsewhere would have been only accorded to a peremptory command. What may +be the extent of the authority of the chiefs over the rest of the tribe, I will +not venture to assert; but from all I saw during my stay in the valley, I was +induced to believe that in matters concerning the general welfare it was very +limited. The required degree of deference towards them, however, was willingly +and cheerfully yielded; and as all authority is transmitted from father to son, +I have no doubt that one of the effects here, as elsewhere, of high birth, is +to induce respect and obedience. +</p> + +<p> +The civil institutions of the Marquesas Islands appear to be in this, as in +other respects, directly the reverse of those of the Tahitian and Hawaiian +groups, where the original power of the king and chiefs was far more despotic +than that of any tyrant in civilized countries. At Tahiti it used to be death +for one of the inferior orders to approach, without permission, under the +shadow, of the king’s house; or to fail in paying the customary reverence +when food destined for the king was borne past them by his messengers. At the +Sandwich Islands, Kaahumanu, the gigantic old dowager queen—a woman of +nearly four hundred pounds weight, and who is said to be still living at +Mowee—was accustomed, in some of her terrific gusts of temper, to snatch +up an ordinary sized man who had offended her, and snap his spine across her +knee. Incredible as this may seem, it is a fact. While at Lahainaluna—the +residence of this monstrous Jezebel—a humpbacked wretch was pointed out +to me, who, some twenty-five years previously, had had the vertebrae of his +backbone very seriously discomposed by his gentle mistress. +</p> + +<p> +The particular grades of rank existing among the chiefs of Typee, I could not +in all cases determine. Previous to the Feast of Calabashes I had been puzzled +what particular station to assign to Mehevi. But the important part he took +upon that occasion convinced me that he had no superior among the inhabitants +of the valley. I had invariably noticed a certain degree of deference paid to +him by all with whom I had ever seen him brought in contact; but when I +remembered that my wanderings had been confined to a limited portion of the +valley, and that towards the sea a number of distinguished chiefs resided, some +of whom had separately visited me at Marheyo’s house, and whom, until the +Festival, I had never seen in the company of Mehevi, I felt disposed to believe +that his rank after all might not be particularly elevated. +</p> + +<p> +The revels, however, had brought together all the warriors whom I had seen +individually and in groups at different times and places. Among them Mehevi +moved with an easy air of superiority which was not to be mistaken; and he whom +I had only looked at as the hospitable host of the Ti, and one of the military +leaders of the tribe, now assumed in my eyes the dignity of royal station. His +striking costume, no less than his naturally commanding figure, seemed indeed +to give him pre-eminence over the rest. The towering helmet of feathers that he +wore raised him in height above all who surrounded him; and though some others +were similarly adorned, the length and luxuriance of their plumes were inferior +to his. +</p> + +<p> +Mehevi was in fact the greatest of the chiefs—the head of his +clan—the sovereign of the valley; and the simplicity of the social +institutions of the people could not have been more completely proved than by +the fact, that after having been several weeks in the valley, and almost in +daily intercourse with Mehevi, I should have remained until the time of the +festival ignorant of his regal character. But a new light had now broken in +upon me. The Ti was the palace—and Mehevi the king. Both the one and the +other of a most simple and patriarchal nature: it must be allowed, and wholly +unattended by the ceremonious pomp which usually surrounds the purple. +</p> + +<p> +After having made this discovery I could not avoid congratulating myself that +Mehevi had from the first taken me as it were under his royal protection, and +that he still continued to entertain for me the warmest regard, as far at least +as I was enabled to judge from appearances. For the future I determined to pay +most assiduous court to him, hoping that eventually through his kindness I +might obtain my liberty. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +KING MEHEVI—ALLUSION TO HIS HAWAIIAN MAJESTY—CONDUCT OF MARHEYO AND +MEHEVI IN CERTAIN DELICATE MATTERS—PECULIAR SYSTEM OF +MARRIAGE—NUMBER OF +POPULATION—UNIFORMITY—EMBALMING—PLACES OF +SEPULTURE—FUNERAL OBSEQUIES AT NUKUHEVA-NUMBER OF INHABITANTS IN +TYPEE—LOCATION OF THE DWELLINGS—HAPPINESS ENJOYED IN THE +VALLEY—A WARNING—SOME IDEAS WITH REGARD TO THE PRESENT STATE OF THE +HAWAIIANS—STORY OF A MISSIONARY’S WIFE—FASHIONABLE EQUIPAGES +AT OAHU—REFLECTIONS +</p> + +<p> +King Mehevi!—A goodly sounding title—and why should I not bestow it +upon the foremost man in the valley of Typee? The republican missionaries of +Oahu cause to be gazetted in the Court Journal, published at Honolulu, the most +trivial movement of ‘his gracious majesty’ King Kammehammaha III, +and ‘their highnesses the princes of the blood royal’.* And who is +his ‘gracious majesty’, and what the quality of this blood +royal’?—His ‘gracious majesty’ is a fat, lazy, +negro-looking blockhead, with as little character as power. He has lost the +noble traits of the barbarian, without acquiring the redeeming graces of a +civilized being; and, although a member of the Hawiian Temperance Society, is a +most inveterate dram-drinker. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +* Accounts like these are sometimes copied into English and American journals. +They lead the reader to infer that the arts and customs of civilized life are +rapidly refining the natives of the Sandwich Islands. But let no one be +deceived by these accounts. The chiefs swagger about in gold lace and +broadcloth, while the great mass of the common people are nearly as primitive +in their appearance as in the days of Cook. In the progress of events at these +islands, the two classes are receding from each other; the chiefs are daily +becoming more luxurious and extravagant in their style of living, and the +common people more and more destitute of the necessaries and decencies of life. +But the end to which both will arrive at last will be the same: the one are +fast destroying themselves by sensual indulgences, and the other are fast being +destroyed by a complication of disorders, and the want of wholesome food. The +resources of the domineering chiefs are wrung from the starving serfs, and +every additional bauble with which they bedeck themselves is purchased by the +sufferings of their bondsmen; so that the measure of gew-gaw refinement +attained by the chiefs is only an index to the actual state in which the +greater portion of the population lie grovelling. +</p> + +<p> +The ‘blood royal’ is an extremely thick, depraved fluid; formed +principally of raw fish, bad brandy, and European sweetmeats, and is charged +with a variety of eruptive humours, which are developed in sundry blotches and +pimples upon the august face of ‘majesty itself’, and the angelic +countenances of the ‘princes and princesses of the blood royal’! +</p> + +<p> +Now, if the farcical puppet of a chief magistrate in the Sandwich Islands be +allowed the title of King, why should it be withheld from the noble savage +Mehevi, who is a thousand times more worthy of the appellation? All hail, +therefore, Mehevi, King of the Cannibal Valley, and long life and prosperity to +his Typeean majesty! May Heaven for many a year preserve him, the +uncompromising foe of Nukuheva and the French, if a hostile attitude will +secure his lovely domain from the remorseless inflictions of South Sea +civilization. +</p> + +<p> +Previously to seeing the Dancing Widows I had little idea that there were any +matrimonial relations subsisting in Typee, and I should as soon have thought of +a Platonic affection being cultivated between the sexes, as of the solemn +connection of man and wife. To be sure, there were old Marheyo and Tinor, who +seemed to have a sort of nuptial understanding with one another; but for all +that, I had sometimes observed a comical-looking old gentleman dressed in a +suit of shabby tattooing, who had the audacity to take various liberties with +the lady, and that too in the very presence of the old warrior her husband, who +looked on as good-naturedly as if nothing was happening. This behaviour, until +subsequent discoveries enlightened me, puzzled me more than anything else I +witnessed in Typee. +</p> + +<p> +As for Mehevi, I had supposed him a confirmed bachelor, as well as most of the +principal chiefs. At any rate, if they had wives and families, they ought to +have been ashamed of themselves; for sure I am, they never troubled themselves +about any domestic affairs. In truth, Mehevi seemed to be the president of a +club of hearty fellows, who kept ‘Bachelor’s Hall’ in fine +style at the Ti. I had no doubt but that they regarded children as odious +incumbrances; and their ideas of domestic felicity were sufficiently shown in +the fact, that they allowed no meddlesome housekeepers to turn topsy-turvy +those snug little arrangements they had made in their comfortable dwelling. I +strongly suspected however, that some of these jolly bachelors were carrying on +love intrigues with the maidens of the tribe; although they did not appear +publicly to acknowledge them. I happened to pop upon Mehevi three or four times +when he was romping—in a most undignified manner for a warrior +king—with one of the prettiest little witches in the valley. She lived +with an old woman and a young man, in a house near Marheyo’s; and +although in appearance a mere child herself, had a noble boy about a year old, +who bore a marvellous resemblance to Mehevi, whom I should certainly have +believed to have been the father, were it not that the little fellow had no +triangle on his face—but on second thoughts, tattooing is not hereditary. +Mehevi, however, was not the only person upon whom the damsel Moonoony +smiled—the young fellow of fifteen, who permanently resided in the home +with her, was decidedly in her good graces. I sometimes beheld both him and the +chief making love at the same time. Is it possible, thought I, that the valiant +warrior can consent to give up a corner in the thing he loves? This too was a +mystery which, with others of the same kind, was afterwards satisfactorily +explained. +</p> + +<p> +During the second day of the Feast of Calabashes, Kory-Kory—being +determined that I should have some understanding on these matters—had, in +the course of his explanations, directed my attention to a peculiarity I had +frequently remarked among many of the females;—principally those of a +mature age and rather matronly appearance. This consisted in having the right +hand and the left foot most elaborately tattooed; whilst the rest of the body +was wholly free from the operation of the art, with the exception of the +minutely dotted lips and slight marks on the shoulders, to which I have +previously referred as comprising the sole tattooing exhibited by Fayaway, in +common with other young girls of her age. The hand and foot thus embellished +were, according to Kory-Kory, the distinguishing badge of wedlock, so far as +that social and highly commendable institution is known among those people. It +answers, indeed, the same purpose as the plain gold ring worn by our fairer +spouses. +</p> + +<p> +After Kory-Kory’s explanation of the subject, I was for some time +studiously respectful in the presence of all females thus distinguished, and +never ventured to indulge in the slightest approach to flirtation with any of +their number. Married women, to be sure!—I knew better than to offend +them. +</p> + +<p> +A further insight, however, into the peculiar domestic customs of the inmates +of the valley did away in a measure with the severity of my scruples, and +convinced me that I was deceived in some at least of my conclusions. A regular +system of polygamy exists among the islanders; but of a most extraordinary +nature,—a plurality of husbands, instead of wives! and this solitary fact +speaks volumes for the gentle disposition of the male population. +</p> + +<p> +Where else, indeed, could such a practice exist, even for a single +day?—Imagine a revolution brought about in a Turkish seraglio, and the +harem rendered the abode of bearded men; or conceive some beautiful woman in +our own country running distracted at the sight of her numerous lovers +murdering one another before her eyes, out of jealousy for the unequal +distribution of her favours!—Heaven defend us from such a state of +things!—We are scarcely amiable and forbearing enough to submit to it. +</p> + +<p> +I was not able to learn what particular ceremony was observed in forming the +marriage contract, but am inclined to think that it must have been of a very +simple nature. Perhaps the mere ‘popping the question’, as it is +termed with us, might have been followed by an immediate nuptial alliance. At +any rate, I have more than one reason to believe that tedious courtships are +unknown in the valley of Typee. +</p> + +<p> +The males considerably outnumber the females. This holds true of many of the +islands of Polynesia, although the reverse of what is the case in most +civilized countries. The girls are first wooed and won, at a very tender age, +by some stripling in the household in which they reside. This, however, is a +mere frolic of the affections, and no formal engagement is contracted. By the +time this first love has a little subsided, a second suitor presents himself, +of graver years, and carries both boy and girl away to his own habitation. This +disinterested and generous-hearted fellow now weds the young +couple—marrying damsel and lover at the same time—and all three +thenceforth live together as harmoniously as so many turtles. I have heard of +some men who in civilized countries rashly marry large families with their +wives, but had no idea that there was any place where people married +supplementary husbands with them. Infidelity on either side is very rare. No +man has more than one wife, and no wife of mature years has less than two +husbands,—sometimes she has three, but such instances are not frequent. +The marriage tie, whatever it may be, does not appear to be indissoluble; for +separations occasionally happen. These, however, when they do take place, +produce no unhappiness, and are preceded by no bickerings; for the simple +reason, that an ill-used wife or a henpecked husband is not obliged to file a +bill in Chancery to obtain a divorce. As nothing stands in the way of a +separation, the matrimonial yoke sits easily and lightly, and a Typee wife +lives on very pleasant and sociable terms with her husband. On the whole, +wedlock, as known among these Typees, seems to be of a more distinct and +enduring nature than is usually the case with barbarous people. A baneful +promiscuous intercourse of the sexes is hereby avoided, and virtue, without +being clamorously invoked, is, as it were, unconsciously practised. +</p> + +<p> +The contrast exhibited between the Marquesas and other islands of the Pacific +in this respect, is worthy of being noticed. At Tahiti the marriage tie was +altogether unknown; and the relation of husband and wife, father and son, could +hardly be said to exist. The Arreory Society—one of the most singular +institutions that ever existed in any part of the world—spread universal +licentiousness over the island. It was the voluptuous character of these people +which rendered the disease introduced among them by De Bougainville’s +ships, in 1768, doubly destructive. It visited them like a plague, sweeping +them off by hundreds. +</p> + +<p> +Notwithstanding the existence of wedlock among the Typees, the Scriptural +injunction to increase and multiply seems to be but indifferently attended to. +I never saw any of those large families in arithmetical or step-ladder +progression which one often meets with at home. I never knew of more than two +youngsters living together in the same home, and but seldom even that number. +As for the women, it was very plain that the anxieties of the nursery but +seldom disturbed the serenity of their souls; and they were never seen going +about the valley with half a score of little ones tagging at their +apron-strings, or rather at the bread-fruit-leaf they usually wore in the rear. +</p> + +<p> +The ratio of increase among all the Polynesian nations is very small; and in +some places as yet uncorrupted by intercourse with Europeans, the births would +appear not very little to outnumber the deaths; the population in such +instances remaining nearly the same for several successive generations, even +upon those islands seldom or never desolated by wars, and among people with +whom the crime of infanticide is altogether unknown. This would seem +expressively ordained by Providence to prevent the overstocking of the islands +with a race too indolent to cultivate the ground, and who, for that reason +alone, would, by any considerable increase in their numbers, be exposed to the +most deplorable misery. During the entire period of my stay in the valley of +Typee, I never saw more than ten or twelve children under the age of six +months, and only became aware of two births. +</p> + +<p> +It is to the absence of the marriage tie that the late rapid decrease of the +population of the Sandwich Islands and of Tahiti is in part to be ascribed. The +vices and diseases introduced among these unhappy people annually swell the +ordinary mortality of the islands, while, from the same cause, the originally +small number of births is proportionally decreased. Thus the progress of the +Hawaiians and Tahitians to utter extinction is accelerated in a sort of +compound ratio. +</p> + +<p> +I have before had occasion to remark, that I never saw any of the ordinary +signs of a pace of sepulture in the valley, a circumstance which I attributed, +at the time, to my living in a particular part of it, and being forbidden to +extend my rambles to any considerable distance towards the sea. I have since +thought it probable, however, that the Typees, either desirous of removing from +their sight the evidences of mortality, or prompted by a taste for rural +beauty, may have some charming cemetery situation in the shadowy recesses along +the base of the mountains. At Nukuheva, two or three large quadrangular +‘pi-pis’, heavily flagged, enclosed with regular stone walls, and +shaded over and almost hidden from view by the interlacing branches of enormous +trees, were pointed out to me as burial-places. The bodies, I understood, were +deposited in rude vaults beneath the flagging, and were suffered to remain +there without being disinterred. Although nothing could be more strange and +gloomy than the aspect of these places, where the lofty trees threw their dark +shadows over rude blocks of stone, a stranger looking at them would have +discerned none of the ordinary evidences of a place of sepulture. +</p> + +<p> +During my stay in the valley, as none of its inmates were so accommodating as +to die and be buried in order to gratify my curiosity with regard to their +funeral rites, I was reluctantly obliged to remain in ignorance of them. As I +have reason to believe, however, the observances of the Typees in these matters +are the same with those of all the other tribes in the island, I will here +relate a scene I chanced to witness at Nukuheva. +</p> + +<p> +A young man had died, about daybreak, in a house near the beach. I had been +sent ashore that morning, and saw a good deal of the preparations they were +making for his obsequies. The body, neatly wrapped in a new white tappa, was +laid out in an open shed of cocoanut boughs, upon a bier constructed of elastic +bamboos ingeniously twisted together. This was supported about two feet from +the ground, by large canes planted uprightly in the earth. Two females, of a +dejected appearance, watched by its side, plaintively chanting and beating the +air with large grass fans whitened with pipe-clay. In the dwelling-house +adjoining a numerous company we assembled, and various articles of food were +being prepared for consumption. Two or three individuals, distinguished by +head-dresses of beautiful tappa, and wearing a great number of ornaments, +appeared to officiate as masters of the ceremonies. By noon the entertainment +had fairly begun and we were told that it would last during the whole of the +two following days. With the exception of those who mourned by the corpse, +every one seemed disposed to drown the sense of the late bereavement in +convivial indulgence. The girls, decked out in their savage finery, danced; the +old men chanted; the warriors smoked and chatted; and the young and lusty, of +both sexes, feasted plentifully, and seemed to enjoy themselves as pleasantly +as they could have done had it been a wedding. +</p> + +<p> +The islanders understand the art of embalming, and practise it with such +success that the bodies of their great chiefs are frequently preserved for many +years in the very houses where they died. I saw three of these in my visit to +the Bay of Tior. One was enveloped in immense folds of tappa, with only the +face exposed, and hung erect against the side of the dwelling. The others were +stretched out upon biers of bamboo, in open, elevated temples, which seemed +consecrated to their memory. The heads of enemies killed in battle are +invariably preserved and hung up as trophies in the house of the conqueror. I +am not acquainted with the process which is in use, but believe that fumigation +is the principal agency employed. All the remains which I saw presented the +appearance of a ham after being suspended for some time in a smoky chimney. +</p> + +<p> +But to return from the dead to the living. The late festival had drawn +together, as I had every reason to believe, the whole population of the vale, +and consequently I was enabled to make some estimate with regard to its +numbers. I should imagine that there were about two thousand inhabitants in +Typee; and no number could have been better adapted to the extent of the +valley. The valley is some nine miles in length, and may average one in +breadth; the houses being distributed at wide intervals throughout its whole +extent, principally, however, towards the head of the vale. There are no +villages; the houses stand here and there in the shadow of the groves, or are +scattered along the banks of the winding stream; their golden-hued bamboo sides +and gleaming white thatch forming a beautiful contrast to the perpetual verdure +in which they are embowered. There are no roads of any kind in the valley. +Nothing but a labyrinth of footpaths twisting and turning among the thickets +without end. +</p> + +<p> +The penalty of the Fall presses very lightly upon the valley of Typee; for, +with the one solitary exception of striking a light, I scarcely saw any piece +of work performed there which caused the sweat to stand upon a single brow. As +for digging and delving for a livelihood, the thing is altogether unknown. +Nature has planted the bread-fruit and the banana, and in her own good time she +brings them to maturity, when the idle savage stretches forth his hand, and +satisfies his appetite. +</p> + +<p> +Ill-fated people! I shudder when I think of the change a few years will produce +in their paradisaical abode; and probably when the most destructive vices, and +the worst attendances on civilization, shall have driven all peace and +happiness from the valley, the magnanimous French will proclaim to the world +that the Marquesas Islands have been converted to Christianity! and this the +Catholic world will doubtless consider as a glorious event. Heaven help the +‘Isles of the Sea’!—The sympathy which Christendom feels for +them, has, alas! in too many instances proved their bane. +</p> + +<p> +How little do some of these poor islanders comprehend when they look around +them, that no inconsiderable part of their disasters originate in certain +tea-party excitements, under the influence of which benevolent-looking +gentlemen in white cravats solicit alms, and old ladies in spectacles, and +young ladies in sober russet gowns, contribute sixpences towards the creation +of a fund, the object of which is to ameliorate the spiritual condition of the +Polynesians, but whose end has almost invariably been to accomplish their +temporal destruction! +</p> + +<p> +Let the savages be civilized, but civilize them with benefits, and not with +evils; and let heathenism be destroyed, but not by destroying the heathen. The +Anglo-Saxon hive have extirpated Paganism from the greater part of the North +American continent; but with it they have likewise extirpated the greater +portion of the Red race. Civilization is gradually sweeping from the earth the +lingering vestiges of Paganism, and at the same time the shrinking forms of its +unhappy worshippers. +</p> + +<p> +Among the islands of Polynesia, no sooner are the images overturned, the +temples demolished, and the idolators converted into NOMINAL Christians, that +disease, vice, and premature death make their appearance. The depopulated land +is then recruited from the rapacious, hordes of enlightened individuals who +settle themselves within its borders, and clamorously announce the progress of +the Truth. Neat villas, trim gardens, shaven lawns, spires, and cupolas arise, +while the poor savage soon finds himself an interloper in the country of his +fathers, and that too on the very site of the hut where he was born. The +spontaneous fruits of the earth, which God in his wisdom had ordained for the +support of the indolent natives, remorselessly seized upon and appropriated by +the stranger, are devoured before the eyes of the starving inhabitants, or sent +on board the numerous vessels which now touch at their shores. +</p> + +<p> +When the famished wretches are cut off in this manner from their natural +supplies, they are told by their benefactors to work and earn their support by +the sweat of their brows! But to no fine gentleman born to hereditary opulence, +does this manual labour come more unkindly than to the luxurious Indian when +thus robbed of the bounty of heaven. Habituated to a life of indolence, he +cannot and will not exert himself; and want, disease, and vice, all evils of +foreign growth, soon terminate his miserable existence. +</p> + +<p> +But what matters all this? Behold the glorious result!—The abominations +of Paganism have given way to the pure rites of the Christian +worship,—the ignorant savage has been supplanted by the refined European! +Look at Honolulu, the metropolis of the Sandwich Islands!—A community of +disinterested merchants, and devoted self-exiled heralds of the Cross, located +on the very spot that twenty years ago was defiled by the presence of idolatry. +What a subject for an eloquent Bible-meeting orator! Nor has such an +opportunity for a display of missionary rhetoric been allowed to pass by +unimproved!—But when these philanthropists send us such glowing accounts +of one half of their labours, why does their modesty restrain them from +publishing the other half of the good they have wrought?—Not until I +visited Honolulu was I aware of the fact that the small remnant of the natives +had been civilized into draught-horses; and evangelized into beasts of burden. +But so it is. They have been literally broken into the traces, and are +harnessed to the vehicles of their spiritual instructors like so many dumb +brutes! +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Lest the slightest misconception should arise from anything thrown out in this +chapter, or indeed in any other part of the volume, let me here observe that +against the cause of missions in, the abstract no Christian can possibly be +opposed: it is in truth a just and holy cause. But if the great end proposed by +it be spiritual, the agency employed to accomplish that end is purely earthly; +and, although the object in view be the achievement of much good, that agency +may nevertheless be productive of evil. In short, missionary undertaking, +however it may blessed of heaven, is in itself but human; and subject, like +everything else, to errors and abuses. And have not errors and abuses crept +into the most sacred places, and may there not be unworthy or incapable +missionaries abroad, as well as ecclesiastics of similar character at home? May +not the unworthiness or incapacity of those who assume apostolic functions upon +the remote islands of the sea more easily escape detection by the world at +large than if it were displayed in the heart of a city? An unwarranted +confidence in the sanctity of its apostles—a proneness to regard them as +incapable of guile—and an impatience of the least suspicion to their +rectitude as men or Christians, have ever been prevailing faults in the Church. +Nor is this to be wondered at: for subject as Christianity is to the assaults +of unprincipled foes, we are naturally disposed to regard everything like an +exposure of ecclesiastical misconduct as the offspring of malevolence or +irreligious feeling. Not even this last consideration, however shall deter me +from the honest expression of my sentiments. +</p> + +<p> +There is something apparently wrong in the practical operations of the Sandwich +Islands Mission. Those who from pure religious motives contribute to the +support of this enterprise should take care to ascertain that their donations, +flowing through many devious channels, at last effect their legitimate object, +the conversion of the Hawaiians. I urge this not because I doubt the moral +probity of those who disburse the funds, but because I know that they are not +rightly applied. To read pathetic accounts of missionary hardships, and glowing +descriptions of conversion, and baptisms, taking place beneath palm-trees, is +one thing; and to go to the Sandwich Islands and see the missionaries dwelling +in picturesque and prettily furnished coral-rock villas, whilst the miserable +natives are committing all sorts of immorality around them, is quite another. +</p> + +<p> +In justice to the missionaries, however, I will willingly admit, that +where-ever evils may have resulted from their collective mismanagement of the +business of the mission, and from the want of vital piety evinced by some of +their number, still the present deplorable condition of the Sandwich Islands is +by no means wholly chargeable against them. The demoralizing influence of a +dissolute foreign population, and the frequent visits of all descriptions of +vessels, have tended not a little to increase the evils alluded to. In a word, +here, as in every case where civilization has in any way been introduced among +those whom we call savages, she has scattered her vices, and withheld her +blessings. +</p> + +<p> +As wise a man as Shakespeare has said, that the bearer of evil tidings hath but +a losing office; and so I suppose will it prove with me, in communicating to +the trusting friends of the Hawiian Mission what has been disclosed in various +portions of this narrative. I am persuaded, however, that as these disclosures +will by their very nature attract attention, so they will lead to something +which will not be without ultimate benefit to the cause of Christianity in the +Sandwich Islands. +</p> + +<p> +I have but one more thing to add in connection with this subject—those +things which I have stated as facts will remain facts, in spite of whatever the +bigoted or incredulous may say or write against them. My reflections, however, +on those facts may not be free from error. If such be the case, I claim no +further indulgence than should be conceded to every man whose object is to do +good. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE SOCIAL CONDITION AND GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE TYPEES +</p> + +<p> +I have already mentioned that the influence exerted over the people of the +valley by their chiefs was mild in the extreme; and as to any general rule or +standard of conduct by which the commonality were governed in their intercourse +with each other, so far as my observation extended, I should be almost tempted +to say, that none existed on the island, except, indeed, the mysterious +‘Taboo’ be considered as such. During the time I lived among the +Typees, no one was ever put upon his trial for any offence against the public. +To all appearance there were no courts of law or equity. There was no municipal +police for the purpose of apprehending vagrants and disorderly characters. In +short, there were no legal provisions whatever for the well-being and +conservation of society, the enlightened end of civilized legislation. And yet +everything went on in the valley with a harmony and smoothness unparalleled, I +will venture to assert, in the most select, refined, and pious associations of +mortals in Christendom. How are we to explain this enigma? These islanders were +heathens! savages! ay, cannibals! and how came they without the aid of +established law, to exhibit, in so eminent a degree, that social order which is +the greatest blessing and highest pride of the social state? +</p> + +<p> +It may reasonably be inquired, how were these people governed? how were their +passions controlled in their everyday transactions? It must have been by an +inherent principle of honesty and charity towards each other. They seemed to be +governed by that sort of tacit common-sense law which, say what they will of +the inborn lawlessness of the human race, has its precepts graven on every +breast. The grand principles of virtue and honour, however they may be +distorted by arbitrary codes, are the same all the world over: and where these +principles are concerned, the right or wrong of any action appears the same to +the uncultivated as to the enlightened mind. It is to this indwelling, this +universally diffused perception of what is just and noble, that the integrity +of the Marquesans in their intercourse with each other, is to be attributed. In +the darkest nights they slept securely, with all their worldly wealth around +them, in houses the doors of which were never fastened. The disquieting ideas +of theft or assassination never disturbed them. +</p> + +<p> +Each islander reposed beneath his own palmetto thatching, or sat under his own +bread-fruit trees, with none to molest or alarm him. There was not a padlock in +the valley, nor anything that answered the purpose of one: still there was no +community of goods. This long spear, so elegantly carved, and highly polished, +belongs to Wormoonoo: it is far handsomer than the one which old Marheyo so +greatly prizes; it is the most valuable article belonging to its owner. And yet +I have seen it leaning against a cocoanut tree in the grove, and there it was +found when sought for. Here is a sperm-whale tooth, graven all over with +cunning devices: it is the property of Karluna; it is the most precious of the +damsel’s ornaments. In her estimation its price is far above +rubies—and yet there hangs the dental jewel by its cord of braided bark, +in the girl’s house, which is far back in the valley; the door is left +open, and all the inmates have gone off to bathe in the stream.* +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +* The strict honesty which the inhabitants of nearly all the Polynesian Islands +manifest toward each other, is in striking contrast with the thieving +propensities some of them evince in their intercourse with foreigners. It would +almost seem that, according to their peculiar code of morals, the pilfering of +a hatchet or a wrought nail from a European, is looked upon as a praiseworthy +action. Or rather, it may be presumed, that bearing in mind the wholesale +forays made upon them by their nautical visitors, they consider the property of +the latter as a fair object of reprisal. This consideration, while it serves to +reconcile an apparent contradiction in the moral character of the islanders, +should in some measure alter that low opinion of it which the reader of South +Sea voyages is too apt to form. +</p> + +<p> +So much for the respect in which ‘personal property’ is held in +Typee; how secure an investment of ‘real property’ may be, I cannot +take upon me to say. Whether the land of the valley was the joint property of +its inhabitants, or whether it was parcelled out among a certain number of +landed proprietors who allowed everybody to ‘squat’ and +‘poach’ as much as he or she pleased, I never could ascertain. At +any rate, musty parchments and title-deeds there were none on the island; and I +am half inclined to believe that its inhabitants hold their broad valleys in +fee simple from Nature herself; to have and to hold, so long as grass grows and +water runs; or until their French visitors, by a summary mode of conveyancing, +shall appropriate them to their own benefit and behoof. +</p> + +<p> +Yesterday I saw Kory-Kory hie him away, armed with a long pole, with which, +standing on the ground, he knocked down the fruit from the topmost boughs of +the trees, and brought them home in his basket of cocoanut leaves. Today I see +an islander, whom I know to reside in a distant part of the valley, doing the +self-same thing. On the sloping bank of the stream are a number of banana-trees +I have often seen a score or two of young people making a merry foray on the +great golden clusters, and bearing them off, one after another, to different +parts of the vale, shouting and trampling as they went. No churlish old +curmudgeon could have been the owner of that grove of bread-fruit trees, or of +these gloriously yellow bunches of bananas. +</p> + +<p> +From what I have said it will be perceived that there is a vast difference +between ‘personal property’ and ‘real estate’ in the +valley of Typee. Some individuals, of course, are more wealthy than others. For +example, the ridge-pole of Marheyo’s house bends under the weight of many +a huge packet of tappa; his long couch is laid with mats placed one upon the +other seven deep. Outside, Tinor has ranged along in her bamboo +cupboard—or whatever the place may be called—a goodly array of +calabashes and wooden trenchers. Now, the house just beyond the grove, and next +to Marheyo’s, occupied by Ruaruga, is not quite so well furnished. There +are only three moderate-sized packages swinging overhead: there are only two +layers of mats beneath; and the calabashes and trenchers are not so numerous, +nor so tastefully stained and carved. But then, Ruaruga has a house—not +so pretty a one, to be sure—but just as commodious as Marheyo’s; +and, I suppose, if he wished to vie with his neighbour’s establishment, +he could do so with very little trouble. These, in short, constituted the chief +differences perceivable in the relative wealth of the people in Typee. +</p> + +<p> +Civilization does not engross all the virtues of humanity: she has not even her +full share of them. They flourish in greater abundance and attain greater +strength among many barbarous people. The hospitality of the wild Arab, the +courage of the North American Indian, and the faithful friendship of some of +the Polynesian nations, far surpass anything of a similar kind among the +polished communities of Europe. If truth and justice, and the better principles +of our nature, cannot exist unless enforced by the statute-book, how are we to +account for the social condition of the Typees? So pure and upright were they +in all the relations of life, that entering their valley, as I did, under the +most erroneous impressions of their character, I was soon led to exclaim in +amazement: ‘Are these the ferocious savages, the blood-thirsty cannibals +of whom I have heard such frightful tales! They deal more kindly with each +other, and are more humane than many who study essays on virtue and +benevolence, and who repeat every night that beautiful prayer breathed first by +the lips of the divine and gentle Jesus.’ I will frankly declare that +after passing a few weeks in this valley of the Marquesas, I formed a higher +estimate of human nature than I had ever before entertained. But alas! since +then I have been one of the crew of a man-of-war, and the pent-up wickedness of +five hundred men has nearly overturned all my previous theories. +</p> + +<p> +There was one admirable trait in the general character of the Typees which, +more than anything else, secured my admiration: it was the unanimity of feeling +they displayed on every occasion. With them there hardly appeared to be any +difference of opinion upon any subject whatever. They all thought and acted +alike. I do not conceive that they could support a debating society for a +single night: there would be nothing to dispute about; and were they to call a +convention to take into consideration the state of the tribe, its session would +be a remarkably short one. They showed this spirit of unanimity in every action +of life; everything was done in concert and good fellowship. I will give an +instance of this fraternal feeling. +</p> + +<p> +One day, in returning with Kory-Kory from my accustomed visit to the Ti, we +passed by a little opening in the grove; on one side of which, my attendant +informed me, was that afternoon to be built a dwelling of bamboo. At least a +hundred of the natives were bringing materials to the ground, some carrying in +their hands one or two of the canes which were to form the sides, others +slender rods of the habiscus, strung with palmetto leaves, for the roof. Every +one contributed something to the work; and by the united, but easy, and even +indolent, labours of all, the entire work was completed before sunset. The +islanders, while employed in erecting this tenement, reminded me of a colony of +beavers at work. To be sure, they were hardly as silent and demure as those +wonderful creatures, nor were they by any means as diligent. To tell the truth +they were somewhat inclined to be lazy, but a perfect tumult of hilarity +prevailed; and they worked together so unitedly, and seemed actuated by such an +instinct of friendliness, that it was truly beautiful to behold. +</p> + +<p> +Not a single female took part in this employment: and if the degree of +consideration in which the ever-adorable sex is held by the men be—as the +philosophers affirm—a just criterion of the degree of refinement among a +people, then I may truly pronounce the Typees to be as polished a community as +ever the sun shone upon. The religious restrictions of the taboo alone +excepted, the women of the valley were allowed every possible indulgence. +Nowhere are the ladies more assiduously courted; nowhere are they better +appreciated as the contributors to our highest enjoyments; and nowhere are they +more sensible of their power. Far different from their condition among many +rude nations, where the women are made to perform all the work while their +ungallant lords and masters lie buried in sloth, the gentle sex in the valley +of Typee were exempt from toil, if toil it might be called that, even in the +tropical climate, never distilled one drop of perspiration. Their light +household occupations, together with the manufacture of tappa, the platting of +mats, and the polishing of drinking-vessels, were the only employments +pertaining to the women. And even these resembled those pleasant avocations +which fill up the elegant morning leisure of our fashionable ladies at home. +But in these occupations, slight and agreeable though they were, the giddy +young girls very seldom engaged. Indeed these wilful care-killing damsels were +averse to all useful employment. +</p> + +<p> +Like so many spoiled beauties, they ranged through the groves—bathed in +the stream—danced—flirted—played all manner of mischievous +pranks, and passed their days in one merry round of thoughtless happiness. +</p> + +<p> +During my whole stay on the island I never witnessed a single quarrel, nor +anything that in the slightest degree approached even to a dispute. The natives +appeared to form one household, whose members were bound together by the ties +of strong affection. The love of kindred I did not so much perceive, for it +seemed blended in the general love; and where all were treated as brothers and +sisters, it was hard to tell who were actually related to each other by blood. +</p> + +<p> +Let it not be supposed that I have overdrawn this picture. I have not done so. +Nor let it be urged, that the hostility of this tribe to foreigners, and the +hereditary feuds they carry on against their fellow-islanders beyond the +mountains, are facts which contradict me. Not so; these apparent discrepancies +are easily reconciled. By many a legendary tale of violence and wrong, as well +as by events which have passed before their eyes, these people have been taught +to look upon white men with abhorrence. The cruel invasion of their country by +Porter has alone furnished them with ample provocation; and I can sympathize in +the spirit which prompts the Typee warrior to guard all the passes to his +valley with the point of his levelled spear, and, standing upon the beach, with +his back turned upon his green home, to hold at bay the intruding European. +</p> + +<p> +As to the origin of the enmity of this particular clan towards the neighbouring +tribes, I cannot so confidently speak. I will not say that their foes are the +aggressors, nor will I endeavour to palliate their conduct. But surely, if our +evil passions must find vent, it is far better to expend them on strangers and +aliens, than in the bosom of the community in which we dwell. In many polished +countries civil contentions, as well as domestic enmities, are prevalent, and +the same time that the most atrocious foreign wars are waged. How much less +guilty, then, are our islanders, who of these three sins are only chargeable +with one, and that the least criminal! +</p> + +<p> +The reader will ere long have reason to suspect that the Typees are not free +from the guilt of cannibalism; and he will then, perhaps, charge me with +admiring a people against whom so odious a crime is chargeable. But this only +enormity in their character is not half so horrible as it is usually described. +According to the popular fictions, the crews of vessels, shipwrecked on some +barbarous coast, are eaten alive like so many dainty joints by the uncivil +inhabitants; and unfortunate voyagers are lured into smiling and treacherous +bays; knocked on the head with outlandish war-clubs; and served up without any +prelimary dressing. In truth, so horrific and improbable are these accounts, +that many sensible and well-informed people will not believe that any cannibals +exist; and place every book of voyages which purports to give any account of +them, on the same shelf with Blue Beard and Jack the Giant-Killer. While +others, implicitly crediting the most extravagant fictions, firmly believe that +there are people in the world with tastes so depraved that they would +infinitely prefer a single mouthful of material humanity to a good dinner of +roast beef and plum pudding. But here, Truth, who loves to be centrally +located, is again found between the two extremes; for cannibalism to a certain +moderate extent is practised among several of the primitive tribes in the +Pacific, but it is upon the bodies of slain enemies alone, and horrible and +fearful as the custom is, immeasurably as it is to be abhorred and condemned, +still I assert that those who indulge in it are in other respects humane and +virtuous. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +FISHING PARTIES—MODE OF DISTRIBUTING THE FISH—MIDNIGHT +BANQUET—TIME-KEEPING TAPERS—UNCEREMONIOUS STYLE OF EATING THE FISH +</p> + +<p> +There was no instance in which the social and kindly dispositions of the Typees +were more forcibly evinced than in the manner the conducted their great fishing +parties. Four times during my stay in the valley the young men assembled near +the full of the moon, and went together on these excursions. As they were +generally absent about forty-eight hours, I was led to believe that they went +out towards the open sea, some distance from the bay. The Polynesians seldom +use a hook and line, almost always employing large well-made nets, most +ingeniously fabricated from the twisted fibres of a certain bark. I examined +several of them which had been spread to dry upon the beach at Nukuheva. They +resemble very much our own seines, and I should think they were nearly as +durable. +</p> + +<p> +All the South Sea Islanders are passionately fond of fish; but none of them can +be more so than the inhabitants of Typee. I could not comprehend, therefore, +why they so seldom sought it in their waters, for it was only at stated times +that the fishing parties were formed, and these occasions were always looked +forward to with no small degree of interest. +</p> + +<p> +During their absence the whole population of the place were in a ferment, and +nothing was talked of but ‘pehee, pehee’ (fish, fish). Towards the +time when they were expected to return the vocal telegraph was put into +operation—the inhabitants, who were scattered throughout the length of +the valley, leaped upon rocks and into trees, shouting with delight at the +thoughts of the anticipated treat. As soon as the approach of the party was +announced, there was a general rush of the men towards the beach; some of them +remaining, however, about the Ti in order to get matters in readiness for the +reception of the fish, which were brought to the Taboo Groves in immense +packages of leaves, each one of them being suspended from a pole carried on the +shoulders of two men. +</p> + +<p> +I was present at the Ti on one of these occasions, and the sight was most +interesting. After all the packages had arrived, they were laid in a row under +the verandah of the building and opened. +</p> + +<p> +The fish were all quite small, generally about the size of a herring, and of +every variety. About one-eighth of the whole being reserved for the use of the +Ti itself, the remainder was divided into numerous smaller packages, which were +immediately dispatched in every direction to the remotest parts of the valley. +Arrived at their destination, these were in turn portioned out, and equally +distributed among the various houses of each particular district. The fish were +under a strict Taboo, until the distribution was completed, which seemed to be +effected in the most impartial manner. By the operation of this system every +man, woman, and child in the vale, were at one and the same time partaking of +this favourite article of food. +</p> + +<p> +Once I remember the party arrived at midnight; but the unseasonableness of the +tour did not repress the impatience of the islanders. The carriers dispatched +from the Ti were to be seen hurrying in all directions through the deep groves; +each individual preceded by a boy bearing a flaming torch of dried cocoanut +boughs, which from time to time was replenished from the materials scattered +along the path. The wild glare of these enormous flambeaux, lighting up with a +startling brilliancy the innermost recesses of the vale, and seen moving +rapidly along beneath the canopy of leaves, the savage shout of the excited +messengers sounding the news of their approach, which was answered on all +sides, and the strange appearance of their naked bodies, seen against the +gloomy background, produced altogether an effect upon my mind that I shall long +remember. +</p> + +<p> +It was on this same occasion that Kory-Kory awakened me at the dead hour of +night, and in a sort of transport communicated the intelligence contained in +the words ‘pehee perni’ (fish come). As I happened to have been in +a remarkably sound and refreshing slumber, I could not imagine why the +information had not been deferred until morning, indeed, I felt very much +inclined to fly into a passion and box my valet’s ears; but on second +thoughts I got quietly up, and on going outside the house was not a little +interested by the moving illumination which I beheld. +</p> + +<p> +When old Marheyo received his share of the spoils, immediate preparations were +made for a midnight banquet; calabashes of poee-poee were filled to the brim; +green bread-fruit were roasted; and a huge cake of ‘amar’ was cut +up with a sliver of bamboo and laid out on an immense banana-leaf. +</p> + +<p> +At this supper we were lighted by several of the native tapers, held in the +hands of young girls. These tapers are most ingeniously made. There is a nut +abounding in the valley, called by the Typees ‘armor’, closely +resembling our common horse-chestnut. The shell is broken, and the contents +extracted whole. Any number of these are strung at pleasure upon the long +elastic fibre that traverses the branches of the cocoanut tree. Some of these +tapers are eight or ten feet in length; but being perfectly flexible, one end +is held in a coil, while the other is lighted. The nut burns with a fitful +bluish flame, and the oil that it contains is exhausted in about ten minutes. +As one burns down, the next becomes ignited, and the ashes of the former are +knocked into a cocoanut shell kept for the purpose. This primitive candle +requires continual attention, and must be constantly held in the hand. The +person so employed marks the lapse of time by the number of nuts consumed, +which is easily learned by counting the bits of tappa distributed at regular +intervals along the string. +</p> + +<p> +I grieve to state so distressing a fact, but the inhabitants of Typee were in +the habit of devouring fish much in the same way that a civilized being would +eat a radish, and without any more previous preparation. They eat it raw; +scales, bones, gills, and all the inside. The fish is held by the tail, and the +head being introduced into the mouth, the animal disappears with a rapidity +that would at first nearly lead one to imagine it had been launched bodily down +the throat. +</p> + +<p> +Raw fish! Shall I ever forget my sensations when I first saw my island beauty +devour one. Oh, heavens! Fayaway, how could you ever have contracted so vile a +habit? However, after the first shock had subsided, the custom grew less odious +in my eyes, and I soon accustomed myself to the sight. Let no one imagine, +however, that the lovely Fayaway was in the habit of swallowing great +vulgar-looking fishes: oh, no; with her beautiful small hand she would clasp a +delicate, little, golden-hued love of a fish and eat it as elegantly and as +innocently as though it were a Naples biscuit. But alas! it was after all a raw +fish; and all I can say is, that Fayaway ate it in a more ladylike manner than +any other girl of the valley. +</p> + +<p> +When at Rome do as the Romans do, I held to be so good a proverb, that being in +Typee I made a point of doing as the Typees did. Thus I ate poee-poee as they +did; I walked about in a garb striking for its simplicity; and I reposed on a +community of couches; besides doing many other things in conformity with their +peculiar habits; but the farthest I ever went in the way of conformity, was on +several occasions to regale myself with raw fish. These being remarkably +tender, and quite small, the undertaking was not so disagreeable in the main, +and after a few trials I positively began to relish them; however, I subjected +them to a slight operation with a knife previously to making my repast. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"></a> +CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY—GOLDEN LIZARDS—TAMENESS OF THE +BIRDS—MOSQUITOES—FLIES—DOGS—A SOLITARY CAT—THE +CLIMATE—THE COCOANUT TREE—SINGULAR MODES OF CLIMBING IT—AN +AGILE YOUNG CHIEF—FEARLESSNESS OF THE CHILDREN—TOO-TOO AND THE +COCOANUT TREE—THE BIRDS OF THE VALLEY +</p> + +<p> +I think I must enlighten the reader a little about the natural history of the +valley. +</p> + +<p> +Whence, in the name of Count Buffon and Baron Cuvier, came those dogs that I +saw in Typee? Dogs!—Big hairless rats rather; all with smooth, shining +speckled hides—fat sides, and very disagreeable faces. Whence could they +have come? That they were not the indigenous production of the region, I am +firmly convinced. Indeed they seemed aware of their being interlopers, looking +fairly ashamed, and always trying to hide themselves in some dark corner. It +was plain enough they did not feel at home in the vale—that they wished +themselves well out of it, and back to the ugly country from which they must +have come. +</p> + +<p> +Scurvy curs! they were my abhorrence; I should have liked nothing better than +to have been the death of every one of them. In fact, on one occasion, I +intimated the propriety of a canine crusade to Mehevi; but the benevolent king +would not consent to it. He heard me very patiently; but when I had finished, +shook his head, and told me in confidence that they were ‘taboo’. +</p> + +<p> +As for the animal that made the fortune of the ex-lord-mayor Whittington, I +shall never forget the day that I was lying in the house about noon, everybody +else being fast asleep; and happening to raise my eyes, met those of a big +black spectral cat, which sat erect in the doorway, looking at me with its +frightful goggling green orbs, like one of those monstrous imps that torment +some of Teniers’ saints! I am one of those unfortunate persons to whom +the sight of these animals are, at any time an insufferable annoyance. +</p> + +<p> +Thus constitutionally averse to cats in general, the unexpected apparition of +this one in particular utterly confounded me. When I had a little recovered +from the fascination of its glance, I started up; the cat fled, and emboldened +by this, I rushed out of the house in pursuit; but it had disappeared. It was +the only time I ever saw one in the valley, and how it got there I cannot +imagine. It is just possible that it might have escaped from one of the ships +at Nukuheva. It was in vain to seek information on the subject from the +natives, since none of them had seen the animal, the appearance of which +remains a mystery to me to this day. +</p> + +<p> +Among the few animals which are to be met with in Typee, there was none which I +looked upon with more interest than a beautiful golden-hued species of lizard. +It measured perhaps five inches from head to tail, and was most gracefully +proportioned. Numbers of those creatures were to be seen basking in the +sunshine upon the thatching of the houses, and multitudes at all hours of the +day showed their glittering sides as they ran frolicking between the spears of +grass or raced in troops up and down the tall shafts of the cocoanut trees. But +the remarkable beauty of these little animals and their lively ways were not +their only claims upon my admiration. They were perfectly tame and insensible +to fear. Frequently, after seating myself upon the ground in some shady place +during the heat of the day, I would be completely overrun with them. If I +brushed one off my arm, it would leap perhaps into my hair: when I tried to +frighten it away by gently pinching its leg, it would turn for protection to +the very hand that attacked it. +</p> + +<p> +The birds are also remarkably tame. If you happened to see one perched upon a +branch within reach of your arm, and advanced towards it, it did not fly away +immediately, but waited quietly looking at you, until you could almost touch +it, and then took wing slowly, less alarmed at your presence, it would seem, +than desirous of removing itself from your path. Had salt been less scarce in +the valley than it was, this was the very place to have gone birding with it. I +remember that once, on an uninhabited island of the Gallipagos, a bird alighted +on my outstretched arm, while its mate chirped from an adjoining tree. Its +tameness, far from shocking me, as a similar occurrence did Selkirk, imparted +to me the most exquisite thrill of delight I ever experienced, and with +somewhat of the same pleasure did I afterwards behold the birds and lizards of +the valley show their confidence in the kindliness of man. +</p> + +<p> +Among the numerous afflictions which the Europeans have entailed upon some of +the natives of the South Seas, is the accidental introduction among them of +that enemy of all repose and ruffler of even tempers—the Mosquito. At the +Sandwich Islands and at two or three of the Society group, there are now +thriving colonies of these insects, who promise ere long to supplant altogether +the aboriginal sand-flies. They sting, buzz, and torment, from one end of the +year to the other, and by incessantly exasperating the natives materially +obstruct the benevolent labours of the missionaries. +</p> + +<p> +From this grievous visitation, however the Typees are as yet wholly exempt; but +its place is unfortunately in some degree supplied by the occasional presence +of a minute species of fly, which, without stinging, is nevertheless productive +of no little annoyance. The tameness of the birds and lizards is as nothing +when compared to the fearless confidence of this insect. He will perch upon one +of your eye-lashes, and go to roost there if you do not disturb him, or force +his way through your hair, or along the cavity of the nostril, till you almost +fancy he is resolved to explore the very brain itself. On one occasion I was so +inconsiderate as to yawn while a number of them were hovering around me. I +never repeated the act. Some half-dozen darted into the open apartment, and +began walking about its ceiling; the sensation was dreadful. I involuntarily +closed my mouth, and the poor creatures being enveloped in inner darkness, must +in their consternation have stumbled over my palate, and been precipitated into +the gulf beneath. At any rate, though I afterwards charitably held my mouth +open for at least five minutes, with a view of affording egress to the +stragglers, none of them ever availed themselves of the opportunity. +</p> + +<p> +There are no wild animals of any kind on the island unless it be decided that +the natives themselves are such. The mountains and the interior present to the +eye nothing but silent solitudes, unbroken by the roar of beasts of prey, and +enlivened by few tokens even of minute animated existence. There are no +venomous reptiles, and no snakes of any description to be found in any of the +valleys. +</p> + +<p> +In a company of Marquesan natives the weather affords no topic of conversation. +It can hardly be said to have any vicissitudes. The rainy season, it is true, +brings frequent showers, but they are intermitting and refreshing. When an +islander bound on some expedition rises from his couch in the morning, he is +never solicitous to peep out and see how the sky looks, or ascertain from what +quarter the wind blows. He is always sure of a ‘fine day’, and the +promise of a few genial showers he hails with pleasure. There is never any of +that ‘remarkable weather’ on the islands which from time immemorial +has been experienced in America, and still continues to call forth the +wondering conversational exclamations of its elderly citizens. Nor do there +even occur any of those eccentric meteorological changes which elsewhere +surprise us. In the valley of Typee ice-creams would never be rendered less +acceptable by sudden frosts, nor would picnic parties be deferred on account of +inauspicious snowstorms: for there day follows day in one unvarying round of +summer and sunshine, and the whole year is one long tropical month of June just +melting into July. +</p> + +<p> +It is this genial climate which causes the cocoanuts to flourish as they do. +This invaluable fruit, brought to perfection by the rich soil of the Marquesas, +and home aloft on a stately column more than a hundred feet from the ground, +would seem at first almost inaccessible to the simple natives. Indeed the +slender, smooth, and soaring shaft, without a single limb or protuberance of +any kind to assist one in mounting it, presents an obstacle only to be overcome +by the surprising agility and ingenuity of the islanders. It might be supposed +that their indolence would lead them patiently to await the period when the +ripened nuts, slowly parting from their stems, fall one by one to the ground. +This certainly would be the case, were it not that the young fruit, encased in +a soft green husk, with the incipient meat adhering in a jelly-like pellicle to +its sides, and containing a bumper of the most delicious nectar, is what they +chiefly prize. They have at least twenty different terms to express as many +progressive stages in the growth of the nut. Many of them reject the fruit +altogether except at a particular period of its growth, which, incredible as it +may appear, they seemed to me to be able to ascertain within an hour or two. +Others are still more capricious in their tastes; and after gathering together +a heap of the nuts of all ages, and ingeniously tapping them, will first sip +from one and then from another, as fastidiously as some delicate wine-bibber +experimenting glass in hand among his dusty demi-johns of different vintages. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the young men, with more flexible frames than their comrades, and +perhaps with more courageous souls, had a way of walking up the trunk of the +cocoanut trees which to me seemed little less than miraculous; and when looking +at them in the act, I experienced that curious perplexity a child feels when he +beholds a fly moving feet uppermost along a ceiling. +</p> + +<p> +I will endeavour to describe the way in which Narnee, a noble young chief, +sometimes performed this feat for my peculiar gratification; but his +preliminary performances must also be recorded. Upon my signifying my desire +that he should pluck me the young fruit of some particular tree, the handsome +savage, throwing himself into a sudden attitude of surprise, feigns +astonishment at the apparent absurdity of the request. Maintaining this +position for a moment, the strange emotions depicted on his countenance soften +down into one of humorous resignation to my will, and then looking wistfully up +to the tufted top of the tree, he stands on tip-toe, straining his neck and +elevating his arm, as though endeavouring to reach the fruit from the ground +where he stands. As if defeated in this childish attempt, he now sinks to the +earth despondingly, beating his breast in well-acted despair; and then, +starting to his feet all at once, and throwing back his head, raises both +hands, like a school-boy about to catch a falling ball. After continuing this +for a moment or two, as if in expectation that the fruit was going to be tossed +down to him by some good spirit in the tree-top, he turns wildly round in +another fit of despair, and scampers off to the distance of thirty or forty +yards. Here he remains awhile, eyeing the tree, the very picture of misery; but +the next moment, receiving, as it were, a flash of inspiration, he rushes again +towards it, and clasping both arms about the trunk, with one elevated a little +above the other, he presses the soles of his feet close together against the +tree, extending his legs from it until they are nearly horizontal, and his body +becomes doubled into an arch; then, hand over hand and foot over foot, he rises +from the earth with steady rapidity, and almost before you are aware of it, has +gained the cradled and embowered nest of nuts, and with boisterous glee flings +the fruit to the ground. +</p> + +<p> +This mode of walking the tree is only practicable where the trunk declines +considerably from the perpendicular. This, however, is almost always the case; +some of the perfectly straight shafts of the trees leaning at an angle of +thirty degrees. +</p> + +<p> +The less active among the men, and many of the children of the valley have +another method of climbing. They take a broad and stout piece of bark, and +secure each end of it to their ankles, so that when the feet thus confined are +extended apart, a space of little more than twelve inches is left between them. +This contrivance greatly facilitates the act of climbing. The band pressed +against the tree, and closely embracing it, yields a pretty firm support; while +with the arms clasped about the trunk, and at regular intervals sustaining the +body, the feet are drawn up nearly a yard at a time, and a corresponding +elevation of the hands immediately succeeds. In this way I have seen little +children, scarcely five years of age, fearlessly climbing the slender pole of a +young cocoanut tree, and while hanging perhaps fifty feet from the ground, +receiving the plaudits of their parents beneath, who clapped their hands, and +encouraged them to mount still higher. +</p> + +<p> +What, thought I, on first witnessing one of these exhibitions, would the +nervous mothers of America and England say to a similar display of hardihood in +any of their children? The Lacedemonian nation might have approved of it, but +most modern dames would have gone into hysterics at the sight. +</p> + +<p> +At the top of the cocoanut tree the numerous branches, radiating on all sides +from a common centre, form a sort of green and waving basket, between the +leaflets of which you just discern the nuts thickly clustering together, and on +the loftier trees looking no bigger from the ground than bunches of grapes. I +remember one adventurous little fellow—Too-Too was the rascal’s +name—who had built himself a sort of aerial baby-house in the picturesque +tuft of a tree adjoining Marheyo’s habitation. He used to spend hours +there,—rustling among the branches, and shouting with delight every time +the strong gusts of wind rushing down from the mountain side, swayed to and fro +the tall and flexible column on which he was perched. Whenever I heard +Too-Too’s musical voice sounding strangely to the ear from so great a +height, and beheld him peeping down upon me from out his leafy covert, he +always recalled to my mind Dibdin’s lines— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +‘There’s a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft,<br/> +To look out for the life of poor Jack.’ +</p> + +<p> +Birds—bright and beautiful birds—fly over the valley of Typee. You +see them perched aloft among the immovable boughs of the majestic bread-fruit +trees, or gently swaying on the elastic branches of the Omoo; skimming over the +palmetto thatching of the bamboo huts; passing like spirits on the wing through +the shadows of the grove, and sometimes descending into the bosom of the valley +in gleaming flights from the mountains. Their plumage is purple and azure, +crimson and white, black and gold; with bills of every tint: bright bloody red, +jet black, and ivory white, and their eyes are bright and sparkling; they go +sailing through the air in starry throngs; but, alas! the spell of dumbness is +upon them all—there is not a single warbler in the valley! +</p> + +<p> +I know not why it was, but the sight of these birds, generally the ministers of +gladness, always oppressed me with melancholy. As in their dumb beauty they +hovered by me whilst I was walking, or looked down upon me with steady curious +eyes from out the foliage, I was almost inclined to fancy that they knew they +were gazing upon a stranger, and that they commiserated his fate. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"></a> +CHAPTER THIRTY</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +A PROFESSOR OF THE FINE ARTS—HIS PERSECUTIONS—SOMETHING ABOUT +TATTOOING AND TABOOING—TWO ANECDOTES IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE +LATTER—A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE TYPEE DIALECT +</p> + +<p> +In one of my strolls with Kory-Kory, in passing along the border of a thick +growth of bushes, my attention was arrested by a singular noise. On entering +the thicket I witnessed for the first time the operation of tattooing as +performed by these islanders. +</p> + +<p> +I beheld a man extended flat upon his back on the ground, and, despite the +forced composure of his countenance, it was evident that he was suffering +agony. His tormentor bent over him, working away for all the world like a +stone-cutter with mallet and chisel. In one hand he held a short slender stick, +pointed with a shark’s tooth, on the upright end of which he tapped with +a small hammer-like piece of wood, thus puncturing the skin, and charging it +with the colouring matter in which the instrument was dipped. A cocoanut shell +containing this fluid was placed upon the ground. It is prepared by mixing with +a vegetable juice the ashes of the ‘armor’, or candle-nut, always +preserved for the purpose. Beside the savage, and spread out upon a piece of +soiled tappa, were a great number of curious black-looking little implements of +bone and wood, used in the various divisions of his art. A few terminated in a +single fine point, and, like very delicate pencils, were employed in giving the +finishing touches, or in operating upon the more sensitive portions of the +body, as was the case in the present instance. Others presented several points +distributed in a line, somewhat resembling the teeth of a saw. These were +employed in the coarser parts of the work, and particularly in pricking in +straight marks. Some presented their points disposed in small figures, and +being placed upon the body, were, by a single blow of the hammer, made to leave +their indelible impression. I observed a few the handles of which were +mysteriously curved, as if intended to be introduced into the orifice of the +ear, with a view perhaps of beating the tattoo upon the tympanum. Altogether +the sight of these strange instruments recalled to mind that display of +cruel-looking mother-of-pearl-handled things which one sees in their +velvet-lined cases at the elbow of a dentist. +</p> + +<p> +The artist was not at this time engaged on an original sketch, his subject +being a venerable savage, whose tattooing had become somewhat faded with age +and needed a few repairs, and accordingly he was merely employed in touching up +the works of some of the old masters of the Typee school, as delineated upon +the human canvas before him. The parts operated upon were the eyelids, where a +longitudinal streak, like the one which adorned Kory-Kory, crossed the +countenance of the victim. +</p> + +<p> +In spite of all the efforts of the poor old man, sundry twitchings and +screwings of the muscles of the face denoted the exquisite sensibility of these +shutters to the windows of his soul, which he was now having repainted. But the +artist, with a heart as callous as that of an army surgeon, continued his +performance, enlivening his labours with a wild chant, tapping away the while +as merrily as a woodpecker. +</p> + +<p> +So deeply engaged was he in his work, that he had not observed our approach, +until, after having, enjoyed an unmolested view of the operation, I chose to +attract his attention. As soon as he perceived me, supposing that I sought him +in his professional capacity, he seized hold of me in a paroxysm of delight, +and was an eagerness to begin the work. When, however, I gave him to understand +that he had altogether mistaken my views, nothing could exceed his grief and +disappointment. But recovering from this, he seemed determined not to credit my +assertion, and grasping his implements, he flourished them about in fearful +vicinity to my face, going through an imaginary performance of his art, and +every moment bursting into some admiring exclamation at the beauty of his +designs. +</p> + +<p> +Horrified at the bare thought of being rendered hideous for life if the wretch +were to execute his purpose upon me, I struggled to get away from him, while +Kory-Kory, turning traitor, stood by, and besought me to comply with the +outrageous request. On my reiterated refusals the excited artist got half +beside himself, and was overwhelmed with sorrow at losing so noble an +opportunity of distinguishing himself in his profession. +</p> + +<p> +The idea of engrafting his tattooing upon my white skin filled him with all a +painter’s enthusiasm; again and again he gazed into my countenance, and +every fresh glimpse seemed to add to the vehemence of his ambition. Not knowing +to what extremities he might proceed, and shuddering at the ruin he might +inflict upon my figure-head, I now endeavoured to draw off his attention from +it, and holding out my arm in a fit of desperation, signed to him to commence +operations. But he rejected the compromise indignantly, and still continued his +attack on my face, as though nothing short of that would satisfy him. When his +forefinger swept across my features, in laying out the borders of those +parallel bands which were to encircle my countenance, the flesh fairly crawled +upon my bones. At last, half wild with terror and indignation, I succeeded in +breaking away from the three savages, and fled towards old Marheyo’s +house, pursued by the indomitable artist, who ran after me, implements in hand. +Kory-Kory, however, at last interfered and drew him off from the chase. +</p> + +<p> +This incident opened my eyes to a new danger; and I now felt convinced that in +some luckless hour I should be disfigured in such a manner as never more to +have the FACE to return to my countrymen, even should an opportunity offer. +</p> + +<p> +These apprehensions were greatly increased by the desire which King Mehevi and +several of the inferior chiefs now manifested that I should be tattooed. The +pleasure of the king was first signified to me some three days after my casual +encounter with Karky the artist. Heavens! what imprecations I showered upon +that Karky. Doubtless he had plotted a conspiracy against me and my +countenance, and would never rest until his diabolical purpose was +accomplished. Several times I met him in various parts of the valley, and, +invariably, whenever he descried me, he came running after me with his mallet +and chisel, flourishing them about my face as if he longed to begin. What an +object he would have made of me! +</p> + +<p> +When the king first expressed his wish to me, I made known to him my utter +abhorrence of the measure, and worked myself into such a state of excitement, +that he absolutely stared at me in amazement. It evidently surpassed his +majesty’s comprehension how any sober-minded and sensible individual +could entertain the least possible objection to so beautifying an operation. +</p> + +<p> +Soon afterwards he repeated his suggestion, and meeting with a little repulse, +showed some symptoms of displeasure at my obduracy. On his a third time +renewing his request, I plainly perceived that something must be done, or my +visage was ruined for ever; I therefore screwed up my courage to the sticking +point, and declared my willingness to have both arms tattooed from just above +the wrist to the shoulder. His majesty was greatly pleased at the proposition, +and I was congratulating myself with having thus compromised the matter, when +he intimated that as a thing of course my face was first to undergo the +operation. I was fairly driven to despair; nothing but the utter ruin of my +‘face divine’, as the poets call it, would, I perceived, satisfy +the inexorable Mehevi and his chiefs, or rather, that infernal Karky, for he +was at the bottom of it all. +</p> + +<p> +The only consolation afforded me was a choice of patterns: I was at perfect +liberty to have my face spanned by three horizontal bars, after the fashion of +my serving-man’s; or to have as many oblique stripes slanting across it; +or if, like a true courtier, I chose to model my style on that of royalty, I +might wear a sort of freemason badge upon my countenance in the shape of a +mystic triangle. However, I would have none of these, though the king most +earnestly impressed upon my mind that my choice was wholly unrestricted. At +last, seeing my unconquerable repugnance, he ceased to importune me. +</p> + +<p> +But not so some other of the savages. Hardly a day passed but I was subjected +to their annoying requests, until at last my existence became a burden to me; +the pleasures I had previously enjoyed no longer afforded me delight, and all +my former desire to escape from the valley now revived with additional force. +</p> + +<p> +A fact which I soon afterwards learned augmented my apprehension. The whole +system of tattooing was, I found, connected with their religion; and it was +evident, therefore, that they were resolved to make a convert of me. +</p> + +<p> +In the decoration of the chiefs it seems to be necessary to exercise the most +elaborate pencilling; while some of the inferior natives looked as if they had +been daubed over indiscriminately with a house-painter’s brush. I +remember one fellow who prided himself hugely upon a great oblong patch, placed +high upon his back, and who always reminded me of a man with a blister of +Spanish flies, stuck between his shoulders. Another whom I frequently met had +the hollow of his eyes tattooed in two regular squares and his visual organs +being remarkably brilliant, they gleamed forth from out this setting like a +couple of diamonds inserted in ebony. +</p> + +<p> +Although convinced that tattooing was a religious observance, still the nature +of the connection between it and the superstitious idolatry of the people was a +point upon which I could never obtain any information. Like the still more +important system of the ‘Taboo’, it always appeared inexplicable to +me. +</p> + +<p> +There is a marked similarity, almost an identity, between the religious +institutions of most of the Polynesian islands, and in all exists the +mysterious ‘Taboo’, restricted in its uses to a greater or less +extent. So strange and complex in its arrangements is this remarkable system, +that I have in several cases met with individuals who, after residing for years +among the islands in the Pacific, and acquiring a considerable knowledge of the +language, have nevertheless been altogether unable to give any satisfactory +account of its operations. Situated as I was in the Typee valley, I perceived +every hour the effects of this all-controlling power, without in the least +comprehending it. Those effects were, indeed, wide-spread and universal, +pervading the most important as well as the minutest transactions of life. The +savage, in short, lives in the continual observance of its dictates, which +guide and control every action of his being. +</p> + +<p> +For several days after entering the valley I had been saluted at least fifty +times in the twenty-four hours with the talismanic word ‘Taboo’ +shrieked in my ears, at some gross violation of its provisions, of which I had +unconsciously been guilty. The day after our arrival I happened to hand some +tobacco to Toby over the head of a native who sat between us. He started up, as +if stung by an adder; while the whole company, manifesting an equal degree of +horror, simultaneously screamed out ‘Taboo!’ I never again +perpetrated a similar piece of ill-manners, which, indeed, was forbidden by the +canons of good breeding, as well as by the mandates of the taboo. But it was +not always so easy to perceive wherein you had contravened the spirit of this +institution. I was many times called to order, if I may use the phrase, when I +could not for the life of me conjecture what particular offence I had +committed. +</p> + +<p> +One day I was strolling through a secluded portion of the valley, and hearing +the musical sound of the cloth-mallet at a little distance, I turned down a +path that conducted me in a few moments to a house where there were some +half-dozen girls employed in making tappa. This was an operation I had +frequently witnessed, and had handled the bark in all the various stages of its +preparation. On the present occasion the females were intent upon their +occupation, and after looking up and talking gaily to me for a few moments, +they resumed their employment. I regarded them for a while in silence, and then +carelessly picking up a handful of the material that lay around, proceeded +unconsciously to pick it apart. While thus engaged, I was suddenly startled by +a scream, like that of a whole boarding-school of young ladies just on the +point of going into hysterics. Leaping up with the idea of seeing a score of +Happar warriors about to perform anew the Sabine atrocity, I found myself +confronted by the company of girls, who, having dropped their work, stood +before me with starting eyes, swelling bosoms, and fingers pointed in horror +towards me. +</p> + +<p> +Thinking that some venomous reptile must be concealed in the bark which I held +in my hand, I began cautiously to separate and examine it. Whilst I did so the +horrified girls re-doubled their shrieks. Their wild cries and frightened +motions actually alarmed me, and throwing down the tappa, I was about to rush +from the house, when in the same instant their clamours ceased, and one of +them, seizing me by the arm, pointed to the broken fibres that had just fallen +from my grasp, and screamed in my ears the fatal word Taboo! +</p> + +<p> +I subsequently found out that the fabric they were engaged in making was of a +peculiar kind, destined to be worn on the heads of the females, and through +every stage of its manufacture was guarded by a rigorous taboo, which +interdicted the whole masculine gender from even so much as touching it. +</p> + +<p> +Frequently in walking through the groves I observed bread-fruit and cocoanut +trees, with a wreath of leaves twined in a peculiar fashion about their trunks. +This was the mark of the taboo. The trees themselves, their fruit, and even the +shadows they cast upon the ground, were consecrated by its presence. In the +same way a pipe, which the king had bestowed upon me, was rendered sacred in +the eyes of the natives, none of whom could I ever prevail upon to smoke from +it. The bowl was encircled by a woven band of grass, somewhat resembling those +Turks’ heads occasionally worked in the handles of our whip-stalks. +</p> + +<p> +A similar badge was once braided about my wrist by the royal hand of Mehevi +himself, who, as soon as he had concluded the operation, pronounced me +‘Taboo’. This occurred shortly after Toby’s disappearance; +and, were it not that from the first moment I had entered the valley the +natives had treated me with uniform kindness, I should have supposed that their +conduct afterwards was to be ascribed to the fact that I had received this +sacred investiture. +</p> + +<p> +The capricious operations of the taboo are not its least remarkable feature: to +enumerate them all would be impossible. Black hogs—infants to a certain +age—women in an interesting situation—young men while the operation +of tattooing their faces is going on—and certain parts of the valley +during the continuance of a shower—are alike fenced about by the +operation of the taboo. +</p> + +<p> +I witnessed a striking instance of its effects in the bay of Tior, my visit to +which place has been alluded to in a former part of this narrative. On that +occasion our worthy captain formed one of the party. He was a most insatiable +sportsman. Outward bound, and off the pitch of Cape Horn, he used to sit on the +taffrail, and keep the steward loading three or four old fowling pieces, with +which he would bring down albatrosses, Cape pigeons, jays, petrels, and divers +other marine fowl, who followed chattering in our wake. The sailors were struck +aghast at his impiety, and one and all attributed our forty days’ beating +about that horrid headland to his sacrilegious slaughter of these inoffensive +birds. +</p> + +<p> +At Tior he evinced the same disregard for the religious prejudices of the +islanders, as he had previously shown for the superstitions of the sailors. +Having heard that there were a considerable number of fowls in the valley the +progeny of some cocks and hens accidentally left there by an English vessel, +and which, being strictly tabooed, flew about almost in a wild state—he +determined to break through all restraints, and be the death of them. +Accordingly, he provided himself with a most formidable looking gun, and +announced his landing on the beach by shooting down a noble cock that was +crowing what proved to be his own funeral dirge, on the limb of an adjoining +tree. ‘Taboo’, shrieked the affrighted savages. ‘Oh, hang +your taboo,’ says the nautical sportsman; ‘talk taboo to the +marines’; and bang went the piece again, and down came another victim. At +this the natives ran scampering through the groves, horror-struck at the +enormity of the act. +</p> + +<p> +All that afternoon the rocky sides of the valley rang with successive reports, +and the superb plumage of many a beautiful fowl was ruffled by the fatal +bullet. Had it not been that the French admiral, with a large party, was then +in the glen, I have no doubt that the natives, although their tribe was small +and dispirited, would have inflicted summary vengeance upon the man who thus +outraged their most sacred institutions; as it was, they contrived to annoy him +not a little. +</p> + +<p> +Thirsting with his exertions, the skipper directed his steps to a stream; but +the savages, who had followed at a little distance, perceiving his object, +rushed towards him and forced him away from its bank—his lips would have +polluted it. Wearied at last, he sought to enter a house that he might rest for +a while on the mats; its inmates gathered tumultuously about the door and +denied him admittance. He coaxed and blustered by turns, but in vain; the +natives were neither to be intimidated nor appeased, and as a final resort he +was obliged to call together his boat’s crew, and pull away from what he +termed the most infernal place he ever stepped upon. +</p> + +<p> +Lucky was it for him and for us that we were not honoured on our departure by a +salute of stones from the hands of the exasperated Tiors. In this way, on the +neighbouring island of Ropo, were killed, but a few weeks previously, and for a +nearly similar offence, the master and three of the crew of the K—-. +</p> + +<p> +I cannot determine with anything approaching to certainty, what power it is +that imposes the taboo. When I consider the slight disparity of condition among +the islanders—the very limited and inconsiderable prerogatives of the +king and chiefs—and the loose and indefinite functions of the priesthood, +most of whom were hardly to be distinguished from the rest of their countrymen, +I am wholly at a loss where to look for the authority which regulates this +potent institution. It is imposed upon something today, and withdrawn tomorrow; +while its operations in other cases are perpetual. Sometimes its restrictions +only affect a single individual—sometimes a particular +family—sometimes a whole tribe; and in a few instances they extend not +merely over the various clans on a single island, but over all the inhabitants +of an entire group. In illustration of this latter peculiarity, I may cite the +law which forbids a female to enter a canoe—a prohibition which prevails +upon all the northern Marquesas Islands. +</p> + +<p> +The word itself (taboo) is used in more than one signification. It is sometimes +used by a parent to his child, when in the exercise of parental authority he +forbids it to perform a particular action. Anything opposed to the ordinary +customs of the islanders, although not expressly prohibited, is said to be +‘taboo’. +</p> + +<p> +The Typee language is one very difficult to be acquired; it bears a close +resemblance to the other Polynesian dialects, all of which show a common +origin. The duplication of words, as ‘lumee lumee’, ‘poee +poee’, ‘muee muee’, is one of their peculiar features. But +another, and a more annoying one, is the different senses in which one and the +same word is employed; its various meanings all have a certain connection, +which only makes the matter more puzzling. So one brisk, lively little word is +obliged, like a servant in a poor family, to perform all sorts of duties; for +instance, one particular combination of syllables expresses the ideas of sleep, +rest, reclining, sitting, leaning, and all other things anywise analogous +thereto, the particular meaning being shown chiefly by a variety of gestures +and the eloquent expression of the countenance. +</p> + +<p> +The intricacy of these dialects is another peculiarity. In the Missionary +College at Lahainaluna, on Mowee, one of the Sandwich Islands, I saw a tabular +exhibition of a Hawiian verb, conjugated through all its moods and tenses. It +covered the side of a considerable apartment, and I doubt whether Sir William +Jones himself would not have despaired of mastering it. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"></a> +CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +STRANGE CUSTOM OF THE ISLANDERS—THEIR CHANTING, AND THE PECULIARITY OF +THEIR VOICE—RAPTURE OF THE KING AT FIRST HEARING A SONG—A NEW +DIGNITY CONFERRED ON THE AUTHOR—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE +VALLEY—ADMIRATION OF THE SAVAGES AT BEHOLDING A PUGILISTIC +PERFORMANCE—SWIMMING INFANT—BEAUTIFUL TRESSES OF THE +GIRLS—OINTMENT FOR THE HAIR +</p> + +<p> +Sadly discursive as I have already been, I must still further entreat the +reader’s patience, as I am about to string together, without any attempt +at order, a few odds and ends of things not hitherto mentioned, but which are +either curious in themselves or peculiar to the Typees. +</p> + +<p> +There was one singular custom observed in old Marheyo’s domestic +establishment, which often excited my surprise. Every night, before retiring, +the inmates of the house gathered together on the mats, and so squatting upon +their haunches, after the universal practice of these islanders, would commence +a low, dismal and monotonous chant, accompanying the voice with the +instrumental melody produced by two small half-rotten sticks tapped slowly +together, a pair of which were held in the hands of each person present. Thus +would they employ themselves for an hour or two, sometimes longer. Lying in the +gloom which wrapped the further end of the house, I could not avoid looking at +them, although the spectacle suggested nothing but unpleasant reflection. The +flickering rays of the ‘armor’ nut just served to reveal their +savage lineaments, without dispelling the darkness that hovered about them. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes when, after falling into a kind of doze, and awaking suddenly in the +midst of these doleful chantings, my eye would fall upon the wild-looking group +engaged in their strange occupation, with their naked tattooed limbs, and +shaven heads disposed in a circle, I was almost tempted to believe that I gazed +upon a set of evil beings in the act of working at a frightful incantation. +</p> + +<p> +What was the meaning or purpose of this custom, whether it was practiced merely +as a diversion, or whether it was a religious exercise, a sort of family +prayers, I never could discover. +</p> + +<p> +The sounds produced by the natives on these occasions were of a most singular +description; and had I not actually been present, I never would have believed +that such curious noises could have been produced by human beings. +</p> + +<p> +To savages generally is imputed a guttural articulation. This however, is not +always the case, especially among the inhabitants of the Polynesian +Archipelago. The labial melody with which the Typee girls carry on an ordinary +conversation, giving a musical prolongation to the final syllable of every +sentence, and chirping out some of the words with a liquid, bird-like accent, +was singularly pleasing. +</p> + +<p> +The men however, are not quite so harmonious in their utterance, and when +excited upon any subject, would work themselves up into a sort of wordy +paroxysm, during which all descriptions of rough-sided sounds were projected +from their mouths, with a force and rapidity which was absolutely astonishing. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Although these savages are remarkably fond of chanting, still they appear to +have no idea whatever of singing, at least as the art is practised in other +nations. +</p> + +<p> +I shall never forget the first time I happened to roar out a stave in the +presence of noble Mehevi. It was a stanza from the ‘Bavarian +broom-seller’. His Typeean majesty, with all his court, gazed upon me in +amazement, as if I had displayed some preternatural faculty which Heaven had +denied to them. The King was delighted with the verse; but the chorus fairly +transported him. At his solicitation I sang it again and again, and nothing +could be more ludicrous than his vain attempts to catch the air and the words. +The royal savage seemed to think that by screwing all the features of his face +into the end of his nose he might possibly succeed in the undertaking, but it +failed to answer the purpose; and in the end he gave it up, and consoled +himself by listening to my repetition of the sounds fifty times over. +</p> + +<p> +Previous to Mehevi’s making the discovery, I had never been aware that +there was anything of the nightingale about me; but I was now promoted to the +place of court-minstrel, in which capacity I was afterwards perpetually called +upon to officiate. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Besides the sticks and the drums, there are no other musical instruments among +the Typees, except one which might appropriately be denominated a nasal flute. +It is somewhat longer than an ordinary fife; is made of a beautiful +scarlet-coloured reed; and has four or five stops, with a large hole near one +end, which latter is held just beneath the left nostril. The other nostril +being closed by a peculiar movement of the muscles about the nose, the breath +is forced into the tube, and produces a soft dulcet sound which is varied by +the fingers running at random over the stops. This is a favourite recreation +with the females and one in which Fayaway greatly excelled. Awkward as such an +instrument may appear, it was, in Fayaway’s delicate little hands, one of +the most graceful I have ever seen. A young lady, in the act of tormenting a +guitar strung about her neck by a couple of yards of blue ribbon, is not half +so engaging. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Singing was not the only means I possessed of diverting the royal Mehevi and +his easy-going subject. Nothing afforded them more pleasure than to see me go +through the attitude of pugilistic encounter. As not one of the natives had +soul enough in him to stand up like a man, and allow me to hammer away at him, +for my own personal gratification and that of the king, I was necessitated to +fight with an imaginary enemy, whom I invariably made to knock under to my +superior prowess. Sometimes when this sorely battered shadow retreated +precipitately towards a group of the savages, and, following him up, I rushed +among them dealing my blows right and left, they would disperse in all +directions much to the enjoyment of Mehevi, the chiefs, and themselves. +</p> + +<p> +The noble art of self-defence appeared to be regarded by them as the peculiar +gift of the white man; and I make little doubt that they supposed armies of +Europeans were drawn up provided with nothing else but bony fists and stout +hearts, with which they set to in column, and pummelled one another at the word +of command. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +One day, in company with Kory-Kory, I had repaired to the stream for the +purpose of bathing, when I observed a woman sitting upon a rock in the midst of +the current, and watching with the liveliest interest the gambols of something, +which at first I took to be an uncommonly large species of frog that was +sporting in the water near her. Attracted by the novelty of the sight, I waded +towards the spot where she sat, and could hardly credit the evidence of my +senses when I beheld a little infant, the period of whose birth could not have +extended back many days, paddling about as if it had just risen to the surface, +after being hatched into existence at the bottom. Occasionally, the delighted +parent reached out her hand towards it, when the little thing, uttering a faint +cry, and striking out its tiny limbs, would sidle for the rock, and the next +moment be clasped to its mother’s bosom. This was repeated again and +again, the baby remaining in the stream about a minute at a time. Once or twice +it made wry faces at swallowing a mouthful of water, and choked a spluttered as +if on the point of strangling. At such times however, the mother snatched it up +and by a process scarcely to be mentioned obliged it to eject the fluid. For +several weeks afterwards I observed this woman bringing her child down to the +stream regularly every day, in the cool of the morning and evening and treating +it to a bath. No wonder that the South Sea Islanders are so amphibious a race, +when they are thus launched into the water as soon as they see the light. I am +convinced that it is as natural for a human being to swim as it is for a duck. +And yet in civilized communities how many able-bodied individuals die, like so +many drowning kittens, from the occurrence of the most trivial accidents! +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The long luxuriant and glossy tresses of the Typee damsels often attracted my +admiration. A fine head of hair is the pride and joy of every woman’s +heart. Whether against the express will of Providence, it is twisted upon the +crown of the head and there coiled away like a rope on a ship’s deck; +whether it be stuck behind the ears and hangs down like the swag of a small +window-curtain; or whether it be permitted to flow over the shoulders in +natural ringlets, it is always the pride of the owner, and the glory of the +toilette. +</p> + +<p> +The Typee girls devote much of their time to the dressing of their fair and +redundant locks. After bathing, as they sometimes do five or six times every +day, the hair is carefully dried, and if they have been in the sea, invariably +washed in fresh water, and anointed with a highly scented oil extracted from +the meat of the cocoanut. This oil is obtained in great abundance by the +following very simple process: +</p> + +<p> +A large vessel of wood, with holes perforated in the bottom, is filled with the +pounded meat, and exposed to the rays of the sun. As the oleaginous matter +exudes, it falls in drops through the apertures into a wide-mouthed calabash +placed underneath. After a sufficient quantity has thus been collected, the oil +undergoes a purifying process, and is then poured into the small spherical +shells of the nuts of the moo-tree, which are hollowed out to receive it. These +nuts are then hermetically sealed with a resinous gum, and the vegetable +fragrance of their green rind soon imparts to the oil a delightful odour. After +the lapse of a few weeks the exterior shell of the nuts becomes quite dry and +hard, and assumes a beautiful carnation tint; and when opened they are found to +be about two-thirds full of an ointment of a light yellow colour and diffusing +the sweetest perfume. This elegant little odorous globe would not be out of +place even upon the toilette of a queen. Its merits as a preparation for the +hair are undeniable—it imparts to it a superb gloss and a silky fineness. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"></a> +CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +APPREHENSIONS OF EVIL—FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY—SOME REMARKS ON +CANNIBALISM—SECOND BATTLE WITH THE HAPPARS—SAVAGE +SPECTACLE—MYSTERIOUS FEAST—SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURES +</p> + +<p> +From the time of my casual encounter with Karky the artist, my life was one of +absolute wretchedness. Not a day passed but I was persecuted by the +solicitations of some of the natives to subject myself to the odious operation +of tattooing. Their importunities drove me half wild, for I felt how easily +they might work their will upon me regarding this or anything else which they +took into their heads. Still, however, the behaviour of the islanders towards +me was as kind as ever. Fayaway was quite as engaging; Kory-Kory as devoted; +and Mehevi the king just as gracious and condescending as before. But I had now +been three months in their valley, as nearly as I could estimate; I had grown +familiar with the narrow limits to which my wandering had been confined; and I +began bitterly to feel the state of captivity in which I was held. There was no +one with whom I could freely converse; no one to whom I could communicate my +thoughts; no one who could sympathize with my sufferings. A thousand times I +thought how much more endurable would have been my lot had Toby still been with +me. But I was left alone, and the thought was terrible to me. Still, despite my +griefs, I did all in my power to appear composed and cheerful, well knowing +that by manifesting any uneasiness, or any desire to escape, I should only +frustrate my object. +</p> + +<p> +It was during the period I was in this unhappy frame of mind that the painful +malady under which I had been labouring—after having almost completely +subsided—began again to show itself, and with symptoms as violent as +ever. This added calamity nearly unmanned me; the recurrence of the complaint +proved that without powerful remedial applications all hope of cure was futile; +and when I reflected that just beyond the elevations, which bound me in, was +the medical relief I needed, and that although so near, it was impossible for +me to avail myself of it, the thought was misery. +</p> + +<p> +In this wretched situation, every circumstance which evinced the savage nature +of the beings at whose mercy I was, augmented the fearful apprehensions that +consumed me. An occurrence which happened about this time affected me most +powerfully. +</p> + +<p> +I have already mentioned that from the ridge-pole of Marheyo’s house were +suspended a number of packages enveloped in tappa. Many of these I had often +seen in the hands of the natives, and their contents had been examined in my +presence. But there were three packages hanging very nearly over the place +where I lay, which from their remarkable appearance had often excited my +curiosity. Several times I had asked Kory-Kory to show me their contents, but +my servitor, who, in almost every other particular had acceded to my wishes, +refused to gratify me in this. +</p> + +<p> +One day, returning unexpectedly from the ‘Ti’, my arrival seemed to +throw the inmates of the house into the greatest confusion. They were seated +together on the mats, and by the lines which extended from the roof to the +floor I immediately perceived that the mysterious packages were for some +purpose or another under inspection. The evident alarm the savages betrayed +filled me with forebodings of evil, and with an uncontrollable desire to +penetrate the secret so jealously guarded. Despite the efforts of Marheyo and +Kory-Kory to restrain me, I forced my way into the midst of the circle, and +just caught a glimpse of three human heads, which others of the party were +hurriedly enveloping in the coverings from which they had been taken. +</p> + +<p> +One of the three I distinctly saw. It was in a state of perfect preservation, +and from the slight glimpse I had of it, seemed to have been subjected to some +smoking operation which had reduced it to the dry, hard, and mummy-like +appearance it presented. The two long scalp locks were twisted up into balls +upon the crown of the head in the same way that the individual had worn them +during life. The sunken cheeks were rendered yet more ghastly by the rows of +glistening teeth which protruded from between the lips, while the sockets of +the eyes—filled with oval bits of mother-of-pearl shell, with a black +spot in the centre—heightened the hideousness of its aspect. +</p> + +<p> +Two of the three were heads of the islanders; but the third, to my horror, was +that of a white man. Although it had been quickly removed from my sight, still +the glimpse I had of it was enough to convince me that I could not be mistaken. +</p> + +<p> +Gracious God! what dreadful thoughts entered my head; in solving this mystery +perhaps I had solved another, and the fate of my lost companion might be +revealed in the shocking spectacle I had just witnessed. I longed to have torn +off the folds of cloth and satisfied the awful doubts under which I laboured. +But before I had recovered from the consternation into which I had been thrown, +the fatal packages were hoisted aloft, and once more swung over my head. The +natives now gathered round me tumultuously, and laboured to convince me that +what I had just seen were the heads of three Happar warriors, who had been +slain in battle. This glaring falsehood added to my alarm, and it was not until +I reflected that I had observed the packages swinging from their elevation +before Toby’s disappearance, that I could at all recover my composure. +</p> + +<p> +But although this horrible apprehension had been dispelled, I had discovered +enough to fill me, in my present state of mind, with the most bitter +reflections. It was plain that I had seen the last relic of some unfortunate +wretch, who must have been massacred on the beach by the savages, in one of +those perilous trading adventures which I have before described. +</p> + +<p> +It was not, however, alone the murder of the stranger that overcame me with +gloom. I shuddered at the idea of the subsequent fate his inanimate body might +have met with. Was the same doom reserved for me? Was I destined to perish like +him—like him perhaps, to be devoured and my head to be preserved as a +fearful memento of the events? My imagination ran riot in these horrid +speculations, and I felt certain that the worst possible evils would befall me. +But whatever were my misgivings, I studiously concealed them from the +islanders, as well as the full extent of the discovery I had made. +</p> + +<p> +Although the assurances which the Typees had often given me, that they never +eat human flesh, had not convinced me that such was the case, yet, having been +so long a time in the valley without witnessing anything which indicated the +existence of the practice, I began to hope that it was an event of very rare +occurrence, and that I should be spared the horror of witnessing it during my +stay among them: but, alas, these hopes were soon destroyed. +</p> + +<p> +It is a singular fact, that in all our accounts of cannibal tribes we have +seldom received the testimony of an eye-witness account to this revolting +practice. The horrible conclusion has almost always been derived from the +second-hand evidence of Europeans, or else from the admissions of the savages +themselves, after they have in some degree become civilized. The Polynesians +are aware of the detestation in which Europeans hold this custom, and therefore +invariably deny its existence, and with the craft peculiar to savages, +endeavour to conceal every trace of it. +</p> + +<p> +The excessive unwillingness betrayed by the Sandwich Islanders, even at the +present day, to allude to the unhappy fate of Cook, has often been remarked. +And so well have they succeeded in covering the event with mystery, that to +this very hour, despite all that has been said and written on the subject, it +still remains doubtful whether they wreaked upon his murdered body the +vengeance they sometimes inflicted upon their enemies. +</p> + +<p> +At Kealakekau, the scene of that tragedy, a strip of ship’s copper nailed +against an upright post in the ground used to inform the traveller that beneath +reposed the ‘remains’ of the great circumnavigator. But I am +strongly inclined to believe not only the corpse was refused Christian burial, +but that the heart which was brought to Vancouver some time after the event, +and which the Hawaiians stoutly maintained was that of Captain Cook, was no +such thing; and that the whole affair was a piece of imposture which was sought +to be palmed off upon the credulous Englishman. +</p> + +<p> +A few years since there was living on the island of Maui (one of the Sandwich +group) an old chief, who, actuated by a morbid desire for notoriety, gave +himself out among the foreign residents of the place as the living tomb of +Captain Cook’s big toe!—affirming that at the cannibal +entertainment which ensued after the lamented Briton’s death, that +particular portion of his body had fallen to his share. His indignant +countrymen actually caused him to be prosecuted in the native courts, on a +charge nearly equivalent to what we term defamation of character; but the old +fellow persisting in his assertion, and no invalidating proof being adduced, +the plaintiffs were cast in the suit, and the cannibal reputation of the +defendant firmly established. This result was the making of his fortune; ever +afterwards he was in the habit of giving very profitable audiences to all +curious travellers who were desirous of beholding the man who had eaten the +great navigator’s great toe. +</p> + +<p> +About a week after my discovery of the contents of the mysterious packages, I +happened to be at the Ti, when another war-alarm was sounded, and the natives +rushing to their arms, sallied out to resist a second incursion of the Happar +invaders. The same scene was again repeated, only that on this occasion I heard +at least fifteen reports of muskets from the mountains during the time that the +skirmish lasted. An hour or two after its termination, loud paeans chanted +through the valley announced the approach of the victors. I stood with +Kory-Kory leaning against the railing of the pi-pi awaiting their advance, when +a tumultuous crowd of islanders emerged with wild clamours from the +neighbouring groves. In the midst of them marched four men, one preceding the +other at regular intervals of eight or ten feet, with poles of a corresponding +length, extending from shoulder to shoulder, to which were lashed with thongs +of bark three long narrow bundles, carefully wrapped in ample coverings of +freshly plucked palm-leaves, tacked together with slivers of bamboo. Here and +there upon these green winding-sheets might be seen the stains of blood, while +the warriors who carried the frightful burdens displayed upon their naked limbs +similar sanguinary marks. The shaven head of the foremost had a deep gash upon +it, and the clotted gore which had flowed from the wound remained in dry +patches around it. The savage seemed to be sinking under the weight he bore. +The bright tattooing upon his body was covered with blood and dust; his +inflamed eyes rolled in their sockets, and his whole appearance denoted +extraordinary suffering and exertion; yet sustained by some powerful impulse, +he continued to advance, while the throng around him with wild cheers sought to +encourage him. The other three men were marked about the arms and breasts with +several slight wounds, which they somewhat ostentatiously displayed. +</p> + +<p> +These four individuals, having been the most active in the late encounter, +claimed the honour of bearing the bodies of their slain enemies to the Ti. Such +was the conclusion I drew from my own observations, and, as far as I could +understand, from the explanation which Kory-Kory gave me. +</p> + +<p> +The royal Mehevi walked by the side of these heroes. He carried in one hand a +musket, from the barrel of which was suspended a small canvas pouch of powder, +and in the other he grasped a short javelin, which he held before him and +regarded with fierce exultation. This javelin he had wrested from a celebrated +champion of the Happars, who had ignominiously fled, and was pursued by his +foes beyond the summit of the mountain. +</p> + +<p> +When within a short distance of the Ti, the warrior with the wounded head, who +proved to be Narmonee, tottered forward two or three steps, and fell helplessly +to the ground; but not before another had caught the end of the pole from his +shoulder, and placed it upon his own. +</p> + +<p> +The excited throng of islanders, who surrounded the person of the king and the +dead bodies of the enemy, approached the spot where I stood, brandishing their +rude implements of warfare, many of which were bruised and broken, and uttering +continual shouts of triumph. When the crowd drew up opposite the Ti, I set +myself to watch their proceedings most attentively; but scarcely had they +halted when my servitor, who had left my side for an instant, touched my arm +and proposed our returning to Marheyo’s house. To this I objected; but, +to my surprise, Kory-Kory reiterated his request, and with an unusual vehemence +of manner. Still, however, I refused to comply, and was retreating before him, +as in his importunity he pressed upon me, when I felt a heavy hand laid upon my +shoulder, and turning round, encountered the bulky form of Mow-Mow, a one-eyed +chief, who had just detached himself from the crowd below, and had mounted the +rear of the pi-pi upon which we stood. His cheek had been pierced by the point +of a spear, and the wound imparted a still more frightful expression to his +hideously tattooed face, already deformed by the loss of an eye. The warrior, +without uttering a syllable, pointed fiercely in the direction of +Marheyo’s house, while Kory-Kory, at the same time presenting his back, +desired me to mount. +</p> + +<p> +I declined this offer, but intimated my willingness to withdraw, and moved +slowly along the piazza, wondering what could be the cause of this unusual +treatment. A few minutes’ consideration convinced me that the savages +were about to celebrate some hideous rite in connection with their peculiar +customs, and at which they were determined I should not be present. I descended +from the pi-pi, and attended by Kory-Kory, who on this occasion did not show +his usual commiseration for my lameness, but seemed only anxious to hurry me +on, walked away from the place. As I passed through the noisy throng, which by +this time completely environed the Ti, I looked with fearful curiosity at the +three packages, which now were deposited upon the ground; but although I had no +doubt as to their contents, still their thick coverings prevented my actually +detecting the form of a human body. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, shortly after sunrise, the same thundering sounds which had +awakened me from sleep on the second day of the Feast of Calabashes, assured me +that the savages were on the eve of celebrating another, and, as I fully +believed, a horrible solemnity. +</p> + +<p> +All the inmates of the house, with the exception of Marheyo, his son, and +Tinor, after assuming their gala dresses, departed in the direction of the +Taboo Groves. +</p> + +<p> +Although I did not anticipate a compliance with my request, still, with a view +of testing the truth of my suspicions, I proposed to Kory-Kory that, according +to our usual custom in the morning, we should take a stroll to the Ti: he +positively refused; and when I renewed the request, he evinced his +determination to prevent my going there; and, to divert my mind from the +subject, he offered to accompany me to the stream. We accordingly went, and +bathed. On our coming back to the house, I was surprised to find that all its +inmates had returned, and were lounging upon the mats as usual, although the +drums still sounded from the groves. +</p> + +<p> +The rest of the day I spent with Kory-Kory and Fayaway, wandering about a part +of the valley situated in an opposite direction from the Ti, and whenever I so +much as looked towards that building, although it was hidden from view by +intervening trees, and at the distance of more than a mile, my attendant would +exclaim, ‘Taboo, taboo!’ +</p> + +<p> +At the various houses where we stopped, I found many of the inhabitants +reclining at their ease, or pursuing some light occupation, as if nothing +unusual were going forward; but amongst them all I did not perceive a single +chief or warrior. When I asked several of the people why they were not at the +‘Hoolah Hoolah’ (the feast), their uniformly answered the question +in a manner which implied that it was not intended for them, but for Mehevi, +Narmonee, Mow-Mow, Kolor, Womonoo, Kalow, running over, in their desire to make +me comprehend their meaning, the names of all the principal chiefs. +</p> + +<p> +Everything, in short, strengthened my suspicions with regard to the nature of +the festival they were now celebrating; and which amounted almost to a +certainty. While in Nukuheva I had frequently been informed that the whole +tribe were never present at these cannibal banquets, but the chiefs and priests +only; and everything I now observed agreed with the account. +</p> + +<p> +The sound of the drums continued without intermission the whole day, and +falling continually upon my ear, caused me a sensation of horror which I am +unable to describe. On the following day, hearing none of those noisy +indications of revelry, I concluded that the inhuman feast was terminated; and +feeling a kind of morbid curiosity to discover whether the Ti might furnish any +evidence of what had taken place there, I proposed to Kory-Kory to walk there. +To this proposition he replied by pointing with his finger to the newly risen +sun, and then up to the zenith, intimating that our visit must be deferred +until noon. Shortly after that hour we accordingly proceeded to the Taboo +Groves, and as soon as we entered their precincts, I looked fearfully round in, +quest of some memorial of the scene which had so lately been acted there; but +everything appeared as usual. On reaching the Ti, we found Mehevi and a few +chiefs reclining on the mats, who gave me as friendly a reception as ever. No +allusions of any kind were made by them to the recent events; and I refrained, +for obvious reasons, from referring to them myself. +</p> + +<p> +After staying a short time I took my leave. In passing along the piazza, +previously to descending from the pi-pi, I observed a curiously carved vessel +of wood, of considerable size, with a cover placed over it, of the same +material, and which resembled in shape a small canoe. It was surrounded by a +low railing of bamboos, the top of which was scarcely a foot from the ground. +As the vessel had been placed in its present position since my last visit, I at +once concluded that it must have some connection with the recent festival, and, +prompted by a curiosity I could not repress, in passing it I raised one end of +the cover; at the same moment the chiefs, perceiving my design, loudly +ejaculated, ‘Taboo! taboo!’ +</p> + +<p> +But the slight glimpse sufficed; my eyes fell upon the disordered members of a +human skeleton, the bones still fresh with moisture, and with particles of +flesh clinging to them here and there! +</p> + +<p> +Kory-Kory, who had been a little in advance of me, attracted by the +exclamations of the chiefs, turned round in time to witness the expression of +horror on my countenance. He now hurried towards me, pointing at the same time +to the canoe, and exclaiming rapidly, ‘Puarkee! puarkee!’ (Pig, +pig). I pretended to yield to the deception, and repeated the words after him +several times, as though acquiescing in what he said. The other savages, either +deceived by my conduct or unwilling to manifest their displeasure at what could +not now be remedied, took no further notice of the occurrence, and I +immediately left the Ti. +</p> + +<p> +All that night I lay awake, revolving in my mind the fearful situation in which +I was placed. The last horrid revelation had now been made, and the full sense +of my condition rushed upon my mind with a force I had never before +experienced. +</p> + +<p> +Where, thought I, desponding, is there the slightest prospect of escape? The +only person who seemed to possess the ability to assist me was the stranger +Marnoo; but would he ever return to the valley? and if he did, should I be +permitted to hold any communication with him? It seemed as if I were cut off +from every source of hope, and that nothing remained but passively to await +whatever fate was in store for me. A thousand times I endeavoured to account +for the mysterious conduct of the natives. +</p> + +<p> +For what conceivable purpose did they thus retain me a captive? What could be +their object in treating me with such apparent kindness, and did it not cover +some treacherous scheme? Or, if they had no other design than to hold me a +prisoner, how should I be able to pass away my days in this narrow valley, +deprived of all intercourse with civilized beings, and for ever separated from +friends and home? +</p> + +<p> +One only hope remained to me. The French could not long defer a visit to the +bay, and if they should permanently locate any of their troops in the valley, +the savages could not for any length of time conceal my existence from them. +But what reason had I to suppose that I should be spared until such an event +occurred, an event which might be postponed by a hundred different +contingencies? +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"></a> +CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE STRANGER AGAIN ARRIVES IN THE VALLEY—SINGULAR INTERVIEW WITH +HIM—ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE—FAILURE—MELANCHOLY +SITUATION—SYMPATHY OF MARHEYO +</p> + +<p> +‘Marnoo, Marnoo pemi!’ Such were the welcome sounds which fell upon +my ear some ten days after the events related in the preceding chapter. Once +more the approach of the stranger was heralded, and the intelligence operated +upon me like magic. Again I should be able to converse with him in my own +language; and I resolve at all hazards to concert with him some scheme, however +desperate, to rescue me from a condition that had now become insupportable. +</p> + +<p> +As he drew near, I remembered with many misgivings the inauspicious termination +of our former interview, and when he entered the house, I watched with intense +anxiety the reception he met with from its inmates. To my joy, his appearance +was hailed with the liveliest pleasure; and accosting me kindly, he seated +himself by my side, and entered into conversation with the natives around him. +It soon appeared however, that on this occasion he had not any intelligence of +importance to communicate. I inquired of him from whence he had just come? He +replied from Pueearka, his native valley, and that he intended to return to it +the same day. +</p> + +<p> +At once it struck me that, could I but reach that valley under his protection, +I might easily from thence reach Nukuheva by water; and animated by the +prospect which this plan held, out I disclosed it in a few brief words to the +stranger, and asked him how it could be best accomplished. My heart sunk within +me, when in his broken English he answered me that it could never be effected. +‘Kanaka no let you go nowhere,’ he said; ‘you taboo. Why you +no like to stay? Plenty moee-moee (sleep)—plenty ki-ki (eat)—plenty +wahenee (young girls)—Oh, very good place Typee! Suppose you no like this +bay, why you come? You no hear about Typee? All white men afraid Typee, so no +white men come.’ +</p> + +<p> +These words distressed me beyond belief; and when I had again related to him +the circumstances under which I had descended into the valley, and sought to +enlist his sympathies in my behalf by appealing to the bodily misery I had +endure, he listened with impatience, and cut me short by exclaiming +passionately, ‘Me no hear you talk any more; by by Kanaka get mad, kill +you and me too. No you see he no want you to speak at all?—you +see—ah! by by you no mind—you get well, he kill you, eat you, hang +you head up there, like Happar Kanaka.—Now you listen—but no talk +any more. By by I go;—you see way I go—Ah! then some night Kanaka +all moee-moee (sleep)—you run away, you come Pueearka. I speak Pueearka +Kanaka—he no harm you—ah! then I take you my canoe +Nukuheva—and you run away ship no more.’ With these words, enforced +by a vehemence of gesture I cannot describe, Marnoo started from my side, and +immediately engaged in conversation with some of the chiefs who had entered the +house. +</p> + +<p> +It would have been idle for me to have attempted resuming the interview so +peremptorily terminated by Marnoo, who was evidently little disposed to +compromise his own safety by any rash endeavour to ensure mine. But the plan he +had suggested struck me as one which might possibly be accomplished, and I +resolved to act upon it as speedily as possible. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, when he arose to depart, I accompanied him with the natives +outside of the house, with a view of carefully noting the path he would take in +leaving the valley. Just before leaping from the pi-pi he clasped my hand, and +looking significantly at me, exclaimed, ‘Now you see—you do what I +tell you—ah! then you do good;—you no do so—ah! then you +die.’ The next moment he waved his spear to the islanders, and following +the route that conducted to a defile in the mountains lying opposite the Happar +side, was soon out of sight. +</p> + +<p> +A mode of escape was now presented to me, but how was I to avail myself of it? +I was continually surrounded by the savages; I could not stir from one house to +another without being attended by some of them; and even during the hours +devoted to slumber, the slightest movement which I made seemed to attract the +notice of those who shared the mats with me. In spite of these obstacles, +however, I determined forthwith to make the attempt. To do so with any prospect +of success, it was necessary that I should have at least two hours start before +the islanders should discover my absence; for with such facility was any alarm +spread through the valley, and so familiar, of course, were the inhabitants +with the intricacies of the groves, that I could not hope, lame and feeble as I +was, and ignorant of the route, to secure my escape unless I had this +advantage. It was also by night alone that I could hope to accomplish my +object, and then only by adopting the utmost precaution. +</p> + +<p> +The entrance to Marheyo’s habitation was through a low narrow opening in +its wicker-work front. This passage, for no conceivable reason that I could +devise, was always closed after the household had retired to rest, by drawing a +heavy slide across it, composed of a dozen or more bits of wood, ingeniously +fastened together by seizings of sinnate. When any of the inmates chose to go +outside, the noise occasioned by the removing of this rude door awakened every +body else; and on more than one occasion I had remarked that the islanders were +nearly as irritable as more civilized beings under similar circumstances. +</p> + +<p> +The difficulty thus placed in my way I, determined to obviate in the following +manner. I would get up boldly in the course of the night, and drawing the +slide, issue from the house, and pretend that my object was merely to procure a +drink from the calabash, which always stood without the dwelling on the corner +of the pi-pi. On re-entering I would purposely omit closing the passage after +me, and trusting that the indolence of the savages would prevent them from +repairing my neglect, would return to my mat, and waiting patiently until all +were again asleep, I would then steal forth, and at once take the route to +Pueearka. +</p> + +<p> +The very night which followed Marnoo’s departure, I proceeded to put this +project into execution. About midnight, as I imagined, I arose and drew the +slide. The natives, just as I had expected, started up, while some of them +asked, ‘Arware poo awa, Tommo?’ (where are you going, Tommo?) +‘Wai’ (water) I laconically answered, grasping the calabash. On +hearing my reply they sank back again, and in a minute or two I returned to my +mat, anxiously awaiting the result of the experiment. +</p> + +<p> +One after another the savages, turning restlessly, appeared to resume their +slumbers, and rejoicing at the stillness which prevailed, I was about to rise +again from my couch, when I heard a slight rustling—a dark form was +intercepted between me and the doorway—the slide was drawn across it, and +the individual, whoever he was, returned to his mat. This was a sad blow to me; +but as it might have aroused the suspicions of the islanders to have made +another attempt that night, I was reluctantly obliged to defer it until the +next. Several times after I repeated the same manoeuvre, but with as little +success as before. As my pretence for withdrawing from the house was to allay +my thirst, Kory-Kory either suspecting some design on my part, or else prompted +by a desire to please me, regularly every evening placed a calabash of water by +my side. +</p> + +<p> +Even, under these inauspicious circumstances I again and again renewed the +attempt, but when I did so, my valet always rose with me, as if determined I +should not remove myself from his observation. For the present, therefore, I +was obliged to abandon the attempt; but I endeavoured to console myself with +the idea that by this mode I might yet effect my escape. +</p> + +<p> +Shortly after Marnoo’s visit I was reduced to such a state that it was +with extreme difficulty I could walk, even with the assistance of a spear, and +Kory-Kory, as formerly, was obliged to carry me daily to the stream. +</p> + +<p> +For hours and hours during the warmest part of the day I lay upon my mat, and +while those around me were nearly all dozing away in careless ease, I remained +awake, gloomily pondering over the fate which it appeared now idle for me to +resist, when I thought of the loved friends who were thousands and thousands of +miles from the savage island in which I was held a captive, when I reflected +that my dreadful fate would for ever be concealed from them, and that with hope +deferred they might continue to await my return long after my inanimate form +had blended with the dust of the valley—I could not repress a shudder of +anguish. +</p> + +<p> +How vividly is impressed upon my mind every minute feature of the scene which +met my view during those long days of suffering and sorrow. At my request my +mats were always spread directly facing the door, opposite which, and at a +little distance, was the hut of boughs that Marheyo was building. +</p> + +<p> +Whenever my gentle Fayaway and Kory-Kory, laying themselves down beside me, +would leave me awhile to uninterrupted repose, I took a strange interest in the +slightest movements of the eccentric old warrior. All alone during the +stillness of the tropical mid-day, he would pursue his quiet work, sitting in +the shade and weaving together the leaflets of his cocoanut branches, or +rolling upon his knee the twisted fibres of bark to form the cords with which +he tied together the thatching of his tiny house. Frequently suspending his +employment, and noticing my melancholy eye fixed upon him, he would raise his +hand with a gesture expressive of deep commiseration, and then moving towards +me slowly, would enter on tip-toes, fearful of disturbing the slumbering +natives, and, taking the fan from my hand, would sit before me, swaying it +gently to and fro, and gazing earnestly into my face. +</p> + +<p> +Just beyond the pi-pi, and disposed in a triangle before the entrance of the +house, were three magnificent bread-fruit trees. At this moment I can recap to +my mind their slender shafts, and the graceful inequalities of their bark, on +which my eye was accustomed to dwell day after day in the midst of my solitary +musings. It is strange how inanimate objects will twine themselves into our +affections, especially in the hour of affliction. Even now, amidst all the +bustle and stir of the proud and busy city in which I am dwelling, the image of +those three trees seems to come as vividly before my eyes as if they were +actually present, and I still feel the soothing quiet pleasure which I then had +in watching hour after hour their topmost boughs waving gracefully in the +breeze. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2HCH0034" id="link2HCH0034"></a> +CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +THE ESCAPE +</p> + +<p> +Nearly three weeks had elapsed since the second visit of Marnoo, and it must +have been more than four months since I entered the valley, when one day about +noon, and whilst everything was in profound silence, Mow-Mow, the one-eyed +chief, suddenly appeared at the door, and leaning towards me as I lay directly +facing him, said in a low tone, ‘Toby pemi ena’ (Toby has arrived +here). Gracious heaven! What a tumult of emotions rushed upon me at this +startling intelligence! Insensible to the pain that had before distracted me, I +leaped to my feet, and called wildly to Kory-Kory who was reposing by my side. +The startled islanders sprang from their mats; the news was quickly +communicated to them; and the next moment I was making my way to the Ti on the +back of Kory-Kory; and surrounded by the excited savages. +</p> + +<p> +All that I could comprehend of the particulars which Mow-Mow rehearsed to his +audience as we proceeded, was that my long-lost companion had arrived in a boat +which had just entered the bay. These tidings made me most anxious to be +carried at once to the sea, lest some untoward circumstance should prevent our +meeting; but to this they would not consent, and continued their course towards +the royal abode. As we approached it, Mehevi and several chiefs showed +themselves from the piazza, and called upon us loudly to come to them. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as we had approached, I endeavoured to make them understand that I was +going down to the sea to meet Toby. To this the king objected, and motioned +Kory-Kory to bring me into the house. It was in vain to resist; and in a few +moments I found myself within the Ti, surrounded by a noisy group engaged in +discussing the recent intelligence. Toby’s name was frequently repeated, +coupled with violent exclamations of astonishment. It seemed as if they yet +remained in doubt with regard to the fact of his arrival, at at every fresh +report that was brought from the shore they betrayed the liveliest emotions. +</p> + +<p> +Almost frenzied at being held in this state of suspense, I passionately +besought Mehevi to permit me to proceed. Whether my companion had arrived or +not, I felt a presentiment that my own fate was about to be decided. Again and +again I renewed my petition to Mehevi. He regarded me with a fixed and serious +eye, but at length yielding to my importunity, reluctantly granted my request. +</p> + +<p> +Accompanied by some fifty of the natives, I now rapidly continued my journey; +every few moments being transferred from the back of one to another, and urging +my bearer forward all the while with earnest entreaties. As I thus hurried +forward, no doubt as to the truth of the information I had received ever +crossed my mind. +</p> + +<p> +I was alive only to the one overwhelming idea, that a chance of deliverance was +now afforded me, if the jealous opposition of the savages could be overcome. +</p> + +<p> +Having been prohibited from approaching the sea during the whole of my stay in +the valley, I had always associated with it the idea of escape. Toby +too—if indeed he had ever voluntarily deserted me—must have +effected this flight by the sea; and now that I was drawing near to it myself, +I indulged in hopes which I had never felt before. It was evident that a boat +had entered the bay, and I saw little reason to doubt the truth of the report +that it had brought my companion. Every time therefore that we gained an +elevation, I looked eagerly around, hoping to behold him. In the midst of an +excited throng, who by their violent gestures and wild cries appeared to be +under the influence of some excitement as strong as my own, I was now borne +along at a rapid trot, frequently stooping my head to avoid the branches which +crossed the path, and never ceasing to implore those who carried me to +accelerate their already swift pace. +</p> + +<p> +In this manner we had proceeded about four or five miles, when we were met by a +party of some twenty islanders, between whom and those who accompanied me +ensued an animated conference. Impatient of the delay occasioned by this +interruption, I was beseeching the man who carried me to proceed without his +loitering companions, when Kory-Kory, running to my side, informed me, in three +fatal words, that the news had all proved, false—that Toby had not +arrived—‘Toby owlee pemi’. Heaven only knows how, in the +state of mind and body I then was, I ever sustained the agony which this +intelligence caused me; not that the news was altogether unexpected; but I had +trusted that the fact might not have been made known until we should have +arrived upon the beach. As it was, I at once foresaw the course the savages +would pursue. They had only yielded thus far to my entreaties, that I might +give a joyful welcome to my long-lost comrade; but now that it was known he had +not arrived they would at once oblige me to turn back. +</p> + +<p> +My anticipations were but too correct. In spite of the resistance I made, they +carried me into a house which was near the spot, and left me upon the mats. +Shortly afterwards several of those who had accompanied me from the Ti, +detaching themselves from the others, proceeded in the direction of the sea. +Those who remained—among whom were Marheyo, Mow-Mow, Kory-Kory, and +Tinor—gathered about the dwelling, and appeared to be awaiting their +return. +</p> + +<p> +This convinced me that strangers—perhaps some of my own +countrymen—had for some cause or other entered the bay. Distracted at the +idea of their vicinity, and reckless of the pain which I suffered, I heeded not +the assurances of the islanders, that there were no boats at the beach, but +starting to my feet endeavoured to gain the door. Instantly the passage was +blocked up by several men, who commanded me to resume my seat. The fierce looks +of the irritated savages admonished me that I could gain nothing by force, and +that it was by entreaty alone that I could hope to compass my object. +</p> + +<p> +Guided by this consideration, I turned to Mow-Mow, the only chief present whom +I had been much in the habit of seeing, and carefully concealing, my real +design, tried to make him comprehend that I still believed Toby to have arrived +on the shore, and besought him to allow me to go forward to welcome him. +</p> + +<p> +To all his repeated assertions, that my companion had not been seen, I +pretended to turn a deaf ear, while I urged my solicitations with an eloquence +of gesture which the one-eyed chief appeared unable to resist. He seemed indeed +to regard me as a forward child, to whose wishes he had not the heart to oppose +force, and whom he must consequently humour. He spoke a few words to the +natives, who at once retreated from the door, and I immediately passed out of +the house. +</p> + +<p> +Here I looked earnestly round for Kory-Kory; but that hitherto faithful +servitor was nowhere to be seen. Unwilling to linger even for a single instant +when every moment might be so important, I motioned to a muscular fellow near +me to take me upon his back; to my surprise he angrily refused. I turned to +another, but with a like result. A third attempt was as unsuccessful, and I +immediately perceived what had induced Mow-Mow to grant my request, and why the +other natives conducted themselves in so strange a manner. It was evident that +the chief had only given me liberty to continue my progress towards the sea, +because he supposed that I was deprived of the means of reaching it. +</p> + +<p> +Convinced by this of their determination to retain me a captive, I became +desperate; and almost insensible to the pain which I suffered, I seized a spear +which was leaning against the projecting eaves of the house, and supporting +myself with it, resumed the path that swept by the dwelling. To my surprise, I +was suffered to proceed alone; all the natives remaining in front of the house, +and engaging in earnest conversation, which every moment became more loud and +vehement; and to my unspeakable delight, I perceived that some difference of +opinion had arisen between them; that two parties, in short, were formed, and +consequently that in their divided counsels there was some chance of my +deliverance. +</p> + +<p> +Before I had proceeded a hundred yards I was again surrounded by the savages, +who were still in all the heat of argument, and appeared every moment as if +they would come to blows. In the midst of this tumult old Marheyo came to my +side, and I shall never forget the benevolent expression of his countenance. He +placed his arm upon my shoulder, and emphatically pronounced the only two +English words I had taught him ‘Home’ and ‘Mother’. I +at once understood what he meant, and eagerly expressed my thanks to him. +Fayaway and Kory-Kory were by his side, both weeping violently; and it was not +until the old man had twice repeated the command that his son could bring +himself to obey him, and take me again upon his back. The one-eyed chief +opposed his doing so, but he was overruled, and, as it seemed to me, by some of +his own party. +</p> + +<p> +We proceeded onwards, and never shall I forget the ecstasy I felt when I first +heard the roar of the surf breaking upon the beach. Before long I saw the +flashing billows themselves through the opening between the trees. Oh glorious +sight and sound of ocean! with what rapture did I hail you as familiar friends! +By this time the shouts of the crowd upon the beach were distinctly audible, +and in the blended confusion of sounds I almost fancied I could distinguish the +voices of my own countrymen. +</p> + +<p> +When we reached the open space which lay between the groves and the sea, the +first object that met my view was an English whale-boat, lying with her bow +pointed from the shore, and only a few fathoms distant from it. It was manned +by five islanders, dressed in shirt tunics of calico. My first impression was +that they were in the very act of pulling out from the bay; and that, after all +my exertions, I had come too late. My soul sunk within me: but a second glance +convinced me that the boat was only hanging off to keep out of the surf; and +the next moment I heard my own name shouted out by a voice from the midst of +the crowd. +</p> + +<p> +Looking in the direction of the sound, I perceived, to my indescribable joy, +the tall figure of Karakoee, an Oahu Kanaka, who had often been aboard the +‘Dolly’, while she lay in Nukuheva. He wore the green +shooting-jacket with gilt buttons, which had been given to him by an officer of +the Reine Blanche—the French flag-ship—and in which I had always +seen him dressed. I now remembered the Kanaka had frequently told me that his +person was tabooed in all the valleys of the island, and the sight of him at +such a moment as this filled my heart with a tumult of delight. +</p> + +<p> +Karakoee stood near the edge of the water with a large roll of cotton-cloth +thrown over one arm, and holding two or three canvas bags of powder, while with +the other hand he grasped a musket, which he appeared to be proffering to +several of the chiefs around him. But they turned with disgust from his offers +and seemed to be impatient at his presence, with vehement gestures waving him +off to his boat, and commanding him to depart. +</p> + +<p> +The Kanaka, however, still maintained his ground, and I at once perceived that +he was seeking to purchase my freedom. Animated by the idea, I called upon him +loudly to come to me; but he replied, in broken English, that the islanders had +threatened to pierce him with their spears, if he stirred a foot towards me. At +this time I was still advancing, surrounded by a dense throng of the natives, +several of whom had their hands upon me, and more than one javelin was +threateningly pointed at me. Still I perceived clearly that many of those least +friendly towards me looked irresolute and anxious. I was still some thirty +yards from Karakoee when my farther progress was prevented by the natives, who +compelled me to sit down upon the ground, while they still retained their hold +upon my arms. The din and tumult now became tenfold, and I perceived that +several of the priests were on the spot, all of whom were evidently urging +Mow-Mow and the other chiefs to prevent my departure; and the detestable word +‘Roo-ne! Roo-ne!’ which I had heard repeated a thousand times +during the day, was now shouted out on every side of me. Still I saw that the +Kanaka continued his exertions in my favour—that he was boldly debating +the matter with the savages, and was striving to entice them by displaying his +cloth and powder, and snapping the lock of his musket. But all he said or did +appeared only to augment the clamours of those around him, who seemed bent upon +driving him into the sea. +</p> + +<p> +When I remembered the extravagant value placed by these people upon the +articles which were offered to them in exchange for me, and which were so +indignantly rejected, I saw a new proof of the same fixed determination of +purpose they had all along manifested with regard to me, and in despair, and +reckless of consequences, I exerted all my strength, and shaking myself free +from the grasp of those who held me, I sprang upon my feet and rushed towards +Karakoee. +</p> + +<p> +The rash attempt nearly decided my fate; for, fearful that I might slip from +them, several of the islanders now raised a simultaneous shout, and pressing +upon Karakoee, they menaced him with furious gestures, and actually forced him +into the sea. Appalled at their violence, the poor fellow, standing nearly to +the waist in the surf, endeavoured to pacify them; but at length fearful that +they would do him some fatal violence, he beckoned to his comrades to pull in +at once, and take him into the boat. +</p> + +<p> +It was at this agonizing moment, when I thought all hope was ended, that a new +contest arose between the two parties who had accompanied me to the shore; +blows were struck, wounds were given, and blood flowed. In the interest excited +by the fray, every one had left me except Marheyo, Kory-Kory and poor dear +Fayaway, who clung to me, sobbing indignantly. I saw that now or never was the +moment. Clasping my hands together, I looked imploringly at Marheyo, and move +towards the now almost deserted beach. The tears were in the old man’s +eyes, but neither he nor Kory-Kory attempted to hold me, and I soon reached the +Kanaka, who had anxiously watched my movements; the rowers pulled in as near as +they dared to the edge of the surf; I gave one parting embrace to Fayaway, who +seemed speechless with sorrow, and the next instant I found myself safe in the +boat, and Karakoee by my side, who told the rowers at once to give way. Marheyo +and Kory-Kory, and a great many of the women, followed me into the water, and I +was determined, as the only mark of gratitude I could show, to give them the +articles which had been brought as my ransom. I handed the musket to Kory-Kory, +with a rapid gesture which was equivalent to a ‘Deed of Gift’; +threw the roll of cotton to old Marheyo, pointing as I did so to poor Fayaway, +who had retired from the edge of the water and was sitting down disconsolate on +the shingles; and tumbled the powder-bags out to the nearest young ladies, all +of whom were vastly willing to take them. This distribution did not occupy ten +seconds, and before it was over the boat was under full way; the Kanaka all the +while exclaiming loudly against what he considered a useless throwing away of +valuable property. +</p> + +<p> +Although it was clear that my movements had been noticed by several of the +natives, still they had not suspended the conflict in which they were engaged, +and it was not until the boat was above fifty yards from the shore that Mow-Mow +and some six or seven other warriors rushed into the sea and hurled their +javelins at us. Some of the weapons passed quite as close to us as was +desirable, but no one was wounded, and the men pulled away gallantly. But +although soon out of the reach of the spears, our progress was extremely slow; +it blew strong upon the shore, and the tide was against us; and I saw Karakoee, +who was steering the boat, give many a look towards a jutting point of the bay +round which we had to pass. +</p> + +<p> +For a minute or two after our departure, the savages, who had formed into +different groups, remained perfectly motionless and silent. All at-once the +enraged chief showed by his gestures that he had resolved what course he would +take. Shouting loudly to his companions, and pointing with his tomahawk towards +the headland, he set off at full speed in that direction, and was followed by +about thirty of the natives, among whom were several of the priests, all +yelling out ‘Roo-ne! Roo-ne!’ at the very top of their voices. +Their intention was evidently to swim off from the headland and intercept us in +our course. The wind was freshening every minute, and was right in our teeth, +and it was one of those chopping angry seas in which it is so difficult to row. +Still the chances seemed in our favour, but when we came within a hundred yards +of the point, the active savages were already dashing into the water, and we +all feared that within five minutes’ time we should have a score of the +infuriated wretches around us. If so our doom was sealed, for these savages, +unlike the feeble swimmer of civilized countries, are, if anything, more +formidable antagonists in the water than when on the land. It was all a trial +of strength; our natives pulled till their oars bent again, and the crowd of +swimmers shot through the water despite its roughness, with fearful rapidity. +</p> + +<p> +By the time we had reached the headland, the savages were spread right across +our course. Our rowers got out their knives and held them ready between their +teeth, and I seized the boat-hook. We were all aware that if they succeeded in +intercepting us they would practise upon us the manoeuvre which has proved so +fatal to many a boat’s crew in these seas. They would grapple the oars, +and seizing hold of the gunwhale, capsize the boat, and then we should be +entirely at their mercy. +</p> + +<p> +After a few breathless moments discerned Mow-Mow. The athletic islander, with +his tomahawk between his teeth, was dashing the water before him till it foamed +again. He was the nearest to us, and in another instant he would have seized +one of the oars. Even at the moment I felt horror at the act I was about to +commit; but it was no time for pity or compunction, and with a true aim, and +exerting all my strength, I dashed the boat-hook at him. It struck him just +below the throat, and forced him downwards. I had no time to repeat the blow, +but I saw him rise to the surface in the wake of the boat, and never shall I +forget the ferocious expression of his countenance. +</p> + +<p> +Only one other of the savages reached the boat. He seized the gunwhale, but the +knives of our rowers so mauled his wrists, that he was forced to quit his hold, +and the next minute we were past them all, and in safety. The strong excitement +which had thus far kept me up, now left me, and I fell back fainting into the +arms of Karakoee. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The circumstances connected with my most unexpected escape may be very briefly +stated. The captain of an Australian vessel, being in distress for men in these +remote seas, had put into Nukuheva in order to recruit his ship’s +company; but not a single man was to be obtained; and the barque was about to +get under weigh, when she was boarded by Karakoee, who informed the +disappointed Englishman that an American sailor was detained by the savages in +the neighbouring bay of Typee; and he offered, if supplied with suitable +articles of traffic, to undertake his release. The Kanaka had gained his +intelligence from Marnoo, to whom, after all, I was indebted for my escape. The +proposition was acceded to; and Karakoee, taking with him five tabooed natives +of Nukuheva, again repaired aboard the barque, which in a few hours sailed to +that part of the island, and threw her main-top-sail aback right off the +entrance to the Typee bay. The whale-boat, manned by the tabooed crew, pulled +towards the head of the inlet, while the ship lay ‘off and on’ +awaiting its return. +</p> + +<p> +The events which ensued have already been detailed, and little more remains to +be related. On reaching the ‘Julia’ I was lifted over the side, and +my strange appearance and remarkable adventure occasioned the liveliest +interest. Every attention was bestowed upon me that humanity could suggest. But +to such a state was I reduced, that three months elapsed before I recovered my +health. +</p> + +<p> +The mystery which hung over the fate of my friend and companion Toby has never +been cleared up. I still remain ignorant whether he succeeded in leaving the +valley, or perished at the hands of the islanders. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0038" id="link2H_4_0038"></a> +THE STORY OF TOBY</h2> + +<p> +The morning my comrade left me, as related in the narrative, he was accompanied +by a large party of the natives, some of them carrying fruit and hogs for the +purposes of traffic, as the report had spread that boats had touched at the +bay. +</p> + +<p> +As they proceeded through the settled parts of the valley, numbers joined them +from every side, running with animated cries from every pathway. So excited +were the whole party, that eager as Toby was to gain the beach, it was almost +as much as he could do to keep up with them. Making the valley ring with their +shouts, they hurried along on a swift trot, those in advance pausing now and +then, and flourishing their weapons to urge the rest forward. +</p> + +<p> +Presently they came to a place where the paths crossed a bend of the main +stream of the valley. Here a strange sound came through the grove beyond, and +the Islanders halted. It was Mow-Mow, the one-eyed chief, who had gone on +before; he was striking his heavy lance against the hollow bough of a tree. +</p> + +<p> +This was a signal of alarm;—for nothing was now heard but shouts of +‘Happar! Happar!’—the warriors tilting with their spears and +brandishing them in the air, and the women and boys shouting to each other, and +picking up the stones in the bed of the stream. In a moment or two Mow-Mow and +two or three other chiefs ran out from the grove, and the din increased ten +fold. +</p> + +<p> +Now, thought Toby, for a fray; and being unarmed, he besought one of the young +men domiciled with Marheyo for the loan of his spear. But he was refused; the +youth roguishly telling him that the weapon was very good for him (the Typee), +but that a white man could fight much better with his fists. +</p> + +<p> +The merry humour of this young wag seemed to be shared by the rest, for in +spite of their warlike cries and gestures, everybody was capering and laughing, +as if it was one of the funniest things in the world to be awaiting the flight +of a score or two of Happar javelins from an ambush in the thickets. +</p> + +<p> +While my comrade was in vain trying to make out the meaning of all this, a good +number of the natives separated themselves from the rest and ran off into the +grove on one side, the others now keeping perfectly still, as if awaiting the +result. After a little while, however, Mow-Mow, who stood in advance, motioned +them to come on stealthily, which they did, scarcely rustling a leaf. Thus they +crept along for ten or fifteen minutes, every now and then pausing to listen. +</p> + +<p> +Toby by no means relished this sort of skulking; if there was going to be a +fight, he wanted it to begin at once. But all in good time,—for just +then, as they went prowling into the thickest of the wood, terrific howls burst +upon them on all sides, and volleys of darts and stones flew across the path. +Not an enemy was to be seen, and what was still more surprising, not a single +man dropped, though the pebbles fell among the leaves like hail. +</p> + +<p> +There was a moment’s pause, when the Typees, with wild shrieks, flung +themselves into the covert, spear in hand; nor was Toby behindhand. Coming so +near getting his skull broken by the stones, and animated by an old grudge he +bore the Happars, he was among the first to dash at them. As he broke his way +through the underbush, trying, as he did so, to wrest a spear from a young +chief, the shouts of battle all of a sudden ceased, and the wood was as still +as death. The next moment, the party who had left them so mysteriously rushed +out from behind every bush and tree, and united with the rest in long and merry +peals of laughter. +</p> + +<p> +It was all a sham, and Toby, who was quite out of breath with excitement, was +much incensed at being made a fool of. +</p> + +<p> +It afterwards turned out that the whole affair had been concerted for his +particular benefit, though with what precise view it would be hard to tell. My +comrade was the more enraged at this boys’ play, since it had consumed so +much time, every moment of which might be precious. Perhaps, however, it was +partly intended for this very purpose; and he was led to think so, because when +the natives started again, he observed that they did not seem to be in so great +a hurry as before. At last, after they had gone some distance, Toby, thinking +all the while that they never would get to the sea, two men came running +towards them, and a regular halt ensued, followed by a noisy discussion, during +which Toby’s name was often repeated. All this made him more and more +anxious to learn what was going on at the beach; but it was in vain that he now +tried to push forward; the natives held him back. +</p> + +<p> +In a few moments the conference ended, and many of them ran down the path in +the direction of the water, the rest surrounding Toby, and entreating him to +‘Moee’, or sit down and rest himself. As an additional inducement, +several calabashes of food, which had been brought along, were now placed on +the ground, and opened, and pipes also were lighted. Toby bridled his +impatience a while, but at last sprang to his feet and dashed forward again. He +was soon overtaken nevertheless, and again surrounded, but without further +detention was then permitted to go down to the sea. +</p> + +<p> +They came out upon a bright green space between the groves and the water, and +close under the shadow of the Happar mountain, where a path was seen winding +out of sight through a gorge. +</p> + +<p> +No sign of a boat, however, was beheld, nothing but a tumultuous crowd of men +and women, and some one in their midst, earnestly talking to them. As my +comrade advanced, this person came forward and proved to be no stranger. He was +an old grizzled sailor, whom Toby and myself had frequently seen in Nukuheva, +where he lived an easy devil-may-care life in the household of Mowanna the +king, going by the name of ‘Jimmy’. In fact he was the royal +favourite, and had a good deal to say in his master’s councils. He wore a +Manilla hat and a sort of tappa morning gown, sufficiently loose and negligent +to show the verse of a song tattooed upon his chest, and a variety of spirited +cuts by native artists in other parts of his body. He sported a fishing rod in +his hand, and carried a sooty old pipe slung about his neck. +</p> + +<p> +This old rover having retired from active life, had resided in Nukuheva some +time—could speak the language, and for that reason was frequently +employed by the French as an interpreter. He was an arrant old gossip too; for +ever coming off in his canoe to the ships in the bay, and regaling their crews +with choice little morsels of court scandal—such, for instance, as a +shameful intrigue of his majesty with a Happar damsel, a public dancer at the +feasts—and otherwise relating some incredible tales about the Marquesas +generally. I remember in particular his telling the Dolly’s crew what +proved to be literally a cock-and-bull story, about two natural prodigies which +he said were then on the island. One was an old monster of a hermit, having a +marvellous reputation for sanctity, and reputed a famous sorcerer, who lived +away off in a den among the mountains, where he hid from the world a great pair +of horns that grew out of his temples. Notwithstanding his reputation for +piety, this horrid old fellow was the terror of all the island round, being +reported to come out from his retreat, and go a man-hunting every dark night. +Some anonymous Paul Pry, too, coming down the mountain, once got a peep at his +den, and found it full of bones. In short, he was a most unheard-of monster. +</p> + +<p> +The other prodigy Jimmy told us about was the younger son of a chief, who, +although but just turned of ten, had entered upon holy orders, because his +superstitious countrymen thought him especially intended for the priesthood +from the fact of his having a comb on his head like a rooster. But this was not +all; for still more wonderful to relate, the boy prided himself upon his +strange crest, being actually endowed with a cock’s voice, and frequently +crowing over his peculiarity. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to Toby. The moment he saw the old rover on the beach, he ran up +to him, the natives following after, and forming a circle round them. +</p> + +<p> +After welcoming him to the shore, Jimmy went on to tell him how that he knew +all about our having run away from the ship, and being among the Typees. +Indeed, he had been urged by Mowanna to come over to the valley, and after +visiting his friends there, to bring us back with him, his royal master being +exceedingly anxious to share with him the reward which had been held out for +our capture. He, however, assured Toby that he had indignantly spurned the +offer. +</p> + +<p> +All this astonished my comrade not a little, as neither of us had entertained +the least idea that any white man ever visited the Typees sociably. But Jimmy +told him that such was the case nevertheless, although he seldom came into the +bay, and scarcely ever went back from the beach. One of the priests of the +valley, in some way or other connected with an old tattooed divine in Nukuheva, +was a friend of his, and through him he was ‘taboo’. +</p> + +<p> +He said, moreover, that he was sometimes employed to come round to the bay, and +engage fruit for ships lying in Nukuheva. In fact, he was now on that very +errand, according to his own account, having just come across the mountains by +the way of Happar. By noon of the next day the fruit would be heaped up in +stacks on the beach, in readiness for the boats which he then intended to bring +into the bay. +</p> + +<p> +Jimmy now asked Toby whether he wished to leave the island—if he did, +there was a ship in want of men lying in the other harbour, and he would be +glad to take him over, and see him on board that very day. +</p> + +<p> +‘No,’ said Toby, ‘I cannot leave the island unless my comrade +goes with me. I left him up the valley because they would not let him come +down. Let us go now and fetch him.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘But how is he to cross the mountain with us,’ replied Jimmy, +‘even if we get him down to the beach? Better let him stay till tomorrow, +and I will bring him round to Nukuheva in the boats.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘That will never do,’ said Toby, ‘but come along with me now, +and let us get him down here at any rate,’ and yielding to the impulse of +the moment, he started to hurry back into the valley. But hardly was his back +turned, when a dozen hands were laid on him, and he learned that he could not +go a step further. +</p> + +<p> +It was in vain that he fought with them; they would not hear of his stirring +from the beach. Cut to the heart at this unexpected repulse, Toby now conjured +the sailor to go after me alone. But Jimmy replied, that in the mood the Typees +then were they would not permit him so to do, though at the same time he was +not afraid of their offering him any harm. +</p> + +<p> +Little did Toby then think, as he afterwards had good reason to suspect, that +this very Jimmy was a heartless villain, who, by his arts, had just incited the +natives to restrain him as he was in the act of going after me. Well must the +old sailor have known, too, that the natives would never consent to our leaving +together, and he therefore wanted to get Toby off alone, for a purpose which he +afterwards made plain. Of all this, however, my comrade now knew nothing. +</p> + +<p> +He was still struggling with the islanders when Jimmy again came up to him, and +warned him against irritating them, saying that he was only making matters +worse for both of us, and if they became enraged, there was no telling what +might happen. At last he made Toby sit down on a broken canoe by a pile of +stones, upon which was a ruinous little shrine supported by four upright poles, +and in front partly screened by a net. The fishing parties met there, when they +came in from the sea, for their offerings were laid before an image, upon a +smooth black stone within. This spot Jimmy said was strictly +‘taboo’, and no one would molest or come near him while he stayed +by its shadow. The old sailor then went off, and began speaking very earnestly +to Mow-Mow and some other chiefs, while all the rest formed a circle round the +taboo place, looking intently at Toby, and talking to each other without +ceasing. +</p> + +<p> +Now, notwithstanding what Jimmy had just told him, there presently came up to +my comrade an old woman, who seated herself beside him on the canoe. +</p> + +<p> +‘Typee motarkee?’ said she. ‘Motarkee nuee,’ said Toby. +</p> + +<p> +She then asked him whether he was going to Nukuheva; he nodded yes; and with a +plaintive wail and her eyes filling with tears she rose and left him. +</p> + +<p> +This old woman, the sailor afterwards said, was the wife of an aged king of a +small island valley, communicating by a deep pass with the country of the +Typees. The inmates of the two valleys were related to each other by blood, and +were known by the same name. The old woman had gone down into the Typee valley +the day before, and was now with three chiefs, her sons, on a visit to her +kinsmen. +</p> + +<p> +As the old king’s wife left him, Jimmy again came up to Toby, and told +him that he had just talked the whole matter over with the natives, and there +was only one course for him to follow. They would not allow him to go back into +the valley, and harm would certainly come to both him and me, if he remained +much longer on the beach. ‘So,’ said he, ‘you and I had +better go to Nukuheva now overland, and tomorrow I will bring Tommo, as they +call him, by water; they have promised to carry him down to the sea for me +early in the morning, so that there will be no delay.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘No, no,’ said Toby desperately, ‘I will not leave him that +way; we must escape together.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘Then there is no hope for you,’ exclaimed the sailor, ‘for +if I leave you here on the beach, as soon as I am gone you will be carried back +into the valley, and then neither of you will ever look upon the sea +again.’ And with many oaths he swore that if he would only go to Nukuheva +with him that day, he would be sure to have me there the very next morning. +</p> + +<p> +‘But how do you know they will bring him down to the beach tomorrow, when +they will not do so today?’ said Toby. But the sailor had many reasons, +all of which were so mixed up with the mysterious customs of the islanders, +that he was none the wiser. Indeed, their conduct, especially in preventing him +from returning into the valley, was absolutely unaccountable to him; and added +to everything else, was the bitter reflection, that the old sailor, after all, +might possibly be deceiving him. And then again he had to think of me, left +alone with the natives, and by no means well. If he went with Jimmy, he might +at least hope to procure some relief for me. But might not the savages who had +acted so strangely, hurry me off somewhere before his return? Then, even if he +remained, perhaps they would not let him go back into the valley where I was. +</p> + +<p> +Thus perplexed was my poor comrade; he knew not what to do, and his courageous +spirit was of no use to him now. There he was, all by himself, seated upon the +broken canoe—the natives grouped around him at a distance, and eyeing him +more and more fixedly. ‘It is getting late: said Jimmy, who was standing +behind the rest. ‘Nukuheva is far off, and I cannot cross the Happar +country by night. You see how it is;—if you come along with me, all will +be well; if you do not, depend upon it, neither of you will ever escape.’ +</p> + +<p> +‘There is no help for it,’ said Toby, at last, with a heavy heart, +‘I will have to trust you,’ and he came out from the shadow of the +little shrine, and cast a long look up the valley. +</p> + +<p> +‘Now keep close to my side,’ said the sailor, ‘and let us be +moving quickly.’ Tinor and Fayaway here appeared; the kindhearted old +woman embracing Toby’s knees, and giving way to a flood of tears; while +Fayaway, hardly less moved, spoke some few words of English she had learned, +and held up three fingers before him—in so many days he would return. +</p> + +<p> +At last Jimmy pulled Toby out of the crowd, and after calling to a young Typee +who was standing by with a young pig in his arms, all three started for the +mountains. +</p> + +<p> +‘I have told them that you are coming back again,’ said the old +fellow, laughing, as they began the ascent, ‘but they’ll have to +wait a long time.’ Toby turned, and saw the natives all in +motion—the girls waving their tappas in adieu, and the men their spears. +As the last figure entered the grove with one arm raised, and the three fingers +spread, his heart smote him. +</p> + +<p> +As the natives had at last consented to his going, it might have been, that +some of them, at least, really counted upon his speedy return; probably +supposing, as indeed he had told them when they were coming down the valley, +that his only object in leaving them was to procure the medicines I needed. +This, Jimmy also must have told them. And as they had done before, when my +comrade, to oblige me, started on his perilous journey to Nukuheva, they looked +upon me, in his absence, as one of two inseparable friends who was a sure +guaranty for the other’s return. This is only my own supposition, +however, for as to all their strange conduct, it is still a mystery. +</p> + +<p> +‘You see what sort of a taboo man I am,’ said the sailor, after for +some time silently following the path which led up the mountain. ‘Mow-Mow +made me a present of this pig here, and the man who carries it will go right +through Happar, and down into Nukuheva with us. So long as he stays by me he is +safe, and just so it will be with you, and tomorrow with Tommo. Cheer up, then, +and rely upon me, you will see him in the morning.’ +</p> + +<p> +The ascent of the mountain was not very difficult, owing to its being near to +the sea, where the island ridges are comparatively low; the path, too, was a +fine one, so that in a short time all three were standing on the summit with +the two valleys at their feet. The white cascade marking the green head of the +Typee valley first caught Toby’s eye; Marheyo’s house could easily +be traced by them. +</p> + +<p> +As Jimmy led the way along the ridge, Toby observed that the valley of the +Happars did not extend near so far inland as that of the Typees. This accounted +for our mistake in entering the latter valley as we had. +</p> + +<p> +A path leading down from the mountain was soon seen, and, following it, the +party were in a short time fairly in the Happar valley. +</p> + +<p> +‘Now,’ said Jimmy, as they hurried on, ‘we taboo men have +wives in all the bays, and I am going to show you the two I have here.’ +</p> + +<p> +So, when they came to the house where he said they lived,—which was close +by the base of the mountain in a shady nook among the groves—he went in, +and was quite furious at finding it empty—the ladies, had gone out. +However, they soon made their appearance, and to tell the truth, welcomed Jimmy +quite cordially, as well as Toby, about whom they were very inquisitive. +Nevertheless, as the report of their arrival spread, and the Happars began to +assemble, it became evident that the appearance of a white stranger among them +was not by any means deemed so wonderful an event as in the neighbouring +valley. +</p> + +<p> +The old sailor now bade his wives prepare something to eat, as he must be in +Nukuheva before dark. A meal of fish, bread-fruit, and bananas, was accordingly +served up, the party regaling themselves on the mats, in the midst of a +numerous company. +</p> + +<p> +The Happars put many questions to Jimmy about Toby; and Toby himself looked +sharply at them, anxious to recognize the fellow who gave him the wound from +which he was still suffering. But this fiery gentleman, so handy with his +spear, had the delicacy, it seemed, to keep out of view. Certainly the sight of +him would not have been any added inducement to making a stay in the +valley,—some of the afternoon loungers in Happar having politely urged +Toby to spend a few days with them,—there was a feast coming on. He, +however, declined. +</p> + +<p> +All this while the young Typee stuck to Jimmy like his shadow, and though as +lively a dog as any of his tribe, he was now as meek as a lamb, never opening +his mouth except to eat. Although some of the Happars looked queerly at him, +others were more civil, and seemed desirous of taking him abroad and showing +him the valley. But the Typee was not to be cajoled in that way. How many yards +he would have to remove from Jimmy before the taboo would be powerless, it +would be hard to tell, but probably he himself knew to a fraction. +</p> + +<p> +On the promise of a red cotton handkerchief, and something else which he kept +secret, this poor fellow had undertaken a rather ticklish journey, though, as +far as Toby could ascertain, it was something that had never happened before. +</p> + +<p> +The island-punch—arva—was brought in at the conclusion of the +repast, and passed round in a shallow calabash. +</p> + +<p> +Now my comrade, while seated in the Happar house, began to feel more troubled +than ever at leaving me; indeed, so sad did he feel that he talked about going +back to the valley, and wanted Jimmy to escort him as far as the mountains. But +the sailor would not listen to him, and, by way of diverting his thoughts, +pressed him to drink of the arva. Knowing its narcotic nature, he refused; but +Jimmy said he would have something mixed with it, which would convert it into +an innocent beverage that would inspirit them for the rest of their journey. So +at last he was induced to drink of it, and its effects were just as the sailor +had predicted; his spirits rose at once, and all his gloomy thoughts left him. +</p> + +<p> +The old rover now began to reveal his true character, though he was hardly +suspected at the time. ‘If I get you off to a ship,’ said he, +‘you will surely give a poor fellow something for saving you.’ In +short, before they left the house, he made Toby promise that he would give him +five Spanish dollars if he succeeded in getting any part of his wages advanced +from the vessel, aboard of which they were going; Toby, moreover, engaging to +reward him still further, as soon as my deliverance was accomplished. +</p> + +<p> +A little while after this they started again, accompanied by many of the +natives, and going up the valley, took a steep path near its head, which led to +Nukuheva. Here the Happars paused and watched them as they ascended the +mountain, one group of bandit-looking fellows, shaking their spears and casting +threatening glances at the poor Typee, whose heart as well as heels seemed much +the lighter when he came to look down upon them. +</p> + +<p> +On gaining the heights once more, their way led for a time along several ridges +covered with enormous ferns. At last they entered upon a wooded tract, and here +they overtook a party of Nukuheva natives, well armed, and carrying bundles of +long poles. Jimmy seemed to know them all very well, and stopped for a while, +and had a talk about the ‘Wee-Wees’, as the people of Nukuheva call +the Monsieurs. +</p> + +<p> +The party with the poles were King Mowanna’s men, and by his orders they +had been gathering them in the ravines for his allies the French. +</p> + +<p> +Leaving these fellows to trudge on with their loads, Toby and his companions +now pushed forward again, as the sun was already low in the west. They came +upon the valleys of Nukuheva on one side of the bay, where the highlands slope +off into the sea. The men-of-war were still lying in the harbour, and as Toby +looked down upon them, the strange events which had happened so recently, +seemed all a dream. +</p> + +<p> +They soon descended towards the beach, and found themselves in Jimmy’s +house before it was well dark. Here he received another welcome from his +Nukuheva wives, and after some refreshments in the shape of cocoanut milk and +poee-poee, they entered a canoe (the Typee of course going along) and paddled +off to a whaleship which was anchored near the shore. This was the vessel in +want of men. Our own had sailed some time before. The captain professed great +pleasure at seeing Toby, but thought from his exhausted appearance that he must +be unfit for duty. However, he agreed to ship him, as well as his comrade, as +soon as he should arrive. Toby begged hard for an armed boat, in which to go +round to Typee and rescue me, notwithstanding the promises of Jimmy. But this +the captain would not hear of, and told him to have patience, for the sailor +would be faithful to his word. When, too, he demanded the five silver dollars +for Jimmy, the captain was unwilling to give them. But Toby insisted upon it, +as he now began to think that Jimmy might be a mere mercenary, who would be +sure to prove faithless if not well paid. Accordingly he not only gave him the +money, but took care to assure him, over and over again, that as soon as he +brought me aboard he would receive a still larger sum. +</p> + +<p> +Before sun-rise the next day, Jimmy and the Typee started in two of the +ship’s boats, which were manned by tabooed natives. Toby, of course, was +all eagerness to go along, but the sailor told him that if he did, it would +spoil all; so, hard as it was, he was obliged to remain. +</p> + +<p> +Towards evening he was on the watch, and descried the boats turning the +headland and entering the bay. He strained his eyes, and thought he saw me; but +I was not there. Descending from the mast almost distracted, he grappled Jimmy +as he struck the deck, shouting in a voice that startled him, ‘Where is +Tommo?’ The old fellow faltered, but soon recovering, did all he could to +soothe him, assuring him that it had proved to be impossible to get me down to +the shore that morning; assigning many plausible reasons, and adding that early +on the morrow he was going to visit the bay again in a French boat, when, if he +did not find me on the beach—as this time he certainly expected +to—he would march right back into the valley, and carry me away at all +hazards. He, however, again refused to allow Toby to accompany him. Now, +situated as Toby was, his sole dependence for the present was upon this Jimmy, +and therefore he was fain to comfort himself as well as he could with what the +old sailor told him. The next morning, however, he had the satisfaction of +seeing the French boat start with Jimmy in it. Tonight, then, I will see him, +thought Toby; but many a long day passed before he ever saw Tommo again. Hardly +was the boat out of sight, when the captain came forward and ordered the anchor +weighed; he was going to sea. +</p> + +<p> +Vain were all Toby’s ravings—they were disregarded; and when he +came to himself, the sails were set, and the ship fast leaving the land. +</p> + +<p> +... ‘Oh!’ said he to me at our meeting, ‘what sleepless +nights were mine. Often I started from my hammock, dreaming you were before me, +and upbraiding me for leaving you on the island.’ +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +There is little more to be related. Toby left this vessel at New Zealand, and +after some further adventures, arrived home in less than two years after +leaving the Marquesas. He always thought of me as dead—and I had every +reason to suppose that he too was no more; but a strange meeting was in store +for us, one which made Toby’s heart all the lighter. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0039" id="link2H_4_0039"></a> +NOTE.</h2> + +<p> +The author was more than two years in the South Seas, after escaping from the +valley, as recounted in the last chapter. Some time after returning home the +foregoing narrative was published, though it was little thought at the time +that this would be the means of revealing the existence of Toby, who had long +been given up for lost. But so it proved. +</p> + +<p> +The story of his escape supplies a natural sequel to the adventure, and as such +it is now added to the volume. It was related to the author by Toby himself, +not ten days since. +</p> + +<p> +New York, July, 1846. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TYPEE ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ +concept and trademark. 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