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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24807-0.txt b/24807-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83ddfaa --- /dev/null +++ b/24807-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3232 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Memory Of The Southern Seas, by Louis Becke + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Memory Of The Southern Seas + 1904 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 11, 2008 [EBook #24807] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS + + +From “Chinkie's Flat And Other Stories” + +By Louis Becke + + +Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1904 + + + + + +CAPTAIN “BULLY” HAYES + +In other works by the present writer frequent allusion has been made, +either by the author or by other persons, to Captain Hayes. Perhaps the +continuous appearance of his name may have been irritating to many of +my readers; if so I can only plead that it is almost impossible when +writing of wild life in the Southern Seas to avoid mentioning him. Every +one who sailed the Austral seas between the “fifties” and “seventies,” + and thousands who had not, knew of him and had heard tales of him. +In some eases these tales were to his credit; mostly they were not. +However, the writer makes no further apology for reproducing the +following sketch of the great “Bully” which he contributed to the _Pall +Mall Gazette_, and which, by the courtesy of the editor of that journal, +he is able to include in this volume. + +In a most interesting, though all too brief, sketch of the life of +the late Rev. James Chalmers, the famous New Guinea missionary, which +appeared in the January number of a popular religious magazine, +the author, the Rev. Richard Lovett, gives us a brief glance of the +notorious Captain “Bully” Hayes. Mr. Chalmers, in 1866, sailed for the +South Seas with his wife in the missionary ship _John Williams_--the +second vessel of that name, the present beautiful steamer being the +fourth _John Williams_. + +The second John Williams had but a brief existence, for on her first +voyage she was wrecked on Nine Island (the “Savage” Island of Captain +Cook). Hayes happened to be there with his vessel, and agreed to convey +the shipwrecked missionaries to Samoa. No doubt he charged them a pretty +stiff price, for he always said that missionaries “were teaching Kanakas +the degrading doctrine that even if a man killed his enemy and cut out +and ate his heart in public, and otherwise misconducted himself, he +could yet secure a front seat in the Kingdom of Heaven if he said he was +sorry and was then baptized as Aperamo (Abraham) or Lakopo (Jacob).” + +“It is characteristic of Chalmers,” writes Mr. Lovett, “that he was able +to exert considerable influence over this ruffian, and even saw good +points in him, not easily evident to others.” + +The present writer sailed with Hayes on four voyages as supercargo, and +was with the big-bearded, heavy-handed, and alleged “terror of the South +Seas” when his famous brig _Leonora_ was wrecked on Strong's Island, one +wild night in March, 1875. And he has nothing but kindly memories of a +much-maligned man, who, with all his faults, was never the cold-blooded +murderer whose fictitious atrocities once formed the theme of a highly +blood-curdling melodrama staged in the old Victoria Theatre, in Pitt +Street, Sydney, under the title of “The Pirate of the Pacific.” In this +lively production of dramatic genius Hayes was portrayed as something +worse than Blackboard or Llonois, and committed more murders and +abductions of beautiful women in two hours than ever fell to the luck in +real life of the most gorgeous pirate on record. No one of the audience +was more interested or applauded more vigorously the villain's downfall +than “Bully” Hayes himself, who was seated in a private box with a lady. +He had come to Sydney by steamer from Melbourne, where he had left his +ship in the hands of brokers for sale, and almost the first thing he saw +on arrival were the theatrical posters concerning himself and his career +of crime. + +“I would have gone for the theatre people,” he told the writer, “if they +had had any money, but the man who 'played' me was the lessee of the +theatre and was hard up. I think his name was Hoskins. He was a big +fat fellow, with a soapy, slithery kind of a voice, and I lent him ten +pounds, which he spent on a dinner to myself and some of his company. I +guess we had a real good time.” + +But let us hear what poor ill-fated Missionary Chalmers has to say about +the alleged pirate:-- + +“Hayes seemed to take to me during the frequent meetings we had on +shore” (this was when the shipwrecked missionaries and their wives were +living on Savage Island), “and before going on board for good I met him +one afternoon and said to him, 'Captain Hayes, I hope you will have no +objection to our having morning and evening service on board, and twice +on Sabbaths. All short, and only those who like need attend.' Certainly +not. My ship is a missionary ship now' (humorous dog), 'and I hope you +will feel it so. All on board will attend these services.' I replied, +'Only if they are inclined.'” (If they had shirked it, the redoubtable +“Bully” would have made attendance compulsory with a belaying pin.) + +“Hayes was a perfect host and a thorough gentleman. His wife and +children were on board. We had fearful weather all the time, yet I must +say we enjoyed ourselves.... We had gone so far south that we could +easily fetch Tahiti, and so we stood for it, causing us to be much +longer on board. Hayes several times lost his temper and did very queer +things, acting now and then more like a madman than a sane man. Much of +his past life he related to us at table, especially of things (he did) +to cheat Governments.” + +Poor “Bully!” He certainly did like to “cheat Governments,” although he +despised cheating private individuals--unless it was for a large amount. +And he frequently “lost his temper” also; and when that occurred +things were very uncomfortable for the man or men who caused it. On +one occasion, during an electrical storm off New Guinea, a number of +corposants appeared on the yards of his vessel, which was manned by +Polynesians and some Portuguese. One of the latter was so terrified at +the ghastly _corpo santo_ that he fell on his knees and held a small +leaden crucifix, which he wore on his neck, to his lips. His example was +quickly followed by the rest of his countrymen; which so enraged Hayes +that, seizing the first offender, he tore the crucifix from his hand, +and, rolling it into a lump, thrust it into his month _and made him +swallow it_. + +“You'll kill the man, sir,” cried Hussey, his American mate, who, being +a good Catholic, was horrified. + +Hayes laughed savagely: “If that bit of lead is good externally it ought +to be a darned sight better when taken internally.” + +He was a humorous man at times, even when he was cross. And he was one +of the best sailor-men that ever trod a deck. A chronometer watch, +which was committed to the care of the writer by Hayes, bore this +inscription:-- + +“_From Isaac Steuart, of New York, to Captain William Henry Hayes, of +Cleveland, Ohio. A gift of esteem and respect for his bravery in saving +the lives of seventeen persons at the risk of his own. Honor to the +brave._” + +Hayes told me that story--modestly and simply as brave men only tell a +tale of their own dauntless daring. And he told me other stories as well +of his strange, wild career; of Gordon of Khartoum, whom he had known, +and of Ward and Burgevine and the Taeping leaders; and how Burgevine +and he quarrelled over a love affair and stood face to face, pistols in +hand, when Ward sprang in between them and said that the woman was his, +and that they were fools to fight over what belonged to neither of them +and what he would gladly be rid of himself. + +Peace to his _manes!_ He died--in his sea-boots--from a blow on his big, +bald head, superinduced by his attention to a lady who was “no better +than she ought to have been,” even for the islands of the North Pacific. + + + + +THE “WHALE CURE” + +I once heard a man who for nearly six years had been a martyr to +rheumatism say he would give a thousand pounds to have a cure effected. + +“I wish, then, that we were in Australia or New Zealand during the shore +whaling season,” remarked a friend of the writer; “I should feel pretty +certain of annexing that thousand pounds.” And then he described the +whale cure. + +The “cure” is not fiction. It is a fact, so the whalemen assert, and +there are many people at the township of Eden, Twofold Bay, New +South Wales, who, it is vouched, can tell of several cases of chronic +rheumatism that have been absolutely perfectly cured by the treatment +herewith briefly described. How it came to be discovered I do not know, +but it has been known to American whalemen for years. + +When a whale is killed and towed ashore (it does not matter whether it +is a “right,” humpback, finback, or sperm whale) and while the interior +of the carcase still retains a little warmth, a hole is out through one +side of the body sufficiently large to admit the patient, the lower +part of whose body from the feet to the waist should sink in the whale's +intestines, leaving the head, of course, outside the aperture. The +latter is closed up as closely as possible, otherwise the patient would +not be able to breathe through the volume of ammoniacal gases which +would escape from every opening left uncovered. It is these gases, which +are of an overpowering and atrocious odour, that bring about the cure, +so the whalemen say. Sometimes the patient cannot stand this horrible +bath for more than an hour, and has to be lifted out in a fainting +condition, to undergo a second, third, or perhaps fourth course on that +or the following day. Twenty or thirty hours, it is said, will effect a +radical cure in the most severe cases, provided there is no malformation +or distortion of the joints, and even in such cases the treatment causes +very great relief. One man who was put in up to his neck in the carcass +of a small “humpback” stood it for sixteen hours, being taken out at +two-hour intervals. He went off declaring himself to be cured. À year +later he had a return of the complaint and underwent the treatment a +second time. + +All the “shore” whalemen whom the writer has met thoroughly believe in +the efficacy of the remedy, and by way of practical proof assert that +no man who works at cutting-in and trying out a whale ever suffers +from rheumatism. Furthermore, however, some of them maintain that the +“deader” the whale is, the better the remedy. “More gas in him,” they +say. And any one who has been within a mile of a week-dead whale will +believe _that_. + +Anyway, if there is any person, rheumatic or otherwise, who wants to +emulate Jonah's adventure in a safe manner (with a dead whale), let him +write to the Davidson Brothers, Ben Boyd Point, Twofold Bay, N.S.W., or +to the Messrs. Christian, Norfolk Island, and I am sure those valorous +whalemen would help him to achieve his desire. + + + + +THE SEA “SALMON” SEASON IN AUSTRALIA + +The sea salmon make their appearance on the southern half of the eastern +seaboard of Australia with undeviating regularity in the last week of +October, and, entering the rivers and inlets, remain on the coast till +the first week of December. As far as my knowledge goes, they come +from the south and travel northwards, and do not appear to relish the +tropical waters of the North Queensland coast, though I have heard that +some years ago a vast “school” entered the waters of Port Denison. + +Given a dear, sunny day and a smooth sea the advent of these fish to +the bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales presents a truly +extraordinary sight. From any moderately high bluff or headland one can +discern their approach nearly two miles away. You see a dark patch upon +the water, and were it not for the attendant flocks of gulls and other +aquatic birds, one would imagine it to be but the passing reflection of +a cloud. But presently you see another and another; and, still farther +oat, a long black line flecked with white can be discerned with a good +glass. Then you look above--the sky is cloudless blue, and you know +that the dark moving patches are the advance battalions of countless +thousands of sea salmon, and that the mile-long black and white streak +behind them is the main body of the first mighty army; for others are to +follow day by day for another fortnight. + +Probably the look-out man at the pilot station is the first to see +them, and in a few minâtes the lazy little seaport town awakes from its +morning lethargy, and even the butcher, and baker, and bootmaker, and +bank manager, and other commercial magnates shut up shop and walk to +the pilot station to watch the salmon “take” the bar, whilst the entire +public school rushes home to prepare its rude tackle for the onslaught +that will begin at dark. + +The bar is a mile wide or more, and though there is but little surf, +the ebbing tide, running at five knots, makes a great commotion, and the +shallow water is thick with yellow sand swept seaward to the pale green +beyond. Presently the first “school” of salmon reaches the protecting +reef on the southern side--and then it stops. The fish well know that +such a current as that cannot be stemmed, and wait, moving slowly to +and fro, the dark blue compactness of their serried masses ever and +anon broken by flashes of silver as some turn on their sides or make an +occasional leap clear out of the water to avoid the pressure of their +fellows. + +An hour or so passes; then the tumult on the bar ceases, the incoming +seas rise clear and sandless, and the fierce race of the current slows +down to a gentle drift; it is slack water, and the fish begin to move. +One after another the foremost masses sweep round the horn of the reef +and head for the smooth water inside. On the starboard hand a line of +yellow sandbank is drying in the sun, and the passage has now narrowed +down to a width of fifty yards; in twenty minutes every inch of water, +from the rocky headland on the south side of the entrance to where the +river makes a sharp turn northward, half a mile away, is packed with a +living, moving mass. Behind follows the main body, the two horns of +the crescent shape which it had at first preserved now swimming swiftly +ahead, and converging towards each other as the entrance to the bar is +reached, and the centre falling back with the precision of well-trained +troops. And then in a square, solid mass, thirty or forty feet in width, +they begin the passage, and for two hours or more the long dark lines of +fish pass steadily onward, only thrown into momentary confusion now and +then by a heavy swell, which, however, does no more than gently undulate +the rearmost lines of fish, and then subsides, overcome by the weight +and solidity of the living wall. + +Along the beach on the southern side of the river stand a hundred or +more yelling urchins, with stout lines fitted with many baitless hooks +and weighted with a stone. As the swarming fish press steadily on within +ten feet or less of the shore the children fling their lines across, and +draw them quickly in. Sometimes two or three fish are “jagged” at once, +and as the average weight is 10 lb. the jagger takes a turn of the line +around his waist and straggles up the beach. Even if he has but one fish +hooked amidships he has all he can do to drag him out from the countless +thousands and land him. It is not an eminently ideal or sportsmanlike +sort of fishing, this “jagging,” but it possesses a marvellous enjoyment +and fascination for the youth of ten, and older people as well; for a +full-grown salmon is a powerful fellow, and his big, fluke-like tail +enables him to make a terrific rush when under the influence of terror +or when chasing his prey. + +Once over the bar and into the placid waters of the tidal river, the +vanguards of the hundreds of thousands to follow pursue their way +steadily up the shallow flats and numberless blind creeks, where they +remain till spawning is over. Every day some fresh accessions to their +numbers, and at night time strange, indescribable sounds are heard, +caused by the movements of the fishes' tails and fins as they swim +to and fro, and one section, meeting another, endeavours to force a +right-of-way. On the third or fourth evening the sharks and porpoises +appear, having followed the “schools” in from the sea, and wreak fearful +havoc among them. Sometimes in a deep pool or quiet reach of the river +one may see a school of perhaps five or six thousand terrified salmon, +wedged one up against the other, unable to move from their very numbers, +while half a dozen sharks dash in among them and devour them by the +score; and often as the current runs seaward hundreds of half bodies of +salmon can be seen going out over the bar. At night time the townspeople +appear on the scene in boats with lanterns and spears, and for no other +purpose than the mere love of useless slaughter kill the fish till their +arms are exhausted. At places within easy access of Sydney by steamer or +rail some few thousands of salmon are sent to market, but as the flesh +is somewhat coarse, they are only bought by the poorer members of the +community, 4d. and 6d. each being considered a good retail price for a +10 lb. fish. The roes, however, are excellent eating, and some attempt +has been made to smoke them on a large scale, but like everything else +connected with the fishing industry (or rather want of industry) in New +South Wales, has failed. It sometimes happens (as I once witnessed in +Trial Bay, on the coast of New South Wales) that heavy weather will +set in when the salmon are either passing inwards over the bars or are +returning to sea. The destruction that is then wrought among them is +terrific. On the occasion of which I speak, every heavy roller that +reared and then dashed upon the beach flung upon the sands hundreds of +the fish, stunned and bleeding. At one spot where the beach had but a +very slight inclination towards the water from the line of scrub above +high-water mark there were literally many thousands of salmon, lying +three and four deep, and in places piled up in irregular ridges and +firmly packed together with sand and seaweed. + + + + +“JACK SHARK” + +“What is the greatest number of sharks that you have ever seen together +at one time?” asked an English lady in San Francisco of Captain Allen, +of the New Bedford barque _Acorn Barnes_. + +“Two or three hundred when we have been cutting-in a whale; two or three +thousand in Christmas Island lagoon.” + +Some of the hardy old seaman's listeners smiled somewhat incredulously +at the “two or three thousand,” but nevertheless he was not only not +exaggerating, but might have said five or six thousand. The Christmas +Island to which he referred must not be mistaken for the island of the +same name in the Indian Ocean--the Cocos-Keeling group. It is in the +North Pacific, two degrees north of the equator and 157.30 W., and is +a low, sandy atoll, encompassing a spacious but rather shallow lagoon, +teeming with non-poisonous fish. It is leased from the Colonial Office +by a London firm, who are planting the barren soil with coconut trees +and fishing the lagoon for pearl-shell. Like many other of the isolated +atolls in the North Pacific, such as the Fannings, Palmyra, and +Providence Groups, the lagoon is resorted to by sharks in incredible +numbers; and even at the present time the native labourers employed by +the firm alluded to make a considerable sum of money by catching sharks +and drying the fins and tails for export to Sydney, and thence to +China, where they command a price ranging from 6d. to 1s. 6d. per pound, +according to quality. + +The lagoon sharks are of a different species to the short, thick, +wide-jawed “man-eaters,” although they are equally dangerous at night +time as the deep-sea prowlers. The present writer was for a long time +engaged with a native crew in the shark-catching industry in the North +Pacific, and therefore had every opportunity of studying Jack Shark and +his manners. + +On Providence Lagoon (the Ujilong of the natives), once the secret +rendezvous of the notorious Captain “Bully” Hayes and his associate +adventurer, Captain Ben Peese, I have, at low tide, stood on the edge of +the coral reef on one side of South Passage, and gazed in astonishment +at the extraordinary numbers of sharks entering the lagoon for their +nightly onslaught on the vast bodies of fish with which the water +teems. They came on in droves, like sheep, in scores at first, then +in hundreds, and then in packed masses, their sharp, black-tipped fins +stretching from one side of the passage to the other. As they gained the +inside of the lagoon they branched off, some to right and left, others +swimming straight on towards the sandy beaches of the chain of islets. +From where I stood I could have killed scores of them with a whale +lance, or even a club, for they were packed so closely that they +literally scraped against the coral walls of the passage; and some +Gilbert Islanders who were with me amused themselves by seizing several +by their tails and dragging them out upon the reef. They were nearly all +of the same size, about seven feet, with long slender bodies, and their +markings, shape, and general appearance were those of the shark called +by the Samoans _moemoeao_ (“sleeps all day”), though not much more than +half their length. The Gilbert Islanders informed me that this species +were also _bàkwa mata te ao_ (sleepers by day) at certain seasons of +the year, but usually sought their prey by night at all times; and a few +months later I had an opportunity afforded me of seeing some hundreds of +them asleep. This was outside the barrier reef of the little island of +Ailuk, in the Marshall Group. We were endeavouring to find and recover +a lost anchor, and were drifting along in a boat in about six fathoms of +water; there was not a breath of wind, and consequently we had no need +to use water glasses, for even minute objects could be very easily +discerned through the crystal water. + +“Hallo! look here,” said the mate, “we're right on top of a nice little +family party of sharks. It's their watch below.” + +Lying closely together on a bottom of sand and coral _débris_ were about +a dozen sharks, heads and tails in perfect line. Their skins were a +mottled brown and yellow, like the crustacean-feeding “tiger shark” + of Port Jack-son. They lay so perfectly still that the mate lowered +a grapnel right on the back of one. He switched his long, thin tail +lazily, “shoved” himself along for a few feet, and settled down again to +sleep, his bedmates taking no notice of the intruding grapnel. Further +on we came across many more--all in parties of from ten to twenty, and +all preserving in their slumber a due sense of regularity of outline in +the disposition of their long bodies. + +The natives of the low-lying equatorial islands--the Kingsmill, Gilbert, +Ellice, and Tokelau or Union Groups--are all expert shark fishermen; +but the wild people of Paanopa (Ocean Island) stand _facile princeps_. I +have frequently seen four men in a small canoe kill eight or ten sharks +(each of which was as long as their frail little craft) within three +hours. + + + + +SOME PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHES + +Of all the food-fishes inhabiting the reefs, lagoons, and tidal waters +of the islands of the North and South Pacific, there are none that are +prized more than the numerous varieties of sand-mullet. Unlike the same +fishes in British and other colder waters, they frequently reach a great +size, some of them attaining two feet in length, and weighing up to ten +pounds; and another notable feature is the great diversity of colour +characterising the whole family. The writer is familiar with at least +ten varieties, and the natives gave me the names of several others +which, however, are seldom taken in sufficient numbers to make them a +common article of diet. The larger kind are caught with hook and line in +water ranging from three to five fathoms in depth, the smaller kinds are +always to be found in the very shallow waters of the lagoons, where they +are taken by nets. At night, by the aid of torches made of dried coconut +leaf, the women and children capture them in hundreds as they lie on +the clear, sandy bottom. In the picturesque lagoons of the Ellice Group +(South Pacific), and especially in that of Nanomea, these fish afford +excellent sport with either rod or hand-line, and sport, too, with +surroundings of the greatest beauty imaginable; for the little lagoon +of Nanomea is perfectly landlocked, except where there are breaks of +reef--dry at low water--which is as clear as crystal, and the low-lying +belt of land is a verdant girdle of coco and pandanus palms, growing +with bread-fruit and _fetau_ trees on the rich, warm soil composed of +vegetable matter and decayed coral detritis. + +And then, too, you can look over the side of the canoe, or from an +exposed boulder of coral, and see the fish take your bait--unless a +breeze is rippling the surface of the water. + +I usually chose the early morning, before the trade wind roused itself, +as then, if in a canoe, one need not anchor, but drift about from one +side of the lagoon to the other; then about ten o'clock, when the breeze +came, I would paddle over to the lee of the weather side of the island +(the land in places not being much wider than the Palisadoes of Port +Royal in Jamaica) and fish in unruffled water in some deep pool among +a number of sand banks, or rather round-topped hillocks, which even at +high water were some feet above the surface. + +When bent on sand-mullet--_afulu_ the natives call them--I was in the +habit of going alone, although the moment I appeared in the village +carrying my rod, lines, and gun, I was always besought to take one or +two men with me. One of the most ardent fishermen on the island was one +Kino--a gentleman who weighed eighteen stone; and, as my canoe was only +intended for two light-weights like myself, I always tried to avoid +meeting him, for not only was he most persistent in his desire to see +how I managed to get so many mullet, but was most anxious to learn to +speak English. + +On one occasion I fatuously took the monster out in my whaleboat to +fish for _takuo_ (a variety of _tuna_) one calm starlight night when the +ocean was like a sheet of glass. We pulled out over the reef, and when +a mile from the shore lowered our heavy lines and began fishing. For +nearly a quarter of an hour neither of us spoke, then he suddenly asked +me in his fat, wheezy tones, if I would mind telling him something. + +“What is it?” + +“Will you tell me, friend, what are the English words that should be +spoken by one of us of Nanomea to a ship captain, giving him greeting, +and asking him if he hath had a prosperous voyage with fair weather? My +heart is sick with envy that Pita and Loli speak English, and I cannot.” + +Forgetting my past experiences of my man, I was fool enough to tell him. + +“You say this: 'Good morning, Captain; have you had a good voyage and +fair weather?'” + +He greedily repeated each word after me, very slowly and carefully; then +he asked me to tell him again. I did so. Then he sighed with pleasure. + +“Kind friend, just a few times more,” he said. + +I told him the sentence over and over again for at least a score of +times; and his smooth, fat face beamed when at last he was able to say +the words alone. Then he began whispering it. Five minutes passed, and +he tackled me again. + +“Is this right?--'Good--mornin', +kipen--ha--ad--you--have--goot--foy--age--and--fair wesser?'” + +“That is right,” I said impatiently, “but ask me no more to-night. +Dost not know that it is unlucky to talk when fishing for _takuo_ and +_tautau?_” + +“Dear friend, _that_ we believed only in the heathen days. _Now_ we are +Christians.” + +He paused a moment, then raised his face to the stars and softly +murmured, “Good--mornin' kâpen--haad--you--you--have--goot--foyage--and +wesser--and fair--wesser?” Then he looked at me interrogatively. I took +no notice. + +He toyed with his line and bent an earnest gaze down in the placid +depths of the water as if he saw the words down there, then taking a +turn of his line round a thwart, he put his two elbows on his enormous +naked knees, and resting his broad, terraced chin on the palms of his +hands, he said slowly and mournfully, as if he were communing with some +one in the spirit-world-- + +“Good--mornin'--kâpen. Haad--you--haave----” &c., &c. + +Then I sharply spoke a few words of English--simple in themselves, but +well understood by nearly every native of the South Seas. He looked +surprised, and also reproachful, but went on in a whisper so faint that +I could scarcely hear it; sometimes quickly and excitedly, sometimes +doubtingly and with quivering lips, now raising his eyes to heaven, and +with drooping lower jaw gurgling the words in his thick throat; then +sighing and muttering them with closed eyes and a rapt expression of +countenance, till with a sudden snort of satisfaction, he ceased--at +least I thought he had. He took up a young coconut, drank it, and began +again as fresh as ever. + +“Stop!” I said angrily. “Art thou a grown man or a child? Here is some +tobacco, fill thy pipe, and cease muttering like a _tama valea_ (idiot +boy).” + +He shook his head. “Nay, if I smoke, I may forget. I am very happy +to-night, kind friend. Good-mor----” + +“May Erikobai” (a cannibal god of his youth) “polish his teeth on thy +bones!” I cried at last in despair. That shocking heathen curse silenced +him, but for the next two hours, whenever I looked at the creature, I +saw his lips moving and a silly, fatuous expression on his by no means +unintelligent face. I never took him out with me again, although he sent +me fowls and other things as bribes to teach him more English. + + * * * * * + +These sand-mullet are very dainty-feeding fish. They are particularly +fond of the soft tail part of the hermit crabs which abound all over +the island, especially after rain has fallen. Some of the shells (_T. +niloticus_) in which they live are so thick and strong, however, that +it requires two heavy stones to crush them sufficiently to take out the +crab, the upper part of whose body is useless for bait. For a stick of +tobacco, the native children would fill me a quart measure, and perhaps +add some few shrimps as well, or half a dozen large sea urchins--a very +acceptable bait for mullet. My rod was a slender bamboo--cost a quarter +of a dollar, and was unbreakable--and my lines of white American cotton, +strong, durable, and especially suitable for fishing on a bottom of pure +white sand. My gun was carried on the outrigger platform, within easy +reach, for numbers of golden plover frequented the sand banks, feeding +on the serried battalions of tiny soldier crabs, and in rainy weather +they were very easy to shoot. The rest of my gear consisted of twenty or +thirty cartridges, a box of assorted hooks, a heavy 27-cord line with +a 5-in. hook (in case I saw any big rock cod about), a few bottles of +lager, some ship biscuits or cold yam, and a tin of beef or sardines, +and some salt. This was a day's supply of food, and if I wanted more, +there were plenty of young coconuts to be had by climbing for them, and +I could cook my own fish, native fashion; lastly there was myself, in +very easy attire--print shirt, dungaree pants, panama hat, and no boots, +in place of which I used the native _takka_, or sandals of coconut +fibre, which are better than boots when walking on coral. Sometimes I +would remain away till the following morning, sleeping on the weather +side of the island under a shelter of leaves to keep off the dew, and +on such occasions two or three of the young men from the village would +invariably come and keep me company--and help eat the fish and birds. +However, they were very well conducted, and we always spent a pleasant +night, rose at daybreak, bathed in the surf, or in the lagoon, and after +an early breakfast returned to the village, or had some more fishing. It +was a delightful life. + +My canoe was so light that it could easily be carried by one person from +the open shed where it was kept, and in a few minutes after leaving +my house I would be afloat, paddling slowly over the smooth water, and +looking over the side for the mullet. In the Nanomea, Nui, and Nukufetau +Lagoons the largest but scarcest variety are of a purple-grey, with fins +(dorsal and abdominal) and mouth and gill-plates tipped with yellow; +others again are purple-grey with dull roddish markings. This kind, with +those of an all bright yellow colour throughout, are the most valued, +though, as I have said, the whole family are prized for their delicacy +of flavour. + +As soon as I caught sight of one or more of the sought-for fish, I would +cease paddling, and bait my hook; and first carefully looking to see +if there were any predatory leather-jackets or many-coloured wrasse in +sight, would lower away, the hook soon touching the bottom, as I always +used a small sinker of coral stone. This was necessary only because of +the number of other fish about--bass, trevally, and greedy sea-pike, +with teeth like needles and as hungry as sharks. In the vicinity of the +reef, or about the isolated coral boulders, or “mushrooms” as we called +them, these fish were a great annoyance to me, though my native +friends liked them well enough, especially the large, gorgeously-hued +“leather-jackets,” to which they have given the very appropriate name +of _isuumu moana_--the sea-rat--for they have a great trick of quietly +biting a baited line a few inches above the hook. _Apropos_ of the +“sea-rat,” I may mention that their four closely-set and humanlike teeth +are so thick that they will often crush an ordinary hook as if it were +made of glass, and as their mouths are exceedingly small, and many are +heavy, powerful fishes, they cause havoc with ordinary tackle. But a +fellow-trader and myself devised a very short, stout hook (1 1/2 inch of +shank) with a barbless curve well turned in towards the shank; these +we bent on to a length of fine steel wire seizing. They proved just the +ideal hook for the larger kind of sea-rat, which run up to 10 lb., and +the natives were so greatly taken with the device that, whenever a ship +touched at the island, short pieces of fine steel wire rigging were +eagerly bought (or begged for). + +However, no leather-jackets, wrasse, greedy rock-cod, or keen-eyed +trevally being about, the bait touches the sandy bottom, and then you +will see one--perhaps half a dozen--_afulu_ cease poking their noses in +the sand, and make for it steadily but cautiously. When within a foot +or so, they invariably stop dead, and eye the bait to see if it is worth +eating. But they are soon satisfied--that round, pale green thing with +delicious juices exuding from it is an _uga_ (hermit crab) and must not +be left to be devoured by rude, big-mouthed rock-cod or the like, and +in another moment or two your line is tautened out, and a purple-scaled +beauty is fighting gamely for his life in the translucent waters of the +lagoon, followed half-way to the surface by his companions, whom, later +on, you place beside him in the bottom of the canoe. And even to look +at them is a joy, for they are graceful in shape, lovely in colour, and +each scale is a jewel. + +You take up the paddle and send the canoe along for half-a-cable's +length towards a place where, under the ledge of the inner reef, both +_afulu sama sama_ and _afulu lanu uli_ (yellow and purple mullet) are +certain to be found; and, as the little craft slips along, a large +gar--green-backed, silvery-sided, and more than a yard long--may dart +after you like a gleaming, hiltless rapier skimming the surface of the +water. If you put out a line with a hook--baited with almost anything--a +bit of fish a strip of white or red rag--you will have some sport, +for these great gars are a hard-fighting fish, and do the tarpon +jumping-trick to perfection. But if you have not a line in readiness you +can wait your chance, and as he comes close alongside, break his back +with a blow from the sharp blade of your paddle, and jump overboard and +secure him ere he sinks. + +“Not very sportsmanlike,” some people will say; but the South Sea native +is very utilitarian, and it takes a keen eye and hand to do the +thing neatly. And not only are these gars excellent eating--like all +surface-feeding, or other fish which show a “green” backbone when +cooked; but fore and aft strips out from their sheeny sides make +splendid bait for deep-sea habitants, such as the giant sea bass and the +200-pounder “coral” cod. + +Under the ledge of the inner reef, if you get there before the sun +is too far to the westward, so that your eyes are not blinded by its +dazzling, golden light, you will see, as you drop your line for the +yellow and purple mullet which swim deep down over the fine coral sand, +some of the strangest shaped, most fantastically, and yet beautifully +coloured rock fish imaginable. As you pull up a mullet (or a green and +golden striped wrasse which has seized the bait not meant for him), many +of these beautiful creations of Nature will follow it up to within a +few feet of the canoe, wondering perhaps what under the sea it means +by acting in such a manner; others--small creatures of the deepest, +loveliest blue--flee in tenor at the unwonted commotion, and hide +themselves among the branching glories of their coral home. + + + + +“LUCK” + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A “hard” man was Captain William Rodway of Sydney, New South Wales, and +he prided himself upon the fact. From the time he was twenty years of +age, he had devoted himself to making and saving money, and now at sixty +he was worth a quarter of a million. + +He began life as cabin boy on a north-country collier brig; was starved, +kicked, and all but worked to death; and when he came to command a +ship of his own, his north-country training stood him in good +stead--starving, kicking, and working his crew to death came as +naturally to him as breathing. He spared no one, nor did he spare +himself. + +From the very first everything went well with him. He saved enough money +by pinching and grinding his crew--and himself--to enable him to buy +the vessel to which he had been appointed. Then he bought others, +established what was known as Rodway's Line, gave up going to sea +himself, rented an office in a mean street, where he slept and cooked +his meals, and worked harder than ever at making money, oblivious of the +sneers of those who railed at his parsimony. He was content. + +One Monday morning at nine o'clock he took his seat as usual in his +office, and began to open his pile of letters, his square-set, hard +face, with its cold grey eyes, looking harder than ever, for he had been +annoyed by the old charwoman who cleaned his squalid place asking him +for more wages. + +He was half-way through his correspondence when a knock sounded. + +“Come in,” he said gruffly. + +The door opened, and a handsome, well-built young man of about thirty +years of age entered. + +“Good morning, Captain Rodway.” + +“Morning, Lester. What do you want? Why are you not at sea?” and he bent +his keen eyes upon his visitor. + +“I'm waiting for the water-boat; but otherwise I'm ready to sail.” + +“Well, what is it then?” + +“I want to know if it is a fact that you will not employ married men as +captains?” + +“It is.” + +“Will you make no exception in my favour?” + +“No.” + +“I have been five years in your employ as mate and master of the +_Harvest Home_, and I am about to marry.” + +“Do as you please, but the day you marry you leave my service.” + +The young man's face flushed. “Then you can give me my money, and I'll +leave it to-day.” + +“Very well. Sit down,” replied the old man, reaching for his wages book. + +“There are sixty pounds due to you,” he said; “go on board and wait +for me. I'll be there at twelve o'clock with the new man, and we'll go +through the stores and spare gear together. If everything is right, I'll +pay your sixty pounds--if not, I'll deduct for whatever is short. Good +morning.” + +At two o'clock in the afternoon Captain Tom Lester landed at Circular +Quay with his effects and sixty sovereigns in his pocket. + +Leaving his baggage at an hotel he took a cab, drove to a quiet +little street in the suburb of Darling Point, and stopped at a quaint, +old-fashioned cottage surrounded by a garden. + +The door was opened by a tall, handsome girl of about twenty-two. + +“Tom!” + +“Lucy!” he replied, mimicking her surprised tone. Then he became grave, +and leading her to a seat, sat beside her, and took her hand. + +“Lucy, I have bad news. Rod way dismissed me this morning, and I have +left the ship.” + +The girl's eyes filled. “Never mind, Tom. You will get another.” + +“Ah, perhaps I might have to wait a long time. I have another plan. +Where is Mrs. Warren? I must tell her that our marriage must be put +off.” + +“Why should it, Tom? I don't want it to be put off. And neither does +she.” + +“But I have no home for you.” + +“We can live here until we have one of our own. Mother will be only too +happy.” + +“Sure?” + +“Absolutely, or I would not say it.” + +“Will you marry me this day week?” + +“Yes, dear--today if you wish. We have waited two years.” + +“You're a brave little woman, Lucy,” and he kissed her. “Now, here is +my plan. I can raise nearly a thousand pounds. I shall buy the _Dolphin_ +steam tug--I can get her on easy terms of payment--fill her with coal +and stores, and go to Kent's Group in Bass's Straits, and try and +refloat the _Braybrook Castle_. I saw the agents and the insurance +people this morning--immediately after I left old Bodway. If I float +her, it will mean a lot of money for me. If I fail, I shall at least +make enough to pay me well by breaking her up. The insurance people know +me, and said very nice things to me.” + +“Will you take me, Tom?” + +“Don't tempt me, Lucy. It will be a rough life, living on an almost +barren, rocky island, inhabited only by black snakes, albatrosses, gulls +and seals.” + +“Tom, you _must_. Come, let us tell mother.” + +Three days later they were married, and at six o'clock in the evening +the newly-made bride was standing beside her husband on the bridge +of the _Dolphin_, which was steaming full speed towards Sydney Heads, +loaded down almost to the waterways with coals and stores for four +months. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +Two months had passed, and the sturdy _Dolphin_ was lying snugly at +anchor in a small, well-sheltered cove on one of the Kent's Group of +islands. Less than a hundred yards away was one of the rudest attempts +at a house ever seen--that is, externally--for it was built with +wreckage from many ships and was roofed with tarpaulins and coarse +“albatross” grass. Seated on a stool outside the building was Mrs. +Lester, engaged in feeding a number of noisy fowls with broken-up +biscuit, but looking every now and then towards the _Braybrook Cattle_, +which lay on the rocks a mile away with only her lower masts standing. +It was nearing the time when her husband and his men would be returning +from their usual day's arduous toil. She rose, shook the biscuit crumbs +from her apron, and walking down to the _Dolphin_, anchored just in +front of the house, called--“Manuel.” + +A black, woolly head appeared above the companion way, and Manuel, +the cook of the wrecking party, came on deck, jumped into the dinghy +alongside and sculled ashore. + +“Manuel, you know that all the men are having supper in the house +to-night,” she said, as the man--a good-natured Galveston negro--stepped +on shore. + +“Yes, ma'am.” + +“Well, I've done all _my_ share of the cooking--I've made two batches of +bread, and the biggest sea pie you ever saw in your life, but I want two +buckets of water from the spring.” + +“All right, ma'am. I'll tote 'em up fo' yo' right away.”. + +“Please do. And I'll come with you. Captain Lester and the others +won't be here for half an hour yet, and I want to show you some +curious-looking stuff I saw on the beach this morning. It looks like +dirty soap mixed with black shells, like fowl's beaks.” + +The negro's face displayed a sudden interest. “Mixed with shells, yo' +say, ma'am. Did yo' touch it?” + +“No--it looks too unpleasant.” + +The negro picked up the buckets, and, followed by Mrs. Lester, set out +along a path which led to a rocky pool of some dimensions filled with +rain water.. “Leave the buckets till we come back, Manuel We have not +far to go.” + +She led the way to the beach, and then turning to the left walked along +the hard, white sand till they came to a bar of low rocks covered with +sea-moss and lichen. Lying against the seaward face of the rock was +a pile of driftweed, kelp, crayfish shells, &c, and half buried in +_débris_ was the object that had aroused her curiosity. + +“There it is, Manuel,” she said, pointing to an irregularly-shaped mass +of a mottled grey, yellow and brown substance, looking like soap, mixed +with cinders and ashes. + +The negro whipped out his sheath knife, plunged it into the mass, then +withdrew it, pressed the flat of the blade to his nostrils, and then +uttered a yell of delight, clapped his hands, took off his cap and +tossed it in the air, and rolled his eyes in such an extraordinary +manner, that Mrs. Lester thought he had become suddenly insane. + +“Yo' am rich woman now, ma'am,” he said in his thick, fruity voice. “Dat +am ambergris. I know it well 'nuff. I was cook on a whaleship fo' five +years, and have handled little bits of ambergris two or three times, but +no one in de world, I believe, ever see such a lump like dis.” + +“Is it worth anything then?” + +“Worth anything, ma'am! It am worth twenty-two shillings de ounce!” + +He knelt down and began clearing away the weed till the whole mass was +exposed, placed his arms around it, and partly lifted it. + +“Dere is more'n a hundredweight,” he chuckled, as he looked up at Mrs. +Lester, who was now also feeling excited. “Look at dis now.” + +He cut out a slice of the curious-looking oleaginous stuff, struck a +match and applied the light. A pale yellow flame was the result, and +with it there came a strong but pleasant smell. + +Mrs. Lester had never heard of ambergris to her recollection, but Manuel +now enlightened her as to its uses--the principal being as a developer +of the strength of all other perfumes. + +Such a treasure could not be left where it was--exposed to the risk of +being carried away by the tide so the negro at once went to work with +his knife, catting it into three pieces, each of which he carried to +the house, and put into an empty barrel. Then he returned and carefully +searched for and picked up the minutest scraps which had broken off +whilst he was cutting the “find” through. + +Just at sunset, Lester and his gang of burly helpers returned tired +and hungry, but highly elated, for they had succeeded in getting out an +unusual amount of valuable cargo. + +“We've had great luck to-day, Lucy,” cried Lester, as he strode over the +coarse grass in his high sea boots; “and, all going well, we shall make +the first attempt to pull the ship off the day after to-morrow.” + +“And I have had luck too,” said his wife, her fair, sweet face, now +bronzed by the sun, glowing as she spoke. “But come inside first, and +then I'll tell you.” + +The interior of the dwelling consisted of two rooms only--a small +bedroom and a large living room which was also used as a kitchen. It +was quite comfortably furnished with handsome chairs, lounges, chests of +drawers, and other articles taken from the cabin of the stranded ship. +The centre of the room was occupied by a large deal table made by one +of the men, and a huge fire of drift timber blazed merrily at one end. +Manuel was laying the table, his black face beaming with sup-pressed +excitement, and the rough, sea-booted wreckers entered one by one and +sat down. Mrs. Lester bade them smoke if they wished. + +“Well, boys,” said their leader to the wrecking party--of whom there +were thirty--“we all deserve a drink before supper. Help yourselves to +whatever you like,” and he pointed to a small side-table covered with +bottles of spirits and glasses. Then Lucy, after they had all satisfied +themselves, walked over to the cask containing her “find,” and standing +beside it, asked if they would all come and look at the contents and see +if they knew what it was. Lester, thinking she had succeeded in catching +a young seal, looked on with an amused smile. + +One by one the men came and looked inside the cask, felt the greasy mass +with their horny fingers, and each shook his head until the tenth man, +who, the moment he saw it, gave a shout. + +“Why, I'm blest if it ain't ambow-grease!” + +Lester started. “Ambergris! Nonsense!” and then he too uttered a cry +of astonishment as a second man--an old whaler--darted in front of him, +and, pinching off a piece of the “find,” smelt it. + +“Hamble-grist it is, sir,” he cried, “and the cask is chock-full of it.” + +“Turn it out on the floor,” said Lester, who knew the enormous value of +ambergris, “and let us get a good look at it. Light all the lamps, Lucy.” + +The lamps were lit, and then Manuel repeated his experiment by burning +a piece, amid breathless excitement. No further doubt could exist, and +then Manuel, taking a spring balance (weighing up to 50 lbs.) from +the wall, hung it to a rafter, whilst the men put the lot into three +separate bags and suspended them to the hook in turn. + +“Forty-five pounds,” cried the mate of the Dolphin, as the first bag was +hooked on. “Come on with the next one.” + +“Thirty-nine pounds.” + +“_And_ thirty-four pounds makes a hundred and eighteen,” said Lester, +bending down and eagerly examining the dial. + +“How much is it worth, skipper?” asked the tug's engineer. + +“Not less than £1 an ounce----” + +“No, sah,” cried Manuel, with an _ex cathedra_ air, “twenty-two +shillings, sah. Dat's what the captain of de _Fanny Long_ Hobart Town +whaleship got fo' a piece eleven poun' weight in Sydney last June. And +I hear de boys sayin' dat he would hab got £1 5s. only dat dere was a +power of squids' beaks in it--and dere's not many in dis lot, so it's +gwine to bring more.” + +He explained that the pieces of black shell, which looked like broken +mussel shells, were in reality the beaks of the squid, upon which the +sperm whale feeds. Then, for the benefit of those of the party, he and +the two other ex-whalemen described the cause of the formation of this +peculiar substance in the body of the sperm whale. + +Lester took pencil and paper and made a rapid calculation. + +“Boys, we'll say that this greasy-looking staff is worth only a pound an +ounce--though I don't doubt that Manuel is right. Well, at £1 an ounce, +it comes to eighteen hundred and eighty-eight pounds.” + +“Hurrah for Mrs. Lester!” cried Lindley, the mate. + +“She has brought us luck from the first, and now she has luck herself.” + +The men cheered her again and again, for there was not one of them that +had not a rough affection for their captain's violet-eyed wife. They +had admired her for her pluck even in making the voyage to this desolate +spot, and her constant cheerfulness and her kindness and attention in +nursing three of them who had been seriously ill cemented their feelings +of devotion to her. There was a happy supper party in “Wreck House”---as +Lucy had named her strangely-built abode--that night, and it was not +until the small hours of the morning that the men went off to sleep on +the tug, and left Lucy and her husband to themselves. + +“I'm too excited to sleep now, Tom,” she said. “Come, I must show you +the place where I found it. It is not a bit cold. And oh! Tom, I'm +beginning to love this lonely island, and the rough life, and the +tame seals, and the wild goats, and the fowls, and black Manuel, and, +and--oh, everything! And look, Tom dear, over there at the lighthouse +at Deal Island. I really believe the light was never shining as it is +to-night. Oh! all the world is bright to me.” + + + + +CHAPTER III + +Two days later, and after nearly fifteen weeks of arduous and +unremitting labour, there came, one calm night, a glorious spring tide, +and the _Dolphin_, under a full head of steam, and with her stout, broad +frame quivering and throbbing and panting, tugged away at the giant hulk +of the stranded ship; and the ship's own donkey engine and winch wheezed +and groaned as it slowly brought in inch by inch a heavy coir hawser +made fast to a rock half a cable length ahead of the tug. And then the +_Braybrook Castle_ began to move, and the wrecking gang cheered and +cheered until they were hoarse, and the second engineer of the tug and +two stokers, stripped to their waists, with the perspiration streaming +down their roasting bodies, answered with a yell--and then, lying well +over on her starboard bilge, the great ship slid off stern first into +deep water, and Tom Lester's heart leapt within him with joy and pride. + +Lucy, as excited as any one else, was on the bridge with him, her face +aglow, and her hand on the lever of the engine-room telegraph. + +“Half-speed, Lucy.” + +As the bell clanged loudly, and the heart of the sturdy tug beat less +frantically, the wrecking gang on board the ship under Lindley slipped +their end of the coir hawser from the winch barrel, and worked like +madmen to get the ship on an even keel by cutting adrift the lashings of +several hundred barrels of cement (part of the cargo) which were piled +up on the starboard side of the main deck, and letting them plunge +overboard As the ship righted herself inch by inch, and finally stood up +on an even keel, Lester made an agreed-upon signal--blowing his whistle +thrice--for Lindley to stand by his anchors, which were all ready to let +go. + +His device of getting up the barrels of cement from the lower hold, and +stowing them against the iron deck stanchions (having previously +cut away the bulwark plates) so as to give the vessel a big cant to +starboard, had answered perfectly; for, high as was the tide that night, +the _Dolphin_, though so powerful, could not have moved a ship of 1,500 +tons with her keel still partly sustaining her weight on the rooks on +which she had struck. By canting her as he had done, she had actually +floated--and no more than floated--an hour before the tide was at its +full. + +Half an hour later the _Braybrook Castle_ had been towed round to a +little bay just abreast of “Wreck House,” and the tug's engines stopped. + +“All ready, Lindley?” shouted Lester. + +“All ready sir.” + +“Then let go.” + +At a tap from Lindley's hammer, the great anchor plunged down, and the +flaked out cable roared as it flew through the hawse-pipes, drowning the +loud “Hurrah” of the men on board. + +“What is it, Lindley?” cried Lester, “ten fathoms?” + +“Twelve, sir.” + +“Give her another twenty-five. It's good holding ground and there is +plenty of room for her to swing. Lindley!” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“We have had a bit of good luck, eh?” + +“Yes, sir. That is because Mrs. Lester is on the tug. She brings us good +luck.” + +Lester laughed and turned to his wife. “Do you hear that, Lucy?” + +She was gazing intently over to the westward, but turned to him the +moment he spoke. + +“Tom, I can see a blue light over there.... Ah, see, there is a rocket! +What is it?” + +Lester took his night glasses and looked. + +“There is a ship ashore somewhere between here and the Deal Island +light,” he said, and then he rang, “Go astern,” to the engine-room. + +“Lindley,” he called as soon as the tug backed alongside the _Braybrook +Castle_, “there is a ship ashore about four miles away from us to the +westward. My wife noticed her signals a few minutes ago.” + +“More salvage, sir,” bawled Lindley, “Mrs. Lester is bringing us more +luck. What's to be, sir?” + +“I want ten or a dozen men, and I'll go and see what I can do. You are +all right, aren't you?” + +“Right as rain, sir.” + +Fifteen, instead of a dozen men slid down a line on to the deck of the +tug, and Lucy, at a nod from her husband, turned on “Full steam ahead,” + and Lester whistled down the speaking-tube. + +“Hallo!” was the response. + +“Give it to her, Patterson, for all she's worth. There is a ship +ashore about four miles away. She is burning blue lights and sending up +rockets.” + +Five minutes later, the Dolphin was tearing through the water at her top +speed--eleven knots--and Patterson came up on the bridge. + +“Who saw the seegnals first?” he inquired. + +“I did, Mr. Patterson,” said Lucy. + +“Ay, I thoct as much, Mistress Leslie. Even that lazy, sheeftless Irish +fireman loon ae mine, Rafferty, said ye'd bring us mair guid luck.” Then +he dived below again to the engines so dear to his Scotsman's heart. + +The night was dark, but calm and windless, and the panting tug tore her +way through a sea as smooth as glass towards where the ghastly glare of +the last blue light had been seen. Twenty minutes later, Lester caught +sight of the distressed ship. She was lying on her beam ends, and almost +at the same moment came a loud hail-- + +“Steamer ahoy!” + +“Clang!” went the telegraph, and the _Dolphin's_ engines stopped, and +then went astern, just in time to save her from crashing into a boat +crowded with men; a second boat was close astern of the first. They came +alongside, and the occupants swarmed over the tug's low bulwarks, and an +old greybearded man made his way up to Lester. + +“My cowardly crew have forced me to abandon my ship. We were caught in +a squall yesterday, and thrown on our beam ends.” Then he fell down in a +fit. + +“Veer those boats astern,” cried Lester to his own men, “I'm going to +hook on to that ship!” + +Bailey, one of his best men, gave a yell. + +“More luck, boys. Mrs. Lester!” + +As the poor captain was carried off the bridge into the little cabin, +the _Dolphin_ went ahead, and in a quarter of an hour, Bailey and his +men had cut away the masts and the tug had the ship in tow. + +At daylight next morning Lester brought her into the little bay where +the _Braybrook Castle_ lay, and Bailey anchored her safely. + +When Lester boarded her he found she was the _Harvest Queen_, sister +ship to the _Harvest Maid_, _Harvester_, and his own last command, the +_Harvest Home_, all ships of 1,500 tons, and belonging to Captain James +Rodway. + +“Why didn't you cut away her masts?” he said to the unfortunate captain +later on. + +“Ah, you don't know my owner,” the old man replied, “and besides that, I +could have righted the ship if my crew had stuck to me. But after being +eighteen hours on our beam ends, they took fright and lowered the boats. +I'm a ruined man.” + +“Not at all. You have done your duty and I'll give you command of +another ship to-day--the _Braybrook Castle_. You have nothing further to +do with the _Harvest Queen_. She was an abandoned ship. She's mine now. +Salvage, you know.” + +The old man nodded his head. “Yes, I know that. And you'll make a pot +oat of her.” + +“What is she worth?” + +“Ship and cargo are worth £80,000. We loaded a general cargo in London.” + +“That will be a bit of a knock for Rodway.” “Do you know him?” asked +Captain Blake in surprise. + +“I do indeed! I was master of the _Harvest Home_. Now come ashore. My +wife is getting as something to eat.” + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +At the end of another four weeks, the _Braybrook Castle_, with +three-fourths of the cargo she had brought from London, sailed for +Sydney under the command of Captain Blake of the _Harvest Queen_, +and the _Harvest Queen_ under jury masts, and with her valuable cargo +undamaged, was ready to sail, escorted by the _Dolphin_ on the following +day, with Lindley as master. + +The last night at “Wreck House” was even a merrier and happier one than +that on which the wrecking party celebrated Lucy's “find.” But yet Lucy +herself felt a little sad at saying farewell to this wild spot, where +amid the roar of the ever-beating surf, and the clamour of the gulls +and terns, she had spent the four happiest months of her life. The rough +food, the fresh sea-air, and the active life had, Lester declared, only +served to increase her beauty, and she herself had never felt so strong +and in such robust health before. Almost every day in fine weather she +had taken a walk to some part of the interior of the island, or along +the many white beaches, filling a large basket with sea-birds' eggs, or +collecting the many beautiful species of cowries and other sea-shells +with which the beaches were strewn. Years before, another wrecking party +had left some goats on the island, and these had thriven and increased +amazingly. Her husband's men had shot a great number for food, and +captured three or four, which supplied them with milk, and these latter, +with their playful kids, and a number of fowls which had been brought +from Sydney in the _Dolphin_, together with a pair of pet baby seals, +made up what she called her “farmyard.” On one part of the island there +was a dense thicket of low trees, the resort not only of hundreds of +wild goats, but of countless thousands of terns and other sea-birds, who +had made it their breeding ground. It was situated at the head of a tiny +landlocked bay, the beach of which was covered with the weather-worn +spars and timbers of some great ship which had gone ashore there perhaps +thirty or forty years before. The whole of the foreshores of the island, +however, were alike in that respect, for it had proved fatal to many a +good ship, even from the time that gallant navigator Matthew Flinders +had first discovered the group. + +On the morning of the last day of the stay of the wrecking party on the +island, Lucy set out for this place, remembering that on her last visit +she had left a basket of cowries there. Bidding her beware of black +snakes, for the place was noted for these deadly reptiles, Lester went +off on board the _Harvest Queen_. + +An hour afterwards, as Lester was engaged with Lindley in the ship's +cabin, a man on deck called down the skylight to him. + +“Here is Mrs. Lester coming back, sir. She's running, and is calling for +you.” + +With a dreadful fear that she had been bitten by a snake, Lester rushed +on deck, jumped into a boat, and was ashore in a few minutes. Lucy, too +exhausted to come down to the boat and meet him, had sat down in front +of the now nearly empty house. + +“I'm all right, Tom,” she panted, as he ran up to her, “but I've had a +terrible fright,” and she could not repress a shudder. “I have just seen +three skeletons in the thicket scrub, and all about them are strewn all +sorts of things, and there are two or three small kegs, one of which is +filled with money, for the end has burst and the money has partly run +out on the sand.” + +Lester sprang to his feet, and called out to the two men who had pulled +him ashore to come to him. + +“Mrs. Lester's luck again!” he cried. + +“Mrs. Lester's luck again!” bawled one of the men to the rest of the +wrecking party on board the _Harvest Queen_, and in an instant the cry +was taken up, and then came a loud cheer, as, disregarding discipline, +all hands tumbled into a boat alongside, frantically eager to learn what +had occurred. + +Lester waited for them, and then Lucy gave a more detailed account of +how she made her discovery. + +“I found my basket where I had left it, and had just sat down to take +off my shoes, which were filled with sand, when a goat with two of the +sweetest little kids you ever saw in your life came suddenly out from +behind a rock. The kids were not more than a day or two old, and I +determined to catch at least one of them to take home. The moment the +mother saw me she ran off with her babies, and I followed. They dived +into the thicket, and led me _such_ a dance, for they ran much faster +than I thought they could. + +“I had never been so far into the scrub before, and felt a little bit +frightened--it was so dark and quiet--but I was too excited to give up, +so on I sped until the nanny and kids ran into what seemed a tunnel in +the thick scrub. It is really a road made by the goats and is only about +three feet high, the branches and creepers making a regular archway +overhead. I stooped down and followed, and in a few minutes came to a +little space which was open to the sky; for the sunlight was so bright +that, coming out of the dark tunnel place, I was quite dazzled for a few +moments, and had to put my hands over my eyes. + +“When I looked about, I saw that the ground was strewed with all sorts +of things--rotten boards and boxes, and ships' blocks, and empty bottles +and demijohns, with all the cane covering gone. Then I saw the three +kegs, and noticed one had burst open or rotted away, and that it was +filled with what looked like very large and dirty nickel pennies. I went +to it and took some up, and saw they were crown pieces! Of course, I was +at once wildly excited, and thought no more of the dear little kiddies, +when I heard one of them cry out--quite near--and saw it, lying down +exhausted, about ten yards away. I was running over to it when I saw +those three dreadful skeletons. They are lying quite close to each +other, near some brass cannons and a lot of rusty ironwork. I was so +terrified that I forgot all about the poor kid, and--and, well, that is +all; and here I am with my skirt in rags, and my face scratched, and my +hair loose, and 'all of a bobbery,' as Manuel says.” + +“Boys,” said Lester, “I'm pretty sure I know how those poor fellows' +bones come to be there. An East Indiaman--the _Mountjoy_--was lost +somewhere on the Kent Group about sixty years ago; and I have read that +she had a lot of specie on board. Now, as soon as Mrs. Lester has rested +a bit, we'll start.” + +“I'll carry you, ma'am,” said Bailey, a herculean creature of 6 ft. 6 +in., and stepping into “Wreck House” he brought out a chair, seated +Lucy on it, and amidst applause and laughter, lifted it up on his mighty +shoulders as if she was no more weight than the chair itself. + +She guided them to the spot, and within an hour, not only the three +small casks--all of which were filled with English silver money, but +the contents of two others, which were found lying partly buried in the +sandy soil, were brought to the house. And then began the exciting task +of counting the coins, which took some time, and when Lester announced +the result, a rousing cheer broke from the men. + +“Six thousand, two hundred and seven pounds, four shillings, boys; all +with the blessed picture of good old George the Third on them. Lucy, my +dear, let us drink your health.” + +Lucy drew him aside for a minute or two ere she complied with his +request, and with sparkling eyes she talked earnestly to him. + +“Of course I will, dear,” he said. + +“Now, hoys,” he cried, as Lucy brought out two bottles of brandy, and +some cups and glasses, “let us drink my wife's health. She has brought +us good luck. And she and I are dividing a thousand pounds between you, +with an extra fifty for Manuel; for I'm pretty well certain that the +Home Government can't claim any royalty.” + +The rough wreckers cheered and cheered again, as they drank to “Mrs. +Lester's Luck.” They were all being paid high wages, and were worth +them, for they had toiled manfully, and the most pleasant relations had +always existed between them and Lester. + +Immediately after breakfast on the following morning the anchors of the +_Harvest Queen_ were weighed to the raising chanty of-- + +“Hurrah, my boys, we're Homeward Bound!” and then the _Dolphin_, with +Lester on the bridge and Lucy beside him at the telegraph, went ahead, +and tautened out the tow line, and Lindley made all sail on his stumpy +jury masts. + +Seventeen days later, the gallant little tug pulled the _Harvest Queen_ +into Sydney Harbour. “Mrs. Lester's Luck,” had been with them the whole +voyage, for from the time they had left Kent's Group, till they passed +between Sydney Heads, nothing but fine weather and favourable winds had +been experienced. + +As the _Dolphin_, with the hulking _Harvest Queen_ behind her, came up +the smooth waters of the harbour to an anchorage off Garden Island, big +Bailey, who was standing beside Lester and Lucy on the bridge, uttered a +yell of delight. + +“Mrs. Lester's luck again, by all that's holy! There is the _Braybrook +Castle_ at anchor over in Neutral Bay!” + +It was indeed the _Braybrook Castle_, which had arrived only one day +previously, and when Lester went on shore a few hours later, he found +that he was a richer man by over £17,000 than when he had left Sydney +less than six months before. + +And “Mrs. Lester's Luck” brought happiness to many other people beside +herself and her husband in the city of the Southern Sea, and when a year +later, in England, she stood on a stage under the bows of a gallant ship +of two thousand tons, built to Lester's order, and broke a bottle of +Australian wine against her steel plates, she named her “The Lucy's +Luck!” + + + + +BULL-DOGS OF THE SEA + +Not many sea-going people--outside of professional whalemen or +sealers--know much about the “killer” and his habits, and still less +of his appearance. Yet this curious whale (for the killer is one of the +minor-toothed whales) is known all over the world, though nowhere is +it more plentiful than along the eastern and southern coasts of the +Australian continent. In the colder seas of the northern part of the +globe it is not uncommon; and only last year one was playing havoc, +it was stated, with the fishermen's nets off the northeastern coast of +Ireland. + +On the eastern seaboard of Australia, however, the killers can be +watched at work, even from the shore, particularly from any bluff or +headland from which a clear view can be obtained of the sea beneath, and +should there be a westerly wind blowing, their slightest movements may +be observed; particularly when they are “cruising,” i.e., watching for +the approach of a “pod” of either humpback or fin-back whales. During +the prevalence of westerly winds the sea water becomes very clear, so +clear that every rock and stone may be discerned at a depth of six +or eight fathoms, and the killers, when waiting for their prey, will +frequently come in directly beneath the cliffs and sometimes remain +stationary for half an hour at a time, rolling over and over, or sunning +themselves. + +First of all, let me describe the killer's appearance. They range in +length from ten to twenty feet, have a corresponding girth, and show the +greatest diversity of colouring and markings. Their anatomy is very much +that of the sperm whale--the one member of the cetacean family which +they do not attempt to attack on account of his enormous strength and +formidable teeth--and they “breach,” “spout” and “sound” like other +whales. The jaws are set with teeth of from one or two inches in length, +deeply imbedded in the jawbone, and when two of these creatures succeed +in fastening themselves to the lips of a humpback, even fifty feet in +length, they can always prevent him from “sounding” and escaping into +deep water, for they cling to the unfortunate monster with bull-dog +tenacity, leaving others of their party to rip the blubber from his +sides and pendulous belly. + +On the coast of New South Wales--particularly at Twofold Bay, where +there is a shore whaling station, there are two “pods” or communities +of killers which have never left the vicinity within the memory of the +oldest inhabitant, and indeed they were first noticed and written about +in the year 1790. At other places on the Australian coast there are +permanent pods of ten, fifteen or twenty, but those at Twofold Bay are +quite famous, and every individual member of them is well-known, not +only to the local whalemen, but to many of the other residents of +Twofold Bay as well, and it would go hard with the man who attempted to +either kill or injure one of any of the members of the two pods, for the +whalemen would be unable to carry on their business were it not for +the assistance rendered to them by their friends the killers, whose +scientific name, by the way, is _Orca Gladiator_--and a more fitting +appellation could never have been applied. + +Now as to the colouring and markings--which are not only diverse, but +exceedingly curious. Some are of a uniform black, brown, dark grey, or +dirty cream; others are black with either streaks or irregular patches +of yellow, white or grey: others again are covered with patches of +black, white or yellow, ranging in size from half a dozen inches in +diameter to nearly a couple of feet. One which the present writer found +lying dead on the reef of Nukulaelae Island, in the Ellice Group, was +almost a jet black with the exception of some poorly defined white +markings on the dorsal fin and belly; another which he saw accidentally +killed by a bomb fired at a huge whale off the Bampton Shoals, was of a +reddish-brown, with here and there almost true circular blotches of pure +white. This poor fellow was twelve feet in length, and his death was +caused by his frantic greediness to get at the whale and take his toll +of blubber. The whale was struck late in the day, and the sea was so +rough that the officer in charge, after having twice tried to get up and +use his lance, determined to end the matter with a bomb before darkness +came on. At this time there was a “pod” of seven killers running side by +side with the whale and endeavouring to fasten to his lips whenever he +came to the surface; and, just as the officer had succeeded in getting +within firing distance and discharging the bomb, poor _Gladiator_ came +in the way, and was killed by the shot, much to the regret of the boat's +crew. + +For, as I have said, the whalemen--and particularly the shore whalemen, +_i.e_., those who do their whaling from a station on shore--regard, and +with good reason, the killers as invaluable allies. Especially is this +so in the case of the Twofold Bay shore whalers, for out of every ten +whales killed during the season, whether humpbacks, “right” whales, or +finbacks, three-fourths are captured through the pack of killers seizing +and literally holding them till the boats come up and end the mighty +creatures' miseries. + +Towards the end of winter an enormous number of whales appear on the +Australian coast, coming from the cold Antarctic seas, and travelling +northward along the land towards the breeding grounds--the Bampton +and Bellona Shoals and the Chesterfield Groups, situated between New +Caledonia and the Australian mainland, between 17° and 20° S. The +majority of these whales strike the land about Cape Howe and Gabo Island +at the boundary line between New South Wales and Victoria--sixty miles +south of Twofold Bay. Most of them are finbacks, though these are always +accompanied by numbers of humpbacks and a few “right” whales--the most +valuable of all the southern cetacea except the spermaceti or cachalot. +The latter, however, though they will travel in company with the flying +finback and the timid humpback and “right” whale, has no fear of the +killers. He is too enormously strong, and could crush even a full-grown +killer to a pulp between his mighty jaws were he molested, and +consequently the killers give the cachalot a wide berth as a dangerous +customer. The finback, however, swift and lengthy as he is, seldom +manages to escape once he is “bailed up,” and having no weapon of +defence except his flukes (for he is one of the baleen or toothless +whales), he has but one chance of his life, and that is to dive to such +a depth that his assailants have to let go their hold of him in order to +ascend to the surface to breathe. + +The finback, I must mention, although the most plentiful of all the +whale family, and sometimes attaining the length of ninety feet, is +never attacked by whale-boats when he is “loose,” _i.e._, free, and +is only captured when his struggles with the ferocious killers have so +exhausted him that a boat can approach and dart a harpoon into or lance +him. The reason for this immunity of primary attack by boats is that the +finback is in the first place of little value when compared to either +the humpback or “right” whale, for the coating of blubber is thin, and +the plates of baleen (or whalebone) he possesses are very short; and in +the second place he is, although so timid a creature, too dangerous to +be struck with a harpoon, for he would take the entire whale-line out of +three or four boats and then get away with it after all, for it is the +swiftest of all the cetacean family, and all whalemen say that no +one but a stark lunatic would dream of putting an iron into a loose +“finner,” such as ranges the Southern Ocean. I was told, however, of +one well-authenticated case off the Azores, where a reckless Portuguese +shore-whaler struck a bull finback, which, after taking the lines from +four boats (220 fathoms in each) towed them for three hours and then got +away, the line having to be cut owing to the creature sounding to such +an enormous depth that no more line was available. + +The shore whaling parties at Twofold Bay, however, run no risks of this +sort. They let their friends, the Gladiators, do most of the work, and +find that “fin-backing” under these circumstances is fairly profitable, +inasmuch as they can tow the carcase ashore, and “try out” the blubber +at their leisure. + +But, in a case where one of these finbacks is held by killers, it can +be approached, as I have said, by shore boats and killed, as is the +practice of the Twofold Bay whalemen. + +Let the writer now quote, with the publisher's permission, from a work +he wrote some years ago describing the way the killers “work in” with +their human friends. In this particular instance, however, it was a +humpback whale, but as _Orca Gladiator_ treats the humpback and “right” + whale as he does the lengthy “finner,” the extract from the article is +quite applicable. + +“Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man who +is on the look-out at the abandoned old lighthouse built by one Ben Boyd +on the southern headland fifty years ago, paces to and fro on the grassy +sward, stopping now and then to scan the wide expanse of ocean with +his glass, for the spout of a whale is hard to discern at more than +two miles if the weather is misty or rainy. But if the creature is in a +playful mood, and 'breaches'--that is, springs bodily out of the water, +and falling back, sends up a white volume of foam and spray, like the +discharge of a submarine mine, you can see it eight miles away. + +“The two boats are always in readiness at the trying-out works, a mile +or so up the harbour; so too are the killers, and the look-out man, +walking to the verge of the cliff, gazes down. + +“There they are, cruising slowly up and down, close in shore, spouting +lazily, and showing their wet, gleaming backs and gaff-topsail-like +dorsal fins as they rise, roll, and dive again.... Some of them have +nicknames, and each is well known to his human friends. + +“Presently the watchman sees, away to the southward, a white, misty +puff, then another, and another. In an instant he brings his glass to +bear. 'Humpback!' Quickly two flags flutter from the flagpole, and a +fire is lit; and as the flags and smoke are seen, the waiting boats' +crews at the trying-out station are galvanised into life by the cry +of 'Rush, ho, lads! Humpbacks in sight, steering north-west! Rush and +tumble into the boats and away!' + +“Round the south head sweeps the first boat, the second following more +leisurely, for she is only a 'pickup' or relief, in case the first is +'fluked' and the crew are tossed high in air, with their boat crushed +into matchwood, or meets with some other disaster. And as the leading +boat rises to the long ocean swell of the offing, the killers close in +round her on either side, just keeping clear of the sweep of the oars, +and 'breaching' and leaping and spouting with the anticipative zest of +the coming bloody fray. + +“'Easy, lads, easy!' says the old boat-header; 'they are coming right +down on us. Billy has right. They're humpbacks, sure enough!' + +“The panting oarsmen pull a slower stroke, and then, as they watch the +great savage creatures which swim alongside, they laugh in the mirthless +manner peculiar to most native-born Australians, for suddenly, with a +last sharp spurt of vapour, the killers dive and disappear into the dark +blue beneath; for they have heard the whales, and, as is their custom, +have gone ahead of the boat, rushing swiftly on below fully fifty +fathoms deep. Fifteen minutes later they rise to the surface in the +midst of the humpbacks, and half a square acre of ocean is turned into a +white, swirling cauldron of foam and leaping spray. The bull-dogs of the +sea have seized the largest whale of the pod or school--a bull--and are +holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. +The rest of the humpbacks rise high their mighty flukes and 'sound' +a hundred--two hundred--fathoms down, and, speeding seaward, leave the +unfortunate bull to his dreadful fate. + +(“And in truth it is a dreadful fate, and the writer of this sketch can +never forget one day, as he and a little girl of six watched, from a +grassy headland on the coast of New South Wales, the slaughter of a +monstrous whale by a drove of killers, that the child wept and shuddered +and hid her face against his shoulder.) + +“Banging swiftly alongside of him, from his great head down to the +'small' of his back, the fierce killers seize his body in their savage +jaws and tear great strips of blubber from off his writhing sides in +huge mouthfuls, and then jerking the masses aside, take another and +another bite. In vain he sweeps his flukes with fearful strokes from +side to side--the bull-dogs of the sea come not within their range; in +vain he tries to 'sound'--there is a devil on each side of his jaws, +their cruel teeth fixed firmly into his huge lips; perhaps two or three +are underneath him tearing and riving at the great rough corrugations of +his grey-white belly; whilst others, with a few swift, vertical strokes +of their flukes, draw back for fifty feet or so, charge him amidships, +and strike him fearful blows on the ribs with their bony heads. Round +and round, in ever-narrowing circles as his strength fails, the tortured +humpback swims, sometimes turning on his back or side, but failing, +failing fast. + +“'He's done for, lads. Pull up; stand up, Jim.' + +“The boat dashes up, and Jim, the man who is pulling bow oar, picks up +his harpoon. A minute later it flies from his hand, and is buried deep +into the body of the quivering animal, cutting through the thick blubber +as a razor would cut through the skin of a drum. + +“'Stern all!' and the harpooner tumbles aft and grips the steer oar, +and the steersman takes his place in the head of the boat and seizes his +keen-edged lance. But 'humpy' is almost spent, and though by a mighty +effort he 'ups flukes' and sounds, he soon rises, for the killers +thrust him upwards to the surface again. Then the flashing lance--two, +three swift thrusts into his 'life' a gushing torrent of hot, dark +blood, and he rolls oyer on his side, an agonised trembling quivers +through his vast frame, the battle is oyer and his life is gone. + +“And now comes the curious and yet absolutely truly described final part +that the killers play in this ocean tragedy. They, the moment the whale +is dead, close around him, and fastening their teeth into his body, +by main strength bear it to the bottom. Here--if they have not already +accomplished it--they tear out the tongue, and eat about one-third of +the blubber. In from thirty-six to forty hours the carcase will again +rise to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen +haye attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts are easily +discerned from the look-out on the headland; the boats again put off and +tow it ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they haye had +their fill of blubber, accompany the boats to the head of the bay and +keep off the sharks, which would otherwise strip off all the remaining +blubber from the carcase before it had reached the shore. But once the +boats are in the shallow water, the killers stop, and then with a final +'puff! puff!' of farewell to their human friends, turn and head seaward +to resume their ceaseless watch and patrol of the ocean. + +“The killers never hurt a man. Time after time haye boats been stove in +or smashed into splinters by a whale, either by an accidental blow from +his head or a sudden lateral sweep of his monstrous flukes, and the +crew left struggling in the water or clinging to the oars and pieces of +wreckage; and the killers have swum up to, looked at, and smelt them, +but never have they touched a man with intent to do him harm. And +wherever the killers are, the sharks are not, for Jack Shark dreads a +killer as the devil is said to dread holy water. Sometimes I have +seen 'Jack' make a rush in between the killers, and rip off a piece of +hanging blubber, but he will carefully watch his chance to do so.” + + * * * * * + +One of the most experienced whaling masters of New Bedford, with whom +the writer once cruised from the Gilbert Islands to Tap in the Western +Carolines, told him that on one occasion when he was coming from the +shore to his ship, which was lying to off the Chatham Islands, the boat +was followed by a pack of five killers. They swam within touch of the +oars, much to the amusement of the crew, and presently several of what +are called “right whale” porpoises made their appearance, racing along +ahead of the boat, whereupon Captain Allen went for'ard and picked up +a harpoon, for the flesh of this rare variety of porpoise is highly +prized. The moment he struck the fish it set off at a great rate, but +not quick enough to escape the killers, for though the porpoise was +much the swifter fish (were it loose), the weight of the boat and fifty +fathoms of line was a heavy handicap. As quickly as possible the men +began hauling up to the stricken fish so that Allen might give it the +lance, when to their astonishment the killers seized it and literally +tore it to pieces in a few minutes. + +“If ever I felt mad enough to put an iron into a 'killer' it was then,” + he said, “but I couldn't do it. And very glad of it I was afterwards, +for a week later I had two boats stove in by a whale, and of course, had +I hurt one of those beggars of killers, the whole crew would have said +it was only a just retribution.” + + + + +“REVENGE” + +On that fever-stricken part of the coast of the great island of New +Britain, lying between the current-swept headland of Gape Stephens and +the deep forest-clad shores of Kabaira Bay, there is a high grassy bluff +dotted here and there with isolated coco-palms leaning northward to the +sea beneath, their broad branches restlessly whipping and bending to +the boisterous trade wind. On the western side of the bluff there is a +narrow strip of littoral, less than half a mile in width, and thickly +clothed with a grove of betel nut, through which the clear waters of a +mountain stream flow swiftly out oceanwards across a rocky bar. + +Near where the margin of the grove of straight, grey-boled betels touch +the steep side of the bluff, there may be seen the outline of a low wall +of coral stones, forming three sides of a square, and bound and knit +together with vines, creepers, and dank, ill-smelling moss--the growth, +decay, and re-growth of three score years. The ground which it encloses +is soft and swampy, for the serried lines of betel-trees, with their +thick, broad crowns, prevent either sun or wind from penetrating to the +spot, and the heavy tropical rains never permit it to dry. It is a dark, +dismal-looking place, only visited by the savage inhabitants when they +come to collect the areca-nuts, and its solitude is undisturbed save +by the flapping of the hornbill's wings as he carries food to his +imprisoned mate, or the harsh screech of a white cockatoo flying +overhead to the mountain forest beyond. + +Yet sixty years ago it was not so, for then on the shore facing the bar +stood a native village, and within the now rained wall were the houses +of three white men, who from their doorways could see the blue Pacific, +and the long curve of coast line with cape and headland and white line +of reef stretching away down to the westward in the misty tropic haze. + +Walk inside the old, broken walls, and you will see, half-buried in the +moist, steaming, and malarious ground, some traces of those who dwelt +there--a piece of chain cable, two or three whaler's trypots, a rotten +and mossgrown block or two, only the hardwood sheaves of which have +resisted the destroying influences of the climate; a boat anchor, and +farther towards the creek, the mouldering remains of a capstan, from the +drumhead holes of which long grey-green pendants of moss droop down upon +the weather-worn, decaying barrel, like the scanty ragged beard that +falls on the chest of some old man worn out with poverty and toil. + +That is all that one may see now; for the dense, evergrowing jungle has +long since hidden or rotted all else that was left. + + * * * * * + +The three men were named Ford, Adams, and Stenhouse. They were +_beche-de-mer_ fishers, and for nearly a year had been living in this +savage spot--the only white men inhabiting the great island, whose +northern coast line sweeps in an irregular half-moon curve for more +than three hundred miles from Cape Stephens to within sight of the +lofty mountains of New Guinea. In pursuit of their avocation, death from +disease, or from the spears or clubs of the treacherous, betel-chewing, +stark-naked cannibals among whom they dwelt was ever near, but to the +men of their iron resolution and dauntless courage that mattered not. +Two years' labour meant for them a large sum of money--enough to enable +them to return with their wives and families and native dependents, to +those more restful islands in the Western Carolines whence they had come +a year before. + +All three men were employed by one firm in Singapore, whose ship had +brought them with their families and some thirty or forty natives of Yap +to New Britain. Nine months after their landing, a small schooner had +called to replenish their supplies, and ship the cured trepang, which +by the most assiduous labour and daring enterprise they had accumulated; +and when this story opens, the schooner had been gone some weeks, and +they and their native workers were preparing their boats for another +cruise along the great barrier reef of New Britain. + +Two of these men, Adams and Stenhouse, were old and tried comrades, and +in their rough way, devoted to each other. Stenhouse, the elder of +the two, had some ten years previously, while sailing along the Pelew +Island, found Adams adrift in an open boat--the sole survivor of a +shipwrecked crew of sixteen men, and had nursed him back to life and +reason. Later on, Adams had married one of Stenhouse's half-caste +daughters. Ford, too, who was an American, was connected by marriage +with Stenhouse, and nearly every one of the thirty or forty male and +female Caroline Islanders who worked for the three white men were more +or less allied to their wives by ties of blood or marriage, and there +was not one of them who would not have yielded up his or her life in +their defence. + +Stenhouse, who was the leader of the adventurous party, was a man of +about forty-five years of age, and, like his two comrades, an ex-sailor. +He was nearly six feet in height, and possessed of such powers of +strength and endurance that his name was known throughout the Western +Pacific to almost every white man, but his once handsome features were +marred by such a terrible disfigurement, that those who came to know +the man and his sterling character always thought or spoke of him with +genuine and respectful pity. What had caused this cruel distortion was +known to but three other persons besides himself--the mother of his +children, his son-in-law, Thomas Adams, and the man who had inflicted +the injury; and to spare the reader's feelings as much as possible, it +need only be said that the left side of his face had been so injured by +violence of some kind as to be pitiful to look upon, the more so as the +eye was missing. + + * * * * * + +Late one evening, just as Stenhouse and his son-in-law, Adams, were +smoking their last pipes before tarning in, their comrade entered the +house hurriedly, accompanied by one of their native employees, who had +been away on a fishing excursion. + +“Here's news! There's a big full-rigged ship just anchored under Cape +Stephens. Masik boarded her, and had a yarn with the mate.” + +“Where is she from?” asked Stenhouse, turning his one eye upon the +native, Masik. + +“I know not, master. But she is a great ship with many men on +board--some white, and some yellow, with shaven heads. + +“Ah, a Calcutta-Sydney ship, most likely,” said Stenhouse to his +comrades. Then turning to Masik--“Why came she here? Didst ask?” + +“Aye,” replied the man in his native tongue; “the ship came here because +there be many sick, and two dead men on board. It is a strong sickness.” + +“Didst speak of us white men here?” + +The man nodded. “Aye, and the mate said that the captain would like thee +all to come to the ship; but to hasten, for when the two men are buried +to-morrow the ship will sail And the mate gave me these for thee.” + +Adams eagerly extended his hand for a bundle of newspapers which Masik +carried wrapped up in a piece of old sail-cloth. + +“This is a god-send,” said Adams, as he opened the packet and tossed +some of the papers to Stenhouse and Ford, “only about six months old. +Hallo, here's the name of the ship and captain I suppose, on one of +them: + +Roger Fullerton, Esq., Ship _Ramillies_------” + +“_What!_” + +It was Stenhonse who spoke, and his usual cheerful voice now sounded +cracked and discordant, as with an oath he tore the paper from his +comrade's hand, read the name, and then sat down, with one hand pressed +to his sightless orb, his whole frame trembling from head to foot. + +“What is the matter, Ted?” asked Ford anxiously. + +Slowly he turned his face towards his comrades. It was white. + +“Send them away,” he said, “but tell them to call the others and get +ready. I am going down to the cape to-night, to that ship. I am going to +kill a man.” + +Ford looked at him wonderingly. Adams, who understood, spoke a few +whispered words to the natives, who quickly left the room. + +“Tom.” + +“Yes, Ted.” + +“Are all the women and children asleep?” + +Adams nodded, and Stenhouse silently motioned to him and Ford to be +seated. He remained standing. + +“Jim Ford,” he said quietly, “look at me”--he drew his hand down the +distorted side of his face--“and tell me what you would do to a man who +made you look like this.” + +“I would have his life if I swung for it.” + +“Well, I am going to have this man's life. I shall not be hanged for it, +but if I am killed, I look to you, Jim, and you Tom, to stand to my wife +and children.” + +Ford put out his hand impulsively: “All that I have I owe to you, Ted. I +will stand to 'em, so help me God.” + +“I knew you would. Now, only three people in the world besides me--Tom +Adams, my wife, and the man who did it--know what made me the blarsted +scarecrow I am; but as I may be a dead man by this time tomorrow, I'll +tell you.” + +He paused, and with his forefinger still pressed firmly on the name on +the newspaper, said slowly:-- + +“This man, Roger Fullerton, was a passenger on the _Mahratta_, East +Indiaman. I was his servant. We were bound to Sydney from Table Bay. He +was going out to be Commissary-General or something of that kind in New +South Wales. We had a rough, mutinous crew on board, and one night there +was a fight between them and the officers and passengers. They burst +into the cabin, and would have captured the ship but for the mate, +who shot one man dead and cut another down. I had nothing to do with +them--as God is my witness--for I was only a lad of nineteen, and +would have stood to the captain and officers like a man, but I was made +prisoner by the mutineers early in the fight. After the row was over, +Mr. Fullerton missed his watch and a hundred sovereigns which were in +a writing case in his cabin. He accused me of stealing them, and when +I hotly denied the charge, knocked me down on deck and kicked me so +savagely in the face that I should have been killed if I had not been +dragged away from him. As it was, he broke my jaw and destroyed my left +eye. But that was not all. When he reached Sydney he charged me with +the theft. I got a heavy sentence and was sent to the coal-mines at +Newcastle; but after two years of hell I escaped by stowing away in a +Dutch barque bound to Samarang. And now _my_ turn has come.” + +“Are you sure he is the man?” asked the American. + +“Quite. He settled in the Colony and married there. I have heard of him +from time to time for many years.” + + * * * * * + +Before midnight the three white men, with twenty-five of their native +followers armed with muskets and cutlasses, were following the coastline +in the direction of Gape Stephens. The night was dark and rainy, but the +route was familiar to both Adams and Stenhouse. All night they marched +steadily onward, and only when daylight broke did they halt on the banks +of a stream to rest and eat. Then, crossing the stream, they struck a +native path which led to the shore. + +“There she is,” said Ford. + +The ship lay about a mile from the shore. Stenhouse looked at her +earnestly, and then abruptly told his comrades his plans, which were +daring but simple. He would await the landing of the boat bringing the +dead men ashore for burial, and take them prisoners. In all probability +the captain would be in charge, and it was Stenhouse's intention to hold +him and his boat's crew as ransom for the man he wanted. He intended +no harm to them, but was determined to achieve his object if he had +to carry his prisoners off to the mountains, and keep them there till +Fullerton was given up to him. + +Immediately after breakfast, the watchers saw two boats leave the ship, +and pull in towards a creek which debouched into a sandy cove situated +immediately under Gape Stephens. The coastline here was uninhabited, +and except for the banks of the creek, which were heavily timbered, +presented a succession of rolling, grassy downs, and here and there +clumps of _vi_ (wild mango) and cedar trees, and Stenhouse felt pretty +certain that the burying party would pick upon one of these spots to +inter the bodies, and that he could easily cut them off from the boats. + +Swiftly and silently they took up a position on the banks of the creek, +Stenhouse with his two friends keenly watching the advancing boats +from behind the buttressed roots of a giant Indian fig-tree. In a few +minutes, the leading boat, in which were six men and an officer, entered +the creek, but the water being shallow, grounded on the bar, and the +crew got out. The second boat contained four seamen, and three or four +persons who were seated aft, and she too took the ground, and then, +as her crew stepped out into the water, Stenhouse gripped Adams by the +shoulder. + +“See, Tom, there he is! The man himself. Look! that big fellow with +the white whiskers, sitting between the others.” He held a hurried +consultation with his comrades, and quickly decided on his course of +action. + +Both crews were now endeavouring to drag the boats across the shallow +bar into the deeper water beyond, but the task was too much for them, +and presently the captain, who was in the second boat, ordered them to +cease, and said something to the big, white-whiskered man, who nodded +his head in approval. + +Four seamen then lifted two coffins from the first boat, and, followed +by four others carrying their own and their shipmates' arms and some +spades, began wading through the water to the shore, directly to where +the unseen watchers lay awaiting; and the remainder of the party, +leaving the boats with two men on guard, came slowly after them. + +Stenhouse pointed to the two boat-keepers, and said something to Ford, +who, with half-a-dozen natives, quickly disappeared. + +In a few minutes the bearers of the coffins reached the shore, and +placed their burdens on the ground to await further orders. + +“We shall find clear ground, sir, within a few yards from the bank,” + began the captain, addressing the tall man, who with bared head and slow +step walked by his side, when suddenly there came a rush of a score of +half-naked figures, who threw themselves silently upon the party, and +overcame them almost without a sound. + +“Surrender, or you are all dead men,” cried a hoarse voice. + +There was no need for the stern summons, for not only were the +astonished sailors terrified by the extraordinary suddenness of the +attack and the savage appearance of their captors, but their captain, +the surgeon, and the big man had their pistols taken from their belts so +quickly that resistance was utterly out of the question, covered as they +were by half-a-dozen muskets pointed at their breasts. + +Then Adams stepped out and addressed the captain. 804 + +“No harm will be done to you and yonr men, but you must remain our +prisoners for awhile. Then your arms will be returned to you, and you +can go back to your ship. Your boat-keepers are secured.” + +“What in God's name does this mean?” cried the unfortunate officer. + +“Silence, if you value yonr life,” cried the same stern voice that had +called upon them to surrender. + +The captain turned and sought to discern the speaker, but the muzzle +of a pistol was placed menacingly against his chest, and he was again +ordered to be silent. + +Then at a sign from Adams all the crews' and officers' arms were carried +off to the boats by two natives, and the wondering seamen were bidden by +Adams to lift the coffins and follow him. + +“Do not attempt to escape,” he said, speaking to the whole party +generally; “if you do you will be shot down without mercy.” + +As he spoke Ford, with five armed natives, silently joined the rest of +the captors. Follerton, the captain, and the surgeon all looked at him +curiously. + +“March, gentlemen,” he said, pointing with his drawn cutlass to the +bearers of the coffins, who were now, guided by Adams, pushing their +way through the timber, surrounded by their native guards with muskets +cocked. + +In ten minutes the belt of timber had been passed through, and captors +and captured emerged upon a grassy sward. + +“Halt!” + +Again that hoarse, strange voice sounded from somewhere near, and the +seamen shuddered as they gently laid their burdens on the ground. + +“Bury your dead, sir, and have no fear,” said Adams to the captain. + +Then he and Ford spoke to their followers, who silently drew back and +permitted the seamen who carried shovels to advance. The ground was soft +and moist, and their task was soon accomplished, and the coffins lowered +into their graves. + +Then the captain, followed by the surgeon and Roger Fullerton, advanced, +prayer-book in hand, and read the burial service, and Adams and Ford +wondered somewhat when, at its conclusion, a heavy sob burst from +Fullerton. + +Quickly the earth was shovelled in, and soon two mounds showed on +the sward. Then came the clank of arms, and the mourners were again +surrounded by their half-nude guards. + +“Follow,” said Adams shortly. + +He led them for a distance of about a hundred yards, then halted, and +the prisoners found themselves in a hollow square. + +“Are you going to slaughter unarmed men?” cried the surgeon, who was +terrified at the very appearance of the wild-looking Caroline Islanders +and their grim, silent leaders. + +Adams shook his head, but made no reply. + +A heavy footstep sounded in the jungle near them, and Stenhouse, +carrying two cutlasses under his arm, strode into the square and stood +before Fullerton. + +For a moment or two their eyes met, and then Stenhouse raised his hand +and touched his distorted face. + +“You know me, Mr. Fullerton?” + +“I know you. You have come to kill me.” + +“Yes, unless you kill me.” He drew a cutlass from its leather sheath and +held its hilt out to the man he hated. Fullerton folded his arms across +his chest. + +“Take it,” said Stenhouse slowly, “or, by Heavens! I'll cut you down as +you stand.” + +“As you will,” replied the old man steadily, “but fight you I will not. +My life is in your hands. Take it. I am not afraid to die.” + +Stenhouse drew his cutlass slowly, his one eye shining with a deadly +hatred. + +“For God's sake, man, whoever you are, whatever your injuries may be, +do not shed the blood of an old man on his son's grave!” and the captain +sprang forward with outspread, appealing hands. + +“His son!” and the point of the gleaming weapon drooped. + +“His only son. Have mercy on him, as you hope for mercy yourself.” + +“Stop, Captain Marsland. Do not ask for mercy for me. I did this man a +grievous wrong. My life is his. Let him have his due.” + +Stenhouse threw down his cutlass with an oath, turned his back on his +enemy, and put his hand to his forehead. + +Then he faced round sharply, and once more he looked into Fullerton's +unmoved face. + +“Go,” he said. + +And without another word he strode away, followed by his comrades and +his savage companions. + + + + +SAUNDERSON AND THE DYNAMITE + +Saunderson was one of those men who firmly believed that he knew +everything, and exasperated people by telling them how to do things; and +Denison, the supercargo of the _Palestine_, hated him most fervently for +the continual trouble he was giving to every one, and also because he +had brought a harmonium on board, and played dismal tunes on it every +night and all day on Sundays. But, as Saunderson was one of the partners +in the firm who owned the _Palestine_, Denison, and Packenham the +skipper, had to suffer him in silence, and trust that something might +happen to him before long. What irritated Denison more than anything +else was that Saunderson frequently expressed the opinion that +supercargoes were superfluous luxuries to owners, and that such work “as +they tried to do could well be done by the captains, provided the latter +were intelligent men.” + +“Never mind, Tom,” said Packenham hopefully, one day, “he's a big +eater, and is bound to get the fever if we give him a fair show in the +Solomons. Then we can dump him ashore at some missionary's--he and his +infernal groan-box--and go back to Sydney without the beast.” + +When the _Palestine_ arrived at Leone Bay, in Tutuila, Saunderson +dressed himself beautifully and went ashore to the mission-house, and in +the evening Mrs. O------ (the missionary's wife), wrote Denison a note +and asked if he could spare a cheese from the ship's stores, and added a +P.S., “What a _terrible_ bore he is!” This made the captain and himself +feel better. + +The next morning Saunderson came on board. Denison was in the cabin, +showing a trader named Rigby some samples of dynamite; the trader wanted +a case or two of the dangerous compound to blow a boat passage through +the reef opposite his house, and Denison was telling him how to use it. +Of course Saunderson must interfere, and said _he_ would show Rigby what +to do. He had never fired a charge of dynamite in his life, nor even +seen one fired or a cartridge prepared, but had listened carefully to +Denison. Then he sarcastically told Denison that the cheese he had sent +Mrs. O------ might have passed for dynamite, it was so dry and +tasteless. + +“Well, dynamite is made from cheese, you know,” said the supercargo +deferentially, “just cheese slightly impregnated with picric acid, +gastrito-nepenthe, and cubes of oxalicogene.” + +Saunderson said he knew that, and after telling Rigby that he would +walk over to his station before dinner, and show him where to begin +operations on the reef, went on shore again. + +About twelve o'clock Denison and Rigby went on shore to test the +dynamite, fuse, and caps--first in the water and then on the reef. +Just abreast of the mission-house they saw a big school of grey mullet +swimming close in to the beach, and Denison quickly picked up a stone, +tied it with some string round a cartridge, cut the fuse very short, lit +it, and threw it in. There was a short fizz, then a dull, heavy thud, +and up came hundreds of the beautiful fish stunned or dead. Saunderson +came out of the mission-house and watched the natives collecting them. +Denison had half-a-dozen cartridges in his hand; each one was tightly +enveloped in many thicknesses of paper, seized round with twine, and had +about six inches of fuse, with the ends carefully frayed out so as to +light easily. + +“Give me some of those,” said Saunderson. + +The supercargo reluctantly handed him two, and Saunderson remarked that +they were very clumsily covered, but he would fix some more himself +“properly” another time. Denison sulkily observed that he had no time +to waste in making dynamite cartridges look pretty. Then, as Saunderson +walked off, he called out and told him that if he was going to shoot +fish he would want to put a good heavy stone on the cartridges. +Saunderson said when he wanted advice from any one he would ask for +it. Then he sent word by a native to Mrs. O------that he would send her +along some fish in a few minutes. + +Now within a few hundred yards of the mission-house there was a jetty, +and at the end of the jetty was Her Majesty's gunboat _Badger_, a small +schooner-rigged wooden vessel commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Muddle, +one of the most irascible men that ever breathed, and who had sat on +more Consuls than any one else in the service. + +Sannderson went on the jetty followed by a crowd of natives, and looked +over into the water. There were swarms of fish, just waiting to be +dynamited. He told a native to bring him a stone, and one was brought--a +nice round, heavy stone as smooth as a billiard ball--just the very +wrong kind of stone. He tied it on the cartridge at last, after it had +fallen off four or five times; then, as he did not smoke, and carried no +matches, he lit it from a native woman's cigarette, and let it drop into +the water. The stone promptly fell off, but the cartridge floated gaily, +and drifted along fizzing in a contented sort of way. Sannderson put his +hands on his hips, and watched it nonchalantly, oblivious of the fact +that all the natives had bolted back to the shore to be out of danger, +and watch things. + +There was a bit of a current, and the cartridge was carried along till +it brought up gently against the _Badger_--just in a nice cosy place +between the rudder bearding and the stern-post. Then it went off with a +bang that shook the universe, and ripped off forty-two sheets of copper +from the _Badger_; and Saunderson fell off the jetty into the water; and +the bluejackets who were below came tumbling up on deck; and the +gunner, seeing Lieutenant-Commander Muddle rush up from his cabin in his +shirt-sleeves with a razor in his hand, thought that he had gone queer +again in his head, and had tried to blow up the ship, and was going to +out his throat, and so he rushed at him, and knocked him down and took +his razor away, and begged him to be quiet; and Muddle, thinking it was +a mutiny, nearly went into a fit, and straggled so desperately, and +made such awful choking noises that two more men sat on him; and the +navigating midshipman, thinking it was fire, told the bugler to sound +to quarters, and then, seeing the captain being held down by three men, +rushed to his assistance, but tripped over something or somebody and +fell down and nearly broke his nose; and all the time Saunderson who +was clinging to one of the jetty piles, was yelling pitifully for help, +being horribly afraid of sharks. + +At last he was fished out by Bigby and some natives and carried up to +the mission-house and then, when he was able to talk coherently, he +sent for Denison, who told him that Commander Muddle was coming for him +presently with a lot of armed men and a boatswain with a green bag in +which was a “cat,” and that he (Saunderson) would first be flogged and +then hanged at the _Badger's_ yard-arm, and otherwise treated severely, +for an attempt to blow up one of Her Majesty's ships; and then +Saunderson shivered all over, and staggered out of the mission-house +in a suit of Mr. O------'s pyjamas, much too large for him, and met +Commander Muddle on the jetty and tried to explain how it occurred, and +Muddle called him an infernal, drivelling idiot, and knocked him clean +off the jetty into the water again, and used awful language, and told +Denison that his chronometers were ruined, and the ship's timbers +started, and that he had had a narrow escape from cutting his own throat +when the dynamite went off, as he had just begun to shave. + +Saunderson was very ill after that, and was in such mortal terror that +Muddle and every one else on board the gunboat meant to kill, wound, or +seriously damage him, that he kept inside the mission-house, and said he +felt he was dying, and that Mr. O------ would prepare him for the end. +So Denison and Paekenham, who were now quite cheerful again, sent his +traps and his harmonium ashore, and sailed without him, a great peace in +their bosoms. + + + + +THE STEALING OF SA LUIA + +One dull rainy morning, soon after daybreak, as the ship _St. George_ of +New Bedford was cruising for sperm whales between the islands of Tucopia +and Vanikoro, the look-out hailed the deck and reported a boat in sight. +The captain was called, and a few minutes later appeared and went aloft. + +The boat was about three miles distant to leeward, and Captain +Elphinstone at once kept the ship away. The wind, however, was so light +that it took her some time to get within hailing distance, and then +it was discovered that the boat contained three natives--a man and two +young girls--who appeared to be greatly exhausted, for after +feebly raising their heads for a moment and putting out their hands +imploringly, they fell back again. + +A boat was quickly lowered from the ship, and the sufferers brought on +board, and their own boat, which was a small, native-built craft much +like a whale-boat, but with an outrigger attached, was hoisted on board, +for she was too good to be turned adrift. + +On board the _St. George_ was a Samoan named Falaoa. He was a native +of the island of Manua, and at once recognised the unfortunates as +country-people of his own. The man, who was in a dreadful state of +emaciation, and barely able to raise his voice above a whisper, was over +six feet in height, and appeared to be about five-and-twenty years of +age; his companions had evidently not undergone as much suffering and +did not present the same shocking appearance as he, for the sun had +burnt his skin to such a degree that that part of his tattooing which +was not covered by the scanty _lava lava_ of tappa cloth around his +loins had become almost black. + +Under the kind and careful treatment they received from Captain +Elphinstone and his officers, all three soon recovered, and ten days +after they had been rescued, the following entry was made in the ship's +log:--“This day, at their own request, we landed the three Samoans at +the island of Nufilole, one of the Swallow Group, where they were well +received by the natives and a white trader. They were accompanied by one +of my crew named Falaoa, who begged me to let him go with them, having +become much attached to one of the young women. We gave them some arms +and ammunition, and some clothing and tobacco. They all behaved with +the greatest propriety during their stay on the ship. From where they +started in Samoa to where we picked them up in 12° S. is a distance of +1,800 miles.” + +And here is their story, told by Sa Luia to the wife of Frank Chesson, a +white trader then living on the Santa Cruz Islands, in which the Swallow +Group is included. Chesson himself had lived in Samoa, and spoke the +language well, and the four people remained in his house for many months +as welcome guests. A strong and lasting friendship was formed, and +resulted in the trader, his wife and family, and the four Samoans +removing to the little island of Fenua-loa, and there founding what +is now a colony of Polynesians with language, customs and mode of life +generally entirely distinct from their Melanesian neighbours. + +* * * * * + +I am Sa Luia. I come from Mulifanua, at the lee end of Upolu in Samoa. +My father was not only the chief of Mulifanua, but has great lands in +the Atua district on the north side of Upolu--lands which came to him +through my mother, who died when I was but a week old--and from these +lands he had his name, Pule-o-Vaitafe (Lord of many Rivers). + +Now it is not well for a daughter to speak unkindly of her father; but +this what I now say is true. My father, though he was so rich a man, was +very cruel to those who crossed his path, and though he was a brave man +in battle, his heart was shrunken up by reason of his avarice and +his desire to grow richer, and all Samoa, from Manna in the east to +Falealupo in the west, spoke of him as Pule-lima-vale--“Pule the +close-fisted”--or Pule fata-ma'a--“Pule the stony-hearted.” Yet all this +gave him no concern. + +“What does it matter to me?” he said to his brother Patiole one day, +when Patiole, who was a chief of Manono, reproached him for his meanness +in sending away some visitors from Tutuila with such scanty presents +that all the people of Mulifanua were ashamed. “What does it matter to +me what people say of me? This _malaga_ (party of visitors) from Tutuila +are eaten up with poverty. Why should I give them fine mats, and muskets +and powder and bullets? Am I a fool? What return can they make to me?” + +“They came to do thee honour,” said my uncle, putting his hand across +his eyes out of respect to my father, who was of higher rank than he, +and speaking softly. “They are thy dead wife's relatives, and are of +good blood. And thou hast shamed them--and thyself as well--by sending +them away empty-handed.” + +My father laughed scornfully. “What care I for my dead wife's relatives! +I have no need of them, and want them not. When I took the daughter of +Mauga to wife, Mauga was a great man. Now he and his people are broken +and dispersed. Let them go and eat grass or wild yams like pigs. I, +Pule-o-Vaitafe, want no needy dependents.” + +“Thou art a hard man,” said my uncle, bending his forehead to the mat on +which he sat. + +“And thou art a fool,” replied my father; “if thy heart pains thee of +this, why dost thou not give them all that they wish?” + +“Because for me, thy brother, to do so, would put shame on thee, for +'tis thy place and thy honour as head of our family to help these people +who have fallen on evil days through warfare,” said my uncle sadly. + +“Thine then be the place and the honour,” said my father scornfully. “I +will not begrudge thee either. Naught will I have to do with broken men. +Farewell.” + +That was my father's way. That was his hard, hard heart, which knew +neither pity nor remorse. This is how my mother died: + +When I was seven days old, she took me, as is customary with a woman of +chiefly rank, to the _fale siva_ (town dance house), where I had to be +shown to the people, who brought fine mats and tappa cloth, and many +other presents. Now my father was filled with anger that my mother had +not borne him a male child, for a male child would have meant richer +presents--not only from his own people, but from towns and villages far +away. So when he saw that instead of such gifts as a new canoe or some +very old, rare mats, or muskets, or such other things as would have +been given were the child a boy, there were but the usual presents for a +girl-child, his lips turned down with scorn, and he muttered a curse. My +mother heard him and the tears flowed down her cheeks. + +“It may be that my next child will be a boy,” she whispered, and then +she held me up to my father. “See, Pule, though a girl, she hath thy +features, and thou wilt come to love her.” + +“Tah!” said my father in angry contempt; and without another word he +rose and went away. + +Then my mother wept silently over me for a long time, for the shame put +upon her was very great, and not to be endured. So, with some of her +women, she took me to a place called Falema'a, where the cliffs rise up +straight from the sea. Her hair was then oiled and dressed, and then +she made gifts of her rings of gold and tortoise-shell to her women, +and bade them farewell. Then she took me in her arms, and leapt over the +cliff into the sea. + +It so happened that half-way down the cliff, which is twelve fathoms +high, there was a boy named Manaia. He was collecting the eggs of the +sea-bird called _Kanapu_ and his canoe was anchored just in front of the +base of the cliff. He was a brave boy, and being of a very poor family, +had clambered up the steep side of the wall of rock, so that he might +find the _kanapu_ eggs in the clefts and holes, and sell them to people +in exchange for food for his mother and sisters. As he clung to the +jagged face of the rock, he saw my mother falling through the air, and +in an instant he sprang after her. When she came to the surface, I was +still clasped tightly in her arms, and Manaia cried to her to swim to +the canoe. + +“Nay,” she cried, “but take my babe.” + +And so Manaia took me, and my mother threw up her arms and sank and +died. + +When my uncle heard of this, he sent a party of his people over from +Manono for me, and I was taken to live with him. My father did not +interfere, for the manner of my mother's death had made the people +murmur, and he was afraid that they might rise in rebellion, and kill +or banish him. But yet he tried to get another rich wife, and sent a +deputation of his chiefs to Seu Manu of Apia asking for his daughter +Sina; and Sina sent him back a piece of wood carved in the semblance of +a woman, together with a stone shaped like a heart, with this message-- + +“This is a good wife for Pule-o-Vaitafe. If she displease him, he can +sink her in the sea with a heart of stone.” + +After that my father tried no more, for the people all round about were +murmuring, and he began to feel afraid. + +But in no other way did he change, and although Manono is but two +leagues distant from Mulifanua, he never came to see me till I was in +my fifteenth year, and when I was chosen by the people of Aana to be +_Taupo_{*} of Mulifanua. Then I had to leave my uncle, which made me +weep, for although I was proud of the honour done me, I did not wish to +leave him and go back to my father. But I had no choice but to obey, and +so I was taken back to Mulifanua by a fleet of canoes and _taumualua_ +(native boats), with great ceremony, and then followed many meetings and +much feasting and dancing. I was put under the care of two women, who +attended me day and night, as is the custom; they walked, ate, and slept +with me, and every day I was taught how to dance, and how to wear +my fine mats and long train of tappa, so as to receive or call upon +visitors who came to the town from other places in Samoa. + + * Taupo, the town maid. This distinction is usually conf + erred on a girl of good family, and has many honours and + emoluments in the way of presents attached to it. In some + cases a _taupo_ will not marry till she reaches middle age, + and occasionally will remain single. + +In all the many years that I had spent on Manono, I had not once seen +the boy Manaia--he who had taken me from the water--though I had heard +of him as having been tattooed and grown into a tall man. But on the +same day that I returned and was taken to the _fale taupule_ (council +house) to be received by the people as their _taupo_, a girl named +Selema who attended me whispered his name, and pointed him out to me. +He was sitting with the other young men, and like them, dressed in his +best, and carrying a musket and the long knife called _nifa oti_. I saw +that he was very, very tall and strong, and Selema told me that there +were many girls who desired him for a husband, though he was poor, and, +it was known, was disliked by my father. + +Now this girl Selema, who was of my own age, was given to me as my +especial _tavini_ (maid) and I grew to like her as my own sister. She +told me that already my father was casting about in his mind for a rich +husband for me, and that the man he most favoured was old Tamavili, +chief of Tufa, in Savai'i, who would soon be sending messengers with +presents to him, which if they were accepted, would mean that my father +was inclined to his suit, and that he, Tamavili, would follow himself +and pay court to me. + +All this frightened me, and I told Selema I would escape to my uncle in +Manono, but she said that that would not do, as if he tried to protect +me it would mean war. So I said nothing more, though much was in my +mind, and I resolved to run away to the mountains, rather than be made +to marry Tamavili, who was a very old man. + +One day Selema and I went to the river to wash our hair with the pith +of the wild oranges. We sat on the smooth stones near the water, and had +just begun to beat the oranges with pieces of wood to soften them, when +we saw a man come down the bank and enter a deep pool further up the +stream. + +“'Tis Manaia,” said Selema; “he hath come to drag the pool for fish.” + Then she called out to him, “_Ola_, Manaia,” and he looked at us and +laughed as he spun his small hand-net into the pool. We sat and watched +him and admired his strength and skill and the clever way in which he +dived and took the fish from his net. In a little while he had caught +seven--beautiful fish, such as are in all the mountain streams of Samoa. +Then he came out of the water, made a basket of leaves, and approached +me, and without a word, laid them at my feet. This pleased me, so I put +out my hand and touched one of the fish--meaning that one only would I +take. + +“They are all for thee, lady,” he said in a low voice. + +Selema laughed and urged me to accept the gift; so I took the basket, +and then, when I looked at his face and saw that his eyes were still +turned down, I took courage and said-- + +“Thou art Manaia. Dost thou remember me?” + +“How could I forget thee?” he replied; and then he raised his eyes to +my face, and I felt glad, for they were like unto those of my uncle +Patiole--kind and soft when they looked into those of a woman or child, +but steady and bold to those of a man. + +“I am glad to see thee, Manaia,” I said, “for I owe thee my life,” and +as he took my hand and pressed it to his forehead, Selema stole away and +left us together. + +Now I know not what he said to me, except that when he spoke the name of +Tamavili of Tufa, I wept, and said that I would I were back at Manono, +and that I was but a child, and had no desire to be wedded to any man. +Then he lifted me up in his great arms, and said-- + +“I love thee, Sa Luia, I love thee! And even if thou canst not love me, +yet shall I save thee from wedding this old dotard. Aye, I shall save +thee from him as I saved thee from the boiling serf of Falema'a when thy +mother, who was a great lady, cried out to me, 'Take my babe.'” + +So that is how Manaia my husband wooed me, and when Selema came back and +saw us seated together, she laughed again, though tears were in her eyes +when she took my feet and pressed them to her cheeks, for she feared +that when we fled, she would be left behind. Then Manaia whispered to me +and asked me if it was to my mind to take her. + +“Ay,” I said; “else will my father kill her when we are gone.” + +So we made our plans, and when the messengers of Tamavili came and laid +their presents before me, I said I was content, and that they could go +back to their master, and tell him that in a month's time I would +be ready and that he could come for me. This pleased my father, and +although at night time I always slept between the two women, as is +customary for a _taupo_, with a mat over me, and they lay on the +outside, one on each side, yet in the day time I often met my lover in +the forest, whilst Selema kept watch. + +“We shall go to Uea,” {*} he said; “'tis but seventy leagues away, and so +soon as the rainy season is ended we shall start. I have bought a small +but good boat and have strengthened it for the voyage with an outrigger, +and in my mother's house is hidden all the food we can carry. In eight +days more the westerly winds will cease, and we shall start, for then we +shall have the Matagi Toe'lau (trade wind) and at Uea we shall be +safe and live in peace. Then some day I shall send for my mothers and +sisters, for on the night that we escape, they too must flee for their +lives to Sen Mann, of Apia, who will protect them from thy father's +wrath.” + + * Wallis Island, two hundred miles from Samoa. Many Samoans + fled there for refuge after a reverse in battle or for other + causes. + +On the morning of the fourth day after this, there came a strange +messenger to the town to see my father, who in a little time appeared at +his door with a smiling face and bade the conch be blown to summon the +people together. + +“Here is news, O people,” he said. “Manka,{*} the white trader of Tufa, +also seeketh my daughter, Sa Luia, in marriage. He and Tamayili have +quarrelled--why, it matters not to me, or thee--and Manka, who is a very +rich man, hath sent me word that he will compete with Tamayili. Whatever +he offers for dowry and for presents to me, the white man will give +double. This is a good day for me.” + + * Monk. + +But the people were silent, for they knew that he was breaking his +pledged word with Tamavili, and was setting at naught the old customs +and the honour of the town. So, as he looked at them, he scowled; then +he held out his hand, on the palm of which were ten American gold coins, +each of twenty dollars. + +“Two hundred dollars hath this white man, Manka, sent to my daughter Sa +Luia as a present, with these words: 'If she cares not for my suit, well +and good--let her have them made into bracelets for her pretty arms.” + +Now this was a great gift, and it came with such generous words that the +people applauded, and my father smiled, as his long thin fingers closed +around the heap of gold; but suddenly his face darkened as Manaia spoke. + +“'Tis a free gift to the lady Sa Luia. Therefore, O Pule-o-Vaitafe, give +it to her.” + +“Aye, aye! 'tis hers, 'tis hers,” cried the people. + +My father sent a glance of bitter hatred to my lover, and his lips +twitched, but without a word he came to me, and bending low before me, +put the money on the ground at my feet, and I, his daughter, heard his +teeth grinding with rage, and as I felt his hot breath on my hand, I +knew that murder was in his heart. It is easy for a chief such as was my +father, to have a man who displeases him killed secretly. + +My father went away in anger, and then the chiefs decided that although +the white man could not wed me, he should be received with great honour, +and be given many presents; for he was known to us as a man of great +strength and daring, and was tattooed like a Samoan, which is a great +thing to the mind of a Samoan woman, who loathes an untattooed man as +unworthy of all that a woman can give, for without tattooing a young man +hath no manhood, and his children are weak of body and poor of mind. + +That night my father asked me for the money, which I gave him +unwillingly, for I wished to send it back to the white man. He took +it and placed it in a great box, which contained such things as guns, +pistols, and powder and ball, and the key of which he always wore around +his neck. + +When the eighth day dawned, the sea was very smooth, and our hearts were +gladdened by seeing that the wind was from the south-east, and as the +day wore on, it increased in strength. When night fell, and the evening +fires were lit, Manaia, saying he was going to fish for _malau_, +launched his boat and sailed along the shore for a league to the mouth +of a small stream. Here he was met by his mother and sisters, who were +awaiting him with baskets of cooked food, young coconuts and calabashes +of water for the voyage. Then they put their arms around him, and wept +as they bade him farewell, for seventy leagues is a long voyage for a +small boat not intended for rough seas. Then they went into the forest +and fled for their lives to Sen Manu of Apia, and Manaia waited for me. + +When the town was buried in slumber, Selema, who lay near me, touched my +head with her foot, and then asked me if I slept. + +“Nay,” I replied in a loud voice, and speaking with pretended anger, so +as to awaken the two women between whom I lay. “How can I sleep? 'Tis +too hot. Let us go to the beach awhile and feel the cool wind.” + +The two women grumbled a little at being disturbed, and Selema and I +rose and went out of the house. Then, once we were at a safe distance, +we ran swiftly to the beach, and then onwards to where Manaia awaited +us. + +Selema took her seat on the foremost thwart, Manaia at the stern, and I +in the centre, and then we pushed off, and using canoe paddles, made for +the passage through the reef out into the open sea. When the dawn broke, +we were half-way across the straits which divide Savai'i from Upolu, +and only two leagues away we saw the clustering houses of Tufa on the +iron-bound coast. We did not dare to hoist the sail for fear of being +seen, so continued to paddle, keeping well into the middle of the +straits. Only that the current was so fierce, Manaia would have +steered north, and gone round the great island of Savai'i and then made +westward, but the current was setting against the wind, and we should +have all perished had we tried to go the north way. + +Presently Manaia turned and looked astern, and there we saw the great +mat sail of my father's double canoe, just rising above the water, and +knew that we were pursued. So we ceased paddling, and hoisted our own +sail, which made us leap along very quickly over the seas, though every +now and then the outrigger would lift itself out of the water, and we +feared that we might capsize. But we knew that Death was behind us, and +so sat still, and no one spoke but in a whisper as we looked astern, and +saw the sail of the great canoe growing higher and higher. It was a very +large canoe and carried a hundred men, and on the raised platform was a +cannon which my father had bought from a whale-ship when it was in his +mind to fight against Tamalefaiga, who was the king of Upolu. + +Suddenly Selema cried out that she saw a _taumualua_{*} and a boat with +a sail coming towards us from Tufa, and my heart sank within me, for I +knew that if they saw we were pursued by Pule-o-Vaitafe, they would, out +of respect for him, stop us from escaping. Still there was naught for us +to do but go on, and so we leapt and sprang from sea to sea, and Manaia +bade us be of good heart, as he turned the head of the canoe toward the +land. + + * A large native-built boat + +“If this _taumualua_ and the boat seek to stay us, I shall run ashore,” + he said, “and we will take to the mountains. It is Manka's boat, for +now I can see the flag from the peak--the flag of America.” “And the +_taumualua_ is that of Tamavili of Tufa,” said Selema quietly, for she +is a girl of great heart, “and it races with the white man's boat.” + +I, who was shaking with fear, cannot now well remember all that +followed, after Manaia headed our canoe for the shore, and tried to +escape, but suddenly, it seemed to me, the white man's boat, with +flapping sail, was upon as, and Manka was laughing loudly. + +“Ho, ho!” he cried, pulling his long white moustache, “so this is the +way the wind bloweth! The old dotard Tamavili and I race together for a +bride, and the bride is for neither of us, but for the man who saved her +from the sea. Ha, ha! Thou art a fine fellow, Manaia, and I bear thee no +ill will, even though the girl hath my good golden money.” + +“Nay, Manka,” cried Selema quickly, and taking something from her girdle +she held it up to the white man; “see, here is thy gift to the lady Sa +Luia. We meant to give it back to thee with all good will, for Sa Luia +loves no man but this her lover Manaia, who held her up from the angry +sea when her mother died. And so when Pule-o-Vaitafe took the money from +her--which was thy free gift--I waited till he slept, and stole the key +of his treasure-chest, and took the money so that it might be returned +to thee.” + +“Is this true?” asked the white man of Manaia. “The money is thine,” + said Manaia, who knew not what else to say, “but the woman is mine. +So let us depart, for Tamavili and his men--whom no one in Malifanua +thought to see for three days yet--are drawing near, and we may escape +by running the canoe through the surf, and taking to the mountains.” + +The white man swore an oath. “Thou art a fine fellow, and I bear no ill +will, but will help thee to outwit that old dodderer who tried to steal +away three days before me. I will put my boat between he and thee and +keep him off. Whither wouldst land?” + +“Not here, unless we are pressed. But we are in bad case; for see, on +the one side comes Pule-o-Vaitafe, and on the other Tamavili. Yet if +thou wilt be the good friend to us, we may escape both, and keep on our +way to the open sea.” + +“The open sea!” cried Manka quickly--“and whither to?” + +“To Uea.” + +“Thou art a bold fellow,” said the white man again, “and shalt have the +girl, for thou art worthy of her. And she shall keep the money for her +dowry. I am no man to go back on my word, even though I lose so fair +a bride. As for Pule-o-Vaitafe, I care not a blade of grass, and for +Tamavili even less. And see, take this rifle, and if Tamavili cometh too +close to thee, how can I help thee defending thyself and the women?” + +With that he gave Manaia one of six rifles in his boat and two score and +ten cartridges, some tobacco, matches, and a pipe; then he pressed our +hands and wished us God-speed, and we parted, he sailing towards the +_taumualua_, which was crowded with men, and we following. When he came +within speaking distance of Tamavili, he again brought his boat to the +wind and mocked at the old man. + +“Ho, ho! Tamavili. Whither goest in such a hurry? See, there in the +canoe is the little bird we both sought, and there following comes her +father. But she is neither for me nor thee. Is not her lover there, a +fine man--nearly as handsome as I am, and big enough to make ten such +rats as thee.” + +Tamavili was mad with rage, and did not answer. There were with Manka +six men--all armed with rifles which loaded at the breech like that +which he had given Manaia, and Manka was too great a man for even +Tamavili to hurt. But suddenly, as we in the canoe sailed in between the +boat and the _taumualua_, the old chief found his voice, and called out +to Manaia to lower his sail. + +“Give me the lady Sa Luia,” he said, “and I will let thee and the girl +Selema go,” and as he spoke, the crew turned the _taumualua_ round and +came after us, twenty men paddling on each side. + +“Keep back!” cried Manaia fiercely, as he changed seats with me, and +giving me the steering paddle, he took up the rifle and loaded it. + +“Beware, old man!” shouted Manka, “'tis a dog that bites!” + +But Tamavili was too hot with anger to take heed, and shouted to his men +to go on, and then Manaia took aim and fired, and two men went down. + +“Ho, ho!” and Manka's voice again mocked, “did I not say 'twas a dog +that bit?” + +There was great commotion in the _taumualua_ for a moment or two, but +_Tamavili_ shouted to his men to go on; he would have ordered some of +them to cease paddling and try and shoot Manaia, but feared to hurt +or perhaps kill me, and that would have meant war between Tufa and +Mulifanua. + +“Alo, alo foe!”{*} he cried, standing up on the stem and brandishing +his death-knife at Manaia. “I shall give thy head to the children of the +village for a football ere the sun is in mid-heaven.” + + * “Paddle, paddle hard!” + +That was a foolish boast, for once more Manaia knelt and shot, and I +turned my head and saw the blood spurt from Tamavili's naked chest as he +fell down without a sound among the paddlers and a loud cry of anger +and sorrow burst from his men. But in a moment a young sub-chief of Tufa +named _Lau Aula_ (the Golden-haired) took command and shouted to the crew +to press on, and leaping to the bow, he began firing at us with a short +gun (revolver) and one of the bullets struck the girl Selema on the leg +and tore a hole through the fleshy part. Now this Lau Aula was a blood +relative of Manaia, who called out to him to cease firing, but Lau Aula +took no heed, and began shooting at us with muskets loaded with round +bullets, which were handed to him by some of his people. + +Then Manaia's face was evil to look at; his lips were drawn back, and +his teeth showed like those of an angry dog, for the blood which flowed +from Selema's wound was creeping around his naked feet. Yet once more he +cried out to Lau Aula to beware ere it was too late; but the young chief +called him a thief, and bade him bring the boat to the wind. + +“This for thee, then,” cried Manaia, and once more he raised his rifle +and fired, and Lan Anla spun round and fell over into the sea, for the +bullet had struck him in the throat and his life was gone. + +That was the last of the fight, for when Lau Aula fell, the rest of +Tamavili's men threw down their paddles and let us sail on without +further pursuit. + +Then, whilst I steered, Manaia tied strips of tappa around Selema's leg +so as to stay the bleeding. + +“We are safe,” cried the girl bravely through her tears, for the pain +was very great. “See, lady, the wind is not strong enough for the big +double canoe to pursue us.” + +But yet, in his rage, when my father saw that we were escaping, he +lowered the mat sail and fired two shots at us with the cannon, and the +great heavy balls roared over our heads and fell into the sea with a +heavy splash not fifty fathoms away. But cannon-balls cost much money, +and so, when a third shot was fired, and it fell astern of our boat, my +father wasted no more, and we saw the sail again hoisted and the canoe +go slowly down towards the _taumualua_ of Tamavili, to which the white +man was already rendering succour, for Manka, although he had quarrelled +with the old chief of Tufa, was yet a man of a kind heart. + +And so we sailed on before a fair, soft breeze, and by sunset the great +mountain peaks of Savai'i had sunk beneath the sea rim, and we were +steering westward by the bright stars with a great joy filling our +hearts. + +For four days we sailed steadily onwards, and Selema's wound soon began +to heal. On the evening of the fourth day we saw the land of Uea just +showing above the sea rim, and thought to place our feet on the shore +in the morning. But now came sorrow, for in the night it began to blow +strongly from the north-east, and heavy rain squalls drove us past the +land. In the morning there was but the open sea, and the waves were +white and angry, and all that day and the next Manaia kept the boat to +the wind, hoping that it would change and let us sail back to Uea. But +we hoped vainly; and then, on the third day, there came such a furious +storm that we could do naught but drive before it, and go on and on into +the great unknown western ocean, whither so many have gone, and have +been no more known of men. For many, many days we sailed on, and then, +although we had much rain and so suffered no thirst, our food began to +fail, and had not Manaia one day caught a sleeping turtle, we should +have perished. Some time about the fourteenth day, we saw the jagged +peaks of an island against the sky, and steered for it. It was the +island called Rotumah--a fine, fair country, with mountains and valleys +and running streams, and on it dwell people who are like unto us Samoans +in appearance and manners and language. We sailed the boat into a bay on +which stood a village of many houses, and the people made us welcome and +gave us much food, and besought us to stay there, for their island was, +they said, a better place than Uea. And this we should have done and +been content, but in the night, as I slept in the house of the unmarried +women, a girl whispered in my ear-- + +“Get thee away with thy lover and the girl Selema. Felipa, the head +chief of Fao, hath been told of thy beauty, and hath sent word here that +the man Manaia must be killed to-night, and thou and Selema be sent to +him. This is wrong for even a chief to do, and we of this place would +aid thee to escape.” + +So Manaia and I and Selema stole away to the boat, and the people of the +village, who pitied us, pretended not to hear or see us. They were very +kind, and had put baskets of cooked food and other things into the boat; +and so we pushed off, and stood out to sea once more. They had told +us to go round to the north end of the island, where there was a chief +named Loli, who would protect us and give us a home. + +But again evil fortune befell us, for the chief of Fao, hearing of our +escape, sent a messenger overland to Loli, claiming us as _mea tafea i +moana_--gifts sent to him by the sea--and asking him to hold us for him. +And so Loli, who would have welcomed us, was afraid, and begged us not +to land and so bring about bloodshed. + +“Great is my sorrow, O wanderers,” he cried to us, as we sat in the boat +a little distance from the beach, “but ye must not land. Steer to the +west, and a little to the south, where there is a great land--many, many +islands which trend north and south.” {*} + + * The New Hebrides Group. + +“Is it far?” asked Manaia scornfully. + +“Four days for a ship, longer for a boat,” replied Loli shamefacedly; +“the gods go with thee, farewell.” + +Once again we sailed towards the setting sun, steering by the stars at +night time, and for seven days all went well. Then after that there came +calms, and the hot sun beat upon us and ate its way into our hearts, and +we saw no sign of land, and only now and then did a seabird come near +us. And then came the time when all our food was gone, and we waited for +death to come. Manaia had eaten no food for five days when it came to +this, for he said he was feeling quite strong, and divided his share +between us. Once as he and I slept Selema put a little piece of old +coconut--the last that was left--into my hand, and slipped over the side +to die, but Manaia heard her, and, although he was very weak, he roused +and caught her as she sank. + +Two days before that on which the ship found us Manaia shot a small +shark which was following the boat. It was not as long as a man's arm +nor as thick as a woman's, but it kept us alive. Manaia gave us all the +flesh, and kept only the head and skin for himself; after that all the +world became dark to me, and we lay together in the boat to die. + +The captain of the whale-ship was very kind to us, and when he found +that the sailor named Falaoa did not wish to part from us on account of +Selema, whom he wished to marry, he gave his consent, and said he would +land us all here at Nufilole, where there was a white man who would be +kind to us. + +That is all, and now my husband Manaia and I, and Falaoa and his wife +Selema are well content to live here always. For even now, after many +months have passed, do Selema and I cry out in our slumbers, and when +we awaken our hair lies wet upon our foreheads; but soon all these bad +dreams will pass away from us for ever. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Memory Of The Southern Seas, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24807-0.txt or 24807-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/0/24807/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/24807-0.zip b/24807-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c8525e --- /dev/null +++ b/24807-0.zip diff --git a/24807-8.txt b/24807-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c7633cf --- /dev/null +++ b/24807-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3231 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Memory Of The Southern Seas, by Louis Becke + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Memory Of The Southern Seas + 1904 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 11, 2008 [EBook #24807] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS + + +From "Chinkie's Flat And Other Stories" + +By Louis Becke + + +Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1904 + + + + + +CAPTAIN "BULLY" HAYES + +In other works by the present writer frequent allusion has been made, +either by the author or by other persons, to Captain Hayes. Perhaps the +continuous appearance of his name may have been irritating to many of +my readers; if so I can only plead that it is almost impossible when +writing of wild life in the Southern Seas to avoid mentioning him. Every +one who sailed the Austral seas between the "fifties" and "seventies," +and thousands who had not, knew of him and had heard tales of him. +In some eases these tales were to his credit; mostly they were not. +However, the writer makes no further apology for reproducing the +following sketch of the great "Bully" which he contributed to the _Pall +Mall Gazette_, and which, by the courtesy of the editor of that journal, +he is able to include in this volume. + +In a most interesting, though all too brief, sketch of the life of +the late Rev. James Chalmers, the famous New Guinea missionary, which +appeared in the January number of a popular religious magazine, +the author, the Rev. Richard Lovett, gives us a brief glance of the +notorious Captain "Bully" Hayes. Mr. Chalmers, in 1866, sailed for the +South Seas with his wife in the missionary ship _John Williams_--the +second vessel of that name, the present beautiful steamer being the +fourth _John Williams_. + +The second John Williams had but a brief existence, for on her first +voyage she was wrecked on Nine Island (the "Savage" Island of Captain +Cook). Hayes happened to be there with his vessel, and agreed to convey +the shipwrecked missionaries to Samoa. No doubt he charged them a pretty +stiff price, for he always said that missionaries "were teaching Kanakas +the degrading doctrine that even if a man killed his enemy and cut out +and ate his heart in public, and otherwise misconducted himself, he +could yet secure a front seat in the Kingdom of Heaven if he said he was +sorry and was then baptized as Aperamo (Abraham) or Lakopo (Jacob)." + +"It is characteristic of Chalmers," writes Mr. Lovett, "that he was able +to exert considerable influence over this ruffian, and even saw good +points in him, not easily evident to others." + +The present writer sailed with Hayes on four voyages as supercargo, and +was with the big-bearded, heavy-handed, and alleged "terror of the South +Seas" when his famous brig _Leonora_ was wrecked on Strong's Island, one +wild night in March, 1875. And he has nothing but kindly memories of a +much-maligned man, who, with all his faults, was never the cold-blooded +murderer whose fictitious atrocities once formed the theme of a highly +blood-curdling melodrama staged in the old Victoria Theatre, in Pitt +Street, Sydney, under the title of "The Pirate of the Pacific." In this +lively production of dramatic genius Hayes was portrayed as something +worse than Blackboard or Llonois, and committed more murders and +abductions of beautiful women in two hours than ever fell to the luck in +real life of the most gorgeous pirate on record. No one of the audience +was more interested or applauded more vigorously the villain's downfall +than "Bully" Hayes himself, who was seated in a private box with a lady. +He had come to Sydney by steamer from Melbourne, where he had left his +ship in the hands of brokers for sale, and almost the first thing he saw +on arrival were the theatrical posters concerning himself and his career +of crime. + +"I would have gone for the theatre people," he told the writer, "if they +had had any money, but the man who 'played' me was the lessee of the +theatre and was hard up. I think his name was Hoskins. He was a big +fat fellow, with a soapy, slithery kind of a voice, and I lent him ten +pounds, which he spent on a dinner to myself and some of his company. I +guess we had a real good time." + +But let us hear what poor ill-fated Missionary Chalmers has to say about +the alleged pirate:-- + +"Hayes seemed to take to me during the frequent meetings we had on +shore" (this was when the shipwrecked missionaries and their wives were +living on Savage Island), "and before going on board for good I met him +one afternoon and said to him, 'Captain Hayes, I hope you will have no +objection to our having morning and evening service on board, and twice +on Sabbaths. All short, and only those who like need attend.' Certainly +not. My ship is a missionary ship now' (humorous dog), 'and I hope you +will feel it so. All on board will attend these services.' I replied, +'Only if they are inclined.'" (If they had shirked it, the redoubtable +"Bully" would have made attendance compulsory with a belaying pin.) + +"Hayes was a perfect host and a thorough gentleman. His wife and +children were on board. We had fearful weather all the time, yet I must +say we enjoyed ourselves.... We had gone so far south that we could +easily fetch Tahiti, and so we stood for it, causing us to be much +longer on board. Hayes several times lost his temper and did very queer +things, acting now and then more like a madman than a sane man. Much of +his past life he related to us at table, especially of things (he did) +to cheat Governments." + +Poor "Bully!" He certainly did like to "cheat Governments," although he +despised cheating private individuals--unless it was for a large amount. +And he frequently "lost his temper" also; and when that occurred +things were very uncomfortable for the man or men who caused it. On +one occasion, during an electrical storm off New Guinea, a number of +corposants appeared on the yards of his vessel, which was manned by +Polynesians and some Portuguese. One of the latter was so terrified at +the ghastly _corpo santo_ that he fell on his knees and held a small +leaden crucifix, which he wore on his neck, to his lips. His example was +quickly followed by the rest of his countrymen; which so enraged Hayes +that, seizing the first offender, he tore the crucifix from his hand, +and, rolling it into a lump, thrust it into his month _and made him +swallow it_. + +"You'll kill the man, sir," cried Hussey, his American mate, who, being +a good Catholic, was horrified. + +Hayes laughed savagely: "If that bit of lead is good externally it ought +to be a darned sight better when taken internally." + +He was a humorous man at times, even when he was cross. And he was one +of the best sailor-men that ever trod a deck. A chronometer watch, +which was committed to the care of the writer by Hayes, bore this +inscription:-- + +"_From Isaac Steuart, of New York, to Captain William Henry Hayes, of +Cleveland, Ohio. A gift of esteem and respect for his bravery in saving +the lives of seventeen persons at the risk of his own. Honor to the +brave._" + +Hayes told me that story--modestly and simply as brave men only tell a +tale of their own dauntless daring. And he told me other stories as well +of his strange, wild career; of Gordon of Khartoum, whom he had known, +and of Ward and Burgevine and the Taeping leaders; and how Burgevine +and he quarrelled over a love affair and stood face to face, pistols in +hand, when Ward sprang in between them and said that the woman was his, +and that they were fools to fight over what belonged to neither of them +and what he would gladly be rid of himself. + +Peace to his _manes!_ He died--in his sea-boots--from a blow on his big, +bald head, superinduced by his attention to a lady who was "no better +than she ought to have been," even for the islands of the North Pacific. + + + + +THE "WHALE CURE" + +I once heard a man who for nearly six years had been a martyr to +rheumatism say he would give a thousand pounds to have a cure effected. + +"I wish, then, that we were in Australia or New Zealand during the shore +whaling season," remarked a friend of the writer; "I should feel pretty +certain of annexing that thousand pounds." And then he described the +whale cure. + +The "cure" is not fiction. It is a fact, so the whalemen assert, and +there are many people at the township of Eden, Twofold Bay, New +South Wales, who, it is vouched, can tell of several cases of chronic +rheumatism that have been absolutely perfectly cured by the treatment +herewith briefly described. How it came to be discovered I do not know, +but it has been known to American whalemen for years. + +When a whale is killed and towed ashore (it does not matter whether it +is a "right," humpback, finback, or sperm whale) and while the interior +of the carcase still retains a little warmth, a hole is out through one +side of the body sufficiently large to admit the patient, the lower +part of whose body from the feet to the waist should sink in the whale's +intestines, leaving the head, of course, outside the aperture. The +latter is closed up as closely as possible, otherwise the patient would +not be able to breathe through the volume of ammoniacal gases which +would escape from every opening left uncovered. It is these gases, which +are of an overpowering and atrocious odour, that bring about the cure, +so the whalemen say. Sometimes the patient cannot stand this horrible +bath for more than an hour, and has to be lifted out in a fainting +condition, to undergo a second, third, or perhaps fourth course on that +or the following day. Twenty or thirty hours, it is said, will effect a +radical cure in the most severe cases, provided there is no malformation +or distortion of the joints, and even in such cases the treatment causes +very great relief. One man who was put in up to his neck in the carcass +of a small "humpback" stood it for sixteen hours, being taken out at +two-hour intervals. He went off declaring himself to be cured. year +later he had a return of the complaint and underwent the treatment a +second time. + +All the "shore" whalemen whom the writer has met thoroughly believe in +the efficacy of the remedy, and by way of practical proof assert that +no man who works at cutting-in and trying out a whale ever suffers +from rheumatism. Furthermore, however, some of them maintain that the +"deader" the whale is, the better the remedy. "More gas in him," they +say. And any one who has been within a mile of a week-dead whale will +believe _that_. + +Anyway, if there is any person, rheumatic or otherwise, who wants to +emulate Jonah's adventure in a safe manner (with a dead whale), let him +write to the Davidson Brothers, Ben Boyd Point, Twofold Bay, N.S.W., or +to the Messrs. Christian, Norfolk Island, and I am sure those valorous +whalemen would help him to achieve his desire. + + + + +THE SEA "SALMON" SEASON IN AUSTRALIA + +The sea salmon make their appearance on the southern half of the eastern +seaboard of Australia with undeviating regularity in the last week of +October, and, entering the rivers and inlets, remain on the coast till +the first week of December. As far as my knowledge goes, they come +from the south and travel northwards, and do not appear to relish the +tropical waters of the North Queensland coast, though I have heard that +some years ago a vast "school" entered the waters of Port Denison. + +Given a dear, sunny day and a smooth sea the advent of these fish to +the bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales presents a truly +extraordinary sight. From any moderately high bluff or headland one can +discern their approach nearly two miles away. You see a dark patch upon +the water, and were it not for the attendant flocks of gulls and other +aquatic birds, one would imagine it to be but the passing reflection of +a cloud. But presently you see another and another; and, still farther +oat, a long black line flecked with white can be discerned with a good +glass. Then you look above--the sky is cloudless blue, and you know +that the dark moving patches are the advance battalions of countless +thousands of sea salmon, and that the mile-long black and white streak +behind them is the main body of the first mighty army; for others are to +follow day by day for another fortnight. + +Probably the look-out man at the pilot station is the first to see +them, and in a few mintes the lazy little seaport town awakes from its +morning lethargy, and even the butcher, and baker, and bootmaker, and +bank manager, and other commercial magnates shut up shop and walk to +the pilot station to watch the salmon "take" the bar, whilst the entire +public school rushes home to prepare its rude tackle for the onslaught +that will begin at dark. + +The bar is a mile wide or more, and though there is but little surf, +the ebbing tide, running at five knots, makes a great commotion, and the +shallow water is thick with yellow sand swept seaward to the pale green +beyond. Presently the first "school" of salmon reaches the protecting +reef on the southern side--and then it stops. The fish well know that +such a current as that cannot be stemmed, and wait, moving slowly to +and fro, the dark blue compactness of their serried masses ever and +anon broken by flashes of silver as some turn on their sides or make an +occasional leap clear out of the water to avoid the pressure of their +fellows. + +An hour or so passes; then the tumult on the bar ceases, the incoming +seas rise clear and sandless, and the fierce race of the current slows +down to a gentle drift; it is slack water, and the fish begin to move. +One after another the foremost masses sweep round the horn of the reef +and head for the smooth water inside. On the starboard hand a line of +yellow sandbank is drying in the sun, and the passage has now narrowed +down to a width of fifty yards; in twenty minutes every inch of water, +from the rocky headland on the south side of the entrance to where the +river makes a sharp turn northward, half a mile away, is packed with a +living, moving mass. Behind follows the main body, the two horns of +the crescent shape which it had at first preserved now swimming swiftly +ahead, and converging towards each other as the entrance to the bar is +reached, and the centre falling back with the precision of well-trained +troops. And then in a square, solid mass, thirty or forty feet in width, +they begin the passage, and for two hours or more the long dark lines of +fish pass steadily onward, only thrown into momentary confusion now and +then by a heavy swell, which, however, does no more than gently undulate +the rearmost lines of fish, and then subsides, overcome by the weight +and solidity of the living wall. + +Along the beach on the southern side of the river stand a hundred or +more yelling urchins, with stout lines fitted with many baitless hooks +and weighted with a stone. As the swarming fish press steadily on within +ten feet or less of the shore the children fling their lines across, and +draw them quickly in. Sometimes two or three fish are "jagged" at once, +and as the average weight is 10 lb. the jagger takes a turn of the line +around his waist and straggles up the beach. Even if he has but one fish +hooked amidships he has all he can do to drag him out from the countless +thousands and land him. It is not an eminently ideal or sportsmanlike +sort of fishing, this "jagging," but it possesses a marvellous enjoyment +and fascination for the youth of ten, and older people as well; for a +full-grown salmon is a powerful fellow, and his big, fluke-like tail +enables him to make a terrific rush when under the influence of terror +or when chasing his prey. + +Once over the bar and into the placid waters of the tidal river, the +vanguards of the hundreds of thousands to follow pursue their way +steadily up the shallow flats and numberless blind creeks, where they +remain till spawning is over. Every day some fresh accessions to their +numbers, and at night time strange, indescribable sounds are heard, +caused by the movements of the fishes' tails and fins as they swim +to and fro, and one section, meeting another, endeavours to force a +right-of-way. On the third or fourth evening the sharks and porpoises +appear, having followed the "schools" in from the sea, and wreak fearful +havoc among them. Sometimes in a deep pool or quiet reach of the river +one may see a school of perhaps five or six thousand terrified salmon, +wedged one up against the other, unable to move from their very numbers, +while half a dozen sharks dash in among them and devour them by the +score; and often as the current runs seaward hundreds of half bodies of +salmon can be seen going out over the bar. At night time the townspeople +appear on the scene in boats with lanterns and spears, and for no other +purpose than the mere love of useless slaughter kill the fish till their +arms are exhausted. At places within easy access of Sydney by steamer or +rail some few thousands of salmon are sent to market, but as the flesh +is somewhat coarse, they are only bought by the poorer members of the +community, 4d. and 6d. each being considered a good retail price for a +10 lb. fish. The roes, however, are excellent eating, and some attempt +has been made to smoke them on a large scale, but like everything else +connected with the fishing industry (or rather want of industry) in New +South Wales, has failed. It sometimes happens (as I once witnessed in +Trial Bay, on the coast of New South Wales) that heavy weather will +set in when the salmon are either passing inwards over the bars or are +returning to sea. The destruction that is then wrought among them is +terrific. On the occasion of which I speak, every heavy roller that +reared and then dashed upon the beach flung upon the sands hundreds of +the fish, stunned and bleeding. At one spot where the beach had but a +very slight inclination towards the water from the line of scrub above +high-water mark there were literally many thousands of salmon, lying +three and four deep, and in places piled up in irregular ridges and +firmly packed together with sand and seaweed. + + + + +"JACK SHARK" + +"What is the greatest number of sharks that you have ever seen together +at one time?" asked an English lady in San Francisco of Captain Allen, +of the New Bedford barque _Acorn Barnes_. + +"Two or three hundred when we have been cutting-in a whale; two or three +thousand in Christmas Island lagoon." + +Some of the hardy old seaman's listeners smiled somewhat incredulously +at the "two or three thousand," but nevertheless he was not only not +exaggerating, but might have said five or six thousand. The Christmas +Island to which he referred must not be mistaken for the island of the +same name in the Indian Ocean--the Cocos-Keeling group. It is in the +North Pacific, two degrees north of the equator and 157.30 W., and is +a low, sandy atoll, encompassing a spacious but rather shallow lagoon, +teeming with non-poisonous fish. It is leased from the Colonial Office +by a London firm, who are planting the barren soil with coconut trees +and fishing the lagoon for pearl-shell. Like many other of the isolated +atolls in the North Pacific, such as the Fannings, Palmyra, and +Providence Groups, the lagoon is resorted to by sharks in incredible +numbers; and even at the present time the native labourers employed by +the firm alluded to make a considerable sum of money by catching sharks +and drying the fins and tails for export to Sydney, and thence to +China, where they command a price ranging from 6d. to 1s. 6d. per pound, +according to quality. + +The lagoon sharks are of a different species to the short, thick, +wide-jawed "man-eaters," although they are equally dangerous at night +time as the deep-sea prowlers. The present writer was for a long time +engaged with a native crew in the shark-catching industry in the North +Pacific, and therefore had every opportunity of studying Jack Shark and +his manners. + +On Providence Lagoon (the Ujilong of the natives), once the secret +rendezvous of the notorious Captain "Bully" Hayes and his associate +adventurer, Captain Ben Peese, I have, at low tide, stood on the edge of +the coral reef on one side of South Passage, and gazed in astonishment +at the extraordinary numbers of sharks entering the lagoon for their +nightly onslaught on the vast bodies of fish with which the water +teems. They came on in droves, like sheep, in scores at first, then +in hundreds, and then in packed masses, their sharp, black-tipped fins +stretching from one side of the passage to the other. As they gained the +inside of the lagoon they branched off, some to right and left, others +swimming straight on towards the sandy beaches of the chain of islets. +From where I stood I could have killed scores of them with a whale +lance, or even a club, for they were packed so closely that they +literally scraped against the coral walls of the passage; and some +Gilbert Islanders who were with me amused themselves by seizing several +by their tails and dragging them out upon the reef. They were nearly all +of the same size, about seven feet, with long slender bodies, and their +markings, shape, and general appearance were those of the shark called +by the Samoans _moemoeao_ ("sleeps all day"), though not much more than +half their length. The Gilbert Islanders informed me that this species +were also _bkwa mata te ao_ (sleepers by day) at certain seasons of +the year, but usually sought their prey by night at all times; and a few +months later I had an opportunity afforded me of seeing some hundreds of +them asleep. This was outside the barrier reef of the little island of +Ailuk, in the Marshall Group. We were endeavouring to find and recover +a lost anchor, and were drifting along in a boat in about six fathoms of +water; there was not a breath of wind, and consequently we had no need +to use water glasses, for even minute objects could be very easily +discerned through the crystal water. + +"Hallo! look here," said the mate, "we're right on top of a nice little +family party of sharks. It's their watch below." + +Lying closely together on a bottom of sand and coral _dbris_ were about +a dozen sharks, heads and tails in perfect line. Their skins were a +mottled brown and yellow, like the crustacean-feeding "tiger shark" +of Port Jack-son. They lay so perfectly still that the mate lowered +a grapnel right on the back of one. He switched his long, thin tail +lazily, "shoved" himself along for a few feet, and settled down again to +sleep, his bedmates taking no notice of the intruding grapnel. Further +on we came across many more--all in parties of from ten to twenty, and +all preserving in their slumber a due sense of regularity of outline in +the disposition of their long bodies. + +The natives of the low-lying equatorial islands--the Kingsmill, Gilbert, +Ellice, and Tokelau or Union Groups--are all expert shark fishermen; +but the wild people of Paanopa (Ocean Island) stand _facile princeps_. I +have frequently seen four men in a small canoe kill eight or ten sharks +(each of which was as long as their frail little craft) within three +hours. + + + + +SOME PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHES + +Of all the food-fishes inhabiting the reefs, lagoons, and tidal waters +of the islands of the North and South Pacific, there are none that are +prized more than the numerous varieties of sand-mullet. Unlike the same +fishes in British and other colder waters, they frequently reach a great +size, some of them attaining two feet in length, and weighing up to ten +pounds; and another notable feature is the great diversity of colour +characterising the whole family. The writer is familiar with at least +ten varieties, and the natives gave me the names of several others +which, however, are seldom taken in sufficient numbers to make them a +common article of diet. The larger kind are caught with hook and line in +water ranging from three to five fathoms in depth, the smaller kinds are +always to be found in the very shallow waters of the lagoons, where they +are taken by nets. At night, by the aid of torches made of dried coconut +leaf, the women and children capture them in hundreds as they lie on +the clear, sandy bottom. In the picturesque lagoons of the Ellice Group +(South Pacific), and especially in that of Nanomea, these fish afford +excellent sport with either rod or hand-line, and sport, too, with +surroundings of the greatest beauty imaginable; for the little lagoon +of Nanomea is perfectly landlocked, except where there are breaks of +reef--dry at low water--which is as clear as crystal, and the low-lying +belt of land is a verdant girdle of coco and pandanus palms, growing +with bread-fruit and _fetau_ trees on the rich, warm soil composed of +vegetable matter and decayed coral detritis. + +And then, too, you can look over the side of the canoe, or from an +exposed boulder of coral, and see the fish take your bait--unless a +breeze is rippling the surface of the water. + +I usually chose the early morning, before the trade wind roused itself, +as then, if in a canoe, one need not anchor, but drift about from one +side of the lagoon to the other; then about ten o'clock, when the breeze +came, I would paddle over to the lee of the weather side of the island +(the land in places not being much wider than the Palisadoes of Port +Royal in Jamaica) and fish in unruffled water in some deep pool among +a number of sand banks, or rather round-topped hillocks, which even at +high water were some feet above the surface. + +When bent on sand-mullet--_afulu_ the natives call them--I was in the +habit of going alone, although the moment I appeared in the village +carrying my rod, lines, and gun, I was always besought to take one or +two men with me. One of the most ardent fishermen on the island was one +Kino--a gentleman who weighed eighteen stone; and, as my canoe was only +intended for two light-weights like myself, I always tried to avoid +meeting him, for not only was he most persistent in his desire to see +how I managed to get so many mullet, but was most anxious to learn to +speak English. + +On one occasion I fatuously took the monster out in my whaleboat to +fish for _takuo_ (a variety of _tuna_) one calm starlight night when the +ocean was like a sheet of glass. We pulled out over the reef, and when +a mile from the shore lowered our heavy lines and began fishing. For +nearly a quarter of an hour neither of us spoke, then he suddenly asked +me in his fat, wheezy tones, if I would mind telling him something. + +"What is it?" + +"Will you tell me, friend, what are the English words that should be +spoken by one of us of Nanomea to a ship captain, giving him greeting, +and asking him if he hath had a prosperous voyage with fair weather? My +heart is sick with envy that Pita and Loli speak English, and I cannot." + +Forgetting my past experiences of my man, I was fool enough to tell him. + +"You say this: 'Good morning, Captain; have you had a good voyage and +fair weather?'" + +He greedily repeated each word after me, very slowly and carefully; then +he asked me to tell him again. I did so. Then he sighed with pleasure. + +"Kind friend, just a few times more," he said. + +I told him the sentence over and over again for at least a score of +times; and his smooth, fat face beamed when at last he was able to say +the words alone. Then he began whispering it. Five minutes passed, and +he tackled me again. + +"Is this right?--'Good--mornin', +kipen--ha--ad--you--have--goot--foy--age--and--fair wesser?'" + +"That is right," I said impatiently, "but ask me no more to-night. +Dost not know that it is unlucky to talk when fishing for _takuo_ and +_tautau?_" + +"Dear friend, _that_ we believed only in the heathen days. _Now_ we are +Christians." + +He paused a moment, then raised his face to the stars and softly +murmured, "Good--mornin' kpen--haad--you--you--have--goot--foyage--and +wesser--and fair--wesser?" Then he looked at me interrogatively. I took +no notice. + +He toyed with his line and bent an earnest gaze down in the placid +depths of the water as if he saw the words down there, then taking a +turn of his line round a thwart, he put his two elbows on his enormous +naked knees, and resting his broad, terraced chin on the palms of his +hands, he said slowly and mournfully, as if he were communing with some +one in the spirit-world-- + +"Good--mornin'--kpen. Haad--you--haave----" &c., &c. + +Then I sharply spoke a few words of English--simple in themselves, but +well understood by nearly every native of the South Seas. He looked +surprised, and also reproachful, but went on in a whisper so faint that +I could scarcely hear it; sometimes quickly and excitedly, sometimes +doubtingly and with quivering lips, now raising his eyes to heaven, and +with drooping lower jaw gurgling the words in his thick throat; then +sighing and muttering them with closed eyes and a rapt expression of +countenance, till with a sudden snort of satisfaction, he ceased--at +least I thought he had. He took up a young coconut, drank it, and began +again as fresh as ever. + +"Stop!" I said angrily. "Art thou a grown man or a child? Here is some +tobacco, fill thy pipe, and cease muttering like a _tama valea_ (idiot +boy)." + +He shook his head. "Nay, if I smoke, I may forget. I am very happy +to-night, kind friend. Good-mor----" + +"May Erikobai" (a cannibal god of his youth) "polish his teeth on thy +bones!" I cried at last in despair. That shocking heathen curse silenced +him, but for the next two hours, whenever I looked at the creature, I +saw his lips moving and a silly, fatuous expression on his by no means +unintelligent face. I never took him out with me again, although he sent +me fowls and other things as bribes to teach him more English. + + * * * * * + +These sand-mullet are very dainty-feeding fish. They are particularly +fond of the soft tail part of the hermit crabs which abound all over +the island, especially after rain has fallen. Some of the shells (_T. +niloticus_) in which they live are so thick and strong, however, that +it requires two heavy stones to crush them sufficiently to take out the +crab, the upper part of whose body is useless for bait. For a stick of +tobacco, the native children would fill me a quart measure, and perhaps +add some few shrimps as well, or half a dozen large sea urchins--a very +acceptable bait for mullet. My rod was a slender bamboo--cost a quarter +of a dollar, and was unbreakable--and my lines of white American cotton, +strong, durable, and especially suitable for fishing on a bottom of pure +white sand. My gun was carried on the outrigger platform, within easy +reach, for numbers of golden plover frequented the sand banks, feeding +on the serried battalions of tiny soldier crabs, and in rainy weather +they were very easy to shoot. The rest of my gear consisted of twenty or +thirty cartridges, a box of assorted hooks, a heavy 27-cord line with +a 5-in. hook (in case I saw any big rock cod about), a few bottles of +lager, some ship biscuits or cold yam, and a tin of beef or sardines, +and some salt. This was a day's supply of food, and if I wanted more, +there were plenty of young coconuts to be had by climbing for them, and +I could cook my own fish, native fashion; lastly there was myself, in +very easy attire--print shirt, dungaree pants, panama hat, and no boots, +in place of which I used the native _takka_, or sandals of coconut +fibre, which are better than boots when walking on coral. Sometimes I +would remain away till the following morning, sleeping on the weather +side of the island under a shelter of leaves to keep off the dew, and +on such occasions two or three of the young men from the village would +invariably come and keep me company--and help eat the fish and birds. +However, they were very well conducted, and we always spent a pleasant +night, rose at daybreak, bathed in the surf, or in the lagoon, and after +an early breakfast returned to the village, or had some more fishing. It +was a delightful life. + +My canoe was so light that it could easily be carried by one person from +the open shed where it was kept, and in a few minutes after leaving +my house I would be afloat, paddling slowly over the smooth water, and +looking over the side for the mullet. In the Nanomea, Nui, and Nukufetau +Lagoons the largest but scarcest variety are of a purple-grey, with fins +(dorsal and abdominal) and mouth and gill-plates tipped with yellow; +others again are purple-grey with dull roddish markings. This kind, with +those of an all bright yellow colour throughout, are the most valued, +though, as I have said, the whole family are prized for their delicacy +of flavour. + +As soon as I caught sight of one or more of the sought-for fish, I would +cease paddling, and bait my hook; and first carefully looking to see +if there were any predatory leather-jackets or many-coloured wrasse in +sight, would lower away, the hook soon touching the bottom, as I always +used a small sinker of coral stone. This was necessary only because of +the number of other fish about--bass, trevally, and greedy sea-pike, +with teeth like needles and as hungry as sharks. In the vicinity of the +reef, or about the isolated coral boulders, or "mushrooms" as we called +them, these fish were a great annoyance to me, though my native +friends liked them well enough, especially the large, gorgeously-hued +"leather-jackets," to which they have given the very appropriate name +of _isuumu moana_--the sea-rat--for they have a great trick of quietly +biting a baited line a few inches above the hook. _Apropos_ of the +"sea-rat," I may mention that their four closely-set and humanlike teeth +are so thick that they will often crush an ordinary hook as if it were +made of glass, and as their mouths are exceedingly small, and many are +heavy, powerful fishes, they cause havoc with ordinary tackle. But a +fellow-trader and myself devised a very short, stout hook (1 1/2 inch of +shank) with a barbless curve well turned in towards the shank; these +we bent on to a length of fine steel wire seizing. They proved just the +ideal hook for the larger kind of sea-rat, which run up to 10 lb., and +the natives were so greatly taken with the device that, whenever a ship +touched at the island, short pieces of fine steel wire rigging were +eagerly bought (or begged for). + +However, no leather-jackets, wrasse, greedy rock-cod, or keen-eyed +trevally being about, the bait touches the sandy bottom, and then you +will see one--perhaps half a dozen--_afulu_ cease poking their noses in +the sand, and make for it steadily but cautiously. When within a foot +or so, they invariably stop dead, and eye the bait to see if it is worth +eating. But they are soon satisfied--that round, pale green thing with +delicious juices exuding from it is an _uga_ (hermit crab) and must not +be left to be devoured by rude, big-mouthed rock-cod or the like, and +in another moment or two your line is tautened out, and a purple-scaled +beauty is fighting gamely for his life in the translucent waters of the +lagoon, followed half-way to the surface by his companions, whom, later +on, you place beside him in the bottom of the canoe. And even to look +at them is a joy, for they are graceful in shape, lovely in colour, and +each scale is a jewel. + +You take up the paddle and send the canoe along for half-a-cable's +length towards a place where, under the ledge of the inner reef, both +_afulu sama sama_ and _afulu lanu uli_ (yellow and purple mullet) are +certain to be found; and, as the little craft slips along, a large +gar--green-backed, silvery-sided, and more than a yard long--may dart +after you like a gleaming, hiltless rapier skimming the surface of the +water. If you put out a line with a hook--baited with almost anything--a +bit of fish a strip of white or red rag--you will have some sport, +for these great gars are a hard-fighting fish, and do the tarpon +jumping-trick to perfection. But if you have not a line in readiness you +can wait your chance, and as he comes close alongside, break his back +with a blow from the sharp blade of your paddle, and jump overboard and +secure him ere he sinks. + +"Not very sportsmanlike," some people will say; but the South Sea native +is very utilitarian, and it takes a keen eye and hand to do the +thing neatly. And not only are these gars excellent eating--like all +surface-feeding, or other fish which show a "green" backbone when +cooked; but fore and aft strips out from their sheeny sides make +splendid bait for deep-sea habitants, such as the giant sea bass and the +200-pounder "coral" cod. + +Under the ledge of the inner reef, if you get there before the sun +is too far to the westward, so that your eyes are not blinded by its +dazzling, golden light, you will see, as you drop your line for the +yellow and purple mullet which swim deep down over the fine coral sand, +some of the strangest shaped, most fantastically, and yet beautifully +coloured rock fish imaginable. As you pull up a mullet (or a green and +golden striped wrasse which has seized the bait not meant for him), many +of these beautiful creations of Nature will follow it up to within a +few feet of the canoe, wondering perhaps what under the sea it means +by acting in such a manner; others--small creatures of the deepest, +loveliest blue--flee in tenor at the unwonted commotion, and hide +themselves among the branching glories of their coral home. + + + + +"LUCK" + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A "hard" man was Captain William Rodway of Sydney, New South Wales, and +he prided himself upon the fact. From the time he was twenty years of +age, he had devoted himself to making and saving money, and now at sixty +he was worth a quarter of a million. + +He began life as cabin boy on a north-country collier brig; was starved, +kicked, and all but worked to death; and when he came to command a +ship of his own, his north-country training stood him in good +stead--starving, kicking, and working his crew to death came as +naturally to him as breathing. He spared no one, nor did he spare +himself. + +From the very first everything went well with him. He saved enough money +by pinching and grinding his crew--and himself--to enable him to buy +the vessel to which he had been appointed. Then he bought others, +established what was known as Rodway's Line, gave up going to sea +himself, rented an office in a mean street, where he slept and cooked +his meals, and worked harder than ever at making money, oblivious of the +sneers of those who railed at his parsimony. He was content. + +One Monday morning at nine o'clock he took his seat as usual in his +office, and began to open his pile of letters, his square-set, hard +face, with its cold grey eyes, looking harder than ever, for he had been +annoyed by the old charwoman who cleaned his squalid place asking him +for more wages. + +He was half-way through his correspondence when a knock sounded. + +"Come in," he said gruffly. + +The door opened, and a handsome, well-built young man of about thirty +years of age entered. + +"Good morning, Captain Rodway." + +"Morning, Lester. What do you want? Why are you not at sea?" and he bent +his keen eyes upon his visitor. + +"I'm waiting for the water-boat; but otherwise I'm ready to sail." + +"Well, what is it then?" + +"I want to know if it is a fact that you will not employ married men as +captains?" + +"It is." + +"Will you make no exception in my favour?" + +"No." + +"I have been five years in your employ as mate and master of the +_Harvest Home_, and I am about to marry." + +"Do as you please, but the day you marry you leave my service." + +The young man's face flushed. "Then you can give me my money, and I'll +leave it to-day." + +"Very well. Sit down," replied the old man, reaching for his wages book. + +"There are sixty pounds due to you," he said; "go on board and wait +for me. I'll be there at twelve o'clock with the new man, and we'll go +through the stores and spare gear together. If everything is right, I'll +pay your sixty pounds--if not, I'll deduct for whatever is short. Good +morning." + +At two o'clock in the afternoon Captain Tom Lester landed at Circular +Quay with his effects and sixty sovereigns in his pocket. + +Leaving his baggage at an hotel he took a cab, drove to a quiet +little street in the suburb of Darling Point, and stopped at a quaint, +old-fashioned cottage surrounded by a garden. + +The door was opened by a tall, handsome girl of about twenty-two. + +"Tom!" + +"Lucy!" he replied, mimicking her surprised tone. Then he became grave, +and leading her to a seat, sat beside her, and took her hand. + +"Lucy, I have bad news. Rod way dismissed me this morning, and I have +left the ship." + +The girl's eyes filled. "Never mind, Tom. You will get another." + +"Ah, perhaps I might have to wait a long time. I have another plan. +Where is Mrs. Warren? I must tell her that our marriage must be put +off." + +"Why should it, Tom? I don't want it to be put off. And neither does +she." + +"But I have no home for you." + +"We can live here until we have one of our own. Mother will be only too +happy." + +"Sure?" + +"Absolutely, or I would not say it." + +"Will you marry me this day week?" + +"Yes, dear--today if you wish. We have waited two years." + +"You're a brave little woman, Lucy," and he kissed her. "Now, here is +my plan. I can raise nearly a thousand pounds. I shall buy the _Dolphin_ +steam tug--I can get her on easy terms of payment--fill her with coal +and stores, and go to Kent's Group in Bass's Straits, and try and +refloat the _Braybrook Castle_. I saw the agents and the insurance +people this morning--immediately after I left old Bodway. If I float +her, it will mean a lot of money for me. If I fail, I shall at least +make enough to pay me well by breaking her up. The insurance people know +me, and said very nice things to me." + +"Will you take me, Tom?" + +"Don't tempt me, Lucy. It will be a rough life, living on an almost +barren, rocky island, inhabited only by black snakes, albatrosses, gulls +and seals." + +"Tom, you _must_. Come, let us tell mother." + +Three days later they were married, and at six o'clock in the evening +the newly-made bride was standing beside her husband on the bridge +of the _Dolphin_, which was steaming full speed towards Sydney Heads, +loaded down almost to the waterways with coals and stores for four +months. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +Two months had passed, and the sturdy _Dolphin_ was lying snugly at +anchor in a small, well-sheltered cove on one of the Kent's Group of +islands. Less than a hundred yards away was one of the rudest attempts +at a house ever seen--that is, externally--for it was built with +wreckage from many ships and was roofed with tarpaulins and coarse +"albatross" grass. Seated on a stool outside the building was Mrs. +Lester, engaged in feeding a number of noisy fowls with broken-up +biscuit, but looking every now and then towards the _Braybrook Cattle_, +which lay on the rocks a mile away with only her lower masts standing. +It was nearing the time when her husband and his men would be returning +from their usual day's arduous toil. She rose, shook the biscuit crumbs +from her apron, and walking down to the _Dolphin_, anchored just in +front of the house, called--"Manuel." + +A black, woolly head appeared above the companion way, and Manuel, +the cook of the wrecking party, came on deck, jumped into the dinghy +alongside and sculled ashore. + +"Manuel, you know that all the men are having supper in the house +to-night," she said, as the man--a good-natured Galveston negro--stepped +on shore. + +"Yes, ma'am." + +"Well, I've done all _my_ share of the cooking--I've made two batches of +bread, and the biggest sea pie you ever saw in your life, but I want two +buckets of water from the spring." + +"All right, ma'am. I'll tote 'em up fo' yo' right away.". + +"Please do. And I'll come with you. Captain Lester and the others +won't be here for half an hour yet, and I want to show you some +curious-looking stuff I saw on the beach this morning. It looks like +dirty soap mixed with black shells, like fowl's beaks." + +The negro's face displayed a sudden interest. "Mixed with shells, yo' +say, ma'am. Did yo' touch it?" + +"No--it looks too unpleasant." + +The negro picked up the buckets, and, followed by Mrs. Lester, set out +along a path which led to a rocky pool of some dimensions filled with +rain water.. "Leave the buckets till we come back, Manuel We have not +far to go." + +She led the way to the beach, and then turning to the left walked along +the hard, white sand till they came to a bar of low rocks covered with +sea-moss and lichen. Lying against the seaward face of the rock was +a pile of driftweed, kelp, crayfish shells, &c, and half buried in +_dbris_ was the object that had aroused her curiosity. + +"There it is, Manuel," she said, pointing to an irregularly-shaped mass +of a mottled grey, yellow and brown substance, looking like soap, mixed +with cinders and ashes. + +The negro whipped out his sheath knife, plunged it into the mass, then +withdrew it, pressed the flat of the blade to his nostrils, and then +uttered a yell of delight, clapped his hands, took off his cap and +tossed it in the air, and rolled his eyes in such an extraordinary +manner, that Mrs. Lester thought he had become suddenly insane. + +"Yo' am rich woman now, ma'am," he said in his thick, fruity voice. "Dat +am ambergris. I know it well 'nuff. I was cook on a whaleship fo' five +years, and have handled little bits of ambergris two or three times, but +no one in de world, I believe, ever see such a lump like dis." + +"Is it worth anything then?" + +"Worth anything, ma'am! It am worth twenty-two shillings de ounce!" + +He knelt down and began clearing away the weed till the whole mass was +exposed, placed his arms around it, and partly lifted it. + +"Dere is more'n a hundredweight," he chuckled, as he looked up at Mrs. +Lester, who was now also feeling excited. "Look at dis now." + +He cut out a slice of the curious-looking oleaginous stuff, struck a +match and applied the light. A pale yellow flame was the result, and +with it there came a strong but pleasant smell. + +Mrs. Lester had never heard of ambergris to her recollection, but Manuel +now enlightened her as to its uses--the principal being as a developer +of the strength of all other perfumes. + +Such a treasure could not be left where it was--exposed to the risk of +being carried away by the tide so the negro at once went to work with +his knife, catting it into three pieces, each of which he carried to +the house, and put into an empty barrel. Then he returned and carefully +searched for and picked up the minutest scraps which had broken off +whilst he was cutting the "find" through. + +Just at sunset, Lester and his gang of burly helpers returned tired +and hungry, but highly elated, for they had succeeded in getting out an +unusual amount of valuable cargo. + +"We've had great luck to-day, Lucy," cried Lester, as he strode over the +coarse grass in his high sea boots; "and, all going well, we shall make +the first attempt to pull the ship off the day after to-morrow." + +"And I have had luck too," said his wife, her fair, sweet face, now +bronzed by the sun, glowing as she spoke. "But come inside first, and +then I'll tell you." + +The interior of the dwelling consisted of two rooms only--a small +bedroom and a large living room which was also used as a kitchen. It +was quite comfortably furnished with handsome chairs, lounges, chests of +drawers, and other articles taken from the cabin of the stranded ship. +The centre of the room was occupied by a large deal table made by one +of the men, and a huge fire of drift timber blazed merrily at one end. +Manuel was laying the table, his black face beaming with sup-pressed +excitement, and the rough, sea-booted wreckers entered one by one and +sat down. Mrs. Lester bade them smoke if they wished. + +"Well, boys," said their leader to the wrecking party--of whom there +were thirty--"we all deserve a drink before supper. Help yourselves to +whatever you like," and he pointed to a small side-table covered with +bottles of spirits and glasses. Then Lucy, after they had all satisfied +themselves, walked over to the cask containing her "find," and standing +beside it, asked if they would all come and look at the contents and see +if they knew what it was. Lester, thinking she had succeeded in catching +a young seal, looked on with an amused smile. + +One by one the men came and looked inside the cask, felt the greasy mass +with their horny fingers, and each shook his head until the tenth man, +who, the moment he saw it, gave a shout. + +"Why, I'm blest if it ain't ambow-grease!" + +Lester started. "Ambergris! Nonsense!" and then he too uttered a cry +of astonishment as a second man--an old whaler--darted in front of him, +and, pinching off a piece of the "find," smelt it. + +"Hamble-grist it is, sir," he cried, "and the cask is chock-full of it." + +"Turn it out on the floor," said Lester, who knew the enormous value of +ambergris, "and let us get a good look at it. Light all the lamps, Lucy." + +The lamps were lit, and then Manuel repeated his experiment by burning +a piece, amid breathless excitement. No further doubt could exist, and +then Manuel, taking a spring balance (weighing up to 50 lbs.) from +the wall, hung it to a rafter, whilst the men put the lot into three +separate bags and suspended them to the hook in turn. + +"Forty-five pounds," cried the mate of the Dolphin, as the first bag was +hooked on. "Come on with the next one." + +"Thirty-nine pounds." + +"_And_ thirty-four pounds makes a hundred and eighteen," said Lester, +bending down and eagerly examining the dial. + +"How much is it worth, skipper?" asked the tug's engineer. + +"Not less than 1 an ounce----" + +"No, sah," cried Manuel, with an _ex cathedra_ air, "twenty-two +shillings, sah. Dat's what the captain of de _Fanny Long_ Hobart Town +whaleship got fo' a piece eleven poun' weight in Sydney last June. And +I hear de boys sayin' dat he would hab got 1 5s. only dat dere was a +power of squids' beaks in it--and dere's not many in dis lot, so it's +gwine to bring more." + +He explained that the pieces of black shell, which looked like broken +mussel shells, were in reality the beaks of the squid, upon which the +sperm whale feeds. Then, for the benefit of those of the party, he and +the two other ex-whalemen described the cause of the formation of this +peculiar substance in the body of the sperm whale. + +Lester took pencil and paper and made a rapid calculation. + +"Boys, we'll say that this greasy-looking staff is worth only a pound an +ounce--though I don't doubt that Manuel is right. Well, at 1 an ounce, +it comes to eighteen hundred and eighty-eight pounds." + +"Hurrah for Mrs. Lester!" cried Lindley, the mate. + +"She has brought us luck from the first, and now she has luck herself." + +The men cheered her again and again, for there was not one of them that +had not a rough affection for their captain's violet-eyed wife. They +had admired her for her pluck even in making the voyage to this desolate +spot, and her constant cheerfulness and her kindness and attention in +nursing three of them who had been seriously ill cemented their feelings +of devotion to her. There was a happy supper party in "Wreck House"---as +Lucy had named her strangely-built abode--that night, and it was not +until the small hours of the morning that the men went off to sleep on +the tug, and left Lucy and her husband to themselves. + +"I'm too excited to sleep now, Tom," she said. "Come, I must show you +the place where I found it. It is not a bit cold. And oh! Tom, I'm +beginning to love this lonely island, and the rough life, and the +tame seals, and the wild goats, and the fowls, and black Manuel, and, +and--oh, everything! And look, Tom dear, over there at the lighthouse +at Deal Island. I really believe the light was never shining as it is +to-night. Oh! all the world is bright to me." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +Two days later, and after nearly fifteen weeks of arduous and +unremitting labour, there came, one calm night, a glorious spring tide, +and the _Dolphin_, under a full head of steam, and with her stout, broad +frame quivering and throbbing and panting, tugged away at the giant hulk +of the stranded ship; and the ship's own donkey engine and winch wheezed +and groaned as it slowly brought in inch by inch a heavy coir hawser +made fast to a rock half a cable length ahead of the tug. And then the +_Braybrook Castle_ began to move, and the wrecking gang cheered and +cheered until they were hoarse, and the second engineer of the tug and +two stokers, stripped to their waists, with the perspiration streaming +down their roasting bodies, answered with a yell--and then, lying well +over on her starboard bilge, the great ship slid off stern first into +deep water, and Tom Lester's heart leapt within him with joy and pride. + +Lucy, as excited as any one else, was on the bridge with him, her face +aglow, and her hand on the lever of the engine-room telegraph. + +"Half-speed, Lucy." + +As the bell clanged loudly, and the heart of the sturdy tug beat less +frantically, the wrecking gang on board the ship under Lindley slipped +their end of the coir hawser from the winch barrel, and worked like +madmen to get the ship on an even keel by cutting adrift the lashings of +several hundred barrels of cement (part of the cargo) which were piled +up on the starboard side of the main deck, and letting them plunge +overboard As the ship righted herself inch by inch, and finally stood up +on an even keel, Lester made an agreed-upon signal--blowing his whistle +thrice--for Lindley to stand by his anchors, which were all ready to let +go. + +His device of getting up the barrels of cement from the lower hold, and +stowing them against the iron deck stanchions (having previously +cut away the bulwark plates) so as to give the vessel a big cant to +starboard, had answered perfectly; for, high as was the tide that night, +the _Dolphin_, though so powerful, could not have moved a ship of 1,500 +tons with her keel still partly sustaining her weight on the rooks on +which she had struck. By canting her as he had done, she had actually +floated--and no more than floated--an hour before the tide was at its +full. + +Half an hour later the _Braybrook Castle_ had been towed round to a +little bay just abreast of "Wreck House," and the tug's engines stopped. + +"All ready, Lindley?" shouted Lester. + +"All ready sir." + +"Then let go." + +At a tap from Lindley's hammer, the great anchor plunged down, and the +flaked out cable roared as it flew through the hawse-pipes, drowning the +loud "Hurrah" of the men on board. + +"What is it, Lindley?" cried Lester, "ten fathoms?" + +"Twelve, sir." + +"Give her another twenty-five. It's good holding ground and there is +plenty of room for her to swing. Lindley!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"We have had a bit of good luck, eh?" + +"Yes, sir. That is because Mrs. Lester is on the tug. She brings us good +luck." + +Lester laughed and turned to his wife. "Do you hear that, Lucy?" + +She was gazing intently over to the westward, but turned to him the +moment he spoke. + +"Tom, I can see a blue light over there.... Ah, see, there is a rocket! +What is it?" + +Lester took his night glasses and looked. + +"There is a ship ashore somewhere between here and the Deal Island +light," he said, and then he rang, "Go astern," to the engine-room. + +"Lindley," he called as soon as the tug backed alongside the _Braybrook +Castle_, "there is a ship ashore about four miles away from us to the +westward. My wife noticed her signals a few minutes ago." + +"More salvage, sir," bawled Lindley, "Mrs. Lester is bringing us more +luck. What's to be, sir?" + +"I want ten or a dozen men, and I'll go and see what I can do. You are +all right, aren't you?" + +"Right as rain, sir." + +Fifteen, instead of a dozen men slid down a line on to the deck of the +tug, and Lucy, at a nod from her husband, turned on "Full steam ahead," +and Lester whistled down the speaking-tube. + +"Hallo!" was the response. + +"Give it to her, Patterson, for all she's worth. There is a ship +ashore about four miles away. She is burning blue lights and sending up +rockets." + +Five minutes later, the Dolphin was tearing through the water at her top +speed--eleven knots--and Patterson came up on the bridge. + +"Who saw the seegnals first?" he inquired. + +"I did, Mr. Patterson," said Lucy. + +"Ay, I thoct as much, Mistress Leslie. Even that lazy, sheeftless Irish +fireman loon ae mine, Rafferty, said ye'd bring us mair guid luck." Then +he dived below again to the engines so dear to his Scotsman's heart. + +The night was dark, but calm and windless, and the panting tug tore her +way through a sea as smooth as glass towards where the ghastly glare of +the last blue light had been seen. Twenty minutes later, Lester caught +sight of the distressed ship. She was lying on her beam ends, and almost +at the same moment came a loud hail-- + +"Steamer ahoy!" + +"Clang!" went the telegraph, and the _Dolphin's_ engines stopped, and +then went astern, just in time to save her from crashing into a boat +crowded with men; a second boat was close astern of the first. They came +alongside, and the occupants swarmed over the tug's low bulwarks, and an +old greybearded man made his way up to Lester. + +"My cowardly crew have forced me to abandon my ship. We were caught in +a squall yesterday, and thrown on our beam ends." Then he fell down in a +fit. + +"Veer those boats astern," cried Lester to his own men, "I'm going to +hook on to that ship!" + +Bailey, one of his best men, gave a yell. + +"More luck, boys. Mrs. Lester!" + +As the poor captain was carried off the bridge into the little cabin, +the _Dolphin_ went ahead, and in a quarter of an hour, Bailey and his +men had cut away the masts and the tug had the ship in tow. + +At daylight next morning Lester brought her into the little bay where +the _Braybrook Castle_ lay, and Bailey anchored her safely. + +When Lester boarded her he found she was the _Harvest Queen_, sister +ship to the _Harvest Maid_, _Harvester_, and his own last command, the +_Harvest Home_, all ships of 1,500 tons, and belonging to Captain James +Rodway. + +"Why didn't you cut away her masts?" he said to the unfortunate captain +later on. + +"Ah, you don't know my owner," the old man replied, "and besides that, I +could have righted the ship if my crew had stuck to me. But after being +eighteen hours on our beam ends, they took fright and lowered the boats. +I'm a ruined man." + +"Not at all. You have done your duty and I'll give you command of +another ship to-day--the _Braybrook Castle_. You have nothing further to +do with the _Harvest Queen_. She was an abandoned ship. She's mine now. +Salvage, you know." + +The old man nodded his head. "Yes, I know that. And you'll make a pot +oat of her." + +"What is she worth?" + +"Ship and cargo are worth 80,000. We loaded a general cargo in London." + +"That will be a bit of a knock for Rodway." "Do you know him?" asked +Captain Blake in surprise. + +"I do indeed! I was master of the _Harvest Home_. Now come ashore. My +wife is getting as something to eat." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +At the end of another four weeks, the _Braybrook Castle_, with +three-fourths of the cargo she had brought from London, sailed for +Sydney under the command of Captain Blake of the _Harvest Queen_, +and the _Harvest Queen_ under jury masts, and with her valuable cargo +undamaged, was ready to sail, escorted by the _Dolphin_ on the following +day, with Lindley as master. + +The last night at "Wreck House" was even a merrier and happier one than +that on which the wrecking party celebrated Lucy's "find." But yet Lucy +herself felt a little sad at saying farewell to this wild spot, where +amid the roar of the ever-beating surf, and the clamour of the gulls +and terns, she had spent the four happiest months of her life. The rough +food, the fresh sea-air, and the active life had, Lester declared, only +served to increase her beauty, and she herself had never felt so strong +and in such robust health before. Almost every day in fine weather she +had taken a walk to some part of the interior of the island, or along +the many white beaches, filling a large basket with sea-birds' eggs, or +collecting the many beautiful species of cowries and other sea-shells +with which the beaches were strewn. Years before, another wrecking party +had left some goats on the island, and these had thriven and increased +amazingly. Her husband's men had shot a great number for food, and +captured three or four, which supplied them with milk, and these latter, +with their playful kids, and a number of fowls which had been brought +from Sydney in the _Dolphin_, together with a pair of pet baby seals, +made up what she called her "farmyard." On one part of the island there +was a dense thicket of low trees, the resort not only of hundreds of +wild goats, but of countless thousands of terns and other sea-birds, who +had made it their breeding ground. It was situated at the head of a tiny +landlocked bay, the beach of which was covered with the weather-worn +spars and timbers of some great ship which had gone ashore there perhaps +thirty or forty years before. The whole of the foreshores of the island, +however, were alike in that respect, for it had proved fatal to many a +good ship, even from the time that gallant navigator Matthew Flinders +had first discovered the group. + +On the morning of the last day of the stay of the wrecking party on the +island, Lucy set out for this place, remembering that on her last visit +she had left a basket of cowries there. Bidding her beware of black +snakes, for the place was noted for these deadly reptiles, Lester went +off on board the _Harvest Queen_. + +An hour afterwards, as Lester was engaged with Lindley in the ship's +cabin, a man on deck called down the skylight to him. + +"Here is Mrs. Lester coming back, sir. She's running, and is calling for +you." + +With a dreadful fear that she had been bitten by a snake, Lester rushed +on deck, jumped into a boat, and was ashore in a few minutes. Lucy, too +exhausted to come down to the boat and meet him, had sat down in front +of the now nearly empty house. + +"I'm all right, Tom," she panted, as he ran up to her, "but I've had a +terrible fright," and she could not repress a shudder. "I have just seen +three skeletons in the thicket scrub, and all about them are strewn all +sorts of things, and there are two or three small kegs, one of which is +filled with money, for the end has burst and the money has partly run +out on the sand." + +Lester sprang to his feet, and called out to the two men who had pulled +him ashore to come to him. + +"Mrs. Lester's luck again!" he cried. + +"Mrs. Lester's luck again!" bawled one of the men to the rest of the +wrecking party on board the _Harvest Queen_, and in an instant the cry +was taken up, and then came a loud cheer, as, disregarding discipline, +all hands tumbled into a boat alongside, frantically eager to learn what +had occurred. + +Lester waited for them, and then Lucy gave a more detailed account of +how she made her discovery. + +"I found my basket where I had left it, and had just sat down to take +off my shoes, which were filled with sand, when a goat with two of the +sweetest little kids you ever saw in your life came suddenly out from +behind a rock. The kids were not more than a day or two old, and I +determined to catch at least one of them to take home. The moment the +mother saw me she ran off with her babies, and I followed. They dived +into the thicket, and led me _such_ a dance, for they ran much faster +than I thought they could. + +"I had never been so far into the scrub before, and felt a little bit +frightened--it was so dark and quiet--but I was too excited to give up, +so on I sped until the nanny and kids ran into what seemed a tunnel in +the thick scrub. It is really a road made by the goats and is only about +three feet high, the branches and creepers making a regular archway +overhead. I stooped down and followed, and in a few minutes came to a +little space which was open to the sky; for the sunlight was so bright +that, coming out of the dark tunnel place, I was quite dazzled for a few +moments, and had to put my hands over my eyes. + +"When I looked about, I saw that the ground was strewed with all sorts +of things--rotten boards and boxes, and ships' blocks, and empty bottles +and demijohns, with all the cane covering gone. Then I saw the three +kegs, and noticed one had burst open or rotted away, and that it was +filled with what looked like very large and dirty nickel pennies. I went +to it and took some up, and saw they were crown pieces! Of course, I was +at once wildly excited, and thought no more of the dear little kiddies, +when I heard one of them cry out--quite near--and saw it, lying down +exhausted, about ten yards away. I was running over to it when I saw +those three dreadful skeletons. They are lying quite close to each +other, near some brass cannons and a lot of rusty ironwork. I was so +terrified that I forgot all about the poor kid, and--and, well, that is +all; and here I am with my skirt in rags, and my face scratched, and my +hair loose, and 'all of a bobbery,' as Manuel says." + +"Boys," said Lester, "I'm pretty sure I know how those poor fellows' +bones come to be there. An East Indiaman--the _Mountjoy_--was lost +somewhere on the Kent Group about sixty years ago; and I have read that +she had a lot of specie on board. Now, as soon as Mrs. Lester has rested +a bit, we'll start." + +"I'll carry you, ma'am," said Bailey, a herculean creature of 6 ft. 6 +in., and stepping into "Wreck House" he brought out a chair, seated +Lucy on it, and amidst applause and laughter, lifted it up on his mighty +shoulders as if she was no more weight than the chair itself. + +She guided them to the spot, and within an hour, not only the three +small casks--all of which were filled with English silver money, but +the contents of two others, which were found lying partly buried in the +sandy soil, were brought to the house. And then began the exciting task +of counting the coins, which took some time, and when Lester announced +the result, a rousing cheer broke from the men. + +"Six thousand, two hundred and seven pounds, four shillings, boys; all +with the blessed picture of good old George the Third on them. Lucy, my +dear, let us drink your health." + +Lucy drew him aside for a minute or two ere she complied with his +request, and with sparkling eyes she talked earnestly to him. + +"Of course I will, dear," he said. + +"Now, hoys," he cried, as Lucy brought out two bottles of brandy, and +some cups and glasses, "let us drink my wife's health. She has brought +us good luck. And she and I are dividing a thousand pounds between you, +with an extra fifty for Manuel; for I'm pretty well certain that the +Home Government can't claim any royalty." + +The rough wreckers cheered and cheered again, as they drank to "Mrs. +Lester's Luck." They were all being paid high wages, and were worth +them, for they had toiled manfully, and the most pleasant relations had +always existed between them and Lester. + +Immediately after breakfast on the following morning the anchors of the +_Harvest Queen_ were weighed to the raising chanty of-- + +"Hurrah, my boys, we're Homeward Bound!" and then the _Dolphin_, with +Lester on the bridge and Lucy beside him at the telegraph, went ahead, +and tautened out the tow line, and Lindley made all sail on his stumpy +jury masts. + +Seventeen days later, the gallant little tug pulled the _Harvest Queen_ +into Sydney Harbour. "Mrs. Lester's Luck," had been with them the whole +voyage, for from the time they had left Kent's Group, till they passed +between Sydney Heads, nothing but fine weather and favourable winds had +been experienced. + +As the _Dolphin_, with the hulking _Harvest Queen_ behind her, came up +the smooth waters of the harbour to an anchorage off Garden Island, big +Bailey, who was standing beside Lester and Lucy on the bridge, uttered a +yell of delight. + +"Mrs. Lester's luck again, by all that's holy! There is the _Braybrook +Castle_ at anchor over in Neutral Bay!" + +It was indeed the _Braybrook Castle_, which had arrived only one day +previously, and when Lester went on shore a few hours later, he found +that he was a richer man by over 17,000 than when he had left Sydney +less than six months before. + +And "Mrs. Lester's Luck" brought happiness to many other people beside +herself and her husband in the city of the Southern Sea, and when a year +later, in England, she stood on a stage under the bows of a gallant ship +of two thousand tons, built to Lester's order, and broke a bottle of +Australian wine against her steel plates, she named her "The Lucy's +Luck!" + + + + +BULL-DOGS OF THE SEA + +Not many sea-going people--outside of professional whalemen or +sealers--know much about the "killer" and his habits, and still less +of his appearance. Yet this curious whale (for the killer is one of the +minor-toothed whales) is known all over the world, though nowhere is +it more plentiful than along the eastern and southern coasts of the +Australian continent. In the colder seas of the northern part of the +globe it is not uncommon; and only last year one was playing havoc, +it was stated, with the fishermen's nets off the northeastern coast of +Ireland. + +On the eastern seaboard of Australia, however, the killers can be +watched at work, even from the shore, particularly from any bluff or +headland from which a clear view can be obtained of the sea beneath, and +should there be a westerly wind blowing, their slightest movements may +be observed; particularly when they are "cruising," i.e., watching for +the approach of a "pod" of either humpback or fin-back whales. During +the prevalence of westerly winds the sea water becomes very clear, so +clear that every rock and stone may be discerned at a depth of six +or eight fathoms, and the killers, when waiting for their prey, will +frequently come in directly beneath the cliffs and sometimes remain +stationary for half an hour at a time, rolling over and over, or sunning +themselves. + +First of all, let me describe the killer's appearance. They range in +length from ten to twenty feet, have a corresponding girth, and show the +greatest diversity of colouring and markings. Their anatomy is very much +that of the sperm whale--the one member of the cetacean family which +they do not attempt to attack on account of his enormous strength and +formidable teeth--and they "breach," "spout" and "sound" like other +whales. The jaws are set with teeth of from one or two inches in length, +deeply imbedded in the jawbone, and when two of these creatures succeed +in fastening themselves to the lips of a humpback, even fifty feet in +length, they can always prevent him from "sounding" and escaping into +deep water, for they cling to the unfortunate monster with bull-dog +tenacity, leaving others of their party to rip the blubber from his +sides and pendulous belly. + +On the coast of New South Wales--particularly at Twofold Bay, where +there is a shore whaling station, there are two "pods" or communities +of killers which have never left the vicinity within the memory of the +oldest inhabitant, and indeed they were first noticed and written about +in the year 1790. At other places on the Australian coast there are +permanent pods of ten, fifteen or twenty, but those at Twofold Bay are +quite famous, and every individual member of them is well-known, not +only to the local whalemen, but to many of the other residents of +Twofold Bay as well, and it would go hard with the man who attempted to +either kill or injure one of any of the members of the two pods, for the +whalemen would be unable to carry on their business were it not for +the assistance rendered to them by their friends the killers, whose +scientific name, by the way, is _Orca Gladiator_--and a more fitting +appellation could never have been applied. + +Now as to the colouring and markings--which are not only diverse, but +exceedingly curious. Some are of a uniform black, brown, dark grey, or +dirty cream; others are black with either streaks or irregular patches +of yellow, white or grey: others again are covered with patches of +black, white or yellow, ranging in size from half a dozen inches in +diameter to nearly a couple of feet. One which the present writer found +lying dead on the reef of Nukulaelae Island, in the Ellice Group, was +almost a jet black with the exception of some poorly defined white +markings on the dorsal fin and belly; another which he saw accidentally +killed by a bomb fired at a huge whale off the Bampton Shoals, was of a +reddish-brown, with here and there almost true circular blotches of pure +white. This poor fellow was twelve feet in length, and his death was +caused by his frantic greediness to get at the whale and take his toll +of blubber. The whale was struck late in the day, and the sea was so +rough that the officer in charge, after having twice tried to get up and +use his lance, determined to end the matter with a bomb before darkness +came on. At this time there was a "pod" of seven killers running side by +side with the whale and endeavouring to fasten to his lips whenever he +came to the surface; and, just as the officer had succeeded in getting +within firing distance and discharging the bomb, poor _Gladiator_ came +in the way, and was killed by the shot, much to the regret of the boat's +crew. + +For, as I have said, the whalemen--and particularly the shore whalemen, +_i.e_., those who do their whaling from a station on shore--regard, and +with good reason, the killers as invaluable allies. Especially is this +so in the case of the Twofold Bay shore whalers, for out of every ten +whales killed during the season, whether humpbacks, "right" whales, or +finbacks, three-fourths are captured through the pack of killers seizing +and literally holding them till the boats come up and end the mighty +creatures' miseries. + +Towards the end of winter an enormous number of whales appear on the +Australian coast, coming from the cold Antarctic seas, and travelling +northward along the land towards the breeding grounds--the Bampton +and Bellona Shoals and the Chesterfield Groups, situated between New +Caledonia and the Australian mainland, between 17 and 20 S. The +majority of these whales strike the land about Cape Howe and Gabo Island +at the boundary line between New South Wales and Victoria--sixty miles +south of Twofold Bay. Most of them are finbacks, though these are always +accompanied by numbers of humpbacks and a few "right" whales--the most +valuable of all the southern cetacea except the spermaceti or cachalot. +The latter, however, though they will travel in company with the flying +finback and the timid humpback and "right" whale, has no fear of the +killers. He is too enormously strong, and could crush even a full-grown +killer to a pulp between his mighty jaws were he molested, and +consequently the killers give the cachalot a wide berth as a dangerous +customer. The finback, however, swift and lengthy as he is, seldom +manages to escape once he is "bailed up," and having no weapon of +defence except his flukes (for he is one of the baleen or toothless +whales), he has but one chance of his life, and that is to dive to such +a depth that his assailants have to let go their hold of him in order to +ascend to the surface to breathe. + +The finback, I must mention, although the most plentiful of all the +whale family, and sometimes attaining the length of ninety feet, is +never attacked by whale-boats when he is "loose," _i.e._, free, and +is only captured when his struggles with the ferocious killers have so +exhausted him that a boat can approach and dart a harpoon into or lance +him. The reason for this immunity of primary attack by boats is that the +finback is in the first place of little value when compared to either +the humpback or "right" whale, for the coating of blubber is thin, and +the plates of baleen (or whalebone) he possesses are very short; and in +the second place he is, although so timid a creature, too dangerous to +be struck with a harpoon, for he would take the entire whale-line out of +three or four boats and then get away with it after all, for it is the +swiftest of all the cetacean family, and all whalemen say that no +one but a stark lunatic would dream of putting an iron into a loose +"finner," such as ranges the Southern Ocean. I was told, however, of +one well-authenticated case off the Azores, where a reckless Portuguese +shore-whaler struck a bull finback, which, after taking the lines from +four boats (220 fathoms in each) towed them for three hours and then got +away, the line having to be cut owing to the creature sounding to such +an enormous depth that no more line was available. + +The shore whaling parties at Twofold Bay, however, run no risks of this +sort. They let their friends, the Gladiators, do most of the work, and +find that "fin-backing" under these circumstances is fairly profitable, +inasmuch as they can tow the carcase ashore, and "try out" the blubber +at their leisure. + +But, in a case where one of these finbacks is held by killers, it can +be approached, as I have said, by shore boats and killed, as is the +practice of the Twofold Bay whalemen. + +Let the writer now quote, with the publisher's permission, from a work +he wrote some years ago describing the way the killers "work in" with +their human friends. In this particular instance, however, it was a +humpback whale, but as _Orca Gladiator_ treats the humpback and "right" +whale as he does the lengthy "finner," the extract from the article is +quite applicable. + +"Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man who +is on the look-out at the abandoned old lighthouse built by one Ben Boyd +on the southern headland fifty years ago, paces to and fro on the grassy +sward, stopping now and then to scan the wide expanse of ocean with +his glass, for the spout of a whale is hard to discern at more than +two miles if the weather is misty or rainy. But if the creature is in a +playful mood, and 'breaches'--that is, springs bodily out of the water, +and falling back, sends up a white volume of foam and spray, like the +discharge of a submarine mine, you can see it eight miles away. + +"The two boats are always in readiness at the trying-out works, a mile +or so up the harbour; so too are the killers, and the look-out man, +walking to the verge of the cliff, gazes down. + +"There they are, cruising slowly up and down, close in shore, spouting +lazily, and showing their wet, gleaming backs and gaff-topsail-like +dorsal fins as they rise, roll, and dive again.... Some of them have +nicknames, and each is well known to his human friends. + +"Presently the watchman sees, away to the southward, a white, misty +puff, then another, and another. In an instant he brings his glass to +bear. 'Humpback!' Quickly two flags flutter from the flagpole, and a +fire is lit; and as the flags and smoke are seen, the waiting boats' +crews at the trying-out station are galvanised into life by the cry +of 'Rush, ho, lads! Humpbacks in sight, steering north-west! Rush and +tumble into the boats and away!' + +"Round the south head sweeps the first boat, the second following more +leisurely, for she is only a 'pickup' or relief, in case the first is +'fluked' and the crew are tossed high in air, with their boat crushed +into matchwood, or meets with some other disaster. And as the leading +boat rises to the long ocean swell of the offing, the killers close in +round her on either side, just keeping clear of the sweep of the oars, +and 'breaching' and leaping and spouting with the anticipative zest of +the coming bloody fray. + +"'Easy, lads, easy!' says the old boat-header; 'they are coming right +down on us. Billy has right. They're humpbacks, sure enough!' + +"The panting oarsmen pull a slower stroke, and then, as they watch the +great savage creatures which swim alongside, they laugh in the mirthless +manner peculiar to most native-born Australians, for suddenly, with a +last sharp spurt of vapour, the killers dive and disappear into the dark +blue beneath; for they have heard the whales, and, as is their custom, +have gone ahead of the boat, rushing swiftly on below fully fifty +fathoms deep. Fifteen minutes later they rise to the surface in the +midst of the humpbacks, and half a square acre of ocean is turned into a +white, swirling cauldron of foam and leaping spray. The bull-dogs of the +sea have seized the largest whale of the pod or school--a bull--and are +holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. +The rest of the humpbacks rise high their mighty flukes and 'sound' +a hundred--two hundred--fathoms down, and, speeding seaward, leave the +unfortunate bull to his dreadful fate. + +("And in truth it is a dreadful fate, and the writer of this sketch can +never forget one day, as he and a little girl of six watched, from a +grassy headland on the coast of New South Wales, the slaughter of a +monstrous whale by a drove of killers, that the child wept and shuddered +and hid her face against his shoulder.) + +"Banging swiftly alongside of him, from his great head down to the +'small' of his back, the fierce killers seize his body in their savage +jaws and tear great strips of blubber from off his writhing sides in +huge mouthfuls, and then jerking the masses aside, take another and +another bite. In vain he sweeps his flukes with fearful strokes from +side to side--the bull-dogs of the sea come not within their range; in +vain he tries to 'sound'--there is a devil on each side of his jaws, +their cruel teeth fixed firmly into his huge lips; perhaps two or three +are underneath him tearing and riving at the great rough corrugations of +his grey-white belly; whilst others, with a few swift, vertical strokes +of their flukes, draw back for fifty feet or so, charge him amidships, +and strike him fearful blows on the ribs with their bony heads. Round +and round, in ever-narrowing circles as his strength fails, the tortured +humpback swims, sometimes turning on his back or side, but failing, +failing fast. + +"'He's done for, lads. Pull up; stand up, Jim.' + +"The boat dashes up, and Jim, the man who is pulling bow oar, picks up +his harpoon. A minute later it flies from his hand, and is buried deep +into the body of the quivering animal, cutting through the thick blubber +as a razor would cut through the skin of a drum. + +"'Stern all!' and the harpooner tumbles aft and grips the steer oar, +and the steersman takes his place in the head of the boat and seizes his +keen-edged lance. But 'humpy' is almost spent, and though by a mighty +effort he 'ups flukes' and sounds, he soon rises, for the killers +thrust him upwards to the surface again. Then the flashing lance--two, +three swift thrusts into his 'life' a gushing torrent of hot, dark +blood, and he rolls oyer on his side, an agonised trembling quivers +through his vast frame, the battle is oyer and his life is gone. + +"And now comes the curious and yet absolutely truly described final part +that the killers play in this ocean tragedy. They, the moment the whale +is dead, close around him, and fastening their teeth into his body, +by main strength bear it to the bottom. Here--if they have not already +accomplished it--they tear out the tongue, and eat about one-third of +the blubber. In from thirty-six to forty hours the carcase will again +rise to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen +haye attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts are easily +discerned from the look-out on the headland; the boats again put off and +tow it ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they haye had +their fill of blubber, accompany the boats to the head of the bay and +keep off the sharks, which would otherwise strip off all the remaining +blubber from the carcase before it had reached the shore. But once the +boats are in the shallow water, the killers stop, and then with a final +'puff! puff!' of farewell to their human friends, turn and head seaward +to resume their ceaseless watch and patrol of the ocean. + +"The killers never hurt a man. Time after time haye boats been stove in +or smashed into splinters by a whale, either by an accidental blow from +his head or a sudden lateral sweep of his monstrous flukes, and the +crew left struggling in the water or clinging to the oars and pieces of +wreckage; and the killers have swum up to, looked at, and smelt them, +but never have they touched a man with intent to do him harm. And +wherever the killers are, the sharks are not, for Jack Shark dreads a +killer as the devil is said to dread holy water. Sometimes I have +seen 'Jack' make a rush in between the killers, and rip off a piece of +hanging blubber, but he will carefully watch his chance to do so." + + * * * * * + +One of the most experienced whaling masters of New Bedford, with whom +the writer once cruised from the Gilbert Islands to Tap in the Western +Carolines, told him that on one occasion when he was coming from the +shore to his ship, which was lying to off the Chatham Islands, the boat +was followed by a pack of five killers. They swam within touch of the +oars, much to the amusement of the crew, and presently several of what +are called "right whale" porpoises made their appearance, racing along +ahead of the boat, whereupon Captain Allen went for'ard and picked up +a harpoon, for the flesh of this rare variety of porpoise is highly +prized. The moment he struck the fish it set off at a great rate, but +not quick enough to escape the killers, for though the porpoise was +much the swifter fish (were it loose), the weight of the boat and fifty +fathoms of line was a heavy handicap. As quickly as possible the men +began hauling up to the stricken fish so that Allen might give it the +lance, when to their astonishment the killers seized it and literally +tore it to pieces in a few minutes. + +"If ever I felt mad enough to put an iron into a 'killer' it was then," +he said, "but I couldn't do it. And very glad of it I was afterwards, +for a week later I had two boats stove in by a whale, and of course, had +I hurt one of those beggars of killers, the whole crew would have said +it was only a just retribution." + + + + +"REVENGE" + +On that fever-stricken part of the coast of the great island of New +Britain, lying between the current-swept headland of Gape Stephens and +the deep forest-clad shores of Kabaira Bay, there is a high grassy bluff +dotted here and there with isolated coco-palms leaning northward to the +sea beneath, their broad branches restlessly whipping and bending to +the boisterous trade wind. On the western side of the bluff there is a +narrow strip of littoral, less than half a mile in width, and thickly +clothed with a grove of betel nut, through which the clear waters of a +mountain stream flow swiftly out oceanwards across a rocky bar. + +Near where the margin of the grove of straight, grey-boled betels touch +the steep side of the bluff, there may be seen the outline of a low wall +of coral stones, forming three sides of a square, and bound and knit +together with vines, creepers, and dank, ill-smelling moss--the growth, +decay, and re-growth of three score years. The ground which it encloses +is soft and swampy, for the serried lines of betel-trees, with their +thick, broad crowns, prevent either sun or wind from penetrating to the +spot, and the heavy tropical rains never permit it to dry. It is a dark, +dismal-looking place, only visited by the savage inhabitants when they +come to collect the areca-nuts, and its solitude is undisturbed save +by the flapping of the hornbill's wings as he carries food to his +imprisoned mate, or the harsh screech of a white cockatoo flying +overhead to the mountain forest beyond. + +Yet sixty years ago it was not so, for then on the shore facing the bar +stood a native village, and within the now rained wall were the houses +of three white men, who from their doorways could see the blue Pacific, +and the long curve of coast line with cape and headland and white line +of reef stretching away down to the westward in the misty tropic haze. + +Walk inside the old, broken walls, and you will see, half-buried in the +moist, steaming, and malarious ground, some traces of those who dwelt +there--a piece of chain cable, two or three whaler's trypots, a rotten +and mossgrown block or two, only the hardwood sheaves of which have +resisted the destroying influences of the climate; a boat anchor, and +farther towards the creek, the mouldering remains of a capstan, from the +drumhead holes of which long grey-green pendants of moss droop down upon +the weather-worn, decaying barrel, like the scanty ragged beard that +falls on the chest of some old man worn out with poverty and toil. + +That is all that one may see now; for the dense, evergrowing jungle has +long since hidden or rotted all else that was left. + + * * * * * + +The three men were named Ford, Adams, and Stenhouse. They were +_beche-de-mer_ fishers, and for nearly a year had been living in this +savage spot--the only white men inhabiting the great island, whose +northern coast line sweeps in an irregular half-moon curve for more +than three hundred miles from Cape Stephens to within sight of the +lofty mountains of New Guinea. In pursuit of their avocation, death from +disease, or from the spears or clubs of the treacherous, betel-chewing, +stark-naked cannibals among whom they dwelt was ever near, but to the +men of their iron resolution and dauntless courage that mattered not. +Two years' labour meant for them a large sum of money--enough to enable +them to return with their wives and families and native dependents, to +those more restful islands in the Western Carolines whence they had come +a year before. + +All three men were employed by one firm in Singapore, whose ship had +brought them with their families and some thirty or forty natives of Yap +to New Britain. Nine months after their landing, a small schooner had +called to replenish their supplies, and ship the cured trepang, which +by the most assiduous labour and daring enterprise they had accumulated; +and when this story opens, the schooner had been gone some weeks, and +they and their native workers were preparing their boats for another +cruise along the great barrier reef of New Britain. + +Two of these men, Adams and Stenhouse, were old and tried comrades, and +in their rough way, devoted to each other. Stenhouse, the elder of +the two, had some ten years previously, while sailing along the Pelew +Island, found Adams adrift in an open boat--the sole survivor of a +shipwrecked crew of sixteen men, and had nursed him back to life and +reason. Later on, Adams had married one of Stenhouse's half-caste +daughters. Ford, too, who was an American, was connected by marriage +with Stenhouse, and nearly every one of the thirty or forty male and +female Caroline Islanders who worked for the three white men were more +or less allied to their wives by ties of blood or marriage, and there +was not one of them who would not have yielded up his or her life in +their defence. + +Stenhouse, who was the leader of the adventurous party, was a man of +about forty-five years of age, and, like his two comrades, an ex-sailor. +He was nearly six feet in height, and possessed of such powers of +strength and endurance that his name was known throughout the Western +Pacific to almost every white man, but his once handsome features were +marred by such a terrible disfigurement, that those who came to know +the man and his sterling character always thought or spoke of him with +genuine and respectful pity. What had caused this cruel distortion was +known to but three other persons besides himself--the mother of his +children, his son-in-law, Thomas Adams, and the man who had inflicted +the injury; and to spare the reader's feelings as much as possible, it +need only be said that the left side of his face had been so injured by +violence of some kind as to be pitiful to look upon, the more so as the +eye was missing. + + * * * * * + +Late one evening, just as Stenhouse and his son-in-law, Adams, were +smoking their last pipes before tarning in, their comrade entered the +house hurriedly, accompanied by one of their native employees, who had +been away on a fishing excursion. + +"Here's news! There's a big full-rigged ship just anchored under Cape +Stephens. Masik boarded her, and had a yarn with the mate." + +"Where is she from?" asked Stenhouse, turning his one eye upon the +native, Masik. + +"I know not, master. But she is a great ship with many men on +board--some white, and some yellow, with shaven heads. + +"Ah, a Calcutta-Sydney ship, most likely," said Stenhouse to his +comrades. Then turning to Masik--"Why came she here? Didst ask?" + +"Aye," replied the man in his native tongue; "the ship came here because +there be many sick, and two dead men on board. It is a strong sickness." + +"Didst speak of us white men here?" + +The man nodded. "Aye, and the mate said that the captain would like thee +all to come to the ship; but to hasten, for when the two men are buried +to-morrow the ship will sail And the mate gave me these for thee." + +Adams eagerly extended his hand for a bundle of newspapers which Masik +carried wrapped up in a piece of old sail-cloth. + +"This is a god-send," said Adams, as he opened the packet and tossed +some of the papers to Stenhouse and Ford, "only about six months old. +Hallo, here's the name of the ship and captain I suppose, on one of +them: + +Roger Fullerton, Esq., Ship _Ramillies_------" + +"_What!_" + +It was Stenhonse who spoke, and his usual cheerful voice now sounded +cracked and discordant, as with an oath he tore the paper from his +comrade's hand, read the name, and then sat down, with one hand pressed +to his sightless orb, his whole frame trembling from head to foot. + +"What is the matter, Ted?" asked Ford anxiously. + +Slowly he turned his face towards his comrades. It was white. + +"Send them away," he said, "but tell them to call the others and get +ready. I am going down to the cape to-night, to that ship. I am going to +kill a man." + +Ford looked at him wonderingly. Adams, who understood, spoke a few +whispered words to the natives, who quickly left the room. + +"Tom." + +"Yes, Ted." + +"Are all the women and children asleep?" + +Adams nodded, and Stenhouse silently motioned to him and Ford to be +seated. He remained standing. + +"Jim Ford," he said quietly, "look at me"--he drew his hand down the +distorted side of his face--"and tell me what you would do to a man who +made you look like this." + +"I would have his life if I swung for it." + +"Well, I am going to have this man's life. I shall not be hanged for it, +but if I am killed, I look to you, Jim, and you Tom, to stand to my wife +and children." + +Ford put out his hand impulsively: "All that I have I owe to you, Ted. I +will stand to 'em, so help me God." + +"I knew you would. Now, only three people in the world besides me--Tom +Adams, my wife, and the man who did it--know what made me the blarsted +scarecrow I am; but as I may be a dead man by this time tomorrow, I'll +tell you." + +He paused, and with his forefinger still pressed firmly on the name on +the newspaper, said slowly:-- + +"This man, Roger Fullerton, was a passenger on the _Mahratta_, East +Indiaman. I was his servant. We were bound to Sydney from Table Bay. He +was going out to be Commissary-General or something of that kind in New +South Wales. We had a rough, mutinous crew on board, and one night there +was a fight between them and the officers and passengers. They burst +into the cabin, and would have captured the ship but for the mate, +who shot one man dead and cut another down. I had nothing to do with +them--as God is my witness--for I was only a lad of nineteen, and +would have stood to the captain and officers like a man, but I was made +prisoner by the mutineers early in the fight. After the row was over, +Mr. Fullerton missed his watch and a hundred sovereigns which were in +a writing case in his cabin. He accused me of stealing them, and when +I hotly denied the charge, knocked me down on deck and kicked me so +savagely in the face that I should have been killed if I had not been +dragged away from him. As it was, he broke my jaw and destroyed my left +eye. But that was not all. When he reached Sydney he charged me with +the theft. I got a heavy sentence and was sent to the coal-mines at +Newcastle; but after two years of hell I escaped by stowing away in a +Dutch barque bound to Samarang. And now _my_ turn has come." + +"Are you sure he is the man?" asked the American. + +"Quite. He settled in the Colony and married there. I have heard of him +from time to time for many years." + + * * * * * + +Before midnight the three white men, with twenty-five of their native +followers armed with muskets and cutlasses, were following the coastline +in the direction of Gape Stephens. The night was dark and rainy, but the +route was familiar to both Adams and Stenhouse. All night they marched +steadily onward, and only when daylight broke did they halt on the banks +of a stream to rest and eat. Then, crossing the stream, they struck a +native path which led to the shore. + +"There she is," said Ford. + +The ship lay about a mile from the shore. Stenhouse looked at her +earnestly, and then abruptly told his comrades his plans, which were +daring but simple. He would await the landing of the boat bringing the +dead men ashore for burial, and take them prisoners. In all probability +the captain would be in charge, and it was Stenhouse's intention to hold +him and his boat's crew as ransom for the man he wanted. He intended +no harm to them, but was determined to achieve his object if he had +to carry his prisoners off to the mountains, and keep them there till +Fullerton was given up to him. + +Immediately after breakfast, the watchers saw two boats leave the ship, +and pull in towards a creek which debouched into a sandy cove situated +immediately under Gape Stephens. The coastline here was uninhabited, +and except for the banks of the creek, which were heavily timbered, +presented a succession of rolling, grassy downs, and here and there +clumps of _vi_ (wild mango) and cedar trees, and Stenhouse felt pretty +certain that the burying party would pick upon one of these spots to +inter the bodies, and that he could easily cut them off from the boats. + +Swiftly and silently they took up a position on the banks of the creek, +Stenhouse with his two friends keenly watching the advancing boats +from behind the buttressed roots of a giant Indian fig-tree. In a few +minutes, the leading boat, in which were six men and an officer, entered +the creek, but the water being shallow, grounded on the bar, and the +crew got out. The second boat contained four seamen, and three or four +persons who were seated aft, and she too took the ground, and then, +as her crew stepped out into the water, Stenhouse gripped Adams by the +shoulder. + +"See, Tom, there he is! The man himself. Look! that big fellow with +the white whiskers, sitting between the others." He held a hurried +consultation with his comrades, and quickly decided on his course of +action. + +Both crews were now endeavouring to drag the boats across the shallow +bar into the deeper water beyond, but the task was too much for them, +and presently the captain, who was in the second boat, ordered them to +cease, and said something to the big, white-whiskered man, who nodded +his head in approval. + +Four seamen then lifted two coffins from the first boat, and, followed +by four others carrying their own and their shipmates' arms and some +spades, began wading through the water to the shore, directly to where +the unseen watchers lay awaiting; and the remainder of the party, +leaving the boats with two men on guard, came slowly after them. + +Stenhouse pointed to the two boat-keepers, and said something to Ford, +who, with half-a-dozen natives, quickly disappeared. + +In a few minutes the bearers of the coffins reached the shore, and +placed their burdens on the ground to await further orders. + +"We shall find clear ground, sir, within a few yards from the bank," +began the captain, addressing the tall man, who with bared head and slow +step walked by his side, when suddenly there came a rush of a score of +half-naked figures, who threw themselves silently upon the party, and +overcame them almost without a sound. + +"Surrender, or you are all dead men," cried a hoarse voice. + +There was no need for the stern summons, for not only were the +astonished sailors terrified by the extraordinary suddenness of the +attack and the savage appearance of their captors, but their captain, +the surgeon, and the big man had their pistols taken from their belts so +quickly that resistance was utterly out of the question, covered as they +were by half-a-dozen muskets pointed at their breasts. + +Then Adams stepped out and addressed the captain. 804 + +"No harm will be done to you and yonr men, but you must remain our +prisoners for awhile. Then your arms will be returned to you, and you +can go back to your ship. Your boat-keepers are secured." + +"What in God's name does this mean?" cried the unfortunate officer. + +"Silence, if you value yonr life," cried the same stern voice that had +called upon them to surrender. + +The captain turned and sought to discern the speaker, but the muzzle +of a pistol was placed menacingly against his chest, and he was again +ordered to be silent. + +Then at a sign from Adams all the crews' and officers' arms were carried +off to the boats by two natives, and the wondering seamen were bidden by +Adams to lift the coffins and follow him. + +"Do not attempt to escape," he said, speaking to the whole party +generally; "if you do you will be shot down without mercy." + +As he spoke Ford, with five armed natives, silently joined the rest of +the captors. Follerton, the captain, and the surgeon all looked at him +curiously. + +"March, gentlemen," he said, pointing with his drawn cutlass to the +bearers of the coffins, who were now, guided by Adams, pushing their +way through the timber, surrounded by their native guards with muskets +cocked. + +In ten minutes the belt of timber had been passed through, and captors +and captured emerged upon a grassy sward. + +"Halt!" + +Again that hoarse, strange voice sounded from somewhere near, and the +seamen shuddered as they gently laid their burdens on the ground. + +"Bury your dead, sir, and have no fear," said Adams to the captain. + +Then he and Ford spoke to their followers, who silently drew back and +permitted the seamen who carried shovels to advance. The ground was soft +and moist, and their task was soon accomplished, and the coffins lowered +into their graves. + +Then the captain, followed by the surgeon and Roger Fullerton, advanced, +prayer-book in hand, and read the burial service, and Adams and Ford +wondered somewhat when, at its conclusion, a heavy sob burst from +Fullerton. + +Quickly the earth was shovelled in, and soon two mounds showed on +the sward. Then came the clank of arms, and the mourners were again +surrounded by their half-nude guards. + +"Follow," said Adams shortly. + +He led them for a distance of about a hundred yards, then halted, and +the prisoners found themselves in a hollow square. + +"Are you going to slaughter unarmed men?" cried the surgeon, who was +terrified at the very appearance of the wild-looking Caroline Islanders +and their grim, silent leaders. + +Adams shook his head, but made no reply. + +A heavy footstep sounded in the jungle near them, and Stenhouse, +carrying two cutlasses under his arm, strode into the square and stood +before Fullerton. + +For a moment or two their eyes met, and then Stenhouse raised his hand +and touched his distorted face. + +"You know me, Mr. Fullerton?" + +"I know you. You have come to kill me." + +"Yes, unless you kill me." He drew a cutlass from its leather sheath and +held its hilt out to the man he hated. Fullerton folded his arms across +his chest. + +"Take it," said Stenhouse slowly, "or, by Heavens! I'll cut you down as +you stand." + +"As you will," replied the old man steadily, "but fight you I will not. +My life is in your hands. Take it. I am not afraid to die." + +Stenhouse drew his cutlass slowly, his one eye shining with a deadly +hatred. + +"For God's sake, man, whoever you are, whatever your injuries may be, +do not shed the blood of an old man on his son's grave!" and the captain +sprang forward with outspread, appealing hands. + +"His son!" and the point of the gleaming weapon drooped. + +"His only son. Have mercy on him, as you hope for mercy yourself." + +"Stop, Captain Marsland. Do not ask for mercy for me. I did this man a +grievous wrong. My life is his. Let him have his due." + +Stenhouse threw down his cutlass with an oath, turned his back on his +enemy, and put his hand to his forehead. + +Then he faced round sharply, and once more he looked into Fullerton's +unmoved face. + +"Go," he said. + +And without another word he strode away, followed by his comrades and +his savage companions. + + + + +SAUNDERSON AND THE DYNAMITE + +Saunderson was one of those men who firmly believed that he knew +everything, and exasperated people by telling them how to do things; and +Denison, the supercargo of the _Palestine_, hated him most fervently for +the continual trouble he was giving to every one, and also because he +had brought a harmonium on board, and played dismal tunes on it every +night and all day on Sundays. But, as Saunderson was one of the partners +in the firm who owned the _Palestine_, Denison, and Packenham the +skipper, had to suffer him in silence, and trust that something might +happen to him before long. What irritated Denison more than anything +else was that Saunderson frequently expressed the opinion that +supercargoes were superfluous luxuries to owners, and that such work "as +they tried to do could well be done by the captains, provided the latter +were intelligent men." + +"Never mind, Tom," said Packenham hopefully, one day, "he's a big +eater, and is bound to get the fever if we give him a fair show in the +Solomons. Then we can dump him ashore at some missionary's--he and his +infernal groan-box--and go back to Sydney without the beast." + +When the _Palestine_ arrived at Leone Bay, in Tutuila, Saunderson +dressed himself beautifully and went ashore to the mission-house, and in +the evening Mrs. O------ (the missionary's wife), wrote Denison a note +and asked if he could spare a cheese from the ship's stores, and added a +P.S., "What a _terrible_ bore he is!" This made the captain and himself +feel better. + +The next morning Saunderson came on board. Denison was in the cabin, +showing a trader named Rigby some samples of dynamite; the trader wanted +a case or two of the dangerous compound to blow a boat passage through +the reef opposite his house, and Denison was telling him how to use it. +Of course Saunderson must interfere, and said _he_ would show Rigby what +to do. He had never fired a charge of dynamite in his life, nor even +seen one fired or a cartridge prepared, but had listened carefully to +Denison. Then he sarcastically told Denison that the cheese he had sent +Mrs. O------ might have passed for dynamite, it was so dry and +tasteless. + +"Well, dynamite is made from cheese, you know," said the supercargo +deferentially, "just cheese slightly impregnated with picric acid, +gastrito-nepenthe, and cubes of oxalicogene." + +Saunderson said he knew that, and after telling Rigby that he would +walk over to his station before dinner, and show him where to begin +operations on the reef, went on shore again. + +About twelve o'clock Denison and Rigby went on shore to test the +dynamite, fuse, and caps--first in the water and then on the reef. +Just abreast of the mission-house they saw a big school of grey mullet +swimming close in to the beach, and Denison quickly picked up a stone, +tied it with some string round a cartridge, cut the fuse very short, lit +it, and threw it in. There was a short fizz, then a dull, heavy thud, +and up came hundreds of the beautiful fish stunned or dead. Saunderson +came out of the mission-house and watched the natives collecting them. +Denison had half-a-dozen cartridges in his hand; each one was tightly +enveloped in many thicknesses of paper, seized round with twine, and had +about six inches of fuse, with the ends carefully frayed out so as to +light easily. + +"Give me some of those," said Saunderson. + +The supercargo reluctantly handed him two, and Saunderson remarked that +they were very clumsily covered, but he would fix some more himself +"properly" another time. Denison sulkily observed that he had no time +to waste in making dynamite cartridges look pretty. Then, as Saunderson +walked off, he called out and told him that if he was going to shoot +fish he would want to put a good heavy stone on the cartridges. +Saunderson said when he wanted advice from any one he would ask for +it. Then he sent word by a native to Mrs. O------that he would send her +along some fish in a few minutes. + +Now within a few hundred yards of the mission-house there was a jetty, +and at the end of the jetty was Her Majesty's gunboat _Badger_, a small +schooner-rigged wooden vessel commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Muddle, +one of the most irascible men that ever breathed, and who had sat on +more Consuls than any one else in the service. + +Sannderson went on the jetty followed by a crowd of natives, and looked +over into the water. There were swarms of fish, just waiting to be +dynamited. He told a native to bring him a stone, and one was brought--a +nice round, heavy stone as smooth as a billiard ball--just the very +wrong kind of stone. He tied it on the cartridge at last, after it had +fallen off four or five times; then, as he did not smoke, and carried no +matches, he lit it from a native woman's cigarette, and let it drop into +the water. The stone promptly fell off, but the cartridge floated gaily, +and drifted along fizzing in a contented sort of way. Sannderson put his +hands on his hips, and watched it nonchalantly, oblivious of the fact +that all the natives had bolted back to the shore to be out of danger, +and watch things. + +There was a bit of a current, and the cartridge was carried along till +it brought up gently against the _Badger_--just in a nice cosy place +between the rudder bearding and the stern-post. Then it went off with a +bang that shook the universe, and ripped off forty-two sheets of copper +from the _Badger_; and Saunderson fell off the jetty into the water; and +the bluejackets who were below came tumbling up on deck; and the +gunner, seeing Lieutenant-Commander Muddle rush up from his cabin in his +shirt-sleeves with a razor in his hand, thought that he had gone queer +again in his head, and had tried to blow up the ship, and was going to +out his throat, and so he rushed at him, and knocked him down and took +his razor away, and begged him to be quiet; and Muddle, thinking it was +a mutiny, nearly went into a fit, and straggled so desperately, and +made such awful choking noises that two more men sat on him; and the +navigating midshipman, thinking it was fire, told the bugler to sound +to quarters, and then, seeing the captain being held down by three men, +rushed to his assistance, but tripped over something or somebody and +fell down and nearly broke his nose; and all the time Saunderson who +was clinging to one of the jetty piles, was yelling pitifully for help, +being horribly afraid of sharks. + +At last he was fished out by Bigby and some natives and carried up to +the mission-house and then, when he was able to talk coherently, he +sent for Denison, who told him that Commander Muddle was coming for him +presently with a lot of armed men and a boatswain with a green bag in +which was a "cat," and that he (Saunderson) would first be flogged and +then hanged at the _Badger's_ yard-arm, and otherwise treated severely, +for an attempt to blow up one of Her Majesty's ships; and then +Saunderson shivered all over, and staggered out of the mission-house +in a suit of Mr. O------'s pyjamas, much too large for him, and met +Commander Muddle on the jetty and tried to explain how it occurred, and +Muddle called him an infernal, drivelling idiot, and knocked him clean +off the jetty into the water again, and used awful language, and told +Denison that his chronometers were ruined, and the ship's timbers +started, and that he had had a narrow escape from cutting his own throat +when the dynamite went off, as he had just begun to shave. + +Saunderson was very ill after that, and was in such mortal terror that +Muddle and every one else on board the gunboat meant to kill, wound, or +seriously damage him, that he kept inside the mission-house, and said he +felt he was dying, and that Mr. O------ would prepare him for the end. +So Denison and Paekenham, who were now quite cheerful again, sent his +traps and his harmonium ashore, and sailed without him, a great peace in +their bosoms. + + + + +THE STEALING OF SA LUIA + +One dull rainy morning, soon after daybreak, as the ship _St. George_ of +New Bedford was cruising for sperm whales between the islands of Tucopia +and Vanikoro, the look-out hailed the deck and reported a boat in sight. +The captain was called, and a few minutes later appeared and went aloft. + +The boat was about three miles distant to leeward, and Captain +Elphinstone at once kept the ship away. The wind, however, was so light +that it took her some time to get within hailing distance, and then +it was discovered that the boat contained three natives--a man and two +young girls--who appeared to be greatly exhausted, for after +feebly raising their heads for a moment and putting out their hands +imploringly, they fell back again. + +A boat was quickly lowered from the ship, and the sufferers brought on +board, and their own boat, which was a small, native-built craft much +like a whale-boat, but with an outrigger attached, was hoisted on board, +for she was too good to be turned adrift. + +On board the _St. George_ was a Samoan named Falaoa. He was a native +of the island of Manua, and at once recognised the unfortunates as +country-people of his own. The man, who was in a dreadful state of +emaciation, and barely able to raise his voice above a whisper, was over +six feet in height, and appeared to be about five-and-twenty years of +age; his companions had evidently not undergone as much suffering and +did not present the same shocking appearance as he, for the sun had +burnt his skin to such a degree that that part of his tattooing which +was not covered by the scanty _lava lava_ of tappa cloth around his +loins had become almost black. + +Under the kind and careful treatment they received from Captain +Elphinstone and his officers, all three soon recovered, and ten days +after they had been rescued, the following entry was made in the ship's +log:--"This day, at their own request, we landed the three Samoans at +the island of Nufilole, one of the Swallow Group, where they were well +received by the natives and a white trader. They were accompanied by one +of my crew named Falaoa, who begged me to let him go with them, having +become much attached to one of the young women. We gave them some arms +and ammunition, and some clothing and tobacco. They all behaved with +the greatest propriety during their stay on the ship. From where they +started in Samoa to where we picked them up in 12 S. is a distance of +1,800 miles." + +And here is their story, told by Sa Luia to the wife of Frank Chesson, a +white trader then living on the Santa Cruz Islands, in which the Swallow +Group is included. Chesson himself had lived in Samoa, and spoke the +language well, and the four people remained in his house for many months +as welcome guests. A strong and lasting friendship was formed, and +resulted in the trader, his wife and family, and the four Samoans +removing to the little island of Fenua-loa, and there founding what +is now a colony of Polynesians with language, customs and mode of life +generally entirely distinct from their Melanesian neighbours. + +* * * * * + +I am Sa Luia. I come from Mulifanua, at the lee end of Upolu in Samoa. +My father was not only the chief of Mulifanua, but has great lands in +the Atua district on the north side of Upolu--lands which came to him +through my mother, who died when I was but a week old--and from these +lands he had his name, Pule-o-Vaitafe (Lord of many Rivers). + +Now it is not well for a daughter to speak unkindly of her father; but +this what I now say is true. My father, though he was so rich a man, was +very cruel to those who crossed his path, and though he was a brave man +in battle, his heart was shrunken up by reason of his avarice and +his desire to grow richer, and all Samoa, from Manna in the east to +Falealupo in the west, spoke of him as Pule-lima-vale--"Pule the +close-fisted"--or Pule fata-ma'a--"Pule the stony-hearted." Yet all this +gave him no concern. + +"What does it matter to me?" he said to his brother Patiole one day, +when Patiole, who was a chief of Manono, reproached him for his meanness +in sending away some visitors from Tutuila with such scanty presents +that all the people of Mulifanua were ashamed. "What does it matter to +me what people say of me? This _malaga_ (party of visitors) from Tutuila +are eaten up with poverty. Why should I give them fine mats, and muskets +and powder and bullets? Am I a fool? What return can they make to me?" + +"They came to do thee honour," said my uncle, putting his hand across +his eyes out of respect to my father, who was of higher rank than he, +and speaking softly. "They are thy dead wife's relatives, and are of +good blood. And thou hast shamed them--and thyself as well--by sending +them away empty-handed." + +My father laughed scornfully. "What care I for my dead wife's relatives! +I have no need of them, and want them not. When I took the daughter of +Mauga to wife, Mauga was a great man. Now he and his people are broken +and dispersed. Let them go and eat grass or wild yams like pigs. I, +Pule-o-Vaitafe, want no needy dependents." + +"Thou art a hard man," said my uncle, bending his forehead to the mat on +which he sat. + +"And thou art a fool," replied my father; "if thy heart pains thee of +this, why dost thou not give them all that they wish?" + +"Because for me, thy brother, to do so, would put shame on thee, for +'tis thy place and thy honour as head of our family to help these people +who have fallen on evil days through warfare," said my uncle sadly. + +"Thine then be the place and the honour," said my father scornfully. "I +will not begrudge thee either. Naught will I have to do with broken men. +Farewell." + +That was my father's way. That was his hard, hard heart, which knew +neither pity nor remorse. This is how my mother died: + +When I was seven days old, she took me, as is customary with a woman of +chiefly rank, to the _fale siva_ (town dance house), where I had to be +shown to the people, who brought fine mats and tappa cloth, and many +other presents. Now my father was filled with anger that my mother had +not borne him a male child, for a male child would have meant richer +presents--not only from his own people, but from towns and villages far +away. So when he saw that instead of such gifts as a new canoe or some +very old, rare mats, or muskets, or such other things as would have +been given were the child a boy, there were but the usual presents for a +girl-child, his lips turned down with scorn, and he muttered a curse. My +mother heard him and the tears flowed down her cheeks. + +"It may be that my next child will be a boy," she whispered, and then +she held me up to my father. "See, Pule, though a girl, she hath thy +features, and thou wilt come to love her." + +"Tah!" said my father in angry contempt; and without another word he +rose and went away. + +Then my mother wept silently over me for a long time, for the shame put +upon her was very great, and not to be endured. So, with some of her +women, she took me to a place called Falema'a, where the cliffs rise up +straight from the sea. Her hair was then oiled and dressed, and then +she made gifts of her rings of gold and tortoise-shell to her women, +and bade them farewell. Then she took me in her arms, and leapt over the +cliff into the sea. + +It so happened that half-way down the cliff, which is twelve fathoms +high, there was a boy named Manaia. He was collecting the eggs of the +sea-bird called _Kanapu_ and his canoe was anchored just in front of the +base of the cliff. He was a brave boy, and being of a very poor family, +had clambered up the steep side of the wall of rock, so that he might +find the _kanapu_ eggs in the clefts and holes, and sell them to people +in exchange for food for his mother and sisters. As he clung to the +jagged face of the rock, he saw my mother falling through the air, and +in an instant he sprang after her. When she came to the surface, I was +still clasped tightly in her arms, and Manaia cried to her to swim to +the canoe. + +"Nay," she cried, "but take my babe." + +And so Manaia took me, and my mother threw up her arms and sank and +died. + +When my uncle heard of this, he sent a party of his people over from +Manono for me, and I was taken to live with him. My father did not +interfere, for the manner of my mother's death had made the people +murmur, and he was afraid that they might rise in rebellion, and kill +or banish him. But yet he tried to get another rich wife, and sent a +deputation of his chiefs to Seu Manu of Apia asking for his daughter +Sina; and Sina sent him back a piece of wood carved in the semblance of +a woman, together with a stone shaped like a heart, with this message-- + +"This is a good wife for Pule-o-Vaitafe. If she displease him, he can +sink her in the sea with a heart of stone." + +After that my father tried no more, for the people all round about were +murmuring, and he began to feel afraid. + +But in no other way did he change, and although Manono is but two +leagues distant from Mulifanua, he never came to see me till I was in +my fifteenth year, and when I was chosen by the people of Aana to be +_Taupo_{*} of Mulifanua. Then I had to leave my uncle, which made me +weep, for although I was proud of the honour done me, I did not wish to +leave him and go back to my father. But I had no choice but to obey, and +so I was taken back to Mulifanua by a fleet of canoes and _taumualua_ +(native boats), with great ceremony, and then followed many meetings and +much feasting and dancing. I was put under the care of two women, who +attended me day and night, as is the custom; they walked, ate, and slept +with me, and every day I was taught how to dance, and how to wear +my fine mats and long train of tappa, so as to receive or call upon +visitors who came to the town from other places in Samoa. + + * Taupo, the town maid. This distinction is usually conf + erred on a girl of good family, and has many honours and + emoluments in the way of presents attached to it. In some + cases a _taupo_ will not marry till she reaches middle age, + and occasionally will remain single. + +In all the many years that I had spent on Manono, I had not once seen +the boy Manaia--he who had taken me from the water--though I had heard +of him as having been tattooed and grown into a tall man. But on the +same day that I returned and was taken to the _fale taupule_ (council +house) to be received by the people as their _taupo_, a girl named +Selema who attended me whispered his name, and pointed him out to me. +He was sitting with the other young men, and like them, dressed in his +best, and carrying a musket and the long knife called _nifa oti_. I saw +that he was very, very tall and strong, and Selema told me that there +were many girls who desired him for a husband, though he was poor, and, +it was known, was disliked by my father. + +Now this girl Selema, who was of my own age, was given to me as my +especial _tavini_ (maid) and I grew to like her as my own sister. She +told me that already my father was casting about in his mind for a rich +husband for me, and that the man he most favoured was old Tamavili, +chief of Tufa, in Savai'i, who would soon be sending messengers with +presents to him, which if they were accepted, would mean that my father +was inclined to his suit, and that he, Tamavili, would follow himself +and pay court to me. + +All this frightened me, and I told Selema I would escape to my uncle in +Manono, but she said that that would not do, as if he tried to protect +me it would mean war. So I said nothing more, though much was in my +mind, and I resolved to run away to the mountains, rather than be made +to marry Tamavili, who was a very old man. + +One day Selema and I went to the river to wash our hair with the pith +of the wild oranges. We sat on the smooth stones near the water, and had +just begun to beat the oranges with pieces of wood to soften them, when +we saw a man come down the bank and enter a deep pool further up the +stream. + +"'Tis Manaia," said Selema; "he hath come to drag the pool for fish." +Then she called out to him, "_Ola_, Manaia," and he looked at us and +laughed as he spun his small hand-net into the pool. We sat and watched +him and admired his strength and skill and the clever way in which he +dived and took the fish from his net. In a little while he had caught +seven--beautiful fish, such as are in all the mountain streams of Samoa. +Then he came out of the water, made a basket of leaves, and approached +me, and without a word, laid them at my feet. This pleased me, so I put +out my hand and touched one of the fish--meaning that one only would I +take. + +"They are all for thee, lady," he said in a low voice. + +Selema laughed and urged me to accept the gift; so I took the basket, +and then, when I looked at his face and saw that his eyes were still +turned down, I took courage and said-- + +"Thou art Manaia. Dost thou remember me?" + +"How could I forget thee?" he replied; and then he raised his eyes to +my face, and I felt glad, for they were like unto those of my uncle +Patiole--kind and soft when they looked into those of a woman or child, +but steady and bold to those of a man. + +"I am glad to see thee, Manaia," I said, "for I owe thee my life," and +as he took my hand and pressed it to his forehead, Selema stole away and +left us together. + +Now I know not what he said to me, except that when he spoke the name of +Tamavili of Tufa, I wept, and said that I would I were back at Manono, +and that I was but a child, and had no desire to be wedded to any man. +Then he lifted me up in his great arms, and said-- + +"I love thee, Sa Luia, I love thee! And even if thou canst not love me, +yet shall I save thee from wedding this old dotard. Aye, I shall save +thee from him as I saved thee from the boiling serf of Falema'a when thy +mother, who was a great lady, cried out to me, 'Take my babe.'" + +So that is how Manaia my husband wooed me, and when Selema came back and +saw us seated together, she laughed again, though tears were in her eyes +when she took my feet and pressed them to her cheeks, for she feared +that when we fled, she would be left behind. Then Manaia whispered to me +and asked me if it was to my mind to take her. + +"Ay," I said; "else will my father kill her when we are gone." + +So we made our plans, and when the messengers of Tamavili came and laid +their presents before me, I said I was content, and that they could go +back to their master, and tell him that in a month's time I would +be ready and that he could come for me. This pleased my father, and +although at night time I always slept between the two women, as is +customary for a _taupo_, with a mat over me, and they lay on the +outside, one on each side, yet in the day time I often met my lover in +the forest, whilst Selema kept watch. + +"We shall go to Uea,"{*} he said; "'tis but seventy leagues away, and so +soon as the rainy season is ended we shall start. I have bought a small +but good boat and have strengthened it for the voyage with an outrigger, +and in my mother's house is hidden all the food we can carry. In eight +days more the westerly winds will cease, and we shall start, for then we +shall have the Matagi Toe'lau (trade wind) and at Uea we shall be +safe and live in peace. Then some day I shall send for my mothers and +sisters, for on the night that we escape, they too must flee for their +lives to Sen Mann, of Apia, who will protect them from thy father's +wrath." + + * Wallis Island, two hundred miles from Samoa. Many Samoans + fled there for refuge after a reverse in battle or for other + causes. + +On the morning of the fourth day after this, there came a strange +messenger to the town to see my father, who in a little time appeared at +his door with a smiling face and bade the conch be blown to summon the +people together. + +"Here is news, O people," he said. "Manka,{*} the white trader of Tufa, +also seeketh my daughter, Sa Luia, in marriage. He and Tamayili have +quarrelled--why, it matters not to me, or thee--and Manka, who is a very +rich man, hath sent me word that he will compete with Tamayili. Whatever +he offers for dowry and for presents to me, the white man will give +double. This is a good day for me." + + * Monk. + +But the people were silent, for they knew that he was breaking his +pledged word with Tamavili, and was setting at naught the old customs +and the honour of the town. So, as he looked at them, he scowled; then +he held out his hand, on the palm of which were ten American gold coins, +each of twenty dollars. + +"Two hundred dollars hath this white man, Manka, sent to my daughter Sa +Luia as a present, with these words: 'If she cares not for my suit, well +and good--let her have them made into bracelets for her pretty arms." + +Now this was a great gift, and it came with such generous words that the +people applauded, and my father smiled, as his long thin fingers closed +around the heap of gold; but suddenly his face darkened as Manaia spoke. + +"'Tis a free gift to the lady Sa Luia. Therefore, O Pule-o-Vaitafe, give +it to her." + +"Aye, aye! 'tis hers, 'tis hers," cried the people. + +My father sent a glance of bitter hatred to my lover, and his lips +twitched, but without a word he came to me, and bending low before me, +put the money on the ground at my feet, and I, his daughter, heard his +teeth grinding with rage, and as I felt his hot breath on my hand, I +knew that murder was in his heart. It is easy for a chief such as was my +father, to have a man who displeases him killed secretly. + +My father went away in anger, and then the chiefs decided that although +the white man could not wed me, he should be received with great honour, +and be given many presents; for he was known to us as a man of great +strength and daring, and was tattooed like a Samoan, which is a great +thing to the mind of a Samoan woman, who loathes an untattooed man as +unworthy of all that a woman can give, for without tattooing a young man +hath no manhood, and his children are weak of body and poor of mind. + +That night my father asked me for the money, which I gave him +unwillingly, for I wished to send it back to the white man. He took +it and placed it in a great box, which contained such things as guns, +pistols, and powder and ball, and the key of which he always wore around +his neck. + +When the eighth day dawned, the sea was very smooth, and our hearts were +gladdened by seeing that the wind was from the south-east, and as the +day wore on, it increased in strength. When night fell, and the evening +fires were lit, Manaia, saying he was going to fish for _malau_, +launched his boat and sailed along the shore for a league to the mouth +of a small stream. Here he was met by his mother and sisters, who were +awaiting him with baskets of cooked food, young coconuts and calabashes +of water for the voyage. Then they put their arms around him, and wept +as they bade him farewell, for seventy leagues is a long voyage for a +small boat not intended for rough seas. Then they went into the forest +and fled for their lives to Sen Manu of Apia, and Manaia waited for me. + +When the town was buried in slumber, Selema, who lay near me, touched my +head with her foot, and then asked me if I slept. + +"Nay," I replied in a loud voice, and speaking with pretended anger, so +as to awaken the two women between whom I lay. "How can I sleep? 'Tis +too hot. Let us go to the beach awhile and feel the cool wind." + +The two women grumbled a little at being disturbed, and Selema and I +rose and went out of the house. Then, once we were at a safe distance, +we ran swiftly to the beach, and then onwards to where Manaia awaited +us. + +Selema took her seat on the foremost thwart, Manaia at the stern, and I +in the centre, and then we pushed off, and using canoe paddles, made for +the passage through the reef out into the open sea. When the dawn broke, +we were half-way across the straits which divide Savai'i from Upolu, +and only two leagues away we saw the clustering houses of Tufa on the +iron-bound coast. We did not dare to hoist the sail for fear of being +seen, so continued to paddle, keeping well into the middle of the +straits. Only that the current was so fierce, Manaia would have +steered north, and gone round the great island of Savai'i and then made +westward, but the current was setting against the wind, and we should +have all perished had we tried to go the north way. + +Presently Manaia turned and looked astern, and there we saw the great +mat sail of my father's double canoe, just rising above the water, and +knew that we were pursued. So we ceased paddling, and hoisted our own +sail, which made us leap along very quickly over the seas, though every +now and then the outrigger would lift itself out of the water, and we +feared that we might capsize. But we knew that Death was behind us, and +so sat still, and no one spoke but in a whisper as we looked astern, and +saw the sail of the great canoe growing higher and higher. It was a very +large canoe and carried a hundred men, and on the raised platform was a +cannon which my father had bought from a whale-ship when it was in his +mind to fight against Tamalefaiga, who was the king of Upolu. + +Suddenly Selema cried out that she saw a _taumualua_{*} and a boat with +a sail coming towards us from Tufa, and my heart sank within me, for I +knew that if they saw we were pursued by Pule-o-Vaitafe, they would, out +of respect for him, stop us from escaping. Still there was naught for us +to do but go on, and so we leapt and sprang from sea to sea, and Manaia +bade us be of good heart, as he turned the head of the canoe toward the +land. + + * A large native-built boat + +"If this _taumualua_ and the boat seek to stay us, I shall run ashore," +he said, "and we will take to the mountains. It is Manka's boat, for +now I can see the flag from the peak--the flag of America." "And the +_taumualua_ is that of Tamavili of Tufa," said Selema quietly, for she +is a girl of great heart, "and it races with the white man's boat." + +I, who was shaking with fear, cannot now well remember all that +followed, after Manaia headed our canoe for the shore, and tried to +escape, but suddenly, it seemed to me, the white man's boat, with +flapping sail, was upon as, and Manka was laughing loudly. + +"Ho, ho!" he cried, pulling his long white moustache, "so this is the +way the wind bloweth! The old dotard Tamavili and I race together for a +bride, and the bride is for neither of us, but for the man who saved her +from the sea. Ha, ha! Thou art a fine fellow, Manaia, and I bear thee no +ill will, even though the girl hath my good golden money." + +"Nay, Manka," cried Selema quickly, and taking something from her girdle +she held it up to the white man; "see, here is thy gift to the lady Sa +Luia. We meant to give it back to thee with all good will, for Sa Luia +loves no man but this her lover Manaia, who held her up from the angry +sea when her mother died. And so when Pule-o-Vaitafe took the money from +her--which was thy free gift--I waited till he slept, and stole the key +of his treasure-chest, and took the money so that it might be returned +to thee." + +"Is this true?" asked the white man of Manaia. "The money is thine," +said Manaia, who knew not what else to say, "but the woman is mine. +So let us depart, for Tamavili and his men--whom no one in Malifanua +thought to see for three days yet--are drawing near, and we may escape +by running the canoe through the surf, and taking to the mountains." + +The white man swore an oath. "Thou art a fine fellow, and I bear no ill +will, but will help thee to outwit that old dodderer who tried to steal +away three days before me. I will put my boat between he and thee and +keep him off. Whither wouldst land?" + +"Not here, unless we are pressed. But we are in bad case; for see, on +the one side comes Pule-o-Vaitafe, and on the other Tamavili. Yet if +thou wilt be the good friend to us, we may escape both, and keep on our +way to the open sea." + +"The open sea!" cried Manka quickly--"and whither to?" + +"To Uea." + +"Thou art a bold fellow," said the white man again, "and shalt have the +girl, for thou art worthy of her. And she shall keep the money for her +dowry. I am no man to go back on my word, even though I lose so fair +a bride. As for Pule-o-Vaitafe, I care not a blade of grass, and for +Tamavili even less. And see, take this rifle, and if Tamavili cometh too +close to thee, how can I help thee defending thyself and the women?" + +With that he gave Manaia one of six rifles in his boat and two score and +ten cartridges, some tobacco, matches, and a pipe; then he pressed our +hands and wished us God-speed, and we parted, he sailing towards the +_taumualua_, which was crowded with men, and we following. When he came +within speaking distance of Tamavili, he again brought his boat to the +wind and mocked at the old man. + +"Ho, ho! Tamavili. Whither goest in such a hurry? See, there in the +canoe is the little bird we both sought, and there following comes her +father. But she is neither for me nor thee. Is not her lover there, a +fine man--nearly as handsome as I am, and big enough to make ten such +rats as thee." + +Tamavili was mad with rage, and did not answer. There were with Manka +six men--all armed with rifles which loaded at the breech like that +which he had given Manaia, and Manka was too great a man for even +Tamavili to hurt. But suddenly, as we in the canoe sailed in between the +boat and the _taumualua_, the old chief found his voice, and called out +to Manaia to lower his sail. + +"Give me the lady Sa Luia," he said, "and I will let thee and the girl +Selema go," and as he spoke, the crew turned the _taumualua_ round and +came after us, twenty men paddling on each side. + +"Keep back!" cried Manaia fiercely, as he changed seats with me, and +giving me the steering paddle, he took up the rifle and loaded it. + +"Beware, old man!" shouted Manka, "'tis a dog that bites!" + +But Tamavili was too hot with anger to take heed, and shouted to his men +to go on, and then Manaia took aim and fired, and two men went down. + +"Ho, ho!" and Manka's voice again mocked, "did I not say 'twas a dog +that bit?" + +There was great commotion in the _taumualua_ for a moment or two, but +_Tamavili_ shouted to his men to go on; he would have ordered some of +them to cease paddling and try and shoot Manaia, but feared to hurt +or perhaps kill me, and that would have meant war between Tufa and +Mulifanua. + +"Alo, alo foe!"{*} he cried, standing up on the stem and brandishing +his death-knife at Manaia. "I shall give thy head to the children of the +village for a football ere the sun is in mid-heaven." + + * "Paddle, paddle hard!" + +That was a foolish boast, for once more Manaia knelt and shot, and I +turned my head and saw the blood spurt from Tamavili's naked chest as he +fell down without a sound among the paddlers and a loud cry of anger +and sorrow burst from his men. But in a moment a young sub-chief of Tufa +named _Lau Aula_ (the Golden-haired) took command and shouted to the crew +to press on, and leaping to the bow, he began firing at us with a short +gun (revolver) and one of the bullets struck the girl Selema on the leg +and tore a hole through the fleshy part. Now this Lau Aula was a blood +relative of Manaia, who called out to him to cease firing, but Lau Aula +took no heed, and began shooting at us with muskets loaded with round +bullets, which were handed to him by some of his people. + +Then Manaia's face was evil to look at; his lips were drawn back, and +his teeth showed like those of an angry dog, for the blood which flowed +from Selema's wound was creeping around his naked feet. Yet once more he +cried out to Lau Aula to beware ere it was too late; but the young chief +called him a thief, and bade him bring the boat to the wind. + +"This for thee, then," cried Manaia, and once more he raised his rifle +and fired, and Lan Anla spun round and fell over into the sea, for the +bullet had struck him in the throat and his life was gone. + +That was the last of the fight, for when Lau Aula fell, the rest of +Tamavili's men threw down their paddles and let us sail on without +further pursuit. + +Then, whilst I steered, Manaia tied strips of tappa around Selema's leg +so as to stay the bleeding. + +"We are safe," cried the girl bravely through her tears, for the pain +was very great. "See, lady, the wind is not strong enough for the big +double canoe to pursue us." + +But yet, in his rage, when my father saw that we were escaping, he +lowered the mat sail and fired two shots at us with the cannon, and the +great heavy balls roared over our heads and fell into the sea with a +heavy splash not fifty fathoms away. But cannon-balls cost much money, +and so, when a third shot was fired, and it fell astern of our boat, my +father wasted no more, and we saw the sail again hoisted and the canoe +go slowly down towards the _taumualua_ of Tamavili, to which the white +man was already rendering succour, for Manka, although he had quarrelled +with the old chief of Tufa, was yet a man of a kind heart. + +And so we sailed on before a fair, soft breeze, and by sunset the great +mountain peaks of Savai'i had sunk beneath the sea rim, and we were +steering westward by the bright stars with a great joy filling our +hearts. + +For four days we sailed steadily onwards, and Selema's wound soon began +to heal. On the evening of the fourth day we saw the land of Uea just +showing above the sea rim, and thought to place our feet on the shore +in the morning. But now came sorrow, for in the night it began to blow +strongly from the north-east, and heavy rain squalls drove us past the +land. In the morning there was but the open sea, and the waves were +white and angry, and all that day and the next Manaia kept the boat to +the wind, hoping that it would change and let us sail back to Uea. But +we hoped vainly; and then, on the third day, there came such a furious +storm that we could do naught but drive before it, and go on and on into +the great unknown western ocean, whither so many have gone, and have +been no more known of men. For many, many days we sailed on, and then, +although we had much rain and so suffered no thirst, our food began to +fail, and had not Manaia one day caught a sleeping turtle, we should +have perished. Some time about the fourteenth day, we saw the jagged +peaks of an island against the sky, and steered for it. It was the +island called Rotumah--a fine, fair country, with mountains and valleys +and running streams, and on it dwell people who are like unto us Samoans +in appearance and manners and language. We sailed the boat into a bay on +which stood a village of many houses, and the people made us welcome and +gave us much food, and besought us to stay there, for their island was, +they said, a better place than Uea. And this we should have done and +been content, but in the night, as I slept in the house of the unmarried +women, a girl whispered in my ear-- + +"Get thee away with thy lover and the girl Selema. Felipa, the head +chief of Fao, hath been told of thy beauty, and hath sent word here that +the man Manaia must be killed to-night, and thou and Selema be sent to +him. This is wrong for even a chief to do, and we of this place would +aid thee to escape." + +So Manaia and I and Selema stole away to the boat, and the people of the +village, who pitied us, pretended not to hear or see us. They were very +kind, and had put baskets of cooked food and other things into the boat; +and so we pushed off, and stood out to sea once more. They had told +us to go round to the north end of the island, where there was a chief +named Loli, who would protect us and give us a home. + +But again evil fortune befell us, for the chief of Fao, hearing of our +escape, sent a messenger overland to Loli, claiming us as _mea tafea i +moana_--gifts sent to him by the sea--and asking him to hold us for him. +And so Loli, who would have welcomed us, was afraid, and begged us not +to land and so bring about bloodshed. + +"Great is my sorrow, O wanderers," he cried to us, as we sat in the boat +a little distance from the beach, "but ye must not land. Steer to the +west, and a little to the south, where there is a great land--many, many +islands which trend north and south."{*} + + * The New Hebrides Group. + +"Is it far?" asked Manaia scornfully. + +"Four days for a ship, longer for a boat," replied Loli shamefacedly; +"the gods go with thee, farewell." + +Once again we sailed towards the setting sun, steering by the stars at +night time, and for seven days all went well. Then after that there came +calms, and the hot sun beat upon us and ate its way into our hearts, and +we saw no sign of land, and only now and then did a seabird come near +us. And then came the time when all our food was gone, and we waited for +death to come. Manaia had eaten no food for five days when it came to +this, for he said he was feeling quite strong, and divided his share +between us. Once as he and I slept Selema put a little piece of old +coconut--the last that was left--into my hand, and slipped over the side +to die, but Manaia heard her, and, although he was very weak, he roused +and caught her as she sank. + +Two days before that on which the ship found us Manaia shot a small +shark which was following the boat. It was not as long as a man's arm +nor as thick as a woman's, but it kept us alive. Manaia gave us all the +flesh, and kept only the head and skin for himself; after that all the +world became dark to me, and we lay together in the boat to die. + +The captain of the whale-ship was very kind to us, and when he found +that the sailor named Falaoa did not wish to part from us on account of +Selema, whom he wished to marry, he gave his consent, and said he would +land us all here at Nufilole, where there was a white man who would be +kind to us. + +That is all, and now my husband Manaia and I, and Falaoa and his wife +Selema are well content to live here always. For even now, after many +months have passed, do Selema and I cry out in our slumbers, and when +we awaken our hair lies wet upon our foreheads; but soon all these bad +dreams will pass away from us for ever. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Memory Of The Southern Seas, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24807-8.txt or 24807-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/0/24807/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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. 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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 www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Memory Of The Southern Seas + 1904 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 11, 2008 [EBook #24807] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS + </h1> + <h3> + From “Chinkie's Flat And Other Stories” + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Louis Becke + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1904 + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> CAPTAIN “BULLY” HAYES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THE “WHALE CURE” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> THE SEA “SALMON” SEASON IN AUSTRALIA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> “JACK SHARK” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> SOME PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> “LUCK” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER + I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER + II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER + III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER + IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> BULL-DOGS OF THE SEA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> “REVENGE” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> SAUNDERSON AND THE DYNAMITE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> THE STEALING OF SA LUIA </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CAPTAIN “BULLY” HAYES + </h2> + <p> + In other works by the present writer frequent allusion has been made, + either by the author or by other persons, to Captain Hayes. Perhaps the + continuous appearance of his name may have been irritating to many of my + readers; if so I can only plead that it is almost impossible when writing + of wild life in the Southern Seas to avoid mentioning him. Every one who + sailed the Austral seas between the “fifties” and “seventies,” and + thousands who had not, knew of him and had heard tales of him. In some + eases these tales were to his credit; mostly they were not. However, the + writer makes no further apology for reproducing the following sketch of + the great “Bully” which he contributed to the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>, + and which, by the courtesy of the editor of that journal, he is able to + include in this volume. + </p> + <p> + In a most interesting, though all too brief, sketch of the life of the + late Rev. James Chalmers, the famous New Guinea missionary, which appeared + in the January number of a popular religious magazine, the author, the + Rev. Richard Lovett, gives us a brief glance of the notorious Captain + “Bully” Hayes. Mr. Chalmers, in 1866, sailed for the South Seas with his + wife in the missionary ship <i>John Williams</i>—the second vessel + of that name, the present beautiful steamer being the fourth <i>John + Williams</i>. + </p> + <p> + The second John Williams had but a brief existence, for on her first + voyage she was wrecked on Nine Island (the “Savage” Island of Captain + Cook). Hayes happened to be there with his vessel, and agreed to convey + the shipwrecked missionaries to Samoa. No doubt he charged them a pretty + stiff price, for he always said that missionaries “were teaching Kanakas + the degrading doctrine that even if a man killed his enemy and cut out and + ate his heart in public, and otherwise misconducted himself, he could yet + secure a front seat in the Kingdom of Heaven if he said he was sorry and + was then baptized as Aperamo (Abraham) or Lakopo (Jacob).” + </p> + <p> + “It is characteristic of Chalmers,” writes Mr. Lovett, “that he was able + to exert considerable influence over this ruffian, and even saw good + points in him, not easily evident to others.” + </p> + <p> + The present writer sailed with Hayes on four voyages as supercargo, and + was with the big-bearded, heavy-handed, and alleged “terror of the South + Seas” when his famous brig <i>Leonora</i> was wrecked on Strong's Island, + one wild night in March, 1875. And he has nothing but kindly memories of a + much-maligned man, who, with all his faults, was never the cold-blooded + murderer whose fictitious atrocities once formed the theme of a highly + blood-curdling melodrama staged in the old Victoria Theatre, in Pitt + Street, Sydney, under the title of “The Pirate of the Pacific.” In this + lively production of dramatic genius Hayes was portrayed as something + worse than Blackboard or Llonois, and committed more murders and + abductions of beautiful women in two hours than ever fell to the luck in + real life of the most gorgeous pirate on record. No one of the audience + was more interested or applauded more vigorously the villain's downfall + than “Bully” Hayes himself, who was seated in a private box with a lady. + He had come to Sydney by steamer from Melbourne, where he had left his + ship in the hands of brokers for sale, and almost the first thing he saw + on arrival were the theatrical posters concerning himself and his career + of crime. + </p> + <p> + “I would have gone for the theatre people,” he told the writer, “if they + had had any money, but the man who 'played' me was the lessee of the + theatre and was hard up. I think his name was Hoskins. He was a big fat + fellow, with a soapy, slithery kind of a voice, and I lent him ten pounds, + which he spent on a dinner to myself and some of his company. I guess we + had a real good time.” + </p> + <p> + But let us hear what poor ill-fated Missionary Chalmers has to say about + the alleged pirate:— + </p> + <p> + “Hayes seemed to take to me during the frequent meetings we had on shore” + (this was when the shipwrecked missionaries and their wives were living on + Savage Island), “and before going on board for good I met him one + afternoon and said to him, 'Captain Hayes, I hope you will have no + objection to our having morning and evening service on board, and twice on + Sabbaths. All short, and only those who like need attend.' Certainly not. + My ship is a missionary ship now' (humorous dog), 'and I hope you will + feel it so. All on board will attend these services.' I replied, 'Only if + they are inclined.'” (If they had shirked it, the redoubtable “Bully” + would have made attendance compulsory with a belaying pin.) + </p> + <p> + “Hayes was a perfect host and a thorough gentleman. His wife and children + were on board. We had fearful weather all the time, yet I must say we + enjoyed ourselves.... We had gone so far south that we could easily fetch + Tahiti, and so we stood for it, causing us to be much longer on board. + Hayes several times lost his temper and did very queer things, acting now + and then more like a madman than a sane man. Much of his past life he + related to us at table, especially of things (he did) to cheat + Governments.” + </p> + <p> + Poor “Bully!” He certainly did like to “cheat Governments,” although he + despised cheating private individuals—unless it was for a large + amount. And he frequently “lost his temper” also; and when that occurred + things were very uncomfortable for the man or men who caused it. On one + occasion, during an electrical storm off New Guinea, a number of + corposants appeared on the yards of his vessel, which was manned by + Polynesians and some Portuguese. One of the latter was so terrified at the + ghastly <i>corpo santo</i> that he fell on his knees and held a small + leaden crucifix, which he wore on his neck, to his lips. His example was + quickly followed by the rest of his countrymen; which so enraged Hayes + that, seizing the first offender, he tore the crucifix from his hand, and, + rolling it into a lump, thrust it into his month <i>and made him swallow + it</i>. + </p> + <p> + “You'll kill the man, sir,” cried Hussey, his American mate, who, being a + good Catholic, was horrified. + </p> + <p> + Hayes laughed savagely: “If that bit of lead is good externally it ought + to be a darned sight better when taken internally.” + </p> + <p> + He was a humorous man at times, even when he was cross. And he was one of + the best sailor-men that ever trod a deck. A chronometer watch, which was + committed to the care of the writer by Hayes, bore this inscription:— + </p> + <p> + “<i>From Isaac Steuart, of New York, to Captain William Henry Hayes, of + Cleveland, Ohio. A gift of esteem and respect for his bravery in saving + the lives of seventeen persons at the risk of his own. Honor to the brave.</i>” + </p> + <p> + Hayes told me that story—modestly and simply as brave men only tell + a tale of their own dauntless daring. And he told me other stories as well + of his strange, wild career; of Gordon of Khartoum, whom he had known, and + of Ward and Burgevine and the Taeping leaders; and how Burgevine and he + quarrelled over a love affair and stood face to face, pistols in hand, + when Ward sprang in between them and said that the woman was his, and that + they were fools to fight over what belonged to neither of them and what he + would gladly be rid of himself. + </p> + <p> + Peace to his <i>manes!</i> He died—in his sea-boots—from a + blow on his big, bald head, superinduced by his attention to a lady who + was “no better than she ought to have been,” even for the islands of the + North Pacific. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE “WHALE CURE” + </h2> + <p> + I once heard a man who for nearly six years had been a martyr to + rheumatism say he would give a thousand pounds to have a cure effected. + </p> + <p> + “I wish, then, that we were in Australia or New Zealand during the shore + whaling season,” remarked a friend of the writer; “I should feel pretty + certain of annexing that thousand pounds.” And then he described the whale + cure. + </p> + <p> + The “cure” is not fiction. It is a fact, so the whalemen assert, and there + are many people at the township of Eden, Twofold Bay, New South Wales, + who, it is vouched, can tell of several cases of chronic rheumatism that + have been absolutely perfectly cured by the treatment herewith briefly + described. How it came to be discovered I do not know, but it has been + known to American whalemen for years. + </p> + <p> + When a whale is killed and towed ashore (it does not matter whether it is + a “right,” humpback, finback, or sperm whale) and while the interior of + the carcase still retains a little warmth, a hole is out through one side + of the body sufficiently large to admit the patient, the lower part of + whose body from the feet to the waist should sink in the whale's + intestines, leaving the head, of course, outside the aperture. The latter + is closed up as closely as possible, otherwise the patient would not be + able to breathe through the volume of ammoniacal gases which would escape + from every opening left uncovered. It is these gases, which are of an + overpowering and atrocious odour, that bring about the cure, so the + whalemen say. Sometimes the patient cannot stand this horrible bath for + more than an hour, and has to be lifted out in a fainting condition, to + undergo a second, third, or perhaps fourth course on that or the following + day. Twenty or thirty hours, it is said, will effect a radical cure in the + most severe cases, provided there is no malformation or distortion of the + joints, and even in such cases the treatment causes very great relief. One + man who was put in up to his neck in the carcass of a small “humpback” + stood it for sixteen hours, being taken out at two-hour intervals. He went + off declaring himself to be cured. À year later he had a return of the + complaint and underwent the treatment a second time. + </p> + <p> + All the “shore” whalemen whom the writer has met thoroughly believe in the + efficacy of the remedy, and by way of practical proof assert that no man + who works at cutting-in and trying out a whale ever suffers from + rheumatism. Furthermore, however, some of them maintain that the “deader” + the whale is, the better the remedy. “More gas in him,” they say. And any + one who has been within a mile of a week-dead whale will believe <i>that</i>. + </p> + <p> + Anyway, if there is any person, rheumatic or otherwise, who wants to + emulate Jonah's adventure in a safe manner (with a dead whale), let him + write to the Davidson Brothers, Ben Boyd Point, Twofold Bay, N.S.W., or to + the Messrs. Christian, Norfolk Island, and I am sure those valorous + whalemen would help him to achieve his desire. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SEA “SALMON” SEASON IN AUSTRALIA + </h2> + <p> + The sea salmon make their appearance on the southern half of the eastern + seaboard of Australia with undeviating regularity in the last week of + October, and, entering the rivers and inlets, remain on the coast till the + first week of December. As far as my knowledge goes, they come from the + south and travel northwards, and do not appear to relish the tropical + waters of the North Queensland coast, though I have heard that some years + ago a vast “school” entered the waters of Port Denison. + </p> + <p> + Given a dear, sunny day and a smooth sea the advent of these fish to the + bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales presents a truly extraordinary + sight. From any moderately high bluff or headland one can discern their + approach nearly two miles away. You see a dark patch upon the water, and + were it not for the attendant flocks of gulls and other aquatic birds, one + would imagine it to be but the passing reflection of a cloud. But + presently you see another and another; and, still farther oat, a long + black line flecked with white can be discerned with a good glass. Then you + look above—the sky is cloudless blue, and you know that the dark + moving patches are the advance battalions of countless thousands of sea + salmon, and that the mile-long black and white streak behind them is the + main body of the first mighty army; for others are to follow day by day + for another fortnight. + </p> + <p> + Probably the look-out man at the pilot station is the first to see them, + and in a few minâtes the lazy little seaport town awakes from its morning + lethargy, and even the butcher, and baker, and bootmaker, and bank + manager, and other commercial magnates shut up shop and walk to the pilot + station to watch the salmon “take” the bar, whilst the entire public + school rushes home to prepare its rude tackle for the onslaught that will + begin at dark. + </p> + <p> + The bar is a mile wide or more, and though there is but little surf, the + ebbing tide, running at five knots, makes a great commotion, and the + shallow water is thick with yellow sand swept seaward to the pale green + beyond. Presently the first “school” of salmon reaches the protecting reef + on the southern side—and then it stops. The fish well know that such + a current as that cannot be stemmed, and wait, moving slowly to and fro, + the dark blue compactness of their serried masses ever and anon broken by + flashes of silver as some turn on their sides or make an occasional leap + clear out of the water to avoid the pressure of their fellows. + </p> + <p> + An hour or so passes; then the tumult on the bar ceases, the incoming seas + rise clear and sandless, and the fierce race of the current slows down to + a gentle drift; it is slack water, and the fish begin to move. One after + another the foremost masses sweep round the horn of the reef and head for + the smooth water inside. On the starboard hand a line of yellow sandbank + is drying in the sun, and the passage has now narrowed down to a width of + fifty yards; in twenty minutes every inch of water, from the rocky + headland on the south side of the entrance to where the river makes a + sharp turn northward, half a mile away, is packed with a living, moving + mass. Behind follows the main body, the two horns of the crescent shape + which it had at first preserved now swimming swiftly ahead, and converging + towards each other as the entrance to the bar is reached, and the centre + falling back with the precision of well-trained troops. And then in a + square, solid mass, thirty or forty feet in width, they begin the passage, + and for two hours or more the long dark lines of fish pass steadily + onward, only thrown into momentary confusion now and then by a heavy + swell, which, however, does no more than gently undulate the rearmost + lines of fish, and then subsides, overcome by the weight and solidity of + the living wall. + </p> + <p> + Along the beach on the southern side of the river stand a hundred or more + yelling urchins, with stout lines fitted with many baitless hooks and + weighted with a stone. As the swarming fish press steadily on within ten + feet or less of the shore the children fling their lines across, and draw + them quickly in. Sometimes two or three fish are “jagged” at once, and as + the average weight is 10 lb. the jagger takes a turn of the line around + his waist and straggles up the beach. Even if he has but one fish hooked + amidships he has all he can do to drag him out from the countless + thousands and land him. It is not an eminently ideal or sportsmanlike sort + of fishing, this “jagging,” but it possesses a marvellous enjoyment and + fascination for the youth of ten, and older people as well; for a + full-grown salmon is a powerful fellow, and his big, fluke-like tail + enables him to make a terrific rush when under the influence of terror or + when chasing his prey. + </p> + <p> + Once over the bar and into the placid waters of the tidal river, the + vanguards of the hundreds of thousands to follow pursue their way steadily + up the shallow flats and numberless blind creeks, where they remain till + spawning is over. Every day some fresh accessions to their numbers, and at + night time strange, indescribable sounds are heard, caused by the + movements of the fishes' tails and fins as they swim to and fro, and one + section, meeting another, endeavours to force a right-of-way. On the third + or fourth evening the sharks and porpoises appear, having followed the + “schools” in from the sea, and wreak fearful havoc among them. Sometimes + in a deep pool or quiet reach of the river one may see a school of perhaps + five or six thousand terrified salmon, wedged one up against the other, + unable to move from their very numbers, while half a dozen sharks dash in + among them and devour them by the score; and often as the current runs + seaward hundreds of half bodies of salmon can be seen going out over the + bar. At night time the townspeople appear on the scene in boats with + lanterns and spears, and for no other purpose than the mere love of + useless slaughter kill the fish till their arms are exhausted. At places + within easy access of Sydney by steamer or rail some few thousands of + salmon are sent to market, but as the flesh is somewhat coarse, they are + only bought by the poorer members of the community, 4d. and 6d. each being + considered a good retail price for a 10 lb. fish. The roes, however, are + excellent eating, and some attempt has been made to smoke them on a large + scale, but like everything else connected with the fishing industry (or + rather want of industry) in New South Wales, has failed. It sometimes + happens (as I once witnessed in Trial Bay, on the coast of New South + Wales) that heavy weather will set in when the salmon are either passing + inwards over the bars or are returning to sea. The destruction that is + then wrought among them is terrific. On the occasion of which I speak, + every heavy roller that reared and then dashed upon the beach flung upon + the sands hundreds of the fish, stunned and bleeding. At one spot where + the beach had but a very slight inclination towards the water from the + line of scrub above high-water mark there were literally many thousands of + salmon, lying three and four deep, and in places piled up in irregular + ridges and firmly packed together with sand and seaweed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + “JACK SHARK” + </h2> + <p> + “What is the greatest number of sharks that you have ever seen together at + one time?” asked an English lady in San Francisco of Captain Allen, of the + New Bedford barque <i>Acorn Barnes</i>. + </p> + <p> + “Two or three hundred when we have been cutting-in a whale; two or three + thousand in Christmas Island lagoon.” + </p> + <p> + Some of the hardy old seaman's listeners smiled somewhat incredulously at + the “two or three thousand,” but nevertheless he was not only not + exaggerating, but might have said five or six thousand. The Christmas + Island to which he referred must not be mistaken for the island of the + same name in the Indian Ocean—the Cocos-Keeling group. It is in the + North Pacific, two degrees north of the equator and 157.30 W., and is a + low, sandy atoll, encompassing a spacious but rather shallow lagoon, + teeming with non-poisonous fish. It is leased from the Colonial Office by + a London firm, who are planting the barren soil with coconut trees and + fishing the lagoon for pearl-shell. Like many other of the isolated atolls + in the North Pacific, such as the Fannings, Palmyra, and Providence + Groups, the lagoon is resorted to by sharks in incredible numbers; and + even at the present time the native labourers employed by the firm alluded + to make a considerable sum of money by catching sharks and drying the fins + and tails for export to Sydney, and thence to China, where they command a + price ranging from 6d. to 1s. 6d. per pound, according to quality. + </p> + <p> + The lagoon sharks are of a different species to the short, thick, + wide-jawed “man-eaters,” although they are equally dangerous at night time + as the deep-sea prowlers. The present writer was for a long time engaged + with a native crew in the shark-catching industry in the North Pacific, + and therefore had every opportunity of studying Jack Shark and his + manners. + </p> + <p> + On Providence Lagoon (the Ujilong of the natives), once the secret + rendezvous of the notorious Captain “Bully” Hayes and his associate + adventurer, Captain Ben Peese, I have, at low tide, stood on the edge of + the coral reef on one side of South Passage, and gazed in astonishment at + the extraordinary numbers of sharks entering the lagoon for their nightly + onslaught on the vast bodies of fish with which the water teems. They came + on in droves, like sheep, in scores at first, then in hundreds, and then + in packed masses, their sharp, black-tipped fins stretching from one side + of the passage to the other. As they gained the inside of the lagoon they + branched off, some to right and left, others swimming straight on towards + the sandy beaches of the chain of islets. From where I stood I could have + killed scores of them with a whale lance, or even a club, for they were + packed so closely that they literally scraped against the coral walls of + the passage; and some Gilbert Islanders who were with me amused themselves + by seizing several by their tails and dragging them out upon the reef. + They were nearly all of the same size, about seven feet, with long slender + bodies, and their markings, shape, and general appearance were those of + the shark called by the Samoans <i>moemoeao</i> (“sleeps all day”), though + not much more than half their length. The Gilbert Islanders informed me + that this species were also <i>bàkwa mata te ao</i> (sleepers by day) at + certain seasons of the year, but usually sought their prey by night at all + times; and a few months later I had an opportunity afforded me of seeing + some hundreds of them asleep. This was outside the barrier reef of the + little island of Ailuk, in the Marshall Group. We were endeavouring to + find and recover a lost anchor, and were drifting along in a boat in about + six fathoms of water; there was not a breath of wind, and consequently we + had no need to use water glasses, for even minute objects could be very + easily discerned through the crystal water. + </p> + <p> + “Hallo! look here,” said the mate, “we're right on top of a nice little + family party of sharks. It's their watch below.” + </p> + <p> + Lying closely together on a bottom of sand and coral <i>débris</i> were + about a dozen sharks, heads and tails in perfect line. Their skins were a + mottled brown and yellow, like the crustacean-feeding “tiger shark” of + Port Jack-son. They lay so perfectly still that the mate lowered a grapnel + right on the back of one. He switched his long, thin tail lazily, “shoved” + himself along for a few feet, and settled down again to sleep, his + bedmates taking no notice of the intruding grapnel. Further on we came + across many more—all in parties of from ten to twenty, and all + preserving in their slumber a due sense of regularity of outline in the + disposition of their long bodies. + </p> + <p> + The natives of the low-lying equatorial islands—the Kingsmill, + Gilbert, Ellice, and Tokelau or Union Groups—are all expert shark + fishermen; but the wild people of Paanopa (Ocean Island) stand <i>facile + princeps</i>. I have frequently seen four men in a small canoe kill eight + or ten sharks (each of which was as long as their frail little craft) + within three hours. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SOME PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHES + </h2> + <p> + Of all the food-fishes inhabiting the reefs, lagoons, and tidal waters of + the islands of the North and South Pacific, there are none that are prized + more than the numerous varieties of sand-mullet. Unlike the same fishes in + British and other colder waters, they frequently reach a great size, some + of them attaining two feet in length, and weighing up to ten pounds; and + another notable feature is the great diversity of colour characterising + the whole family. The writer is familiar with at least ten varieties, and + the natives gave me the names of several others which, however, are seldom + taken in sufficient numbers to make them a common article of diet. The + larger kind are caught with hook and line in water ranging from three to + five fathoms in depth, the smaller kinds are always to be found in the + very shallow waters of the lagoons, where they are taken by nets. At + night, by the aid of torches made of dried coconut leaf, the women and + children capture them in hundreds as they lie on the clear, sandy bottom. + In the picturesque lagoons of the Ellice Group (South Pacific), and + especially in that of Nanomea, these fish afford excellent sport with + either rod or hand-line, and sport, too, with surroundings of the greatest + beauty imaginable; for the little lagoon of Nanomea is perfectly + landlocked, except where there are breaks of reef—dry at low water—which + is as clear as crystal, and the low-lying belt of land is a verdant girdle + of coco and pandanus palms, growing with bread-fruit and <i>fetau</i> + trees on the rich, warm soil composed of vegetable matter and decayed + coral detritis. + </p> + <p> + And then, too, you can look over the side of the canoe, or from an exposed + boulder of coral, and see the fish take your bait—unless a breeze is + rippling the surface of the water. + </p> + <p> + I usually chose the early morning, before the trade wind roused itself, as + then, if in a canoe, one need not anchor, but drift about from one side of + the lagoon to the other; then about ten o'clock, when the breeze came, I + would paddle over to the lee of the weather side of the island (the land + in places not being much wider than the Palisadoes of Port Royal in + Jamaica) and fish in unruffled water in some deep pool among a number of + sand banks, or rather round-topped hillocks, which even at high water were + some feet above the surface. + </p> + <p> + When bent on sand-mullet—<i>afulu</i> the natives call them—I + was in the habit of going alone, although the moment I appeared in the + village carrying my rod, lines, and gun, I was always besought to take one + or two men with me. One of the most ardent fishermen on the island was one + Kino—a gentleman who weighed eighteen stone; and, as my canoe was + only intended for two light-weights like myself, I always tried to avoid + meeting him, for not only was he most persistent in his desire to see how + I managed to get so many mullet, but was most anxious to learn to speak + English. + </p> + <p> + On one occasion I fatuously took the monster out in my whaleboat to fish + for <i>takuo</i> (a variety of <i>tuna</i>) one calm starlight night when + the ocean was like a sheet of glass. We pulled out over the reef, and when + a mile from the shore lowered our heavy lines and began fishing. For + nearly a quarter of an hour neither of us spoke, then he suddenly asked me + in his fat, wheezy tones, if I would mind telling him something. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” + </p> + <p> + “Will you tell me, friend, what are the English words that should be + spoken by one of us of Nanomea to a ship captain, giving him greeting, and + asking him if he hath had a prosperous voyage with fair weather? My heart + is sick with envy that Pita and Loli speak English, and I cannot.” + </p> + <p> + Forgetting my past experiences of my man, I was fool enough to tell him. + </p> + <p> + “You say this: 'Good morning, Captain; have you had a good voyage and fair + weather?'” + </p> + <p> + He greedily repeated each word after me, very slowly and carefully; then + he asked me to tell him again. I did so. Then he sighed with pleasure. + </p> + <p> + “Kind friend, just a few times more,” he said. + </p> + <p> + I told him the sentence over and over again for at least a score of times; + and his smooth, fat face beamed when at last he was able to say the words + alone. Then he began whispering it. Five minutes passed, and he tackled me + again. + </p> + <p> + “Is this right?—'Good—mornin', kipen—ha—ad—you—have—goot—foy—age—and—fair + wesser?'” + </p> + <p> + “That is right,” I said impatiently, “but ask me no more to-night. Dost + not know that it is unlucky to talk when fishing for <i>takuo</i> and <i>tautau?</i>” + </p> + <p> + “Dear friend, <i>that</i> we believed only in the heathen days. <i>Now</i> + we are Christians.” + </p> + <p> + He paused a moment, then raised his face to the stars and softly murmured, + “Good—mornin' kâpen—haad—you—you—have—goot—foyage—and + wesser—and fair—wesser?” Then he looked at me interrogatively. + I took no notice. + </p> + <p> + He toyed with his line and bent an earnest gaze down in the placid depths + of the water as if he saw the words down there, then taking a turn of his + line round a thwart, he put his two elbows on his enormous naked knees, + and resting his broad, terraced chin on the palms of his hands, he said + slowly and mournfully, as if he were communing with some one in the + spirit-world— + </p> + <p> + “Good—mornin'—kâpen. Haad—you—haave——” + &c., &c. + </p> + <p> + Then I sharply spoke a few words of English—simple in themselves, + but well understood by nearly every native of the South Seas. He looked + surprised, and also reproachful, but went on in a whisper so faint that I + could scarcely hear it; sometimes quickly and excitedly, sometimes + doubtingly and with quivering lips, now raising his eyes to heaven, and + with drooping lower jaw gurgling the words in his thick throat; then + sighing and muttering them with closed eyes and a rapt expression of + countenance, till with a sudden snort of satisfaction, he ceased—at + least I thought he had. He took up a young coconut, drank it, and began + again as fresh as ever. + </p> + <p> + “Stop!” I said angrily. “Art thou a grown man or a child? Here is some + tobacco, fill thy pipe, and cease muttering like a <i>tama valea</i> + (idiot boy).” + </p> + <p> + He shook his head. “Nay, if I smoke, I may forget. I am very happy + to-night, kind friend. Good-mor——” + </p> + <p> + “May Erikobai” (a cannibal god of his youth) “polish his teeth on thy + bones!” I cried at last in despair. That shocking heathen curse silenced + him, but for the next two hours, whenever I looked at the creature, I saw + his lips moving and a silly, fatuous expression on his by no means + unintelligent face. I never took him out with me again, although he sent + me fowls and other things as bribes to teach him more English. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + These sand-mullet are very dainty-feeding fish. They are particularly fond + of the soft tail part of the hermit crabs which abound all over the + island, especially after rain has fallen. Some of the shells (<i>T. + niloticus</i>) in which they live are so thick and strong, however, that + it requires two heavy stones to crush them sufficiently to take out the + crab, the upper part of whose body is useless for bait. For a stick of + tobacco, the native children would fill me a quart measure, and perhaps + add some few shrimps as well, or half a dozen large sea urchins—a + very acceptable bait for mullet. My rod was a slender bamboo—cost a + quarter of a dollar, and was unbreakable—and my lines of white + American cotton, strong, durable, and especially suitable for fishing on a + bottom of pure white sand. My gun was carried on the outrigger platform, + within easy reach, for numbers of golden plover frequented the sand banks, + feeding on the serried battalions of tiny soldier crabs, and in rainy + weather they were very easy to shoot. The rest of my gear consisted of + twenty or thirty cartridges, a box of assorted hooks, a heavy 27-cord line + with a 5-in. hook (in case I saw any big rock cod about), a few bottles of + lager, some ship biscuits or cold yam, and a tin of beef or sardines, and + some salt. This was a day's supply of food, and if I wanted more, there + were plenty of young coconuts to be had by climbing for them, and I could + cook my own fish, native fashion; lastly there was myself, in very easy + attire—print shirt, dungaree pants, panama hat, and no boots, in + place of which I used the native <i>takka</i>, or sandals of coconut + fibre, which are better than boots when walking on coral. Sometimes I + would remain away till the following morning, sleeping on the weather side + of the island under a shelter of leaves to keep off the dew, and on such + occasions two or three of the young men from the village would invariably + come and keep me company—and help eat the fish and birds. However, + they were very well conducted, and we always spent a pleasant night, rose + at daybreak, bathed in the surf, or in the lagoon, and after an early + breakfast returned to the village, or had some more fishing. It was a + delightful life. + </p> + <p> + My canoe was so light that it could easily be carried by one person from + the open shed where it was kept, and in a few minutes after leaving my + house I would be afloat, paddling slowly over the smooth water, and + looking over the side for the mullet. In the Nanomea, Nui, and Nukufetau + Lagoons the largest but scarcest variety are of a purple-grey, with fins + (dorsal and abdominal) and mouth and gill-plates tipped with yellow; + others again are purple-grey with dull roddish markings. This kind, with + those of an all bright yellow colour throughout, are the most valued, + though, as I have said, the whole family are prized for their delicacy of + flavour. + </p> + <p> + As soon as I caught sight of one or more of the sought-for fish, I would + cease paddling, and bait my hook; and first carefully looking to see if + there were any predatory leather-jackets or many-coloured wrasse in sight, + would lower away, the hook soon touching the bottom, as I always used a + small sinker of coral stone. This was necessary only because of the number + of other fish about—bass, trevally, and greedy sea-pike, with teeth + like needles and as hungry as sharks. In the vicinity of the reef, or + about the isolated coral boulders, or “mushrooms” as we called them, these + fish were a great annoyance to me, though my native friends liked them + well enough, especially the large, gorgeously-hued “leather-jackets,” to + which they have given the very appropriate name of <i>isuumu moana</i>—the + sea-rat—for they have a great trick of quietly biting a baited line + a few inches above the hook. <i>Apropos</i> of the “sea-rat,” I may + mention that their four closely-set and humanlike teeth are so thick that + they will often crush an ordinary hook as if it were made of glass, and as + their mouths are exceedingly small, and many are heavy, powerful fishes, + they cause havoc with ordinary tackle. But a fellow-trader and myself + devised a very short, stout hook (1 1/2 inch of shank) with a barbless + curve well turned in towards the shank; these we bent on to a length of + fine steel wire seizing. They proved just the ideal hook for the larger + kind of sea-rat, which run up to 10 lb., and the natives were so greatly + taken with the device that, whenever a ship touched at the island, short + pieces of fine steel wire rigging were eagerly bought (or begged for). + </p> + <p> + However, no leather-jackets, wrasse, greedy rock-cod, or keen-eyed + trevally being about, the bait touches the sandy bottom, and then you will + see one—perhaps half a dozen—<i>afulu</i> cease poking their + noses in the sand, and make for it steadily but cautiously. When within a + foot or so, they invariably stop dead, and eye the bait to see if it is + worth eating. But they are soon satisfied—that round, pale green + thing with delicious juices exuding from it is an <i>uga</i> (hermit crab) + and must not be left to be devoured by rude, big-mouthed rock-cod or the + like, and in another moment or two your line is tautened out, and a + purple-scaled beauty is fighting gamely for his life in the translucent + waters of the lagoon, followed half-way to the surface by his companions, + whom, later on, you place beside him in the bottom of the canoe. And even + to look at them is a joy, for they are graceful in shape, lovely in + colour, and each scale is a jewel. + </p> + <p> + You take up the paddle and send the canoe along for half-a-cable's length + towards a place where, under the ledge of the inner reef, both <i>afulu + sama sama</i> and <i>afulu lanu uli</i> (yellow and purple mullet) are + certain to be found; and, as the little craft slips along, a large gar—green-backed, + silvery-sided, and more than a yard long—may dart after you like a + gleaming, hiltless rapier skimming the surface of the water. If you put + out a line with a hook—baited with almost anything—a bit of + fish a strip of white or red rag—you will have some sport, for these + great gars are a hard-fighting fish, and do the tarpon jumping-trick to + perfection. But if you have not a line in readiness you can wait your + chance, and as he comes close alongside, break his back with a blow from + the sharp blade of your paddle, and jump overboard and secure him ere he + sinks. + </p> + <p> + “Not very sportsmanlike,” some people will say; but the South Sea native + is very utilitarian, and it takes a keen eye and hand to do the thing + neatly. And not only are these gars excellent eating—like all + surface-feeding, or other fish which show a “green” backbone when cooked; + but fore and aft strips out from their sheeny sides make splendid bait for + deep-sea habitants, such as the giant sea bass and the 200-pounder “coral” + cod. + </p> + <p> + Under the ledge of the inner reef, if you get there before the sun is too + far to the westward, so that your eyes are not blinded by its dazzling, + golden light, you will see, as you drop your line for the yellow and + purple mullet which swim deep down over the fine coral sand, some of the + strangest shaped, most fantastically, and yet beautifully coloured rock + fish imaginable. As you pull up a mullet (or a green and golden striped + wrasse which has seized the bait not meant for him), many of these + beautiful creations of Nature will follow it up to within a few feet of + the canoe, wondering perhaps what under the sea it means by acting in such + a manner; others—small creatures of the deepest, loveliest blue—flee + in tenor at the unwonted commotion, and hide themselves among the + branching glories of their coral home. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + “LUCK” + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <p> + A “hard” man was Captain William Rodway of Sydney, New South Wales, and he + prided himself upon the fact. From the time he was twenty years of age, he + had devoted himself to making and saving money, and now at sixty he was + worth a quarter of a million. + </p> + <p> + He began life as cabin boy on a north-country collier brig; was starved, + kicked, and all but worked to death; and when he came to command a ship of + his own, his north-country training stood him in good stead—starving, + kicking, and working his crew to death came as naturally to him as + breathing. He spared no one, nor did he spare himself. + </p> + <p> + From the very first everything went well with him. He saved enough money + by pinching and grinding his crew—and himself—to enable him to + buy the vessel to which he had been appointed. Then he bought others, + established what was known as Rodway's Line, gave up going to sea himself, + rented an office in a mean street, where he slept and cooked his meals, + and worked harder than ever at making money, oblivious of the sneers of + those who railed at his parsimony. He was content. + </p> + <p> + One Monday morning at nine o'clock he took his seat as usual in his + office, and began to open his pile of letters, his square-set, hard face, + with its cold grey eyes, looking harder than ever, for he had been annoyed + by the old charwoman who cleaned his squalid place asking him for more + wages. + </p> + <p> + He was half-way through his correspondence when a knock sounded. + </p> + <p> + “Come in,” he said gruffly. + </p> + <p> + The door opened, and a handsome, well-built young man of about thirty + years of age entered. + </p> + <p> + “Good morning, Captain Rodway.” + </p> + <p> + “Morning, Lester. What do you want? Why are you not at sea?” and he bent + his keen eyes upon his visitor. + </p> + <p> + “I'm waiting for the water-boat; but otherwise I'm ready to sail.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, what is it then?” + </p> + <p> + “I want to know if it is a fact that you will not employ married men as + captains?” + </p> + <p> + “It is.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you make no exception in my favour?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “I have been five years in your employ as mate and master of the <i>Harvest + Home</i>, and I am about to marry.” + </p> + <p> + “Do as you please, but the day you marry you leave my service.” + </p> + <p> + The young man's face flushed. “Then you can give me my money, and I'll + leave it to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well. Sit down,” replied the old man, reaching for his wages book. + </p> + <p> + “There are sixty pounds due to you,” he said; “go on board and wait for + me. I'll be there at twelve o'clock with the new man, and we'll go through + the stores and spare gear together. If everything is right, I'll pay your + sixty pounds—if not, I'll deduct for whatever is short. Good + morning.” + </p> + <p> + At two o'clock in the afternoon Captain Tom Lester landed at Circular Quay + with his effects and sixty sovereigns in his pocket. + </p> + <p> + Leaving his baggage at an hotel he took a cab, drove to a quiet little + street in the suburb of Darling Point, and stopped at a quaint, + old-fashioned cottage surrounded by a garden. + </p> + <p> + The door was opened by a tall, handsome girl of about twenty-two. + </p> + <p> + “Tom!” + </p> + <p> + “Lucy!” he replied, mimicking her surprised tone. Then he became grave, + and leading her to a seat, sat beside her, and took her hand. + </p> + <p> + “Lucy, I have bad news. Rod way dismissed me this morning, and I have left + the ship.” + </p> + <p> + The girl's eyes filled. “Never mind, Tom. You will get another.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, perhaps I might have to wait a long time. I have another plan. Where + is Mrs. Warren? I must tell her that our marriage must be put off.” + </p> + <p> + “Why should it, Tom? I don't want it to be put off. And neither does she.” + </p> + <p> + “But I have no home for you.” + </p> + <p> + “We can live here until we have one of our own. Mother will be only too + happy.” + </p> + <p> + “Sure?” + </p> + <p> + “Absolutely, or I would not say it.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you marry me this day week?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, dear—today if you wish. We have waited two years.” + </p> + <p> + “You're a brave little woman, Lucy,” and he kissed her. “Now, here is my + plan. I can raise nearly a thousand pounds. I shall buy the <i>Dolphin</i> + steam tug—I can get her on easy terms of payment—fill her with + coal and stores, and go to Kent's Group in Bass's Straits, and try and + refloat the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>. I saw the agents and the insurance + people this morning—immediately after I left old Bodway. If I float + her, it will mean a lot of money for me. If I fail, I shall at least make + enough to pay me well by breaking her up. The insurance people know me, + and said very nice things to me.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you take me, Tom?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't tempt me, Lucy. It will be a rough life, living on an almost + barren, rocky island, inhabited only by black snakes, albatrosses, gulls + and seals.” + </p> + <p> + “Tom, you <i>must</i>. Come, let us tell mother.” + </p> + <p> + Three days later they were married, and at six o'clock in the evening the + newly-made bride was standing beside her husband on the bridge of the <i>Dolphin</i>, + which was steaming full speed towards Sydney Heads, loaded down almost to + the waterways with coals and stores for four months. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <p> + Two months had passed, and the sturdy <i>Dolphin</i> was lying snugly at + anchor in a small, well-sheltered cove on one of the Kent's Group of + islands. Less than a hundred yards away was one of the rudest attempts at + a house ever seen—that is, externally—for it was built with + wreckage from many ships and was roofed with tarpaulins and coarse + “albatross” grass. Seated on a stool outside the building was Mrs. Lester, + engaged in feeding a number of noisy fowls with broken-up biscuit, but + looking every now and then towards the <i>Braybrook Cattle</i>, which lay + on the rocks a mile away with only her lower masts standing. It was + nearing the time when her husband and his men would be returning from + their usual day's arduous toil. She rose, shook the biscuit crumbs from + her apron, and walking down to the <i>Dolphin</i>, anchored just in front + of the house, called—“Manuel.” + </p> + <p> + A black, woolly head appeared above the companion way, and Manuel, the + cook of the wrecking party, came on deck, jumped into the dinghy alongside + and sculled ashore. + </p> + <p> + “Manuel, you know that all the men are having supper in the house + to-night,” she said, as the man—a good-natured Galveston negro—stepped + on shore. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I've done all <i>my</i> share of the cooking—I've made two + batches of bread, and the biggest sea pie you ever saw in your life, but I + want two buckets of water from the spring.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, ma'am. I'll tote 'em up fo' yo' right away.”. + </p> + <p> + “Please do. And I'll come with you. Captain Lester and the others won't be + here for half an hour yet, and I want to show you some curious-looking + stuff I saw on the beach this morning. It looks like dirty soap mixed with + black shells, like fowl's beaks.” + </p> + <p> + The negro's face displayed a sudden interest. “Mixed with shells, yo' say, + ma'am. Did yo' touch it?” + </p> + <p> + “No—it looks too unpleasant.” + </p> + <p> + The negro picked up the buckets, and, followed by Mrs. Lester, set out + along a path which led to a rocky pool of some dimensions filled with rain + water.. “Leave the buckets till we come back, Manuel We have not far to + go.” + </p> + <p> + She led the way to the beach, and then turning to the left walked along + the hard, white sand till they came to a bar of low rocks covered with + sea-moss and lichen. Lying against the seaward face of the rock was a pile + of driftweed, kelp, crayfish shells, &c, and half buried in <i>débris</i> + was the object that had aroused her curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “There it is, Manuel,” she said, pointing to an irregularly-shaped mass of + a mottled grey, yellow and brown substance, looking like soap, mixed with + cinders and ashes. + </p> + <p> + The negro whipped out his sheath knife, plunged it into the mass, then + withdrew it, pressed the flat of the blade to his nostrils, and then + uttered a yell of delight, clapped his hands, took off his cap and tossed + it in the air, and rolled his eyes in such an extraordinary manner, that + Mrs. Lester thought he had become suddenly insane. + </p> + <p> + “Yo' am rich woman now, ma'am,” he said in his thick, fruity voice. “Dat + am ambergris. I know it well 'nuff. I was cook on a whaleship fo' five + years, and have handled little bits of ambergris two or three times, but + no one in de world, I believe, ever see such a lump like dis.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it worth anything then?” + </p> + <p> + “Worth anything, ma'am! It am worth twenty-two shillings de ounce!” + </p> + <p> + He knelt down and began clearing away the weed till the whole mass was + exposed, placed his arms around it, and partly lifted it. + </p> + <p> + “Dere is more'n a hundredweight,” he chuckled, as he looked up at Mrs. + Lester, who was now also feeling excited. “Look at dis now.” + </p> + <p> + He cut out a slice of the curious-looking oleaginous stuff, struck a match + and applied the light. A pale yellow flame was the result, and with it + there came a strong but pleasant smell. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Lester had never heard of ambergris to her recollection, but Manuel + now enlightened her as to its uses—the principal being as a + developer of the strength of all other perfumes. + </p> + <p> + Such a treasure could not be left where it was—exposed to the risk + of being carried away by the tide so the negro at once went to work with + his knife, catting it into three pieces, each of which he carried to the + house, and put into an empty barrel. Then he returned and carefully + searched for and picked up the minutest scraps which had broken off whilst + he was cutting the “find” through. + </p> + <p> + Just at sunset, Lester and his gang of burly helpers returned tired and + hungry, but highly elated, for they had succeeded in getting out an + unusual amount of valuable cargo. + </p> + <p> + “We've had great luck to-day, Lucy,” cried Lester, as he strode over the + coarse grass in his high sea boots; “and, all going well, we shall make + the first attempt to pull the ship off the day after to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “And I have had luck too,” said his wife, her fair, sweet face, now + bronzed by the sun, glowing as she spoke. “But come inside first, and then + I'll tell you.” + </p> + <p> + The interior of the dwelling consisted of two rooms only—a small + bedroom and a large living room which was also used as a kitchen. It was + quite comfortably furnished with handsome chairs, lounges, chests of + drawers, and other articles taken from the cabin of the stranded ship. The + centre of the room was occupied by a large deal table made by one of the + men, and a huge fire of drift timber blazed merrily at one end. Manuel was + laying the table, his black face beaming with sup-pressed excitement, and + the rough, sea-booted wreckers entered one by one and sat down. Mrs. + Lester bade them smoke if they wished. + </p> + <p> + “Well, boys,” said their leader to the wrecking party—of whom there + were thirty—“we all deserve a drink before supper. Help yourselves + to whatever you like,” and he pointed to a small side-table covered with + bottles of spirits and glasses. Then Lucy, after they had all satisfied + themselves, walked over to the cask containing her “find,” and standing + beside it, asked if they would all come and look at the contents and see + if they knew what it was. Lester, thinking she had succeeded in catching a + young seal, looked on with an amused smile. + </p> + <p> + One by one the men came and looked inside the cask, felt the greasy mass + with their horny fingers, and each shook his head until the tenth man, + who, the moment he saw it, gave a shout. + </p> + <p> + “Why, I'm blest if it ain't ambow-grease!” + </p> + <p> + Lester started. “Ambergris! Nonsense!” and then he too uttered a cry of + astonishment as a second man—an old whaler—darted in front of + him, and, pinching off a piece of the “find,” smelt it. + </p> + <p> + “Hamble-grist it is, sir,” he cried, “and the cask is chock-full of it.” + </p> + <p> + “Turn it out on the floor,” said Lester, who knew the enormous value of + ambergris, “and let us get a good look at it. Light all the lamps, Lucy.” + </p> + <p> + The lamps were lit, and then Manuel repeated his experiment by burning a + piece, amid breathless excitement. No further doubt could exist, and then + Manuel, taking a spring balance (weighing up to 50 lbs.) from the wall, + hung it to a rafter, whilst the men put the lot into three separate bags + and suspended them to the hook in turn. + </p> + <p> + “Forty-five pounds,” cried the mate of the Dolphin, as the first bag was + hooked on. “Come on with the next one.” + </p> + <p> + “Thirty-nine pounds.” + </p> + <p> + “<i>And</i> thirty-four pounds makes a hundred and eighteen,” said Lester, + bending down and eagerly examining the dial. + </p> + <p> + “How much is it worth, skipper?” asked the tug's engineer. + </p> + <p> + “Not less than £1 an ounce——” + </p> + <p> + “No, sah,” cried Manuel, with an <i>ex cathedra</i> air, “twenty-two + shillings, sah. Dat's what the captain of de <i>Fanny Long</i> Hobart Town + whaleship got fo' a piece eleven poun' weight in Sydney last June. And I + hear de boys sayin' dat he would hab got £1 5s. only dat dere was a power + of squids' beaks in it—and dere's not many in dis lot, so it's gwine + to bring more.” + </p> + <p> + He explained that the pieces of black shell, which looked like broken + mussel shells, were in reality the beaks of the squid, upon which the + sperm whale feeds. Then, for the benefit of those of the party, he and the + two other ex-whalemen described the cause of the formation of this + peculiar substance in the body of the sperm whale. + </p> + <p> + Lester took pencil and paper and made a rapid calculation. + </p> + <p> + “Boys, we'll say that this greasy-looking staff is worth only a pound an + ounce—though I don't doubt that Manuel is right. Well, at £1 an + ounce, it comes to eighteen hundred and eighty-eight pounds.” + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah for Mrs. Lester!” cried Lindley, the mate. + </p> + <p> + “She has brought us luck from the first, and now she has luck herself.” + </p> + <p> + The men cheered her again and again, for there was not one of them that + had not a rough affection for their captain's violet-eyed wife. They had + admired her for her pluck even in making the voyage to this desolate spot, + and her constant cheerfulness and her kindness and attention in nursing + three of them who had been seriously ill cemented their feelings of + devotion to her. There was a happy supper party in “Wreck House”—-as + Lucy had named her strangely-built abode—that night, and it was not + until the small hours of the morning that the men went off to sleep on the + tug, and left Lucy and her husband to themselves. + </p> + <p> + “I'm too excited to sleep now, Tom,” she said. “Come, I must show you the + place where I found it. It is not a bit cold. And oh! Tom, I'm beginning + to love this lonely island, and the rough life, and the tame seals, and + the wild goats, and the fowls, and black Manuel, and, and—oh, + everything! And look, Tom dear, over there at the lighthouse at Deal + Island. I really believe the light was never shining as it is to-night. + Oh! all the world is bright to me.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <p> + Two days later, and after nearly fifteen weeks of arduous and unremitting + labour, there came, one calm night, a glorious spring tide, and the <i>Dolphin</i>, + under a full head of steam, and with her stout, broad frame quivering and + throbbing and panting, tugged away at the giant hulk of the stranded ship; + and the ship's own donkey engine and winch wheezed and groaned as it + slowly brought in inch by inch a heavy coir hawser made fast to a rock + half a cable length ahead of the tug. And then the <i>Braybrook Castle</i> + began to move, and the wrecking gang cheered and cheered until they were + hoarse, and the second engineer of the tug and two stokers, stripped to + their waists, with the perspiration streaming down their roasting bodies, + answered with a yell—and then, lying well over on her starboard + bilge, the great ship slid off stern first into deep water, and Tom + Lester's heart leapt within him with joy and pride. + </p> + <p> + Lucy, as excited as any one else, was on the bridge with him, her face + aglow, and her hand on the lever of the engine-room telegraph. + </p> + <p> + “Half-speed, Lucy.” + </p> + <p> + As the bell clanged loudly, and the heart of the sturdy tug beat less + frantically, the wrecking gang on board the ship under Lindley slipped + their end of the coir hawser from the winch barrel, and worked like madmen + to get the ship on an even keel by cutting adrift the lashings of several + hundred barrels of cement (part of the cargo) which were piled up on the + starboard side of the main deck, and letting them plunge overboard As the + ship righted herself inch by inch, and finally stood up on an even keel, + Lester made an agreed-upon signal—blowing his whistle thrice—for + Lindley to stand by his anchors, which were all ready to let go. + </p> + <p> + His device of getting up the barrels of cement from the lower hold, and + stowing them against the iron deck stanchions (having previously cut away + the bulwark plates) so as to give the vessel a big cant to starboard, had + answered perfectly; for, high as was the tide that night, the <i>Dolphin</i>, + though so powerful, could not have moved a ship of 1,500 tons with her + keel still partly sustaining her weight on the rooks on which she had + struck. By canting her as he had done, she had actually floated—and + no more than floated—an hour before the tide was at its full. + </p> + <p> + Half an hour later the <i>Braybrook Castle</i> had been towed round to a + little bay just abreast of “Wreck House,” and the tug's engines stopped. + </p> + <p> + “All ready, Lindley?” shouted Lester. + </p> + <p> + “All ready sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Then let go.” + </p> + <p> + At a tap from Lindley's hammer, the great anchor plunged down, and the + flaked out cable roared as it flew through the hawse-pipes, drowning the + loud “Hurrah” of the men on board. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, Lindley?” cried Lester, “ten fathoms?” + </p> + <p> + “Twelve, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Give her another twenty-five. It's good holding ground and there is + plenty of room for her to swing. Lindley!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “We have had a bit of good luck, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir. That is because Mrs. Lester is on the tug. She brings us good + luck.” + </p> + <p> + Lester laughed and turned to his wife. “Do you hear that, Lucy?” + </p> + <p> + She was gazing intently over to the westward, but turned to him the moment + he spoke. + </p> + <p> + “Tom, I can see a blue light over there.... Ah, see, there is a rocket! + What is it?” + </p> + <p> + Lester took his night glasses and looked. + </p> + <p> + “There is a ship ashore somewhere between here and the Deal Island light,” + he said, and then he rang, “Go astern,” to the engine-room. + </p> + <p> + “Lindley,” he called as soon as the tug backed alongside the <i>Braybrook + Castle</i>, “there is a ship ashore about four miles away from us to the + westward. My wife noticed her signals a few minutes ago.” + </p> + <p> + “More salvage, sir,” bawled Lindley, “Mrs. Lester is bringing us more + luck. What's to be, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “I want ten or a dozen men, and I'll go and see what I can do. You are all + right, aren't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Right as rain, sir.” + </p> + <p> + Fifteen, instead of a dozen men slid down a line on to the deck of the + tug, and Lucy, at a nod from her husband, turned on “Full steam ahead,” + and Lester whistled down the speaking-tube. + </p> + <p> + “Hallo!” was the response. + </p> + <p> + “Give it to her, Patterson, for all she's worth. There is a ship ashore + about four miles away. She is burning blue lights and sending up rockets.” + </p> + <p> + Five minutes later, the Dolphin was tearing through the water at her top + speed—eleven knots—and Patterson came up on the bridge. + </p> + <p> + “Who saw the seegnals first?” he inquired. + </p> + <p> + “I did, Mr. Patterson,” said Lucy. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, I thoct as much, Mistress Leslie. Even that lazy, sheeftless Irish + fireman loon ae mine, Rafferty, said ye'd bring us mair guid luck.” Then + he dived below again to the engines so dear to his Scotsman's heart. + </p> + <p> + The night was dark, but calm and windless, and the panting tug tore her + way through a sea as smooth as glass towards where the ghastly glare of + the last blue light had been seen. Twenty minutes later, Lester caught + sight of the distressed ship. She was lying on her beam ends, and almost + at the same moment came a loud hail— + </p> + <p> + “Steamer ahoy!” + </p> + <p> + “Clang!” went the telegraph, and the <i>Dolphin's</i> engines stopped, and + then went astern, just in time to save her from crashing into a boat + crowded with men; a second boat was close astern of the first. They came + alongside, and the occupants swarmed over the tug's low bulwarks, and an + old greybearded man made his way up to Lester. + </p> + <p> + “My cowardly crew have forced me to abandon my ship. We were caught in a + squall yesterday, and thrown on our beam ends.” Then he fell down in a + fit. + </p> + <p> + “Veer those boats astern,” cried Lester to his own men, “I'm going to hook + on to that ship!” + </p> + <p> + Bailey, one of his best men, gave a yell. + </p> + <p> + “More luck, boys. Mrs. Lester!” + </p> + <p> + As the poor captain was carried off the bridge into the little cabin, the + <i>Dolphin</i> went ahead, and in a quarter of an hour, Bailey and his men + had cut away the masts and the tug had the ship in tow. + </p> + <p> + At daylight next morning Lester brought her into the little bay where the + <i>Braybrook Castle</i> lay, and Bailey anchored her safely. + </p> + <p> + When Lester boarded her he found she was the <i>Harvest Queen</i>, sister + ship to the <i>Harvest Maid</i>, <i>Harvester</i>, and his own last + command, the <i>Harvest Home</i>, all ships of 1,500 tons, and belonging + to Captain James Rodway. + </p> + <p> + “Why didn't you cut away her masts?” he said to the unfortunate captain + later on. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, you don't know my owner,” the old man replied, “and besides that, I + could have righted the ship if my crew had stuck to me. But after being + eighteen hours on our beam ends, they took fright and lowered the boats. + I'm a ruined man.” + </p> + <p> + “Not at all. You have done your duty and I'll give you command of another + ship to-day—the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>. You have nothing further to + do with the <i>Harvest Queen</i>. She was an abandoned ship. She's mine + now. Salvage, you know.” + </p> + <p> + The old man nodded his head. “Yes, I know that. And you'll make a pot oat + of her.” + </p> + <p> + “What is she worth?” + </p> + <p> + “Ship and cargo are worth £80,000. We loaded a general cargo in London.” + </p> + <p> + “That will be a bit of a knock for Rodway.” “Do you know him?” asked + Captain Blake in surprise. + </p> + <p> + “I do indeed! I was master of the <i>Harvest Home</i>. Now come ashore. My + wife is getting as something to eat.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <p> + At the end of another four weeks, the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>, with + three-fourths of the cargo she had brought from London, sailed for Sydney + under the command of Captain Blake of the <i>Harvest Queen</i>, and the <i>Harvest + Queen</i> under jury masts, and with her valuable cargo undamaged, was + ready to sail, escorted by the <i>Dolphin</i> on the following day, with + Lindley as master. + </p> + <p> + The last night at “Wreck House” was even a merrier and happier one than + that on which the wrecking party celebrated Lucy's “find.” But yet Lucy + herself felt a little sad at saying farewell to this wild spot, where amid + the roar of the ever-beating surf, and the clamour of the gulls and terns, + she had spent the four happiest months of her life. The rough food, the + fresh sea-air, and the active life had, Lester declared, only served to + increase her beauty, and she herself had never felt so strong and in such + robust health before. Almost every day in fine weather she had taken a + walk to some part of the interior of the island, or along the many white + beaches, filling a large basket with sea-birds' eggs, or collecting the + many beautiful species of cowries and other sea-shells with which the + beaches were strewn. Years before, another wrecking party had left some + goats on the island, and these had thriven and increased amazingly. Her + husband's men had shot a great number for food, and captured three or + four, which supplied them with milk, and these latter, with their playful + kids, and a number of fowls which had been brought from Sydney in the <i>Dolphin</i>, + together with a pair of pet baby seals, made up what she called her + “farmyard.” On one part of the island there was a dense thicket of low + trees, the resort not only of hundreds of wild goats, but of countless + thousands of terns and other sea-birds, who had made it their breeding + ground. It was situated at the head of a tiny landlocked bay, the beach of + which was covered with the weather-worn spars and timbers of some great + ship which had gone ashore there perhaps thirty or forty years before. The + whole of the foreshores of the island, however, were alike in that + respect, for it had proved fatal to many a good ship, even from the time + that gallant navigator Matthew Flinders had first discovered the group. + </p> + <p> + On the morning of the last day of the stay of the wrecking party on the + island, Lucy set out for this place, remembering that on her last visit + she had left a basket of cowries there. Bidding her beware of black + snakes, for the place was noted for these deadly reptiles, Lester went off + on board the <i>Harvest Queen</i>. + </p> + <p> + An hour afterwards, as Lester was engaged with Lindley in the ship's + cabin, a man on deck called down the skylight to him. + </p> + <p> + “Here is Mrs. Lester coming back, sir. She's running, and is calling for + you.” + </p> + <p> + With a dreadful fear that she had been bitten by a snake, Lester rushed on + deck, jumped into a boat, and was ashore in a few minutes. Lucy, too + exhausted to come down to the boat and meet him, had sat down in front of + the now nearly empty house. + </p> + <p> + “I'm all right, Tom,” she panted, as he ran up to her, “but I've had a + terrible fright,” and she could not repress a shudder. “I have just seen + three skeletons in the thicket scrub, and all about them are strewn all + sorts of things, and there are two or three small kegs, one of which is + filled with money, for the end has burst and the money has partly run out + on the sand.” + </p> + <p> + Lester sprang to his feet, and called out to the two men who had pulled + him ashore to come to him. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Lester's luck again!” he cried. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Lester's luck again!” bawled one of the men to the rest of the + wrecking party on board the <i>Harvest Queen</i>, and in an instant the + cry was taken up, and then came a loud cheer, as, disregarding discipline, + all hands tumbled into a boat alongside, frantically eager to learn what + had occurred. + </p> + <p> + Lester waited for them, and then Lucy gave a more detailed account of how + she made her discovery. + </p> + <p> + “I found my basket where I had left it, and had just sat down to take off + my shoes, which were filled with sand, when a goat with two of the + sweetest little kids you ever saw in your life came suddenly out from + behind a rock. The kids were not more than a day or two old, and I + determined to catch at least one of them to take home. The moment the + mother saw me she ran off with her babies, and I followed. They dived into + the thicket, and led me <i>such</i> a dance, for they ran much faster than + I thought they could. + </p> + <p> + “I had never been so far into the scrub before, and felt a little bit + frightened—it was so dark and quiet—but I was too excited to + give up, so on I sped until the nanny and kids ran into what seemed a + tunnel in the thick scrub. It is really a road made by the goats and is + only about three feet high, the branches and creepers making a regular + archway overhead. I stooped down and followed, and in a few minutes came + to a little space which was open to the sky; for the sunlight was so + bright that, coming out of the dark tunnel place, I was quite dazzled for + a few moments, and had to put my hands over my eyes. + </p> + <p> + “When I looked about, I saw that the ground was strewed with all sorts of + things—rotten boards and boxes, and ships' blocks, and empty bottles + and demijohns, with all the cane covering gone. Then I saw the three kegs, + and noticed one had burst open or rotted away, and that it was filled with + what looked like very large and dirty nickel pennies. I went to it and + took some up, and saw they were crown pieces! Of course, I was at once + wildly excited, and thought no more of the dear little kiddies, when I + heard one of them cry out—quite near—and saw it, lying down + exhausted, about ten yards away. I was running over to it when I saw those + three dreadful skeletons. They are lying quite close to each other, near + some brass cannons and a lot of rusty ironwork. I was so terrified that I + forgot all about the poor kid, and—and, well, that is all; and here + I am with my skirt in rags, and my face scratched, and my hair loose, and + 'all of a bobbery,' as Manuel says.” + </p> + <p> + “Boys,” said Lester, “I'm pretty sure I know how those poor fellows' bones + come to be there. An East Indiaman—the <i>Mountjoy</i>—was + lost somewhere on the Kent Group about sixty years ago; and I have read + that she had a lot of specie on board. Now, as soon as Mrs. Lester has + rested a bit, we'll start.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll carry you, ma'am,” said Bailey, a herculean creature of 6 ft. 6 in., + and stepping into “Wreck House” he brought out a chair, seated Lucy on it, + and amidst applause and laughter, lifted it up on his mighty shoulders as + if she was no more weight than the chair itself. + </p> + <p> + She guided them to the spot, and within an hour, not only the three small + casks—all of which were filled with English silver money, but the + contents of two others, which were found lying partly buried in the sandy + soil, were brought to the house. And then began the exciting task of + counting the coins, which took some time, and when Lester announced the + result, a rousing cheer broke from the men. + </p> + <p> + “Six thousand, two hundred and seven pounds, four shillings, boys; all + with the blessed picture of good old George the Third on them. Lucy, my + dear, let us drink your health.” + </p> + <p> + Lucy drew him aside for a minute or two ere she complied with his request, + and with sparkling eyes she talked earnestly to him. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I will, dear,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Now, hoys,” he cried, as Lucy brought out two bottles of brandy, and some + cups and glasses, “let us drink my wife's health. She has brought us good + luck. And she and I are dividing a thousand pounds between you, with an + extra fifty for Manuel; for I'm pretty well certain that the Home + Government can't claim any royalty.” + </p> + <p> + The rough wreckers cheered and cheered again, as they drank to “Mrs. + Lester's Luck.” They were all being paid high wages, and were worth them, + for they had toiled manfully, and the most pleasant relations had always + existed between them and Lester. + </p> + <p> + Immediately after breakfast on the following morning the anchors of the <i>Harvest + Queen</i> were weighed to the raising chanty of— + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah, my boys, we're Homeward Bound!” and then the <i>Dolphin</i>, with + Lester on the bridge and Lucy beside him at the telegraph, went ahead, and + tautened out the tow line, and Lindley made all sail on his stumpy jury + masts. + </p> + <p> + Seventeen days later, the gallant little tug pulled the <i>Harvest Queen</i> + into Sydney Harbour. “Mrs. Lester's Luck,” had been with them the whole + voyage, for from the time they had left Kent's Group, till they passed + between Sydney Heads, nothing but fine weather and favourable winds had + been experienced. + </p> + <p> + As the <i>Dolphin</i>, with the hulking <i>Harvest Queen</i> behind her, + came up the smooth waters of the harbour to an anchorage off Garden + Island, big Bailey, who was standing beside Lester and Lucy on the bridge, + uttered a yell of delight. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Lester's luck again, by all that's holy! There is the <i>Braybrook + Castle</i> at anchor over in Neutral Bay!” + </p> + <p> + It was indeed the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>, which had arrived only one day + previously, and when Lester went on shore a few hours later, he found that + he was a richer man by over £17,000 than when he had left Sydney less than + six months before. + </p> + <p> + And “Mrs. Lester's Luck” brought happiness to many other people beside + herself and her husband in the city of the Southern Sea, and when a year + later, in England, she stood on a stage under the bows of a gallant ship + of two thousand tons, built to Lester's order, and broke a bottle of + Australian wine against her steel plates, she named her “The Lucy's Luck!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BULL-DOGS OF THE SEA + </h2> + <p> + Not many sea-going people—outside of professional whalemen or + sealers—know much about the “killer” and his habits, and still less + of his appearance. Yet this curious whale (for the killer is one of the + minor-toothed whales) is known all over the world, though nowhere is it + more plentiful than along the eastern and southern coasts of the + Australian continent. In the colder seas of the northern part of the globe + it is not uncommon; and only last year one was playing havoc, it was + stated, with the fishermen's nets off the northeastern coast of Ireland. + </p> + <p> + On the eastern seaboard of Australia, however, the killers can be watched + at work, even from the shore, particularly from any bluff or headland from + which a clear view can be obtained of the sea beneath, and should there be + a westerly wind blowing, their slightest movements may be observed; + particularly when they are “cruising,” i.e., watching for the approach of + a “pod” of either humpback or fin-back whales. During the prevalence of + westerly winds the sea water becomes very clear, so clear that every rock + and stone may be discerned at a depth of six or eight fathoms, and the + killers, when waiting for their prey, will frequently come in directly + beneath the cliffs and sometimes remain stationary for half an hour at a + time, rolling over and over, or sunning themselves. + </p> + <p> + First of all, let me describe the killer's appearance. They range in + length from ten to twenty feet, have a corresponding girth, and show the + greatest diversity of colouring and markings. Their anatomy is very much + that of the sperm whale—the one member of the cetacean family which + they do not attempt to attack on account of his enormous strength and + formidable teeth—and they “breach,” “spout” and “sound” like other + whales. The jaws are set with teeth of from one or two inches in length, + deeply imbedded in the jawbone, and when two of these creatures succeed in + fastening themselves to the lips of a humpback, even fifty feet in length, + they can always prevent him from “sounding” and escaping into deep water, + for they cling to the unfortunate monster with bull-dog tenacity, leaving + others of their party to rip the blubber from his sides and pendulous + belly. + </p> + <p> + On the coast of New South Wales—particularly at Twofold Bay, where + there is a shore whaling station, there are two “pods” or communities of + killers which have never left the vicinity within the memory of the oldest + inhabitant, and indeed they were first noticed and written about in the + year 1790. At other places on the Australian coast there are permanent + pods of ten, fifteen or twenty, but those at Twofold Bay are quite famous, + and every individual member of them is well-known, not only to the local + whalemen, but to many of the other residents of Twofold Bay as well, and + it would go hard with the man who attempted to either kill or injure one + of any of the members of the two pods, for the whalemen would be unable to + carry on their business were it not for the assistance rendered to them by + their friends the killers, whose scientific name, by the way, is <i>Orca + Gladiator</i>—and a more fitting appellation could never have been + applied. + </p> + <p> + Now as to the colouring and markings—which are not only diverse, but + exceedingly curious. Some are of a uniform black, brown, dark grey, or + dirty cream; others are black with either streaks or irregular patches of + yellow, white or grey: others again are covered with patches of black, + white or yellow, ranging in size from half a dozen inches in diameter to + nearly a couple of feet. One which the present writer found lying dead on + the reef of Nukulaelae Island, in the Ellice Group, was almost a jet black + with the exception of some poorly defined white markings on the dorsal fin + and belly; another which he saw accidentally killed by a bomb fired at a + huge whale off the Bampton Shoals, was of a reddish-brown, with here and + there almost true circular blotches of pure white. This poor fellow was + twelve feet in length, and his death was caused by his frantic greediness + to get at the whale and take his toll of blubber. The whale was struck + late in the day, and the sea was so rough that the officer in charge, + after having twice tried to get up and use his lance, determined to end + the matter with a bomb before darkness came on. At this time there was a + “pod” of seven killers running side by side with the whale and + endeavouring to fasten to his lips whenever he came to the surface; and, + just as the officer had succeeded in getting within firing distance and + discharging the bomb, poor <i>Gladiator</i> came in the way, and was + killed by the shot, much to the regret of the boat's crew. + </p> + <p> + For, as I have said, the whalemen—and particularly the shore + whalemen, <i>i.e</i>., those who do their whaling from a station on shore—regard, + and with good reason, the killers as invaluable allies. Especially is this + so in the case of the Twofold Bay shore whalers, for out of every ten + whales killed during the season, whether humpbacks, “right” whales, or + finbacks, three-fourths are captured through the pack of killers seizing + and literally holding them till the boats come up and end the mighty + creatures' miseries. + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of winter an enormous number of whales appear on the + Australian coast, coming from the cold Antarctic seas, and travelling + northward along the land towards the breeding grounds—the Bampton + and Bellona Shoals and the Chesterfield Groups, situated between New + Caledonia and the Australian mainland, between 17° and 20° S. The majority + of these whales strike the land about Cape Howe and Gabo Island at the + boundary line between New South Wales and Victoria—sixty miles south + of Twofold Bay. Most of them are finbacks, though these are always + accompanied by numbers of humpbacks and a few “right” whales—the + most valuable of all the southern cetacea except the spermaceti or + cachalot. The latter, however, though they will travel in company with the + flying finback and the timid humpback and “right” whale, has no fear of + the killers. He is too enormously strong, and could crush even a + full-grown killer to a pulp between his mighty jaws were he molested, and + consequently the killers give the cachalot a wide berth as a dangerous + customer. The finback, however, swift and lengthy as he is, seldom manages + to escape once he is “bailed up,” and having no weapon of defence except + his flukes (for he is one of the baleen or toothless whales), he has but + one chance of his life, and that is to dive to such a depth that his + assailants have to let go their hold of him in order to ascend to the + surface to breathe. + </p> + <p> + The finback, I must mention, although the most plentiful of all the whale + family, and sometimes attaining the length of ninety feet, is never + attacked by whale-boats when he is “loose,” <i>i.e.</i>, free, and is only + captured when his struggles with the ferocious killers have so exhausted + him that a boat can approach and dart a harpoon into or lance him. The + reason for this immunity of primary attack by boats is that the finback is + in the first place of little value when compared to either the humpback or + “right” whale, for the coating of blubber is thin, and the plates of + baleen (or whalebone) he possesses are very short; and in the second place + he is, although so timid a creature, too dangerous to be struck with a + harpoon, for he would take the entire whale-line out of three or four + boats and then get away with it after all, for it is the swiftest of all + the cetacean family, and all whalemen say that no one but a stark lunatic + would dream of putting an iron into a loose “finner,” such as ranges the + Southern Ocean. I was told, however, of one well-authenticated case off + the Azores, where a reckless Portuguese shore-whaler struck a bull + finback, which, after taking the lines from four boats (220 fathoms in + each) towed them for three hours and then got away, the line having to be + cut owing to the creature sounding to such an enormous depth that no more + line was available. + </p> + <p> + The shore whaling parties at Twofold Bay, however, run no risks of this + sort. They let their friends, the Gladiators, do most of the work, and + find that “fin-backing” under these circumstances is fairly profitable, + inasmuch as they can tow the carcase ashore, and “try out” the blubber at + their leisure. + </p> + <p> + But, in a case where one of these finbacks is held by killers, it can be + approached, as I have said, by shore boats and killed, as is the practice + of the Twofold Bay whalemen. + </p> + <p> + Let the writer now quote, with the publisher's permission, from a work he + wrote some years ago describing the way the killers “work in” with their + human friends. In this particular instance, however, it was a humpback + whale, but as <i>Orca Gladiator</i> treats the humpback and “right” whale + as he does the lengthy “finner,” the extract from the article is quite + applicable. + </p> + <p> + “Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man who is + on the look-out at the abandoned old lighthouse built by one Ben Boyd on + the southern headland fifty years ago, paces to and fro on the grassy + sward, stopping now and then to scan the wide expanse of ocean with his + glass, for the spout of a whale is hard to discern at more than two miles + if the weather is misty or rainy. But if the creature is in a playful + mood, and 'breaches'—that is, springs bodily out of the water, and + falling back, sends up a white volume of foam and spray, like the + discharge of a submarine mine, you can see it eight miles away. + </p> + <p> + “The two boats are always in readiness at the trying-out works, a mile or + so up the harbour; so too are the killers, and the look-out man, walking + to the verge of the cliff, gazes down. + </p> + <p> + “There they are, cruising slowly up and down, close in shore, spouting + lazily, and showing their wet, gleaming backs and gaff-topsail-like dorsal + fins as they rise, roll, and dive again.... Some of them have nicknames, + and each is well known to his human friends. + </p> + <p> + “Presently the watchman sees, away to the southward, a white, misty puff, + then another, and another. In an instant he brings his glass to bear. + 'Humpback!' Quickly two flags flutter from the flagpole, and a fire is + lit; and as the flags and smoke are seen, the waiting boats' crews at the + trying-out station are galvanised into life by the cry of 'Rush, ho, lads! + Humpbacks in sight, steering north-west! Rush and tumble into the boats + and away!' + </p> + <p> + “Round the south head sweeps the first boat, the second following more + leisurely, for she is only a 'pickup' or relief, in case the first is + 'fluked' and the crew are tossed high in air, with their boat crushed into + matchwood, or meets with some other disaster. And as the leading boat + rises to the long ocean swell of the offing, the killers close in round + her on either side, just keeping clear of the sweep of the oars, and + 'breaching' and leaping and spouting with the anticipative zest of the + coming bloody fray. + </p> + <p> + “'Easy, lads, easy!' says the old boat-header; 'they are coming right down + on us. Billy has right. They're humpbacks, sure enough!' + </p> + <p> + “The panting oarsmen pull a slower stroke, and then, as they watch the + great savage creatures which swim alongside, they laugh in the mirthless + manner peculiar to most native-born Australians, for suddenly, with a last + sharp spurt of vapour, the killers dive and disappear into the dark blue + beneath; for they have heard the whales, and, as is their custom, have + gone ahead of the boat, rushing swiftly on below fully fifty fathoms deep. + Fifteen minutes later they rise to the surface in the midst of the + humpbacks, and half a square acre of ocean is turned into a white, + swirling cauldron of foam and leaping spray. The bull-dogs of the sea have + seized the largest whale of the pod or school—a bull—and are + holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. The + rest of the humpbacks rise high their mighty flukes and 'sound' a hundred—two + hundred—fathoms down, and, speeding seaward, leave the unfortunate + bull to his dreadful fate. + </p> + <p> + (“And in truth it is a dreadful fate, and the writer of this sketch can + never forget one day, as he and a little girl of six watched, from a + grassy headland on the coast of New South Wales, the slaughter of a + monstrous whale by a drove of killers, that the child wept and shuddered + and hid her face against his shoulder.) + </p> + <p> + “Banging swiftly alongside of him, from his great head down to the 'small' + of his back, the fierce killers seize his body in their savage jaws and + tear great strips of blubber from off his writhing sides in huge + mouthfuls, and then jerking the masses aside, take another and another + bite. In vain he sweeps his flukes with fearful strokes from side to side—the + bull-dogs of the sea come not within their range; in vain he tries to + 'sound'—there is a devil on each side of his jaws, their cruel teeth + fixed firmly into his huge lips; perhaps two or three are underneath him + tearing and riving at the great rough corrugations of his grey-white + belly; whilst others, with a few swift, vertical strokes of their flukes, + draw back for fifty feet or so, charge him amidships, and strike him + fearful blows on the ribs with their bony heads. Round and round, in + ever-narrowing circles as his strength fails, the tortured humpback swims, + sometimes turning on his back or side, but failing, failing fast. + </p> + <p> + “'He's done for, lads. Pull up; stand up, Jim.' + </p> + <p> + “The boat dashes up, and Jim, the man who is pulling bow oar, picks up his + harpoon. A minute later it flies from his hand, and is buried deep into + the body of the quivering animal, cutting through the thick blubber as a + razor would cut through the skin of a drum. + </p> + <p> + “'Stern all!' and the harpooner tumbles aft and grips the steer oar, and + the steersman takes his place in the head of the boat and seizes his + keen-edged lance. But 'humpy' is almost spent, and though by a mighty + effort he 'ups flukes' and sounds, he soon rises, for the killers thrust + him upwards to the surface again. Then the flashing lance—two, three + swift thrusts into his 'life' a gushing torrent of hot, dark blood, and he + rolls oyer on his side, an agonised trembling quivers through his vast + frame, the battle is oyer and his life is gone. + </p> + <p> + “And now comes the curious and yet absolutely truly described final part + that the killers play in this ocean tragedy. They, the moment the whale is + dead, close around him, and fastening their teeth into his body, by main + strength bear it to the bottom. Here—if they have not already + accomplished it—they tear out the tongue, and eat about one-third of + the blubber. In from thirty-six to forty hours the carcase will again rise + to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen haye + attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts are easily discerned + from the look-out on the headland; the boats again put off and tow it + ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they haye had their + fill of blubber, accompany the boats to the head of the bay and keep off + the sharks, which would otherwise strip off all the remaining blubber from + the carcase before it had reached the shore. But once the boats are in the + shallow water, the killers stop, and then with a final 'puff! puff!' of + farewell to their human friends, turn and head seaward to resume their + ceaseless watch and patrol of the ocean. + </p> + <p> + “The killers never hurt a man. Time after time haye boats been stove in or + smashed into splinters by a whale, either by an accidental blow from his + head or a sudden lateral sweep of his monstrous flukes, and the crew left + struggling in the water or clinging to the oars and pieces of wreckage; + and the killers have swum up to, looked at, and smelt them, but never have + they touched a man with intent to do him harm. And wherever the killers + are, the sharks are not, for Jack Shark dreads a killer as the devil is + said to dread holy water. Sometimes I have seen 'Jack' make a rush in + between the killers, and rip off a piece of hanging blubber, but he will + carefully watch his chance to do so.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + One of the most experienced whaling masters of New Bedford, with whom the + writer once cruised from the Gilbert Islands to Tap in the Western + Carolines, told him that on one occasion when he was coming from the shore + to his ship, which was lying to off the Chatham Islands, the boat was + followed by a pack of five killers. They swam within touch of the oars, + much to the amusement of the crew, and presently several of what are + called “right whale” porpoises made their appearance, racing along ahead + of the boat, whereupon Captain Allen went for'ard and picked up a harpoon, + for the flesh of this rare variety of porpoise is highly prized. The + moment he struck the fish it set off at a great rate, but not quick enough + to escape the killers, for though the porpoise was much the swifter fish + (were it loose), the weight of the boat and fifty fathoms of line was a + heavy handicap. As quickly as possible the men began hauling up to the + stricken fish so that Allen might give it the lance, when to their + astonishment the killers seized it and literally tore it to pieces in a + few minutes. + </p> + <p> + “If ever I felt mad enough to put an iron into a 'killer' it was then,” he + said, “but I couldn't do it. And very glad of it I was afterwards, for a + week later I had two boats stove in by a whale, and of course, had I hurt + one of those beggars of killers, the whole crew would have said it was + only a just retribution.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + “REVENGE” + </h2> + <p> + On that fever-stricken part of the coast of the great island of New + Britain, lying between the current-swept headland of Gape Stephens and the + deep forest-clad shores of Kabaira Bay, there is a high grassy bluff + dotted here and there with isolated coco-palms leaning northward to the + sea beneath, their broad branches restlessly whipping and bending to the + boisterous trade wind. On the western side of the bluff there is a narrow + strip of littoral, less than half a mile in width, and thickly clothed + with a grove of betel nut, through which the clear waters of a mountain + stream flow swiftly out oceanwards across a rocky bar. + </p> + <p> + Near where the margin of the grove of straight, grey-boled betels touch + the steep side of the bluff, there may be seen the outline of a low wall + of coral stones, forming three sides of a square, and bound and knit + together with vines, creepers, and dank, ill-smelling moss—the + growth, decay, and re-growth of three score years. The ground which it + encloses is soft and swampy, for the serried lines of betel-trees, with + their thick, broad crowns, prevent either sun or wind from penetrating to + the spot, and the heavy tropical rains never permit it to dry. It is a + dark, dismal-looking place, only visited by the savage inhabitants when + they come to collect the areca-nuts, and its solitude is undisturbed save + by the flapping of the hornbill's wings as he carries food to his + imprisoned mate, or the harsh screech of a white cockatoo flying overhead + to the mountain forest beyond. + </p> + <p> + Yet sixty years ago it was not so, for then on the shore facing the bar + stood a native village, and within the now rained wall were the houses of + three white men, who from their doorways could see the blue Pacific, and + the long curve of coast line with cape and headland and white line of reef + stretching away down to the westward in the misty tropic haze. + </p> + <p> + Walk inside the old, broken walls, and you will see, half-buried in the + moist, steaming, and malarious ground, some traces of those who dwelt + there—a piece of chain cable, two or three whaler's trypots, a + rotten and mossgrown block or two, only the hardwood sheaves of which have + resisted the destroying influences of the climate; a boat anchor, and + farther towards the creek, the mouldering remains of a capstan, from the + drumhead holes of which long grey-green pendants of moss droop down upon + the weather-worn, decaying barrel, like the scanty ragged beard that falls + on the chest of some old man worn out with poverty and toil. + </p> + <p> + That is all that one may see now; for the dense, evergrowing jungle has + long since hidden or rotted all else that was left. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The three men were named Ford, Adams, and Stenhouse. They were <i>beche-de-mer</i> + fishers, and for nearly a year had been living in this savage spot—the + only white men inhabiting the great island, whose northern coast line + sweeps in an irregular half-moon curve for more than three hundred miles + from Cape Stephens to within sight of the lofty mountains of New Guinea. + In pursuit of their avocation, death from disease, or from the spears or + clubs of the treacherous, betel-chewing, stark-naked cannibals among whom + they dwelt was ever near, but to the men of their iron resolution and + dauntless courage that mattered not. Two years' labour meant for them a + large sum of money—enough to enable them to return with their wives + and families and native dependents, to those more restful islands in the + Western Carolines whence they had come a year before. + </p> + <p> + All three men were employed by one firm in Singapore, whose ship had + brought them with their families and some thirty or forty natives of Yap + to New Britain. Nine months after their landing, a small schooner had + called to replenish their supplies, and ship the cured trepang, which by + the most assiduous labour and daring enterprise they had accumulated; and + when this story opens, the schooner had been gone some weeks, and they and + their native workers were preparing their boats for another cruise along + the great barrier reef of New Britain. + </p> + <p> + Two of these men, Adams and Stenhouse, were old and tried comrades, and in + their rough way, devoted to each other. Stenhouse, the elder of the two, + had some ten years previously, while sailing along the Pelew Island, found + Adams adrift in an open boat—the sole survivor of a shipwrecked crew + of sixteen men, and had nursed him back to life and reason. Later on, + Adams had married one of Stenhouse's half-caste daughters. Ford, too, who + was an American, was connected by marriage with Stenhouse, and nearly + every one of the thirty or forty male and female Caroline Islanders who + worked for the three white men were more or less allied to their wives by + ties of blood or marriage, and there was not one of them who would not + have yielded up his or her life in their defence. + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse, who was the leader of the adventurous party, was a man of about + forty-five years of age, and, like his two comrades, an ex-sailor. He was + nearly six feet in height, and possessed of such powers of strength and + endurance that his name was known throughout the Western Pacific to almost + every white man, but his once handsome features were marred by such a + terrible disfigurement, that those who came to know the man and his + sterling character always thought or spoke of him with genuine and + respectful pity. What had caused this cruel distortion was known to but + three other persons besides himself—the mother of his children, his + son-in-law, Thomas Adams, and the man who had inflicted the injury; and to + spare the reader's feelings as much as possible, it need only be said that + the left side of his face had been so injured by violence of some kind as + to be pitiful to look upon, the more so as the eye was missing. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Late one evening, just as Stenhouse and his son-in-law, Adams, were + smoking their last pipes before tarning in, their comrade entered the + house hurriedly, accompanied by one of their native employees, who had + been away on a fishing excursion. + </p> + <p> + “Here's news! There's a big full-rigged ship just anchored under Cape + Stephens. Masik boarded her, and had a yarn with the mate.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is she from?” asked Stenhouse, turning his one eye upon the native, + Masik. + </p> + <p> + “I know not, master. But she is a great ship with many men on board—some + white, and some yellow, with shaven heads. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, a Calcutta-Sydney ship, most likely,” said Stenhouse to his comrades. + Then turning to Masik—“Why came she here? Didst ask?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye,” replied the man in his native tongue; “the ship came here because + there be many sick, and two dead men on board. It is a strong sickness.” + </p> + <p> + “Didst speak of us white men here?” + </p> + <p> + The man nodded. “Aye, and the mate said that the captain would like thee + all to come to the ship; but to hasten, for when the two men are buried + to-morrow the ship will sail And the mate gave me these for thee.” + </p> + <p> + Adams eagerly extended his hand for a bundle of newspapers which Masik + carried wrapped up in a piece of old sail-cloth. + </p> + <p> + “This is a god-send,” said Adams, as he opened the packet and tossed some + of the papers to Stenhouse and Ford, “only about six months old. Hallo, + here's the name of the ship and captain I suppose, on one of them: + </p> + <p> + Roger Fullerton, Esq., Ship <i>Ramillies</i>———” + </p> + <p> + “<i>What!</i>” + </p> + <p> + It was Stenhonse who spoke, and his usual cheerful voice now sounded + cracked and discordant, as with an oath he tore the paper from his + comrade's hand, read the name, and then sat down, with one hand pressed to + his sightless orb, his whole frame trembling from head to foot. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter, Ted?” asked Ford anxiously. + </p> + <p> + Slowly he turned his face towards his comrades. It was white. + </p> + <p> + “Send them away,” he said, “but tell them to call the others and get + ready. I am going down to the cape to-night, to that ship. I am going to + kill a man.” + </p> + <p> + Ford looked at him wonderingly. Adams, who understood, spoke a few + whispered words to the natives, who quickly left the room. + </p> + <p> + “Tom.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Ted.” + </p> + <p> + “Are all the women and children asleep?” + </p> + <p> + Adams nodded, and Stenhouse silently motioned to him and Ford to be + seated. He remained standing. + </p> + <p> + “Jim Ford,” he said quietly, “look at me”—he drew his hand down the + distorted side of his face—“and tell me what you would do to a man + who made you look like this.” + </p> + <p> + “I would have his life if I swung for it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I am going to have this man's life. I shall not be hanged for it, + but if I am killed, I look to you, Jim, and you Tom, to stand to my wife + and children.” + </p> + <p> + Ford put out his hand impulsively: “All that I have I owe to you, Ted. I + will stand to 'em, so help me God.” + </p> + <p> + “I knew you would. Now, only three people in the world besides me—Tom + Adams, my wife, and the man who did it—know what made me the + blarsted scarecrow I am; but as I may be a dead man by this time tomorrow, + I'll tell you.” + </p> + <p> + He paused, and with his forefinger still pressed firmly on the name on the + newspaper, said slowly:— + </p> + <p> + “This man, Roger Fullerton, was a passenger on the <i>Mahratta</i>, East + Indiaman. I was his servant. We were bound to Sydney from Table Bay. He + was going out to be Commissary-General or something of that kind in New + South Wales. We had a rough, mutinous crew on board, and one night there + was a fight between them and the officers and passengers. They burst into + the cabin, and would have captured the ship but for the mate, who shot one + man dead and cut another down. I had nothing to do with them—as God + is my witness—for I was only a lad of nineteen, and would have stood + to the captain and officers like a man, but I was made prisoner by the + mutineers early in the fight. After the row was over, Mr. Fullerton missed + his watch and a hundred sovereigns which were in a writing case in his + cabin. He accused me of stealing them, and when I hotly denied the charge, + knocked me down on deck and kicked me so savagely in the face that I + should have been killed if I had not been dragged away from him. As it + was, he broke my jaw and destroyed my left eye. But that was not all. When + he reached Sydney he charged me with the theft. I got a heavy sentence and + was sent to the coal-mines at Newcastle; but after two years of hell I + escaped by stowing away in a Dutch barque bound to Samarang. And now <i>my</i> + turn has come.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure he is the man?” asked the American. + </p> + <p> + “Quite. He settled in the Colony and married there. I have heard of him + from time to time for many years.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Before midnight the three white men, with twenty-five of their native + followers armed with muskets and cutlasses, were following the coastline + in the direction of Gape Stephens. The night was dark and rainy, but the + route was familiar to both Adams and Stenhouse. All night they marched + steadily onward, and only when daylight broke did they halt on the banks + of a stream to rest and eat. Then, crossing the stream, they struck a + native path which led to the shore. + </p> + <p> + “There she is,” said Ford. + </p> + <p> + The ship lay about a mile from the shore. Stenhouse looked at her + earnestly, and then abruptly told his comrades his plans, which were + daring but simple. He would await the landing of the boat bringing the + dead men ashore for burial, and take them prisoners. In all probability + the captain would be in charge, and it was Stenhouse's intention to hold + him and his boat's crew as ransom for the man he wanted. He intended no + harm to them, but was determined to achieve his object if he had to carry + his prisoners off to the mountains, and keep them there till Fullerton was + given up to him. + </p> + <p> + Immediately after breakfast, the watchers saw two boats leave the ship, + and pull in towards a creek which debouched into a sandy cove situated + immediately under Gape Stephens. The coastline here was uninhabited, and + except for the banks of the creek, which were heavily timbered, presented + a succession of rolling, grassy downs, and here and there clumps of <i>vi</i> + (wild mango) and cedar trees, and Stenhouse felt pretty certain that the + burying party would pick upon one of these spots to inter the bodies, and + that he could easily cut them off from the boats. + </p> + <p> + Swiftly and silently they took up a position on the banks of the creek, + Stenhouse with his two friends keenly watching the advancing boats from + behind the buttressed roots of a giant Indian fig-tree. In a few minutes, + the leading boat, in which were six men and an officer, entered the creek, + but the water being shallow, grounded on the bar, and the crew got out. + The second boat contained four seamen, and three or four persons who were + seated aft, and she too took the ground, and then, as her crew stepped out + into the water, Stenhouse gripped Adams by the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “See, Tom, there he is! The man himself. Look! that big fellow with the + white whiskers, sitting between the others.” He held a hurried + consultation with his comrades, and quickly decided on his course of + action. + </p> + <p> + Both crews were now endeavouring to drag the boats across the shallow bar + into the deeper water beyond, but the task was too much for them, and + presently the captain, who was in the second boat, ordered them to cease, + and said something to the big, white-whiskered man, who nodded his head in + approval. + </p> + <p> + Four seamen then lifted two coffins from the first boat, and, followed by + four others carrying their own and their shipmates' arms and some spades, + began wading through the water to the shore, directly to where the unseen + watchers lay awaiting; and the remainder of the party, leaving the boats + with two men on guard, came slowly after them. + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse pointed to the two boat-keepers, and said something to Ford, + who, with half-a-dozen natives, quickly disappeared. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes the bearers of the coffins reached the shore, and placed + their burdens on the ground to await further orders. + </p> + <p> + “We shall find clear ground, sir, within a few yards from the bank,” began + the captain, addressing the tall man, who with bared head and slow step + walked by his side, when suddenly there came a rush of a score of + half-naked figures, who threw themselves silently upon the party, and + overcame them almost without a sound. + </p> + <p> + “Surrender, or you are all dead men,” cried a hoarse voice. + </p> + <p> + There was no need for the stern summons, for not only were the astonished + sailors terrified by the extraordinary suddenness of the attack and the + savage appearance of their captors, but their captain, the surgeon, and + the big man had their pistols taken from their belts so quickly that + resistance was utterly out of the question, covered as they were by + half-a-dozen muskets pointed at their breasts. + </p> + <p> + Then Adams stepped out and addressed the captain. 804 + </p> + <p> + “No harm will be done to you and yonr men, but you must remain our + prisoners for awhile. Then your arms will be returned to you, and you can + go back to your ship. Your boat-keepers are secured.” + </p> + <p> + “What in God's name does this mean?” cried the unfortunate officer. + </p> + <p> + “Silence, if you value yonr life,” cried the same stern voice that had + called upon them to surrender. + </p> + <p> + The captain turned and sought to discern the speaker, but the muzzle of a + pistol was placed menacingly against his chest, and he was again ordered + to be silent. + </p> + <p> + Then at a sign from Adams all the crews' and officers' arms were carried + off to the boats by two natives, and the wondering seamen were bidden by + Adams to lift the coffins and follow him. + </p> + <p> + “Do not attempt to escape,” he said, speaking to the whole party + generally; “if you do you will be shot down without mercy.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke Ford, with five armed natives, silently joined the rest of the + captors. Follerton, the captain, and the surgeon all looked at him + curiously. + </p> + <p> + “March, gentlemen,” he said, pointing with his drawn cutlass to the + bearers of the coffins, who were now, guided by Adams, pushing their way + through the timber, surrounded by their native guards with muskets cocked. + </p> + <p> + In ten minutes the belt of timber had been passed through, and captors and + captured emerged upon a grassy sward. + </p> + <p> + “Halt!” + </p> + <p> + Again that hoarse, strange voice sounded from somewhere near, and the + seamen shuddered as they gently laid their burdens on the ground. + </p> + <p> + “Bury your dead, sir, and have no fear,” said Adams to the captain. + </p> + <p> + Then he and Ford spoke to their followers, who silently drew back and + permitted the seamen who carried shovels to advance. The ground was soft + and moist, and their task was soon accomplished, and the coffins lowered + into their graves. + </p> + <p> + Then the captain, followed by the surgeon and Roger Fullerton, advanced, + prayer-book in hand, and read the burial service, and Adams and Ford + wondered somewhat when, at its conclusion, a heavy sob burst from + Fullerton. + </p> + <p> + Quickly the earth was shovelled in, and soon two mounds showed on the + sward. Then came the clank of arms, and the mourners were again surrounded + by their half-nude guards. + </p> + <p> + “Follow,” said Adams shortly. + </p> + <p> + He led them for a distance of about a hundred yards, then halted, and the + prisoners found themselves in a hollow square. + </p> + <p> + “Are you going to slaughter unarmed men?” cried the surgeon, who was + terrified at the very appearance of the wild-looking Caroline Islanders + and their grim, silent leaders. + </p> + <p> + Adams shook his head, but made no reply. + </p> + <p> + A heavy footstep sounded in the jungle near them, and Stenhouse, carrying + two cutlasses under his arm, strode into the square and stood before + Fullerton. + </p> + <p> + For a moment or two their eyes met, and then Stenhouse raised his hand and + touched his distorted face. + </p> + <p> + “You know me, Mr. Fullerton?” + </p> + <p> + “I know you. You have come to kill me.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, unless you kill me.” He drew a cutlass from its leather sheath and + held its hilt out to the man he hated. Fullerton folded his arms across + his chest. + </p> + <p> + “Take it,” said Stenhouse slowly, “or, by Heavens! I'll cut you down as + you stand.” + </p> + <p> + “As you will,” replied the old man steadily, “but fight you I will not. My + life is in your hands. Take it. I am not afraid to die.” + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse drew his cutlass slowly, his one eye shining with a deadly + hatred. + </p> + <p> + “For God's sake, man, whoever you are, whatever your injuries may be, do + not shed the blood of an old man on his son's grave!” and the captain + sprang forward with outspread, appealing hands. + </p> + <p> + “His son!” and the point of the gleaming weapon drooped. + </p> + <p> + “His only son. Have mercy on him, as you hope for mercy yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Stop, Captain Marsland. Do not ask for mercy for me. I did this man a + grievous wrong. My life is his. Let him have his due.” + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse threw down his cutlass with an oath, turned his back on his + enemy, and put his hand to his forehead. + </p> + <p> + Then he faced round sharply, and once more he looked into Fullerton's + unmoved face. + </p> + <p> + “Go,” he said. + </p> + <p> + And without another word he strode away, followed by his comrades and his + savage companions. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SAUNDERSON AND THE DYNAMITE + </h2> + <p> + Saunderson was one of those men who firmly believed that he knew + everything, and exasperated people by telling them how to do things; and + Denison, the supercargo of the <i>Palestine</i>, hated him most fervently + for the continual trouble he was giving to every one, and also because he + had brought a harmonium on board, and played dismal tunes on it every + night and all day on Sundays. But, as Saunderson was one of the partners + in the firm who owned the <i>Palestine</i>, Denison, and Packenham the + skipper, had to suffer him in silence, and trust that something might + happen to him before long. What irritated Denison more than anything else + was that Saunderson frequently expressed the opinion that supercargoes + were superfluous luxuries to owners, and that such work “as they tried to + do could well be done by the captains, provided the latter were + intelligent men.” + </p> + <p> + “Never mind, Tom,” said Packenham hopefully, one day, “he's a big eater, + and is bound to get the fever if we give him a fair show in the Solomons. + Then we can dump him ashore at some missionary's—he and his infernal + groan-box—and go back to Sydney without the beast.” + </p> + <p> + When the <i>Palestine</i> arrived at Leone Bay, in Tutuila, Saunderson + dressed himself beautifully and went ashore to the mission-house, and in + the evening Mrs. O——— (the missionary's wife), wrote + Denison a note and asked if he could spare a cheese from the ship's + stores, and added a P.S., “What a <i>terrible</i> bore he is!” This made + the captain and himself feel better. + </p> + <p> + The next morning Saunderson came on board. Denison was in the cabin, + showing a trader named Rigby some samples of dynamite; the trader wanted a + case or two of the dangerous compound to blow a boat passage through the + reef opposite his house, and Denison was telling him how to use it. Of + course Saunderson must interfere, and said <i>he</i> would show Rigby what + to do. He had never fired a charge of dynamite in his life, nor even seen + one fired or a cartridge prepared, but had listened carefully to Denison. + Then he sarcastically told Denison that the cheese he had sent Mrs. O——— + might have passed for dynamite, it was so dry and tasteless. + </p> + <p> + “Well, dynamite is made from cheese, you know,” said the supercargo + deferentially, “just cheese slightly impregnated with picric acid, + gastrito-nepenthe, and cubes of oxalicogene.” + </p> + <p> + Saunderson said he knew that, and after telling Rigby that he would walk + over to his station before dinner, and show him where to begin operations + on the reef, went on shore again. + </p> + <p> + About twelve o'clock Denison and Rigby went on shore to test the dynamite, + fuse, and caps—first in the water and then on the reef. Just abreast + of the mission-house they saw a big school of grey mullet swimming close + in to the beach, and Denison quickly picked up a stone, tied it with some + string round a cartridge, cut the fuse very short, lit it, and threw it + in. There was a short fizz, then a dull, heavy thud, and up came hundreds + of the beautiful fish stunned or dead. Saunderson came out of the + mission-house and watched the natives collecting them. Denison had + half-a-dozen cartridges in his hand; each one was tightly enveloped in + many thicknesses of paper, seized round with twine, and had about six + inches of fuse, with the ends carefully frayed out so as to light easily. + </p> + <p> + “Give me some of those,” said Saunderson. + </p> + <p> + The supercargo reluctantly handed him two, and Saunderson remarked that + they were very clumsily covered, but he would fix some more himself + “properly” another time. Denison sulkily observed that he had no time to + waste in making dynamite cartridges look pretty. Then, as Saunderson + walked off, he called out and told him that if he was going to shoot fish + he would want to put a good heavy stone on the cartridges. Saunderson said + when he wanted advice from any one he would ask for it. Then he sent word + by a native to Mrs. O———that he would send her along + some fish in a few minutes. + </p> + <p> + Now within a few hundred yards of the mission-house there was a jetty, and + at the end of the jetty was Her Majesty's gunboat <i>Badger</i>, a small + schooner-rigged wooden vessel commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Muddle, + one of the most irascible men that ever breathed, and who had sat on more + Consuls than any one else in the service. + </p> + <p> + Sannderson went on the jetty followed by a crowd of natives, and looked + over into the water. There were swarms of fish, just waiting to be + dynamited. He told a native to bring him a stone, and one was brought—a + nice round, heavy stone as smooth as a billiard ball—just the very + wrong kind of stone. He tied it on the cartridge at last, after it had + fallen off four or five times; then, as he did not smoke, and carried no + matches, he lit it from a native woman's cigarette, and let it drop into + the water. The stone promptly fell off, but the cartridge floated gaily, + and drifted along fizzing in a contented sort of way. Sannderson put his + hands on his hips, and watched it nonchalantly, oblivious of the fact that + all the natives had bolted back to the shore to be out of danger, and + watch things. + </p> + <p> + There was a bit of a current, and the cartridge was carried along till it + brought up gently against the <i>Badger</i>—just in a nice cosy + place between the rudder bearding and the stern-post. Then it went off + with a bang that shook the universe, and ripped off forty-two sheets of + copper from the <i>Badger</i>; and Saunderson fell off the jetty into the + water; and the bluejackets who were below came tumbling up on deck; and + the gunner, seeing Lieutenant-Commander Muddle rush up from his cabin in + his shirt-sleeves with a razor in his hand, thought that he had gone queer + again in his head, and had tried to blow up the ship, and was going to out + his throat, and so he rushed at him, and knocked him down and took his + razor away, and begged him to be quiet; and Muddle, thinking it was a + mutiny, nearly went into a fit, and straggled so desperately, and made + such awful choking noises that two more men sat on him; and the navigating + midshipman, thinking it was fire, told the bugler to sound to quarters, + and then, seeing the captain being held down by three men, rushed to his + assistance, but tripped over something or somebody and fell down and + nearly broke his nose; and all the time Saunderson who was clinging to one + of the jetty piles, was yelling pitifully for help, being horribly afraid + of sharks. + </p> + <p> + At last he was fished out by Bigby and some natives and carried up to the + mission-house and then, when he was able to talk coherently, he sent for + Denison, who told him that Commander Muddle was coming for him presently + with a lot of armed men and a boatswain with a green bag in which was a + “cat,” and that he (Saunderson) would first be flogged and then hanged at + the <i>Badger's</i> yard-arm, and otherwise treated severely, for an + attempt to blow up one of Her Majesty's ships; and then Saunderson + shivered all over, and staggered out of the mission-house in a suit of Mr. + O———'s pyjamas, much too large for him, and met + Commander Muddle on the jetty and tried to explain how it occurred, and + Muddle called him an infernal, drivelling idiot, and knocked him clean off + the jetty into the water again, and used awful language, and told Denison + that his chronometers were ruined, and the ship's timbers started, and + that he had had a narrow escape from cutting his own throat when the + dynamite went off, as he had just begun to shave. + </p> + <p> + Saunderson was very ill after that, and was in such mortal terror that + Muddle and every one else on board the gunboat meant to kill, wound, or + seriously damage him, that he kept inside the mission-house, and said he + felt he was dying, and that Mr. O——— would prepare him + for the end. So Denison and Paekenham, who were now quite cheerful again, + sent his traps and his harmonium ashore, and sailed without him, a great + peace in their bosoms. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STEALING OF SA LUIA + </h2> + <p> + One dull rainy morning, soon after daybreak, as the ship <i>St. George</i> + of New Bedford was cruising for sperm whales between the islands of + Tucopia and Vanikoro, the look-out hailed the deck and reported a boat in + sight. The captain was called, and a few minutes later appeared and went + aloft. + </p> + <p> + The boat was about three miles distant to leeward, and Captain Elphinstone + at once kept the ship away. The wind, however, was so light that it took + her some time to get within hailing distance, and then it was discovered + that the boat contained three natives—a man and two young girls—who + appeared to be greatly exhausted, for after feebly raising their heads for + a moment and putting out their hands imploringly, they fell back again. + </p> + <p> + A boat was quickly lowered from the ship, and the sufferers brought on + board, and their own boat, which was a small, native-built craft much like + a whale-boat, but with an outrigger attached, was hoisted on board, for + she was too good to be turned adrift. + </p> + <p> + On board the <i>St. George</i> was a Samoan named Falaoa. He was a native + of the island of Manua, and at once recognised the unfortunates as + country-people of his own. The man, who was in a dreadful state of + emaciation, and barely able to raise his voice above a whisper, was over + six feet in height, and appeared to be about five-and-twenty years of age; + his companions had evidently not undergone as much suffering and did not + present the same shocking appearance as he, for the sun had burnt his skin + to such a degree that that part of his tattooing which was not covered by + the scanty <i>lava lava</i> of tappa cloth around his loins had become + almost black. + </p> + <p> + Under the kind and careful treatment they received from Captain + Elphinstone and his officers, all three soon recovered, and ten days after + they had been rescued, the following entry was made in the ship's log:—“This + day, at their own request, we landed the three Samoans at the island of + Nufilole, one of the Swallow Group, where they were well received by the + natives and a white trader. They were accompanied by one of my crew named + Falaoa, who begged me to let him go with them, having become much attached + to one of the young women. We gave them some arms and ammunition, and some + clothing and tobacco. They all behaved with the greatest propriety during + their stay on the ship. From where they started in Samoa to where we + picked them up in 12° S. is a distance of 1,800 miles.” + </p> + <p> + And here is their story, told by Sa Luia to the wife of Frank Chesson, a + white trader then living on the Santa Cruz Islands, in which the Swallow + Group is included. Chesson himself had lived in Samoa, and spoke the + language well, and the four people remained in his house for many months + as welcome guests. A strong and lasting friendship was formed, and + resulted in the trader, his wife and family, and the four Samoans removing + to the little island of Fenua-loa, and there founding what is now a colony + of Polynesians with language, customs and mode of life generally entirely + distinct from their Melanesian neighbours. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + I am Sa Luia. I come from Mulifanua, at the lee end of Upolu in Samoa. My + father was not only the chief of Mulifanua, but has great lands in the + Atua district on the north side of Upolu—lands which came to him + through my mother, who died when I was but a week old—and from these + lands he had his name, Pule-o-Vaitafe (Lord of many Rivers). + </p> + <p> + Now it is not well for a daughter to speak unkindly of her father; but + this what I now say is true. My father, though he was so rich a man, was + very cruel to those who crossed his path, and though he was a brave man in + battle, his heart was shrunken up by reason of his avarice and his desire + to grow richer, and all Samoa, from Manna in the east to Falealupo in the + west, spoke of him as Pule-lima-vale—“Pule the close-fisted”—or + Pule fata-ma'a—“Pule the stony-hearted.” Yet all this gave him no + concern. + </p> + <p> + “What does it matter to me?” he said to his brother Patiole one day, when + Patiole, who was a chief of Manono, reproached him for his meanness in + sending away some visitors from Tutuila with such scanty presents that all + the people of Mulifanua were ashamed. “What does it matter to me what + people say of me? This <i>malaga</i> (party of visitors) from Tutuila are + eaten up with poverty. Why should I give them fine mats, and muskets and + powder and bullets? Am I a fool? What return can they make to me?” + </p> + <p> + “They came to do thee honour,” said my uncle, putting his hand across his + eyes out of respect to my father, who was of higher rank than he, and + speaking softly. “They are thy dead wife's relatives, and are of good + blood. And thou hast shamed them—and thyself as well—by + sending them away empty-handed.” + </p> + <p> + My father laughed scornfully. “What care I for my dead wife's relatives! I + have no need of them, and want them not. When I took the daughter of Mauga + to wife, Mauga was a great man. Now he and his people are broken and + dispersed. Let them go and eat grass or wild yams like pigs. I, + Pule-o-Vaitafe, want no needy dependents.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a hard man,” said my uncle, bending his forehead to the mat on + which he sat. + </p> + <p> + “And thou art a fool,” replied my father; “if thy heart pains thee of + this, why dost thou not give them all that they wish?” + </p> + <p> + “Because for me, thy brother, to do so, would put shame on thee, for 'tis + thy place and thy honour as head of our family to help these people who + have fallen on evil days through warfare,” said my uncle sadly. + </p> + <p> + “Thine then be the place and the honour,” said my father scornfully. “I + will not begrudge thee either. Naught will I have to do with broken men. + Farewell.” + </p> + <p> + That was my father's way. That was his hard, hard heart, which knew + neither pity nor remorse. This is how my mother died: + </p> + <p> + When I was seven days old, she took me, as is customary with a woman of + chiefly rank, to the <i>fale siva</i> (town dance house), where I had to + be shown to the people, who brought fine mats and tappa cloth, and many + other presents. Now my father was filled with anger that my mother had not + borne him a male child, for a male child would have meant richer presents—not + only from his own people, but from towns and villages far away. So when he + saw that instead of such gifts as a new canoe or some very old, rare mats, + or muskets, or such other things as would have been given were the child a + boy, there were but the usual presents for a girl-child, his lips turned + down with scorn, and he muttered a curse. My mother heard him and the + tears flowed down her cheeks. + </p> + <p> + “It may be that my next child will be a boy,” she whispered, and then she + held me up to my father. “See, Pule, though a girl, she hath thy features, + and thou wilt come to love her.” + </p> + <p> + “Tah!” said my father in angry contempt; and without another word he rose + and went away. + </p> + <p> + Then my mother wept silently over me for a long time, for the shame put + upon her was very great, and not to be endured. So, with some of her + women, she took me to a place called Falema'a, where the cliffs rise up + straight from the sea. Her hair was then oiled and dressed, and then she + made gifts of her rings of gold and tortoise-shell to her women, and bade + them farewell. Then she took me in her arms, and leapt over the cliff into + the sea. + </p> + <p> + It so happened that half-way down the cliff, which is twelve fathoms high, + there was a boy named Manaia. He was collecting the eggs of the sea-bird + called <i>Kanapu</i> and his canoe was anchored just in front of the base + of the cliff. He was a brave boy, and being of a very poor family, had + clambered up the steep side of the wall of rock, so that he might find the + <i>kanapu</i> eggs in the clefts and holes, and sell them to people in + exchange for food for his mother and sisters. As he clung to the jagged + face of the rock, he saw my mother falling through the air, and in an + instant he sprang after her. When she came to the surface, I was still + clasped tightly in her arms, and Manaia cried to her to swim to the canoe. + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” she cried, “but take my babe.” + </p> + <p> + And so Manaia took me, and my mother threw up her arms and sank and died. + </p> + <p> + When my uncle heard of this, he sent a party of his people over from + Manono for me, and I was taken to live with him. My father did not + interfere, for the manner of my mother's death had made the people murmur, + and he was afraid that they might rise in rebellion, and kill or banish + him. But yet he tried to get another rich wife, and sent a deputation of + his chiefs to Seu Manu of Apia asking for his daughter Sina; and Sina sent + him back a piece of wood carved in the semblance of a woman, together with + a stone shaped like a heart, with this message— + </p> + <p> + “This is a good wife for Pule-o-Vaitafe. If she displease him, he can sink + her in the sea with a heart of stone.” + </p> + <p> + After that my father tried no more, for the people all round about were + murmuring, and he began to feel afraid. + </p> + <p> + But in no other way did he change, and although Manono is but two leagues + distant from Mulifanua, he never came to see me till I was in my fifteenth + year, and when I was chosen by the people of Aana to be <i>Taupo</i>{*} of + Mulifanua. Then I had to leave my uncle, which made me weep, for although + I was proud of the honour done me, I did not wish to leave him and go back + to my father. But I had no choice but to obey, and so I was taken back to + Mulifanua by a fleet of canoes and <i>taumualua</i> (native boats), with + great ceremony, and then followed many meetings and much feasting and + dancing. I was put under the care of two women, who attended me day and + night, as is the custom; they walked, ate, and slept with me, and every + day I was taught how to dance, and how to wear my fine mats and long train + of tappa, so as to receive or call upon visitors who came to the town from + other places in Samoa. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Taupo, the town maid. This distinction is usually conf + erred on a girl of good family, and has many honours and + emoluments in the way of presents attached to it. In some + cases a <i>taupo</i> will not marry till she reaches middle age, + and occasionally will remain single. +</pre> + <p> + In all the many years that I had spent on Manono, I had not once seen the + boy Manaia—he who had taken me from the water—though I had + heard of him as having been tattooed and grown into a tall man. But on the + same day that I returned and was taken to the <i>fale taupule</i> (council + house) to be received by the people as their <i>taupo</i>, a girl named + Selema who attended me whispered his name, and pointed him out to me. He + was sitting with the other young men, and like them, dressed in his best, + and carrying a musket and the long knife called <i>nifa oti</i>. I saw + that he was very, very tall and strong, and Selema told me that there were + many girls who desired him for a husband, though he was poor, and, it was + known, was disliked by my father. + </p> + <p> + Now this girl Selema, who was of my own age, was given to me as my + especial <i>tavini</i> (maid) and I grew to like her as my own sister. She + told me that already my father was casting about in his mind for a rich + husband for me, and that the man he most favoured was old Tamavili, chief + of Tufa, in Savai'i, who would soon be sending messengers with presents to + him, which if they were accepted, would mean that my father was inclined + to his suit, and that he, Tamavili, would follow himself and pay court to + me. + </p> + <p> + All this frightened me, and I told Selema I would escape to my uncle in + Manono, but she said that that would not do, as if he tried to protect me + it would mean war. So I said nothing more, though much was in my mind, and + I resolved to run away to the mountains, rather than be made to marry + Tamavili, who was a very old man. + </p> + <p> + One day Selema and I went to the river to wash our hair with the pith of + the wild oranges. We sat on the smooth stones near the water, and had just + begun to beat the oranges with pieces of wood to soften them, when we saw + a man come down the bank and enter a deep pool further up the stream. + </p> + <p> + “'Tis Manaia,” said Selema; “he hath come to drag the pool for fish.” Then + she called out to him, “<i>Ola</i>, Manaia,” and he looked at us and + laughed as he spun his small hand-net into the pool. We sat and watched + him and admired his strength and skill and the clever way in which he + dived and took the fish from his net. In a little while he had caught + seven—beautiful fish, such as are in all the mountain streams of + Samoa. Then he came out of the water, made a basket of leaves, and + approached me, and without a word, laid them at my feet. This pleased me, + so I put out my hand and touched one of the fish—meaning that one + only would I take. + </p> + <p> + “They are all for thee, lady,” he said in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + Selema laughed and urged me to accept the gift; so I took the basket, and + then, when I looked at his face and saw that his eyes were still turned + down, I took courage and said— + </p> + <p> + “Thou art Manaia. Dost thou remember me?” + </p> + <p> + “How could I forget thee?” he replied; and then he raised his eyes to my + face, and I felt glad, for they were like unto those of my uncle Patiole—kind + and soft when they looked into those of a woman or child, but steady and + bold to those of a man. + </p> + <p> + “I am glad to see thee, Manaia,” I said, “for I owe thee my life,” and as + he took my hand and pressed it to his forehead, Selema stole away and left + us together. + </p> + <p> + Now I know not what he said to me, except that when he spoke the name of + Tamavili of Tufa, I wept, and said that I would I were back at Manono, and + that I was but a child, and had no desire to be wedded to any man. Then he + lifted me up in his great arms, and said— + </p> + <p> + “I love thee, Sa Luia, I love thee! And even if thou canst not love me, + yet shall I save thee from wedding this old dotard. Aye, I shall save thee + from him as I saved thee from the boiling serf of Falema'a when thy + mother, who was a great lady, cried out to me, 'Take my babe.'” + </p> + <p> + So that is how Manaia my husband wooed me, and when Selema came back and + saw us seated together, she laughed again, though tears were in her eyes + when she took my feet and pressed them to her cheeks, for she feared that + when we fled, she would be left behind. Then Manaia whispered to me and + asked me if it was to my mind to take her. + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” I said; “else will my father kill her when we are gone.” + </p> + <p> + So we made our plans, and when the messengers of Tamavili came and laid + their presents before me, I said I was content, and that they could go + back to their master, and tell him that in a month's time I would be ready + and that he could come for me. This pleased my father, and although at + night time I always slept between the two women, as is customary for a <i>taupo</i>, + with a mat over me, and they lay on the outside, one on each side, yet in + the day time I often met my lover in the forest, whilst Selema kept watch. + </p> + <p> + “We shall go to Uea,” {*} he said; “'tis but seventy leagues away, and so + soon as the rainy season is ended we shall start. I have bought a small + but good boat and have strengthened it for the voyage with an outrigger, + and in my mother's house is hidden all the food we can carry. In eight + days more the westerly winds will cease, and we shall start, for then we + shall have the Matagi Toe'lau (trade wind) and at Uea we shall be safe and + live in peace. Then some day I shall send for my mothers and sisters, for + on the night that we escape, they too must flee for their lives to Sen + Mann, of Apia, who will protect them from thy father's wrath.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Wallis Island, two hundred miles from Samoa. Many Samoans + fled there for refuge after a reverse in battle or for other + causes. +</pre> + <p> + On the morning of the fourth day after this, there came a strange + messenger to the town to see my father, who in a little time appeared at + his door with a smiling face and bade the conch be blown to summon the + people together. + </p> + <p> + “Here is news, O people,” he said. “Manka,{*} the white trader of Tufa, + also seeketh my daughter, Sa Luia, in marriage. He and Tamayili have + quarrelled—why, it matters not to me, or thee—and Manka, who + is a very rich man, hath sent me word that he will compete with Tamayili. + Whatever he offers for dowry and for presents to me, the white man will + give double. This is a good day for me.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Monk. +</pre> + <p> + But the people were silent, for they knew that he was breaking his pledged + word with Tamavili, and was setting at naught the old customs and the + honour of the town. So, as he looked at them, he scowled; then he held out + his hand, on the palm of which were ten American gold coins, each of + twenty dollars. + </p> + <p> + “Two hundred dollars hath this white man, Manka, sent to my daughter Sa + Luia as a present, with these words: 'If she cares not for my suit, well + and good—let her have them made into bracelets for her pretty arms.” + </p> + <p> + Now this was a great gift, and it came with such generous words that the + people applauded, and my father smiled, as his long thin fingers closed + around the heap of gold; but suddenly his face darkened as Manaia spoke. + </p> + <p> + “'Tis a free gift to the lady Sa Luia. Therefore, O Pule-o-Vaitafe, give + it to her.” + </p> + <p> + “Aye, aye! 'tis hers, 'tis hers,” cried the people. + </p> + <p> + My father sent a glance of bitter hatred to my lover, and his lips + twitched, but without a word he came to me, and bending low before me, put + the money on the ground at my feet, and I, his daughter, heard his teeth + grinding with rage, and as I felt his hot breath on my hand, I knew that + murder was in his heart. It is easy for a chief such as was my father, to + have a man who displeases him killed secretly. + </p> + <p> + My father went away in anger, and then the chiefs decided that although + the white man could not wed me, he should be received with great honour, + and be given many presents; for he was known to us as a man of great + strength and daring, and was tattooed like a Samoan, which is a great + thing to the mind of a Samoan woman, who loathes an untattooed man as + unworthy of all that a woman can give, for without tattooing a young man + hath no manhood, and his children are weak of body and poor of mind. + </p> + <p> + That night my father asked me for the money, which I gave him unwillingly, + for I wished to send it back to the white man. He took it and placed it in + a great box, which contained such things as guns, pistols, and powder and + ball, and the key of which he always wore around his neck. + </p> + <p> + When the eighth day dawned, the sea was very smooth, and our hearts were + gladdened by seeing that the wind was from the south-east, and as the day + wore on, it increased in strength. When night fell, and the evening fires + were lit, Manaia, saying he was going to fish for <i>malau</i>, launched + his boat and sailed along the shore for a league to the mouth of a small + stream. Here he was met by his mother and sisters, who were awaiting him + with baskets of cooked food, young coconuts and calabashes of water for + the voyage. Then they put their arms around him, and wept as they bade him + farewell, for seventy leagues is a long voyage for a small boat not + intended for rough seas. Then they went into the forest and fled for their + lives to Sen Manu of Apia, and Manaia waited for me. + </p> + <p> + When the town was buried in slumber, Selema, who lay near me, touched my + head with her foot, and then asked me if I slept. + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” I replied in a loud voice, and speaking with pretended anger, so as + to awaken the two women between whom I lay. “How can I sleep? 'Tis too + hot. Let us go to the beach awhile and feel the cool wind.” + </p> + <p> + The two women grumbled a little at being disturbed, and Selema and I rose + and went out of the house. Then, once we were at a safe distance, we ran + swiftly to the beach, and then onwards to where Manaia awaited us. + </p> + <p> + Selema took her seat on the foremost thwart, Manaia at the stern, and I in + the centre, and then we pushed off, and using canoe paddles, made for the + passage through the reef out into the open sea. When the dawn broke, we + were half-way across the straits which divide Savai'i from Upolu, and only + two leagues away we saw the clustering houses of Tufa on the iron-bound + coast. We did not dare to hoist the sail for fear of being seen, so + continued to paddle, keeping well into the middle of the straits. Only + that the current was so fierce, Manaia would have steered north, and gone + round the great island of Savai'i and then made westward, but the current + was setting against the wind, and we should have all perished had we tried + to go the north way. + </p> + <p> + Presently Manaia turned and looked astern, and there we saw the great mat + sail of my father's double canoe, just rising above the water, and knew + that we were pursued. So we ceased paddling, and hoisted our own sail, + which made us leap along very quickly over the seas, though every now and + then the outrigger would lift itself out of the water, and we feared that + we might capsize. But we knew that Death was behind us, and so sat still, + and no one spoke but in a whisper as we looked astern, and saw the sail of + the great canoe growing higher and higher. It was a very large canoe and + carried a hundred men, and on the raised platform was a cannon which my + father had bought from a whale-ship when it was in his mind to fight + against Tamalefaiga, who was the king of Upolu. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Selema cried out that she saw a <i>taumualua</i>{*} and a boat + with a sail coming towards us from Tufa, and my heart sank within me, for + I knew that if they saw we were pursued by Pule-o-Vaitafe, they would, out + of respect for him, stop us from escaping. Still there was naught for us + to do but go on, and so we leapt and sprang from sea to sea, and Manaia + bade us be of good heart, as he turned the head of the canoe toward the + land. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * A large native-built boat +</pre> + <p> + “If this <i>taumualua</i> and the boat seek to stay us, I shall run + ashore,” he said, “and we will take to the mountains. It is Manka's boat, + for now I can see the flag from the peak—the flag of America.” “And + the <i>taumualua</i> is that of Tamavili of Tufa,” said Selema quietly, + for she is a girl of great heart, “and it races with the white man's + boat.” + </p> + <p> + I, who was shaking with fear, cannot now well remember all that followed, + after Manaia headed our canoe for the shore, and tried to escape, but + suddenly, it seemed to me, the white man's boat, with flapping sail, was + upon as, and Manka was laughing loudly. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho!” he cried, pulling his long white moustache, “so this is the way + the wind bloweth! The old dotard Tamavili and I race together for a bride, + and the bride is for neither of us, but for the man who saved her from the + sea. Ha, ha! Thou art a fine fellow, Manaia, and I bear thee no ill will, + even though the girl hath my good golden money.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, Manka,” cried Selema quickly, and taking something from her girdle + she held it up to the white man; “see, here is thy gift to the lady Sa + Luia. We meant to give it back to thee with all good will, for Sa Luia + loves no man but this her lover Manaia, who held her up from the angry sea + when her mother died. And so when Pule-o-Vaitafe took the money from her—which + was thy free gift—I waited till he slept, and stole the key of his + treasure-chest, and took the money so that it might be returned to thee.” + </p> + <p> + “Is this true?” asked the white man of Manaia. “The money is thine,” said + Manaia, who knew not what else to say, “but the woman is mine. So let us + depart, for Tamavili and his men—whom no one in Malifanua thought to + see for three days yet—are drawing near, and we may escape by + running the canoe through the surf, and taking to the mountains.” + </p> + <p> + The white man swore an oath. “Thou art a fine fellow, and I bear no ill + will, but will help thee to outwit that old dodderer who tried to steal + away three days before me. I will put my boat between he and thee and keep + him off. Whither wouldst land?” + </p> + <p> + “Not here, unless we are pressed. But we are in bad case; for see, on the + one side comes Pule-o-Vaitafe, and on the other Tamavili. Yet if thou wilt + be the good friend to us, we may escape both, and keep on our way to the + open sea.” + </p> + <p> + “The open sea!” cried Manka quickly—“and whither to?” + </p> + <p> + “To Uea.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a bold fellow,” said the white man again, “and shalt have the + girl, for thou art worthy of her. And she shall keep the money for her + dowry. I am no man to go back on my word, even though I lose so fair a + bride. As for Pule-o-Vaitafe, I care not a blade of grass, and for + Tamavili even less. And see, take this rifle, and if Tamavili cometh too + close to thee, how can I help thee defending thyself and the women?” + </p> + <p> + With that he gave Manaia one of six rifles in his boat and two score and + ten cartridges, some tobacco, matches, and a pipe; then he pressed our + hands and wished us God-speed, and we parted, he sailing towards the <i>taumualua</i>, + which was crowded with men, and we following. When he came within speaking + distance of Tamavili, he again brought his boat to the wind and mocked at + the old man. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho! Tamavili. Whither goest in such a hurry? See, there in the canoe + is the little bird we both sought, and there following comes her father. + But she is neither for me nor thee. Is not her lover there, a fine man—nearly + as handsome as I am, and big enough to make ten such rats as thee.” + </p> + <p> + Tamavili was mad with rage, and did not answer. There were with Manka six + men—all armed with rifles which loaded at the breech like that which + he had given Manaia, and Manka was too great a man for even Tamavili to + hurt. But suddenly, as we in the canoe sailed in between the boat and the + <i>taumualua</i>, the old chief found his voice, and called out to Manaia + to lower his sail. + </p> + <p> + “Give me the lady Sa Luia,” he said, “and I will let thee and the girl + Selema go,” and as he spoke, the crew turned the <i>taumualua</i> round + and came after us, twenty men paddling on each side. + </p> + <p> + “Keep back!” cried Manaia fiercely, as he changed seats with me, and + giving me the steering paddle, he took up the rifle and loaded it. + </p> + <p> + “Beware, old man!” shouted Manka, “'tis a dog that bites!” + </p> + <p> + But Tamavili was too hot with anger to take heed, and shouted to his men + to go on, and then Manaia took aim and fired, and two men went down. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho!” and Manka's voice again mocked, “did I not say 'twas a dog that + bit?” + </p> + <p> + There was great commotion in the <i>taumualua</i> for a moment or two, but + <i>Tamavili</i> shouted to his men to go on; he would have ordered some of + them to cease paddling and try and shoot Manaia, but feared to hurt or + perhaps kill me, and that would have meant war between Tufa and Mulifanua. + </p> + <p> + “Alo, alo foe!” {*} he cried, standing up on the stem and brandishing his + death-knife at Manaia. “I shall give thy head to the children of the + village for a football ere the sun is in mid-heaven.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * “Paddle, paddle hard!” + </pre> + <p> + That was a foolish boast, for once more Manaia knelt and shot, and I + turned my head and saw the blood spurt from Tamavili's naked chest as he + fell down without a sound among the paddlers and a loud cry of anger and + sorrow burst from his men. But in a moment a young sub-chief of Tufa named + <i>Lau Aula</i> (the Golden-haired) took command and shouted to the crew + to press on, and leaping to the bow, he began firing at us with a short + gun (revolver) and one of the bullets struck the girl Selema on the leg + and tore a hole through the fleshy part. Now this Lau Aula was a blood + relative of Manaia, who called out to him to cease firing, but Lau Aula + took no heed, and began shooting at us with muskets loaded with round + bullets, which were handed to him by some of his people. + </p> + <p> + Then Manaia's face was evil to look at; his lips were drawn back, and his + teeth showed like those of an angry dog, for the blood which flowed from + Selema's wound was creeping around his naked feet. Yet once more he cried + out to Lau Aula to beware ere it was too late; but the young chief called + him a thief, and bade him bring the boat to the wind. + </p> + <p> + “This for thee, then,” cried Manaia, and once more he raised his rifle and + fired, and Lan Anla spun round and fell over into the sea, for the bullet + had struck him in the throat and his life was gone. + </p> + <p> + That was the last of the fight, for when Lau Aula fell, the rest of + Tamavili's men threw down their paddles and let us sail on without further + pursuit. + </p> + <p> + Then, whilst I steered, Manaia tied strips of tappa around Selema's leg so + as to stay the bleeding. + </p> + <p> + “We are safe,” cried the girl bravely through her tears, for the pain was + very great. “See, lady, the wind is not strong enough for the big double + canoe to pursue us.” + </p> + <p> + But yet, in his rage, when my father saw that we were escaping, he lowered + the mat sail and fired two shots at us with the cannon, and the great + heavy balls roared over our heads and fell into the sea with a heavy + splash not fifty fathoms away. But cannon-balls cost much money, and so, + when a third shot was fired, and it fell astern of our boat, my father + wasted no more, and we saw the sail again hoisted and the canoe go slowly + down towards the <i>taumualua</i> of Tamavili, to which the white man was + already rendering succour, for Manka, although he had quarrelled with the + old chief of Tufa, was yet a man of a kind heart. + </p> + <p> + And so we sailed on before a fair, soft breeze, and by sunset the great + mountain peaks of Savai'i had sunk beneath the sea rim, and we were + steering westward by the bright stars with a great joy filling our hearts. + </p> + <p> + For four days we sailed steadily onwards, and Selema's wound soon began to + heal. On the evening of the fourth day we saw the land of Uea just showing + above the sea rim, and thought to place our feet on the shore in the + morning. But now came sorrow, for in the night it began to blow strongly + from the north-east, and heavy rain squalls drove us past the land. In the + morning there was but the open sea, and the waves were white and angry, + and all that day and the next Manaia kept the boat to the wind, hoping + that it would change and let us sail back to Uea. But we hoped vainly; and + then, on the third day, there came such a furious storm that we could do + naught but drive before it, and go on and on into the great unknown + western ocean, whither so many have gone, and have been no more known of + men. For many, many days we sailed on, and then, although we had much rain + and so suffered no thirst, our food began to fail, and had not Manaia one + day caught a sleeping turtle, we should have perished. Some time about the + fourteenth day, we saw the jagged peaks of an island against the sky, and + steered for it. It was the island called Rotumah—a fine, fair + country, with mountains and valleys and running streams, and on it dwell + people who are like unto us Samoans in appearance and manners and + language. We sailed the boat into a bay on which stood a village of many + houses, and the people made us welcome and gave us much food, and besought + us to stay there, for their island was, they said, a better place than + Uea. And this we should have done and been content, but in the night, as I + slept in the house of the unmarried women, a girl whispered in my ear— + </p> + <p> + “Get thee away with thy lover and the girl Selema. Felipa, the head chief + of Fao, hath been told of thy beauty, and hath sent word here that the man + Manaia must be killed to-night, and thou and Selema be sent to him. This + is wrong for even a chief to do, and we of this place would aid thee to + escape.” + </p> + <p> + So Manaia and I and Selema stole away to the boat, and the people of the + village, who pitied us, pretended not to hear or see us. They were very + kind, and had put baskets of cooked food and other things into the boat; + and so we pushed off, and stood out to sea once more. They had told us to + go round to the north end of the island, where there was a chief named + Loli, who would protect us and give us a home. + </p> + <p> + But again evil fortune befell us, for the chief of Fao, hearing of our + escape, sent a messenger overland to Loli, claiming us as <i>mea tafea i + moana</i>—gifts sent to him by the sea—and asking him to hold + us for him. And so Loli, who would have welcomed us, was afraid, and + begged us not to land and so bring about bloodshed. + </p> + <p> + “Great is my sorrow, O wanderers,” he cried to us, as we sat in the boat a + little distance from the beach, “but ye must not land. Steer to the west, + and a little to the south, where there is a great land—many, many + islands which trend north and south.” {*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The New Hebrides Group. +</pre> + <p> + “Is it far?” asked Manaia scornfully. + </p> + <p> + “Four days for a ship, longer for a boat,” replied Loli shamefacedly; “the + gods go with thee, farewell.” + </p> + <p> + Once again we sailed towards the setting sun, steering by the stars at + night time, and for seven days all went well. Then after that there came + calms, and the hot sun beat upon us and ate its way into our hearts, and + we saw no sign of land, and only now and then did a seabird come near us. + And then came the time when all our food was gone, and we waited for death + to come. Manaia had eaten no food for five days when it came to this, for + he said he was feeling quite strong, and divided his share between us. + Once as he and I slept Selema put a little piece of old coconut—the + last that was left—into my hand, and slipped over the side to die, + but Manaia heard her, and, although he was very weak, he roused and caught + her as she sank. + </p> + <p> + Two days before that on which the ship found us Manaia shot a small shark + which was following the boat. It was not as long as a man's arm nor as + thick as a woman's, but it kept us alive. Manaia gave us all the flesh, + and kept only the head and skin for himself; after that all the world + became dark to me, and we lay together in the boat to die. + </p> + <p> + The captain of the whale-ship was very kind to us, and when he found that + the sailor named Falaoa did not wish to part from us on account of Selema, + whom he wished to marry, he gave his consent, and said he would land us + all here at Nufilole, where there was a white man who would be kind to us. + </p> + <p> + That is all, and now my husband Manaia and I, and Falaoa and his wife + Selema are well content to live here always. For even now, after many + months have passed, do Selema and I cry out in our slumbers, and when we + awaken our hair lies wet upon our foreheads; but soon all these bad dreams + will pass away from us for ever. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Memory Of The Southern Seas, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24807-h.htm or 24807-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/0/24807/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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. 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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 www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Memory Of The Southern Seas + 1904 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 11, 2008 [EBook #24807] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS + + +From "Chinkie's Flat And Other Stories" + +By Louis Becke + + +Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1904 + + + + + +CAPTAIN "BULLY" HAYES + +In other works by the present writer frequent allusion has been made, +either by the author or by other persons, to Captain Hayes. Perhaps the +continuous appearance of his name may have been irritating to many of +my readers; if so I can only plead that it is almost impossible when +writing of wild life in the Southern Seas to avoid mentioning him. Every +one who sailed the Austral seas between the "fifties" and "seventies," +and thousands who had not, knew of him and had heard tales of him. +In some eases these tales were to his credit; mostly they were not. +However, the writer makes no further apology for reproducing the +following sketch of the great "Bully" which he contributed to the _Pall +Mall Gazette_, and which, by the courtesy of the editor of that journal, +he is able to include in this volume. + +In a most interesting, though all too brief, sketch of the life of +the late Rev. James Chalmers, the famous New Guinea missionary, which +appeared in the January number of a popular religious magazine, +the author, the Rev. Richard Lovett, gives us a brief glance of the +notorious Captain "Bully" Hayes. Mr. Chalmers, in 1866, sailed for the +South Seas with his wife in the missionary ship _John Williams_--the +second vessel of that name, the present beautiful steamer being the +fourth _John Williams_. + +The second John Williams had but a brief existence, for on her first +voyage she was wrecked on Nine Island (the "Savage" Island of Captain +Cook). Hayes happened to be there with his vessel, and agreed to convey +the shipwrecked missionaries to Samoa. No doubt he charged them a pretty +stiff price, for he always said that missionaries "were teaching Kanakas +the degrading doctrine that even if a man killed his enemy and cut out +and ate his heart in public, and otherwise misconducted himself, he +could yet secure a front seat in the Kingdom of Heaven if he said he was +sorry and was then baptized as Aperamo (Abraham) or Lakopo (Jacob)." + +"It is characteristic of Chalmers," writes Mr. Lovett, "that he was able +to exert considerable influence over this ruffian, and even saw good +points in him, not easily evident to others." + +The present writer sailed with Hayes on four voyages as supercargo, and +was with the big-bearded, heavy-handed, and alleged "terror of the South +Seas" when his famous brig _Leonora_ was wrecked on Strong's Island, one +wild night in March, 1875. And he has nothing but kindly memories of a +much-maligned man, who, with all his faults, was never the cold-blooded +murderer whose fictitious atrocities once formed the theme of a highly +blood-curdling melodrama staged in the old Victoria Theatre, in Pitt +Street, Sydney, under the title of "The Pirate of the Pacific." In this +lively production of dramatic genius Hayes was portrayed as something +worse than Blackboard or Llonois, and committed more murders and +abductions of beautiful women in two hours than ever fell to the luck in +real life of the most gorgeous pirate on record. No one of the audience +was more interested or applauded more vigorously the villain's downfall +than "Bully" Hayes himself, who was seated in a private box with a lady. +He had come to Sydney by steamer from Melbourne, where he had left his +ship in the hands of brokers for sale, and almost the first thing he saw +on arrival were the theatrical posters concerning himself and his career +of crime. + +"I would have gone for the theatre people," he told the writer, "if they +had had any money, but the man who 'played' me was the lessee of the +theatre and was hard up. I think his name was Hoskins. He was a big +fat fellow, with a soapy, slithery kind of a voice, and I lent him ten +pounds, which he spent on a dinner to myself and some of his company. I +guess we had a real good time." + +But let us hear what poor ill-fated Missionary Chalmers has to say about +the alleged pirate:-- + +"Hayes seemed to take to me during the frequent meetings we had on +shore" (this was when the shipwrecked missionaries and their wives were +living on Savage Island), "and before going on board for good I met him +one afternoon and said to him, 'Captain Hayes, I hope you will have no +objection to our having morning and evening service on board, and twice +on Sabbaths. All short, and only those who like need attend.' Certainly +not. My ship is a missionary ship now' (humorous dog), 'and I hope you +will feel it so. All on board will attend these services.' I replied, +'Only if they are inclined.'" (If they had shirked it, the redoubtable +"Bully" would have made attendance compulsory with a belaying pin.) + +"Hayes was a perfect host and a thorough gentleman. His wife and +children were on board. We had fearful weather all the time, yet I must +say we enjoyed ourselves.... We had gone so far south that we could +easily fetch Tahiti, and so we stood for it, causing us to be much +longer on board. Hayes several times lost his temper and did very queer +things, acting now and then more like a madman than a sane man. Much of +his past life he related to us at table, especially of things (he did) +to cheat Governments." + +Poor "Bully!" He certainly did like to "cheat Governments," although he +despised cheating private individuals--unless it was for a large amount. +And he frequently "lost his temper" also; and when that occurred +things were very uncomfortable for the man or men who caused it. On +one occasion, during an electrical storm off New Guinea, a number of +corposants appeared on the yards of his vessel, which was manned by +Polynesians and some Portuguese. One of the latter was so terrified at +the ghastly _corpo santo_ that he fell on his knees and held a small +leaden crucifix, which he wore on his neck, to his lips. His example was +quickly followed by the rest of his countrymen; which so enraged Hayes +that, seizing the first offender, he tore the crucifix from his hand, +and, rolling it into a lump, thrust it into his month _and made him +swallow it_. + +"You'll kill the man, sir," cried Hussey, his American mate, who, being +a good Catholic, was horrified. + +Hayes laughed savagely: "If that bit of lead is good externally it ought +to be a darned sight better when taken internally." + +He was a humorous man at times, even when he was cross. And he was one +of the best sailor-men that ever trod a deck. A chronometer watch, +which was committed to the care of the writer by Hayes, bore this +inscription:-- + +"_From Isaac Steuart, of New York, to Captain William Henry Hayes, of +Cleveland, Ohio. A gift of esteem and respect for his bravery in saving +the lives of seventeen persons at the risk of his own. Honor to the +brave._" + +Hayes told me that story--modestly and simply as brave men only tell a +tale of their own dauntless daring. And he told me other stories as well +of his strange, wild career; of Gordon of Khartoum, whom he had known, +and of Ward and Burgevine and the Taeping leaders; and how Burgevine +and he quarrelled over a love affair and stood face to face, pistols in +hand, when Ward sprang in between them and said that the woman was his, +and that they were fools to fight over what belonged to neither of them +and what he would gladly be rid of himself. + +Peace to his _manes!_ He died--in his sea-boots--from a blow on his big, +bald head, superinduced by his attention to a lady who was "no better +than she ought to have been," even for the islands of the North Pacific. + + + + +THE "WHALE CURE" + +I once heard a man who for nearly six years had been a martyr to +rheumatism say he would give a thousand pounds to have a cure effected. + +"I wish, then, that we were in Australia or New Zealand during the shore +whaling season," remarked a friend of the writer; "I should feel pretty +certain of annexing that thousand pounds." And then he described the +whale cure. + +The "cure" is not fiction. It is a fact, so the whalemen assert, and +there are many people at the township of Eden, Twofold Bay, New +South Wales, who, it is vouched, can tell of several cases of chronic +rheumatism that have been absolutely perfectly cured by the treatment +herewith briefly described. How it came to be discovered I do not know, +but it has been known to American whalemen for years. + +When a whale is killed and towed ashore (it does not matter whether it +is a "right," humpback, finback, or sperm whale) and while the interior +of the carcase still retains a little warmth, a hole is out through one +side of the body sufficiently large to admit the patient, the lower +part of whose body from the feet to the waist should sink in the whale's +intestines, leaving the head, of course, outside the aperture. The +latter is closed up as closely as possible, otherwise the patient would +not be able to breathe through the volume of ammoniacal gases which +would escape from every opening left uncovered. It is these gases, which +are of an overpowering and atrocious odour, that bring about the cure, +so the whalemen say. Sometimes the patient cannot stand this horrible +bath for more than an hour, and has to be lifted out in a fainting +condition, to undergo a second, third, or perhaps fourth course on that +or the following day. Twenty or thirty hours, it is said, will effect a +radical cure in the most severe cases, provided there is no malformation +or distortion of the joints, and even in such cases the treatment causes +very great relief. One man who was put in up to his neck in the carcass +of a small "humpback" stood it for sixteen hours, being taken out at +two-hour intervals. He went off declaring himself to be cured. A year +later he had a return of the complaint and underwent the treatment a +second time. + +All the "shore" whalemen whom the writer has met thoroughly believe in +the efficacy of the remedy, and by way of practical proof assert that +no man who works at cutting-in and trying out a whale ever suffers +from rheumatism. Furthermore, however, some of them maintain that the +"deader" the whale is, the better the remedy. "More gas in him," they +say. And any one who has been within a mile of a week-dead whale will +believe _that_. + +Anyway, if there is any person, rheumatic or otherwise, who wants to +emulate Jonah's adventure in a safe manner (with a dead whale), let him +write to the Davidson Brothers, Ben Boyd Point, Twofold Bay, N.S.W., or +to the Messrs. Christian, Norfolk Island, and I am sure those valorous +whalemen would help him to achieve his desire. + + + + +THE SEA "SALMON" SEASON IN AUSTRALIA + +The sea salmon make their appearance on the southern half of the eastern +seaboard of Australia with undeviating regularity in the last week of +October, and, entering the rivers and inlets, remain on the coast till +the first week of December. As far as my knowledge goes, they come +from the south and travel northwards, and do not appear to relish the +tropical waters of the North Queensland coast, though I have heard that +some years ago a vast "school" entered the waters of Port Denison. + +Given a dear, sunny day and a smooth sea the advent of these fish to +the bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales presents a truly +extraordinary sight. From any moderately high bluff or headland one can +discern their approach nearly two miles away. You see a dark patch upon +the water, and were it not for the attendant flocks of gulls and other +aquatic birds, one would imagine it to be but the passing reflection of +a cloud. But presently you see another and another; and, still farther +oat, a long black line flecked with white can be discerned with a good +glass. Then you look above--the sky is cloudless blue, and you know +that the dark moving patches are the advance battalions of countless +thousands of sea salmon, and that the mile-long black and white streak +behind them is the main body of the first mighty army; for others are to +follow day by day for another fortnight. + +Probably the look-out man at the pilot station is the first to see +them, and in a few minates the lazy little seaport town awakes from its +morning lethargy, and even the butcher, and baker, and bootmaker, and +bank manager, and other commercial magnates shut up shop and walk to +the pilot station to watch the salmon "take" the bar, whilst the entire +public school rushes home to prepare its rude tackle for the onslaught +that will begin at dark. + +The bar is a mile wide or more, and though there is but little surf, +the ebbing tide, running at five knots, makes a great commotion, and the +shallow water is thick with yellow sand swept seaward to the pale green +beyond. Presently the first "school" of salmon reaches the protecting +reef on the southern side--and then it stops. The fish well know that +such a current as that cannot be stemmed, and wait, moving slowly to +and fro, the dark blue compactness of their serried masses ever and +anon broken by flashes of silver as some turn on their sides or make an +occasional leap clear out of the water to avoid the pressure of their +fellows. + +An hour or so passes; then the tumult on the bar ceases, the incoming +seas rise clear and sandless, and the fierce race of the current slows +down to a gentle drift; it is slack water, and the fish begin to move. +One after another the foremost masses sweep round the horn of the reef +and head for the smooth water inside. On the starboard hand a line of +yellow sandbank is drying in the sun, and the passage has now narrowed +down to a width of fifty yards; in twenty minutes every inch of water, +from the rocky headland on the south side of the entrance to where the +river makes a sharp turn northward, half a mile away, is packed with a +living, moving mass. Behind follows the main body, the two horns of +the crescent shape which it had at first preserved now swimming swiftly +ahead, and converging towards each other as the entrance to the bar is +reached, and the centre falling back with the precision of well-trained +troops. And then in a square, solid mass, thirty or forty feet in width, +they begin the passage, and for two hours or more the long dark lines of +fish pass steadily onward, only thrown into momentary confusion now and +then by a heavy swell, which, however, does no more than gently undulate +the rearmost lines of fish, and then subsides, overcome by the weight +and solidity of the living wall. + +Along the beach on the southern side of the river stand a hundred or +more yelling urchins, with stout lines fitted with many baitless hooks +and weighted with a stone. As the swarming fish press steadily on within +ten feet or less of the shore the children fling their lines across, and +draw them quickly in. Sometimes two or three fish are "jagged" at once, +and as the average weight is 10 lb. the jagger takes a turn of the line +around his waist and straggles up the beach. Even if he has but one fish +hooked amidships he has all he can do to drag him out from the countless +thousands and land him. It is not an eminently ideal or sportsmanlike +sort of fishing, this "jagging," but it possesses a marvellous enjoyment +and fascination for the youth of ten, and older people as well; for a +full-grown salmon is a powerful fellow, and his big, fluke-like tail +enables him to make a terrific rush when under the influence of terror +or when chasing his prey. + +Once over the bar and into the placid waters of the tidal river, the +vanguards of the hundreds of thousands to follow pursue their way +steadily up the shallow flats and numberless blind creeks, where they +remain till spawning is over. Every day some fresh accessions to their +numbers, and at night time strange, indescribable sounds are heard, +caused by the movements of the fishes' tails and fins as they swim +to and fro, and one section, meeting another, endeavours to force a +right-of-way. On the third or fourth evening the sharks and porpoises +appear, having followed the "schools" in from the sea, and wreak fearful +havoc among them. Sometimes in a deep pool or quiet reach of the river +one may see a school of perhaps five or six thousand terrified salmon, +wedged one up against the other, unable to move from their very numbers, +while half a dozen sharks dash in among them and devour them by the +score; and often as the current runs seaward hundreds of half bodies of +salmon can be seen going out over the bar. At night time the townspeople +appear on the scene in boats with lanterns and spears, and for no other +purpose than the mere love of useless slaughter kill the fish till their +arms are exhausted. At places within easy access of Sydney by steamer or +rail some few thousands of salmon are sent to market, but as the flesh +is somewhat coarse, they are only bought by the poorer members of the +community, 4d. and 6d. each being considered a good retail price for a +10 lb. fish. The roes, however, are excellent eating, and some attempt +has been made to smoke them on a large scale, but like everything else +connected with the fishing industry (or rather want of industry) in New +South Wales, has failed. It sometimes happens (as I once witnessed in +Trial Bay, on the coast of New South Wales) that heavy weather will +set in when the salmon are either passing inwards over the bars or are +returning to sea. The destruction that is then wrought among them is +terrific. On the occasion of which I speak, every heavy roller that +reared and then dashed upon the beach flung upon the sands hundreds of +the fish, stunned and bleeding. At one spot where the beach had but a +very slight inclination towards the water from the line of scrub above +high-water mark there were literally many thousands of salmon, lying +three and four deep, and in places piled up in irregular ridges and +firmly packed together with sand and seaweed. + + + + +"JACK SHARK" + +"What is the greatest number of sharks that you have ever seen together +at one time?" asked an English lady in San Francisco of Captain Allen, +of the New Bedford barque _Acorn Barnes_. + +"Two or three hundred when we have been cutting-in a whale; two or three +thousand in Christmas Island lagoon." + +Some of the hardy old seaman's listeners smiled somewhat incredulously +at the "two or three thousand," but nevertheless he was not only not +exaggerating, but might have said five or six thousand. The Christmas +Island to which he referred must not be mistaken for the island of the +same name in the Indian Ocean--the Cocos-Keeling group. It is in the +North Pacific, two degrees north of the equator and 157.30 W., and is +a low, sandy atoll, encompassing a spacious but rather shallow lagoon, +teeming with non-poisonous fish. It is leased from the Colonial Office +by a London firm, who are planting the barren soil with coconut trees +and fishing the lagoon for pearl-shell. Like many other of the isolated +atolls in the North Pacific, such as the Fannings, Palmyra, and +Providence Groups, the lagoon is resorted to by sharks in incredible +numbers; and even at the present time the native labourers employed by +the firm alluded to make a considerable sum of money by catching sharks +and drying the fins and tails for export to Sydney, and thence to +China, where they command a price ranging from 6d. to 1s. 6d. per pound, +according to quality. + +The lagoon sharks are of a different species to the short, thick, +wide-jawed "man-eaters," although they are equally dangerous at night +time as the deep-sea prowlers. The present writer was for a long time +engaged with a native crew in the shark-catching industry in the North +Pacific, and therefore had every opportunity of studying Jack Shark and +his manners. + +On Providence Lagoon (the Ujilong of the natives), once the secret +rendezvous of the notorious Captain "Bully" Hayes and his associate +adventurer, Captain Ben Peese, I have, at low tide, stood on the edge of +the coral reef on one side of South Passage, and gazed in astonishment +at the extraordinary numbers of sharks entering the lagoon for their +nightly onslaught on the vast bodies of fish with which the water +teems. They came on in droves, like sheep, in scores at first, then +in hundreds, and then in packed masses, their sharp, black-tipped fins +stretching from one side of the passage to the other. As they gained the +inside of the lagoon they branched off, some to right and left, others +swimming straight on towards the sandy beaches of the chain of islets. +From where I stood I could have killed scores of them with a whale +lance, or even a club, for they were packed so closely that they +literally scraped against the coral walls of the passage; and some +Gilbert Islanders who were with me amused themselves by seizing several +by their tails and dragging them out upon the reef. They were nearly all +of the same size, about seven feet, with long slender bodies, and their +markings, shape, and general appearance were those of the shark called +by the Samoans _moemoeao_ ("sleeps all day"), though not much more than +half their length. The Gilbert Islanders informed me that this species +were also _bakwa mata te ao_ (sleepers by day) at certain seasons of +the year, but usually sought their prey by night at all times; and a few +months later I had an opportunity afforded me of seeing some hundreds of +them asleep. This was outside the barrier reef of the little island of +Ailuk, in the Marshall Group. We were endeavouring to find and recover +a lost anchor, and were drifting along in a boat in about six fathoms of +water; there was not a breath of wind, and consequently we had no need +to use water glasses, for even minute objects could be very easily +discerned through the crystal water. + +"Hallo! look here," said the mate, "we're right on top of a nice little +family party of sharks. It's their watch below." + +Lying closely together on a bottom of sand and coral _debris_ were about +a dozen sharks, heads and tails in perfect line. Their skins were a +mottled brown and yellow, like the crustacean-feeding "tiger shark" +of Port Jack-son. They lay so perfectly still that the mate lowered +a grapnel right on the back of one. He switched his long, thin tail +lazily, "shoved" himself along for a few feet, and settled down again to +sleep, his bedmates taking no notice of the intruding grapnel. Further +on we came across many more--all in parties of from ten to twenty, and +all preserving in their slumber a due sense of regularity of outline in +the disposition of their long bodies. + +The natives of the low-lying equatorial islands--the Kingsmill, Gilbert, +Ellice, and Tokelau or Union Groups--are all expert shark fishermen; +but the wild people of Paanopa (Ocean Island) stand _facile princeps_. I +have frequently seen four men in a small canoe kill eight or ten sharks +(each of which was as long as their frail little craft) within three +hours. + + + + +SOME PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHES + +Of all the food-fishes inhabiting the reefs, lagoons, and tidal waters +of the islands of the North and South Pacific, there are none that are +prized more than the numerous varieties of sand-mullet. Unlike the same +fishes in British and other colder waters, they frequently reach a great +size, some of them attaining two feet in length, and weighing up to ten +pounds; and another notable feature is the great diversity of colour +characterising the whole family. The writer is familiar with at least +ten varieties, and the natives gave me the names of several others +which, however, are seldom taken in sufficient numbers to make them a +common article of diet. The larger kind are caught with hook and line in +water ranging from three to five fathoms in depth, the smaller kinds are +always to be found in the very shallow waters of the lagoons, where they +are taken by nets. At night, by the aid of torches made of dried coconut +leaf, the women and children capture them in hundreds as they lie on +the clear, sandy bottom. In the picturesque lagoons of the Ellice Group +(South Pacific), and especially in that of Nanomea, these fish afford +excellent sport with either rod or hand-line, and sport, too, with +surroundings of the greatest beauty imaginable; for the little lagoon +of Nanomea is perfectly landlocked, except where there are breaks of +reef--dry at low water--which is as clear as crystal, and the low-lying +belt of land is a verdant girdle of coco and pandanus palms, growing +with bread-fruit and _fetau_ trees on the rich, warm soil composed of +vegetable matter and decayed coral detritis. + +And then, too, you can look over the side of the canoe, or from an +exposed boulder of coral, and see the fish take your bait--unless a +breeze is rippling the surface of the water. + +I usually chose the early morning, before the trade wind roused itself, +as then, if in a canoe, one need not anchor, but drift about from one +side of the lagoon to the other; then about ten o'clock, when the breeze +came, I would paddle over to the lee of the weather side of the island +(the land in places not being much wider than the Palisadoes of Port +Royal in Jamaica) and fish in unruffled water in some deep pool among +a number of sand banks, or rather round-topped hillocks, which even at +high water were some feet above the surface. + +When bent on sand-mullet--_afulu_ the natives call them--I was in the +habit of going alone, although the moment I appeared in the village +carrying my rod, lines, and gun, I was always besought to take one or +two men with me. One of the most ardent fishermen on the island was one +Kino--a gentleman who weighed eighteen stone; and, as my canoe was only +intended for two light-weights like myself, I always tried to avoid +meeting him, for not only was he most persistent in his desire to see +how I managed to get so many mullet, but was most anxious to learn to +speak English. + +On one occasion I fatuously took the monster out in my whaleboat to +fish for _takuo_ (a variety of _tuna_) one calm starlight night when the +ocean was like a sheet of glass. We pulled out over the reef, and when +a mile from the shore lowered our heavy lines and began fishing. For +nearly a quarter of an hour neither of us spoke, then he suddenly asked +me in his fat, wheezy tones, if I would mind telling him something. + +"What is it?" + +"Will you tell me, friend, what are the English words that should be +spoken by one of us of Nanomea to a ship captain, giving him greeting, +and asking him if he hath had a prosperous voyage with fair weather? My +heart is sick with envy that Pita and Loli speak English, and I cannot." + +Forgetting my past experiences of my man, I was fool enough to tell him. + +"You say this: 'Good morning, Captain; have you had a good voyage and +fair weather?'" + +He greedily repeated each word after me, very slowly and carefully; then +he asked me to tell him again. I did so. Then he sighed with pleasure. + +"Kind friend, just a few times more," he said. + +I told him the sentence over and over again for at least a score of +times; and his smooth, fat face beamed when at last he was able to say +the words alone. Then he began whispering it. Five minutes passed, and +he tackled me again. + +"Is this right?--'Good--mornin', +kipen--ha--ad--you--have--goot--foy--age--and--fair wesser?'" + +"That is right," I said impatiently, "but ask me no more to-night. +Dost not know that it is unlucky to talk when fishing for _takuo_ and +_tautau?_" + +"Dear friend, _that_ we believed only in the heathen days. _Now_ we are +Christians." + +He paused a moment, then raised his face to the stars and softly +murmured, "Good--mornin' kapen--haad--you--you--have--goot--foyage--and +wesser--and fair--wesser?" Then he looked at me interrogatively. I took +no notice. + +He toyed with his line and bent an earnest gaze down in the placid +depths of the water as if he saw the words down there, then taking a +turn of his line round a thwart, he put his two elbows on his enormous +naked knees, and resting his broad, terraced chin on the palms of his +hands, he said slowly and mournfully, as if he were communing with some +one in the spirit-world-- + +"Good--mornin'--kapen. Haad--you--haave----" &c., &c. + +Then I sharply spoke a few words of English--simple in themselves, but +well understood by nearly every native of the South Seas. He looked +surprised, and also reproachful, but went on in a whisper so faint that +I could scarcely hear it; sometimes quickly and excitedly, sometimes +doubtingly and with quivering lips, now raising his eyes to heaven, and +with drooping lower jaw gurgling the words in his thick throat; then +sighing and muttering them with closed eyes and a rapt expression of +countenance, till with a sudden snort of satisfaction, he ceased--at +least I thought he had. He took up a young coconut, drank it, and began +again as fresh as ever. + +"Stop!" I said angrily. "Art thou a grown man or a child? Here is some +tobacco, fill thy pipe, and cease muttering like a _tama valea_ (idiot +boy)." + +He shook his head. "Nay, if I smoke, I may forget. I am very happy +to-night, kind friend. Good-mor----" + +"May Erikobai" (a cannibal god of his youth) "polish his teeth on thy +bones!" I cried at last in despair. That shocking heathen curse silenced +him, but for the next two hours, whenever I looked at the creature, I +saw his lips moving and a silly, fatuous expression on his by no means +unintelligent face. I never took him out with me again, although he sent +me fowls and other things as bribes to teach him more English. + + * * * * * + +These sand-mullet are very dainty-feeding fish. They are particularly +fond of the soft tail part of the hermit crabs which abound all over +the island, especially after rain has fallen. Some of the shells (_T. +niloticus_) in which they live are so thick and strong, however, that +it requires two heavy stones to crush them sufficiently to take out the +crab, the upper part of whose body is useless for bait. For a stick of +tobacco, the native children would fill me a quart measure, and perhaps +add some few shrimps as well, or half a dozen large sea urchins--a very +acceptable bait for mullet. My rod was a slender bamboo--cost a quarter +of a dollar, and was unbreakable--and my lines of white American cotton, +strong, durable, and especially suitable for fishing on a bottom of pure +white sand. My gun was carried on the outrigger platform, within easy +reach, for numbers of golden plover frequented the sand banks, feeding +on the serried battalions of tiny soldier crabs, and in rainy weather +they were very easy to shoot. The rest of my gear consisted of twenty or +thirty cartridges, a box of assorted hooks, a heavy 27-cord line with +a 5-in. hook (in case I saw any big rock cod about), a few bottles of +lager, some ship biscuits or cold yam, and a tin of beef or sardines, +and some salt. This was a day's supply of food, and if I wanted more, +there were plenty of young coconuts to be had by climbing for them, and +I could cook my own fish, native fashion; lastly there was myself, in +very easy attire--print shirt, dungaree pants, panama hat, and no boots, +in place of which I used the native _takka_, or sandals of coconut +fibre, which are better than boots when walking on coral. Sometimes I +would remain away till the following morning, sleeping on the weather +side of the island under a shelter of leaves to keep off the dew, and +on such occasions two or three of the young men from the village would +invariably come and keep me company--and help eat the fish and birds. +However, they were very well conducted, and we always spent a pleasant +night, rose at daybreak, bathed in the surf, or in the lagoon, and after +an early breakfast returned to the village, or had some more fishing. It +was a delightful life. + +My canoe was so light that it could easily be carried by one person from +the open shed where it was kept, and in a few minutes after leaving +my house I would be afloat, paddling slowly over the smooth water, and +looking over the side for the mullet. In the Nanomea, Nui, and Nukufetau +Lagoons the largest but scarcest variety are of a purple-grey, with fins +(dorsal and abdominal) and mouth and gill-plates tipped with yellow; +others again are purple-grey with dull roddish markings. This kind, with +those of an all bright yellow colour throughout, are the most valued, +though, as I have said, the whole family are prized for their delicacy +of flavour. + +As soon as I caught sight of one or more of the sought-for fish, I would +cease paddling, and bait my hook; and first carefully looking to see +if there were any predatory leather-jackets or many-coloured wrasse in +sight, would lower away, the hook soon touching the bottom, as I always +used a small sinker of coral stone. This was necessary only because of +the number of other fish about--bass, trevally, and greedy sea-pike, +with teeth like needles and as hungry as sharks. In the vicinity of the +reef, or about the isolated coral boulders, or "mushrooms" as we called +them, these fish were a great annoyance to me, though my native +friends liked them well enough, especially the large, gorgeously-hued +"leather-jackets," to which they have given the very appropriate name +of _isuumu moana_--the sea-rat--for they have a great trick of quietly +biting a baited line a few inches above the hook. _Apropos_ of the +"sea-rat," I may mention that their four closely-set and humanlike teeth +are so thick that they will often crush an ordinary hook as if it were +made of glass, and as their mouths are exceedingly small, and many are +heavy, powerful fishes, they cause havoc with ordinary tackle. But a +fellow-trader and myself devised a very short, stout hook (1 1/2 inch of +shank) with a barbless curve well turned in towards the shank; these +we bent on to a length of fine steel wire seizing. They proved just the +ideal hook for the larger kind of sea-rat, which run up to 10 lb., and +the natives were so greatly taken with the device that, whenever a ship +touched at the island, short pieces of fine steel wire rigging were +eagerly bought (or begged for). + +However, no leather-jackets, wrasse, greedy rock-cod, or keen-eyed +trevally being about, the bait touches the sandy bottom, and then you +will see one--perhaps half a dozen--_afulu_ cease poking their noses in +the sand, and make for it steadily but cautiously. When within a foot +or so, they invariably stop dead, and eye the bait to see if it is worth +eating. But they are soon satisfied--that round, pale green thing with +delicious juices exuding from it is an _uga_ (hermit crab) and must not +be left to be devoured by rude, big-mouthed rock-cod or the like, and +in another moment or two your line is tautened out, and a purple-scaled +beauty is fighting gamely for his life in the translucent waters of the +lagoon, followed half-way to the surface by his companions, whom, later +on, you place beside him in the bottom of the canoe. And even to look +at them is a joy, for they are graceful in shape, lovely in colour, and +each scale is a jewel. + +You take up the paddle and send the canoe along for half-a-cable's +length towards a place where, under the ledge of the inner reef, both +_afulu sama sama_ and _afulu lanu uli_ (yellow and purple mullet) are +certain to be found; and, as the little craft slips along, a large +gar--green-backed, silvery-sided, and more than a yard long--may dart +after you like a gleaming, hiltless rapier skimming the surface of the +water. If you put out a line with a hook--baited with almost anything--a +bit of fish a strip of white or red rag--you will have some sport, +for these great gars are a hard-fighting fish, and do the tarpon +jumping-trick to perfection. But if you have not a line in readiness you +can wait your chance, and as he comes close alongside, break his back +with a blow from the sharp blade of your paddle, and jump overboard and +secure him ere he sinks. + +"Not very sportsmanlike," some people will say; but the South Sea native +is very utilitarian, and it takes a keen eye and hand to do the +thing neatly. And not only are these gars excellent eating--like all +surface-feeding, or other fish which show a "green" backbone when +cooked; but fore and aft strips out from their sheeny sides make +splendid bait for deep-sea habitants, such as the giant sea bass and the +200-pounder "coral" cod. + +Under the ledge of the inner reef, if you get there before the sun +is too far to the westward, so that your eyes are not blinded by its +dazzling, golden light, you will see, as you drop your line for the +yellow and purple mullet which swim deep down over the fine coral sand, +some of the strangest shaped, most fantastically, and yet beautifully +coloured rock fish imaginable. As you pull up a mullet (or a green and +golden striped wrasse which has seized the bait not meant for him), many +of these beautiful creations of Nature will follow it up to within a +few feet of the canoe, wondering perhaps what under the sea it means +by acting in such a manner; others--small creatures of the deepest, +loveliest blue--flee in tenor at the unwonted commotion, and hide +themselves among the branching glories of their coral home. + + + + +"LUCK" + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A "hard" man was Captain William Rodway of Sydney, New South Wales, and +he prided himself upon the fact. From the time he was twenty years of +age, he had devoted himself to making and saving money, and now at sixty +he was worth a quarter of a million. + +He began life as cabin boy on a north-country collier brig; was starved, +kicked, and all but worked to death; and when he came to command a +ship of his own, his north-country training stood him in good +stead--starving, kicking, and working his crew to death came as +naturally to him as breathing. He spared no one, nor did he spare +himself. + +From the very first everything went well with him. He saved enough money +by pinching and grinding his crew--and himself--to enable him to buy +the vessel to which he had been appointed. Then he bought others, +established what was known as Rodway's Line, gave up going to sea +himself, rented an office in a mean street, where he slept and cooked +his meals, and worked harder than ever at making money, oblivious of the +sneers of those who railed at his parsimony. He was content. + +One Monday morning at nine o'clock he took his seat as usual in his +office, and began to open his pile of letters, his square-set, hard +face, with its cold grey eyes, looking harder than ever, for he had been +annoyed by the old charwoman who cleaned his squalid place asking him +for more wages. + +He was half-way through his correspondence when a knock sounded. + +"Come in," he said gruffly. + +The door opened, and a handsome, well-built young man of about thirty +years of age entered. + +"Good morning, Captain Rodway." + +"Morning, Lester. What do you want? Why are you not at sea?" and he bent +his keen eyes upon his visitor. + +"I'm waiting for the water-boat; but otherwise I'm ready to sail." + +"Well, what is it then?" + +"I want to know if it is a fact that you will not employ married men as +captains?" + +"It is." + +"Will you make no exception in my favour?" + +"No." + +"I have been five years in your employ as mate and master of the +_Harvest Home_, and I am about to marry." + +"Do as you please, but the day you marry you leave my service." + +The young man's face flushed. "Then you can give me my money, and I'll +leave it to-day." + +"Very well. Sit down," replied the old man, reaching for his wages book. + +"There are sixty pounds due to you," he said; "go on board and wait +for me. I'll be there at twelve o'clock with the new man, and we'll go +through the stores and spare gear together. If everything is right, I'll +pay your sixty pounds--if not, I'll deduct for whatever is short. Good +morning." + +At two o'clock in the afternoon Captain Tom Lester landed at Circular +Quay with his effects and sixty sovereigns in his pocket. + +Leaving his baggage at an hotel he took a cab, drove to a quiet +little street in the suburb of Darling Point, and stopped at a quaint, +old-fashioned cottage surrounded by a garden. + +The door was opened by a tall, handsome girl of about twenty-two. + +"Tom!" + +"Lucy!" he replied, mimicking her surprised tone. Then he became grave, +and leading her to a seat, sat beside her, and took her hand. + +"Lucy, I have bad news. Rod way dismissed me this morning, and I have +left the ship." + +The girl's eyes filled. "Never mind, Tom. You will get another." + +"Ah, perhaps I might have to wait a long time. I have another plan. +Where is Mrs. Warren? I must tell her that our marriage must be put +off." + +"Why should it, Tom? I don't want it to be put off. And neither does +she." + +"But I have no home for you." + +"We can live here until we have one of our own. Mother will be only too +happy." + +"Sure?" + +"Absolutely, or I would not say it." + +"Will you marry me this day week?" + +"Yes, dear--today if you wish. We have waited two years." + +"You're a brave little woman, Lucy," and he kissed her. "Now, here is +my plan. I can raise nearly a thousand pounds. I shall buy the _Dolphin_ +steam tug--I can get her on easy terms of payment--fill her with coal +and stores, and go to Kent's Group in Bass's Straits, and try and +refloat the _Braybrook Castle_. I saw the agents and the insurance +people this morning--immediately after I left old Bodway. If I float +her, it will mean a lot of money for me. If I fail, I shall at least +make enough to pay me well by breaking her up. The insurance people know +me, and said very nice things to me." + +"Will you take me, Tom?" + +"Don't tempt me, Lucy. It will be a rough life, living on an almost +barren, rocky island, inhabited only by black snakes, albatrosses, gulls +and seals." + +"Tom, you _must_. Come, let us tell mother." + +Three days later they were married, and at six o'clock in the evening +the newly-made bride was standing beside her husband on the bridge +of the _Dolphin_, which was steaming full speed towards Sydney Heads, +loaded down almost to the waterways with coals and stores for four +months. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +Two months had passed, and the sturdy _Dolphin_ was lying snugly at +anchor in a small, well-sheltered cove on one of the Kent's Group of +islands. Less than a hundred yards away was one of the rudest attempts +at a house ever seen--that is, externally--for it was built with +wreckage from many ships and was roofed with tarpaulins and coarse +"albatross" grass. Seated on a stool outside the building was Mrs. +Lester, engaged in feeding a number of noisy fowls with broken-up +biscuit, but looking every now and then towards the _Braybrook Cattle_, +which lay on the rocks a mile away with only her lower masts standing. +It was nearing the time when her husband and his men would be returning +from their usual day's arduous toil. She rose, shook the biscuit crumbs +from her apron, and walking down to the _Dolphin_, anchored just in +front of the house, called--"Manuel." + +A black, woolly head appeared above the companion way, and Manuel, +the cook of the wrecking party, came on deck, jumped into the dinghy +alongside and sculled ashore. + +"Manuel, you know that all the men are having supper in the house +to-night," she said, as the man--a good-natured Galveston negro--stepped +on shore. + +"Yes, ma'am." + +"Well, I've done all _my_ share of the cooking--I've made two batches of +bread, and the biggest sea pie you ever saw in your life, but I want two +buckets of water from the spring." + +"All right, ma'am. I'll tote 'em up fo' yo' right away.". + +"Please do. And I'll come with you. Captain Lester and the others +won't be here for half an hour yet, and I want to show you some +curious-looking stuff I saw on the beach this morning. It looks like +dirty soap mixed with black shells, like fowl's beaks." + +The negro's face displayed a sudden interest. "Mixed with shells, yo' +say, ma'am. Did yo' touch it?" + +"No--it looks too unpleasant." + +The negro picked up the buckets, and, followed by Mrs. Lester, set out +along a path which led to a rocky pool of some dimensions filled with +rain water.. "Leave the buckets till we come back, Manuel We have not +far to go." + +She led the way to the beach, and then turning to the left walked along +the hard, white sand till they came to a bar of low rocks covered with +sea-moss and lichen. Lying against the seaward face of the rock was +a pile of driftweed, kelp, crayfish shells, &c, and half buried in +_debris_ was the object that had aroused her curiosity. + +"There it is, Manuel," she said, pointing to an irregularly-shaped mass +of a mottled grey, yellow and brown substance, looking like soap, mixed +with cinders and ashes. + +The negro whipped out his sheath knife, plunged it into the mass, then +withdrew it, pressed the flat of the blade to his nostrils, and then +uttered a yell of delight, clapped his hands, took off his cap and +tossed it in the air, and rolled his eyes in such an extraordinary +manner, that Mrs. Lester thought he had become suddenly insane. + +"Yo' am rich woman now, ma'am," he said in his thick, fruity voice. "Dat +am ambergris. I know it well 'nuff. I was cook on a whaleship fo' five +years, and have handled little bits of ambergris two or three times, but +no one in de world, I believe, ever see such a lump like dis." + +"Is it worth anything then?" + +"Worth anything, ma'am! It am worth twenty-two shillings de ounce!" + +He knelt down and began clearing away the weed till the whole mass was +exposed, placed his arms around it, and partly lifted it. + +"Dere is more'n a hundredweight," he chuckled, as he looked up at Mrs. +Lester, who was now also feeling excited. "Look at dis now." + +He cut out a slice of the curious-looking oleaginous stuff, struck a +match and applied the light. A pale yellow flame was the result, and +with it there came a strong but pleasant smell. + +Mrs. Lester had never heard of ambergris to her recollection, but Manuel +now enlightened her as to its uses--the principal being as a developer +of the strength of all other perfumes. + +Such a treasure could not be left where it was--exposed to the risk of +being carried away by the tide so the negro at once went to work with +his knife, catting it into three pieces, each of which he carried to +the house, and put into an empty barrel. Then he returned and carefully +searched for and picked up the minutest scraps which had broken off +whilst he was cutting the "find" through. + +Just at sunset, Lester and his gang of burly helpers returned tired +and hungry, but highly elated, for they had succeeded in getting out an +unusual amount of valuable cargo. + +"We've had great luck to-day, Lucy," cried Lester, as he strode over the +coarse grass in his high sea boots; "and, all going well, we shall make +the first attempt to pull the ship off the day after to-morrow." + +"And I have had luck too," said his wife, her fair, sweet face, now +bronzed by the sun, glowing as she spoke. "But come inside first, and +then I'll tell you." + +The interior of the dwelling consisted of two rooms only--a small +bedroom and a large living room which was also used as a kitchen. It +was quite comfortably furnished with handsome chairs, lounges, chests of +drawers, and other articles taken from the cabin of the stranded ship. +The centre of the room was occupied by a large deal table made by one +of the men, and a huge fire of drift timber blazed merrily at one end. +Manuel was laying the table, his black face beaming with sup-pressed +excitement, and the rough, sea-booted wreckers entered one by one and +sat down. Mrs. Lester bade them smoke if they wished. + +"Well, boys," said their leader to the wrecking party--of whom there +were thirty--"we all deserve a drink before supper. Help yourselves to +whatever you like," and he pointed to a small side-table covered with +bottles of spirits and glasses. Then Lucy, after they had all satisfied +themselves, walked over to the cask containing her "find," and standing +beside it, asked if they would all come and look at the contents and see +if they knew what it was. Lester, thinking she had succeeded in catching +a young seal, looked on with an amused smile. + +One by one the men came and looked inside the cask, felt the greasy mass +with their horny fingers, and each shook his head until the tenth man, +who, the moment he saw it, gave a shout. + +"Why, I'm blest if it ain't ambow-grease!" + +Lester started. "Ambergris! Nonsense!" and then he too uttered a cry +of astonishment as a second man--an old whaler--darted in front of him, +and, pinching off a piece of the "find," smelt it. + +"Hamble-grist it is, sir," he cried, "and the cask is chock-full of it." + +"Turn it out on the floor," said Lester, who knew the enormous value of +ambergris, "and let us get a good look at it. Light all the lamps, Lucy." + +The lamps were lit, and then Manuel repeated his experiment by burning +a piece, amid breathless excitement. No further doubt could exist, and +then Manuel, taking a spring balance (weighing up to 50 lbs.) from +the wall, hung it to a rafter, whilst the men put the lot into three +separate bags and suspended them to the hook in turn. + +"Forty-five pounds," cried the mate of the Dolphin, as the first bag was +hooked on. "Come on with the next one." + +"Thirty-nine pounds." + +"_And_ thirty-four pounds makes a hundred and eighteen," said Lester, +bending down and eagerly examining the dial. + +"How much is it worth, skipper?" asked the tug's engineer. + +"Not less than L1 an ounce----" + +"No, sah," cried Manuel, with an _ex cathedra_ air, "twenty-two +shillings, sah. Dat's what the captain of de _Fanny Long_ Hobart Town +whaleship got fo' a piece eleven poun' weight in Sydney last June. And +I hear de boys sayin' dat he would hab got L1 5s. only dat dere was a +power of squids' beaks in it--and dere's not many in dis lot, so it's +gwine to bring more." + +He explained that the pieces of black shell, which looked like broken +mussel shells, were in reality the beaks of the squid, upon which the +sperm whale feeds. Then, for the benefit of those of the party, he and +the two other ex-whalemen described the cause of the formation of this +peculiar substance in the body of the sperm whale. + +Lester took pencil and paper and made a rapid calculation. + +"Boys, we'll say that this greasy-looking staff is worth only a pound an +ounce--though I don't doubt that Manuel is right. Well, at L1 an ounce, +it comes to eighteen hundred and eighty-eight pounds." + +"Hurrah for Mrs. Lester!" cried Lindley, the mate. + +"She has brought us luck from the first, and now she has luck herself." + +The men cheered her again and again, for there was not one of them that +had not a rough affection for their captain's violet-eyed wife. They +had admired her for her pluck even in making the voyage to this desolate +spot, and her constant cheerfulness and her kindness and attention in +nursing three of them who had been seriously ill cemented their feelings +of devotion to her. There was a happy supper party in "Wreck House"---as +Lucy had named her strangely-built abode--that night, and it was not +until the small hours of the morning that the men went off to sleep on +the tug, and left Lucy and her husband to themselves. + +"I'm too excited to sleep now, Tom," she said. "Come, I must show you +the place where I found it. It is not a bit cold. And oh! Tom, I'm +beginning to love this lonely island, and the rough life, and the +tame seals, and the wild goats, and the fowls, and black Manuel, and, +and--oh, everything! And look, Tom dear, over there at the lighthouse +at Deal Island. I really believe the light was never shining as it is +to-night. Oh! all the world is bright to me." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +Two days later, and after nearly fifteen weeks of arduous and +unremitting labour, there came, one calm night, a glorious spring tide, +and the _Dolphin_, under a full head of steam, and with her stout, broad +frame quivering and throbbing and panting, tugged away at the giant hulk +of the stranded ship; and the ship's own donkey engine and winch wheezed +and groaned as it slowly brought in inch by inch a heavy coir hawser +made fast to a rock half a cable length ahead of the tug. And then the +_Braybrook Castle_ began to move, and the wrecking gang cheered and +cheered until they were hoarse, and the second engineer of the tug and +two stokers, stripped to their waists, with the perspiration streaming +down their roasting bodies, answered with a yell--and then, lying well +over on her starboard bilge, the great ship slid off stern first into +deep water, and Tom Lester's heart leapt within him with joy and pride. + +Lucy, as excited as any one else, was on the bridge with him, her face +aglow, and her hand on the lever of the engine-room telegraph. + +"Half-speed, Lucy." + +As the bell clanged loudly, and the heart of the sturdy tug beat less +frantically, the wrecking gang on board the ship under Lindley slipped +their end of the coir hawser from the winch barrel, and worked like +madmen to get the ship on an even keel by cutting adrift the lashings of +several hundred barrels of cement (part of the cargo) which were piled +up on the starboard side of the main deck, and letting them plunge +overboard As the ship righted herself inch by inch, and finally stood up +on an even keel, Lester made an agreed-upon signal--blowing his whistle +thrice--for Lindley to stand by his anchors, which were all ready to let +go. + +His device of getting up the barrels of cement from the lower hold, and +stowing them against the iron deck stanchions (having previously +cut away the bulwark plates) so as to give the vessel a big cant to +starboard, had answered perfectly; for, high as was the tide that night, +the _Dolphin_, though so powerful, could not have moved a ship of 1,500 +tons with her keel still partly sustaining her weight on the rooks on +which she had struck. By canting her as he had done, she had actually +floated--and no more than floated--an hour before the tide was at its +full. + +Half an hour later the _Braybrook Castle_ had been towed round to a +little bay just abreast of "Wreck House," and the tug's engines stopped. + +"All ready, Lindley?" shouted Lester. + +"All ready sir." + +"Then let go." + +At a tap from Lindley's hammer, the great anchor plunged down, and the +flaked out cable roared as it flew through the hawse-pipes, drowning the +loud "Hurrah" of the men on board. + +"What is it, Lindley?" cried Lester, "ten fathoms?" + +"Twelve, sir." + +"Give her another twenty-five. It's good holding ground and there is +plenty of room for her to swing. Lindley!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"We have had a bit of good luck, eh?" + +"Yes, sir. That is because Mrs. Lester is on the tug. She brings us good +luck." + +Lester laughed and turned to his wife. "Do you hear that, Lucy?" + +She was gazing intently over to the westward, but turned to him the +moment he spoke. + +"Tom, I can see a blue light over there.... Ah, see, there is a rocket! +What is it?" + +Lester took his night glasses and looked. + +"There is a ship ashore somewhere between here and the Deal Island +light," he said, and then he rang, "Go astern," to the engine-room. + +"Lindley," he called as soon as the tug backed alongside the _Braybrook +Castle_, "there is a ship ashore about four miles away from us to the +westward. My wife noticed her signals a few minutes ago." + +"More salvage, sir," bawled Lindley, "Mrs. Lester is bringing us more +luck. What's to be, sir?" + +"I want ten or a dozen men, and I'll go and see what I can do. You are +all right, aren't you?" + +"Right as rain, sir." + +Fifteen, instead of a dozen men slid down a line on to the deck of the +tug, and Lucy, at a nod from her husband, turned on "Full steam ahead," +and Lester whistled down the speaking-tube. + +"Hallo!" was the response. + +"Give it to her, Patterson, for all she's worth. There is a ship +ashore about four miles away. She is burning blue lights and sending up +rockets." + +Five minutes later, the Dolphin was tearing through the water at her top +speed--eleven knots--and Patterson came up on the bridge. + +"Who saw the seegnals first?" he inquired. + +"I did, Mr. Patterson," said Lucy. + +"Ay, I thoct as much, Mistress Leslie. Even that lazy, sheeftless Irish +fireman loon ae mine, Rafferty, said ye'd bring us mair guid luck." Then +he dived below again to the engines so dear to his Scotsman's heart. + +The night was dark, but calm and windless, and the panting tug tore her +way through a sea as smooth as glass towards where the ghastly glare of +the last blue light had been seen. Twenty minutes later, Lester caught +sight of the distressed ship. She was lying on her beam ends, and almost +at the same moment came a loud hail-- + +"Steamer ahoy!" + +"Clang!" went the telegraph, and the _Dolphin's_ engines stopped, and +then went astern, just in time to save her from crashing into a boat +crowded with men; a second boat was close astern of the first. They came +alongside, and the occupants swarmed over the tug's low bulwarks, and an +old greybearded man made his way up to Lester. + +"My cowardly crew have forced me to abandon my ship. We were caught in +a squall yesterday, and thrown on our beam ends." Then he fell down in a +fit. + +"Veer those boats astern," cried Lester to his own men, "I'm going to +hook on to that ship!" + +Bailey, one of his best men, gave a yell. + +"More luck, boys. Mrs. Lester!" + +As the poor captain was carried off the bridge into the little cabin, +the _Dolphin_ went ahead, and in a quarter of an hour, Bailey and his +men had cut away the masts and the tug had the ship in tow. + +At daylight next morning Lester brought her into the little bay where +the _Braybrook Castle_ lay, and Bailey anchored her safely. + +When Lester boarded her he found she was the _Harvest Queen_, sister +ship to the _Harvest Maid_, _Harvester_, and his own last command, the +_Harvest Home_, all ships of 1,500 tons, and belonging to Captain James +Rodway. + +"Why didn't you cut away her masts?" he said to the unfortunate captain +later on. + +"Ah, you don't know my owner," the old man replied, "and besides that, I +could have righted the ship if my crew had stuck to me. But after being +eighteen hours on our beam ends, they took fright and lowered the boats. +I'm a ruined man." + +"Not at all. You have done your duty and I'll give you command of +another ship to-day--the _Braybrook Castle_. You have nothing further to +do with the _Harvest Queen_. She was an abandoned ship. She's mine now. +Salvage, you know." + +The old man nodded his head. "Yes, I know that. And you'll make a pot +oat of her." + +"What is she worth?" + +"Ship and cargo are worth L80,000. We loaded a general cargo in London." + +"That will be a bit of a knock for Rodway." "Do you know him?" asked +Captain Blake in surprise. + +"I do indeed! I was master of the _Harvest Home_. Now come ashore. My +wife is getting as something to eat." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +At the end of another four weeks, the _Braybrook Castle_, with +three-fourths of the cargo she had brought from London, sailed for +Sydney under the command of Captain Blake of the _Harvest Queen_, +and the _Harvest Queen_ under jury masts, and with her valuable cargo +undamaged, was ready to sail, escorted by the _Dolphin_ on the following +day, with Lindley as master. + +The last night at "Wreck House" was even a merrier and happier one than +that on which the wrecking party celebrated Lucy's "find." But yet Lucy +herself felt a little sad at saying farewell to this wild spot, where +amid the roar of the ever-beating surf, and the clamour of the gulls +and terns, she had spent the four happiest months of her life. The rough +food, the fresh sea-air, and the active life had, Lester declared, only +served to increase her beauty, and she herself had never felt so strong +and in such robust health before. Almost every day in fine weather she +had taken a walk to some part of the interior of the island, or along +the many white beaches, filling a large basket with sea-birds' eggs, or +collecting the many beautiful species of cowries and other sea-shells +with which the beaches were strewn. Years before, another wrecking party +had left some goats on the island, and these had thriven and increased +amazingly. Her husband's men had shot a great number for food, and +captured three or four, which supplied them with milk, and these latter, +with their playful kids, and a number of fowls which had been brought +from Sydney in the _Dolphin_, together with a pair of pet baby seals, +made up what she called her "farmyard." On one part of the island there +was a dense thicket of low trees, the resort not only of hundreds of +wild goats, but of countless thousands of terns and other sea-birds, who +had made it their breeding ground. It was situated at the head of a tiny +landlocked bay, the beach of which was covered with the weather-worn +spars and timbers of some great ship which had gone ashore there perhaps +thirty or forty years before. The whole of the foreshores of the island, +however, were alike in that respect, for it had proved fatal to many a +good ship, even from the time that gallant navigator Matthew Flinders +had first discovered the group. + +On the morning of the last day of the stay of the wrecking party on the +island, Lucy set out for this place, remembering that on her last visit +she had left a basket of cowries there. Bidding her beware of black +snakes, for the place was noted for these deadly reptiles, Lester went +off on board the _Harvest Queen_. + +An hour afterwards, as Lester was engaged with Lindley in the ship's +cabin, a man on deck called down the skylight to him. + +"Here is Mrs. Lester coming back, sir. She's running, and is calling for +you." + +With a dreadful fear that she had been bitten by a snake, Lester rushed +on deck, jumped into a boat, and was ashore in a few minutes. Lucy, too +exhausted to come down to the boat and meet him, had sat down in front +of the now nearly empty house. + +"I'm all right, Tom," she panted, as he ran up to her, "but I've had a +terrible fright," and she could not repress a shudder. "I have just seen +three skeletons in the thicket scrub, and all about them are strewn all +sorts of things, and there are two or three small kegs, one of which is +filled with money, for the end has burst and the money has partly run +out on the sand." + +Lester sprang to his feet, and called out to the two men who had pulled +him ashore to come to him. + +"Mrs. Lester's luck again!" he cried. + +"Mrs. Lester's luck again!" bawled one of the men to the rest of the +wrecking party on board the _Harvest Queen_, and in an instant the cry +was taken up, and then came a loud cheer, as, disregarding discipline, +all hands tumbled into a boat alongside, frantically eager to learn what +had occurred. + +Lester waited for them, and then Lucy gave a more detailed account of +how she made her discovery. + +"I found my basket where I had left it, and had just sat down to take +off my shoes, which were filled with sand, when a goat with two of the +sweetest little kids you ever saw in your life came suddenly out from +behind a rock. The kids were not more than a day or two old, and I +determined to catch at least one of them to take home. The moment the +mother saw me she ran off with her babies, and I followed. They dived +into the thicket, and led me _such_ a dance, for they ran much faster +than I thought they could. + +"I had never been so far into the scrub before, and felt a little bit +frightened--it was so dark and quiet--but I was too excited to give up, +so on I sped until the nanny and kids ran into what seemed a tunnel in +the thick scrub. It is really a road made by the goats and is only about +three feet high, the branches and creepers making a regular archway +overhead. I stooped down and followed, and in a few minutes came to a +little space which was open to the sky; for the sunlight was so bright +that, coming out of the dark tunnel place, I was quite dazzled for a few +moments, and had to put my hands over my eyes. + +"When I looked about, I saw that the ground was strewed with all sorts +of things--rotten boards and boxes, and ships' blocks, and empty bottles +and demijohns, with all the cane covering gone. Then I saw the three +kegs, and noticed one had burst open or rotted away, and that it was +filled with what looked like very large and dirty nickel pennies. I went +to it and took some up, and saw they were crown pieces! Of course, I was +at once wildly excited, and thought no more of the dear little kiddies, +when I heard one of them cry out--quite near--and saw it, lying down +exhausted, about ten yards away. I was running over to it when I saw +those three dreadful skeletons. They are lying quite close to each +other, near some brass cannons and a lot of rusty ironwork. I was so +terrified that I forgot all about the poor kid, and--and, well, that is +all; and here I am with my skirt in rags, and my face scratched, and my +hair loose, and 'all of a bobbery,' as Manuel says." + +"Boys," said Lester, "I'm pretty sure I know how those poor fellows' +bones come to be there. An East Indiaman--the _Mountjoy_--was lost +somewhere on the Kent Group about sixty years ago; and I have read that +she had a lot of specie on board. Now, as soon as Mrs. Lester has rested +a bit, we'll start." + +"I'll carry you, ma'am," said Bailey, a herculean creature of 6 ft. 6 +in., and stepping into "Wreck House" he brought out a chair, seated +Lucy on it, and amidst applause and laughter, lifted it up on his mighty +shoulders as if she was no more weight than the chair itself. + +She guided them to the spot, and within an hour, not only the three +small casks--all of which were filled with English silver money, but +the contents of two others, which were found lying partly buried in the +sandy soil, were brought to the house. And then began the exciting task +of counting the coins, which took some time, and when Lester announced +the result, a rousing cheer broke from the men. + +"Six thousand, two hundred and seven pounds, four shillings, boys; all +with the blessed picture of good old George the Third on them. Lucy, my +dear, let us drink your health." + +Lucy drew him aside for a minute or two ere she complied with his +request, and with sparkling eyes she talked earnestly to him. + +"Of course I will, dear," he said. + +"Now, hoys," he cried, as Lucy brought out two bottles of brandy, and +some cups and glasses, "let us drink my wife's health. She has brought +us good luck. And she and I are dividing a thousand pounds between you, +with an extra fifty for Manuel; for I'm pretty well certain that the +Home Government can't claim any royalty." + +The rough wreckers cheered and cheered again, as they drank to "Mrs. +Lester's Luck." They were all being paid high wages, and were worth +them, for they had toiled manfully, and the most pleasant relations had +always existed between them and Lester. + +Immediately after breakfast on the following morning the anchors of the +_Harvest Queen_ were weighed to the raising chanty of-- + +"Hurrah, my boys, we're Homeward Bound!" and then the _Dolphin_, with +Lester on the bridge and Lucy beside him at the telegraph, went ahead, +and tautened out the tow line, and Lindley made all sail on his stumpy +jury masts. + +Seventeen days later, the gallant little tug pulled the _Harvest Queen_ +into Sydney Harbour. "Mrs. Lester's Luck," had been with them the whole +voyage, for from the time they had left Kent's Group, till they passed +between Sydney Heads, nothing but fine weather and favourable winds had +been experienced. + +As the _Dolphin_, with the hulking _Harvest Queen_ behind her, came up +the smooth waters of the harbour to an anchorage off Garden Island, big +Bailey, who was standing beside Lester and Lucy on the bridge, uttered a +yell of delight. + +"Mrs. Lester's luck again, by all that's holy! There is the _Braybrook +Castle_ at anchor over in Neutral Bay!" + +It was indeed the _Braybrook Castle_, which had arrived only one day +previously, and when Lester went on shore a few hours later, he found +that he was a richer man by over L17,000 than when he had left Sydney +less than six months before. + +And "Mrs. Lester's Luck" brought happiness to many other people beside +herself and her husband in the city of the Southern Sea, and when a year +later, in England, she stood on a stage under the bows of a gallant ship +of two thousand tons, built to Lester's order, and broke a bottle of +Australian wine against her steel plates, she named her "The Lucy's +Luck!" + + + + +BULL-DOGS OF THE SEA + +Not many sea-going people--outside of professional whalemen or +sealers--know much about the "killer" and his habits, and still less +of his appearance. Yet this curious whale (for the killer is one of the +minor-toothed whales) is known all over the world, though nowhere is +it more plentiful than along the eastern and southern coasts of the +Australian continent. In the colder seas of the northern part of the +globe it is not uncommon; and only last year one was playing havoc, +it was stated, with the fishermen's nets off the northeastern coast of +Ireland. + +On the eastern seaboard of Australia, however, the killers can be +watched at work, even from the shore, particularly from any bluff or +headland from which a clear view can be obtained of the sea beneath, and +should there be a westerly wind blowing, their slightest movements may +be observed; particularly when they are "cruising," i.e., watching for +the approach of a "pod" of either humpback or fin-back whales. During +the prevalence of westerly winds the sea water becomes very clear, so +clear that every rock and stone may be discerned at a depth of six +or eight fathoms, and the killers, when waiting for their prey, will +frequently come in directly beneath the cliffs and sometimes remain +stationary for half an hour at a time, rolling over and over, or sunning +themselves. + +First of all, let me describe the killer's appearance. They range in +length from ten to twenty feet, have a corresponding girth, and show the +greatest diversity of colouring and markings. Their anatomy is very much +that of the sperm whale--the one member of the cetacean family which +they do not attempt to attack on account of his enormous strength and +formidable teeth--and they "breach," "spout" and "sound" like other +whales. The jaws are set with teeth of from one or two inches in length, +deeply imbedded in the jawbone, and when two of these creatures succeed +in fastening themselves to the lips of a humpback, even fifty feet in +length, they can always prevent him from "sounding" and escaping into +deep water, for they cling to the unfortunate monster with bull-dog +tenacity, leaving others of their party to rip the blubber from his +sides and pendulous belly. + +On the coast of New South Wales--particularly at Twofold Bay, where +there is a shore whaling station, there are two "pods" or communities +of killers which have never left the vicinity within the memory of the +oldest inhabitant, and indeed they were first noticed and written about +in the year 1790. At other places on the Australian coast there are +permanent pods of ten, fifteen or twenty, but those at Twofold Bay are +quite famous, and every individual member of them is well-known, not +only to the local whalemen, but to many of the other residents of +Twofold Bay as well, and it would go hard with the man who attempted to +either kill or injure one of any of the members of the two pods, for the +whalemen would be unable to carry on their business were it not for +the assistance rendered to them by their friends the killers, whose +scientific name, by the way, is _Orca Gladiator_--and a more fitting +appellation could never have been applied. + +Now as to the colouring and markings--which are not only diverse, but +exceedingly curious. Some are of a uniform black, brown, dark grey, or +dirty cream; others are black with either streaks or irregular patches +of yellow, white or grey: others again are covered with patches of +black, white or yellow, ranging in size from half a dozen inches in +diameter to nearly a couple of feet. One which the present writer found +lying dead on the reef of Nukulaelae Island, in the Ellice Group, was +almost a jet black with the exception of some poorly defined white +markings on the dorsal fin and belly; another which he saw accidentally +killed by a bomb fired at a huge whale off the Bampton Shoals, was of a +reddish-brown, with here and there almost true circular blotches of pure +white. This poor fellow was twelve feet in length, and his death was +caused by his frantic greediness to get at the whale and take his toll +of blubber. The whale was struck late in the day, and the sea was so +rough that the officer in charge, after having twice tried to get up and +use his lance, determined to end the matter with a bomb before darkness +came on. At this time there was a "pod" of seven killers running side by +side with the whale and endeavouring to fasten to his lips whenever he +came to the surface; and, just as the officer had succeeded in getting +within firing distance and discharging the bomb, poor _Gladiator_ came +in the way, and was killed by the shot, much to the regret of the boat's +crew. + +For, as I have said, the whalemen--and particularly the shore whalemen, +_i.e_., those who do their whaling from a station on shore--regard, and +with good reason, the killers as invaluable allies. Especially is this +so in the case of the Twofold Bay shore whalers, for out of every ten +whales killed during the season, whether humpbacks, "right" whales, or +finbacks, three-fourths are captured through the pack of killers seizing +and literally holding them till the boats come up and end the mighty +creatures' miseries. + +Towards the end of winter an enormous number of whales appear on the +Australian coast, coming from the cold Antarctic seas, and travelling +northward along the land towards the breeding grounds--the Bampton +and Bellona Shoals and the Chesterfield Groups, situated between New +Caledonia and the Australian mainland, between 17 deg. and 20 deg. S. The +majority of these whales strike the land about Cape Howe and Gabo Island +at the boundary line between New South Wales and Victoria--sixty miles +south of Twofold Bay. Most of them are finbacks, though these are always +accompanied by numbers of humpbacks and a few "right" whales--the most +valuable of all the southern cetacea except the spermaceti or cachalot. +The latter, however, though they will travel in company with the flying +finback and the timid humpback and "right" whale, has no fear of the +killers. He is too enormously strong, and could crush even a full-grown +killer to a pulp between his mighty jaws were he molested, and +consequently the killers give the cachalot a wide berth as a dangerous +customer. The finback, however, swift and lengthy as he is, seldom +manages to escape once he is "bailed up," and having no weapon of +defence except his flukes (for he is one of the baleen or toothless +whales), he has but one chance of his life, and that is to dive to such +a depth that his assailants have to let go their hold of him in order to +ascend to the surface to breathe. + +The finback, I must mention, although the most plentiful of all the +whale family, and sometimes attaining the length of ninety feet, is +never attacked by whale-boats when he is "loose," _i.e._, free, and +is only captured when his struggles with the ferocious killers have so +exhausted him that a boat can approach and dart a harpoon into or lance +him. The reason for this immunity of primary attack by boats is that the +finback is in the first place of little value when compared to either +the humpback or "right" whale, for the coating of blubber is thin, and +the plates of baleen (or whalebone) he possesses are very short; and in +the second place he is, although so timid a creature, too dangerous to +be struck with a harpoon, for he would take the entire whale-line out of +three or four boats and then get away with it after all, for it is the +swiftest of all the cetacean family, and all whalemen say that no +one but a stark lunatic would dream of putting an iron into a loose +"finner," such as ranges the Southern Ocean. I was told, however, of +one well-authenticated case off the Azores, where a reckless Portuguese +shore-whaler struck a bull finback, which, after taking the lines from +four boats (220 fathoms in each) towed them for three hours and then got +away, the line having to be cut owing to the creature sounding to such +an enormous depth that no more line was available. + +The shore whaling parties at Twofold Bay, however, run no risks of this +sort. They let their friends, the Gladiators, do most of the work, and +find that "fin-backing" under these circumstances is fairly profitable, +inasmuch as they can tow the carcase ashore, and "try out" the blubber +at their leisure. + +But, in a case where one of these finbacks is held by killers, it can +be approached, as I have said, by shore boats and killed, as is the +practice of the Twofold Bay whalemen. + +Let the writer now quote, with the publisher's permission, from a work +he wrote some years ago describing the way the killers "work in" with +their human friends. In this particular instance, however, it was a +humpback whale, but as _Orca Gladiator_ treats the humpback and "right" +whale as he does the lengthy "finner," the extract from the article is +quite applicable. + +"Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man who +is on the look-out at the abandoned old lighthouse built by one Ben Boyd +on the southern headland fifty years ago, paces to and fro on the grassy +sward, stopping now and then to scan the wide expanse of ocean with +his glass, for the spout of a whale is hard to discern at more than +two miles if the weather is misty or rainy. But if the creature is in a +playful mood, and 'breaches'--that is, springs bodily out of the water, +and falling back, sends up a white volume of foam and spray, like the +discharge of a submarine mine, you can see it eight miles away. + +"The two boats are always in readiness at the trying-out works, a mile +or so up the harbour; so too are the killers, and the look-out man, +walking to the verge of the cliff, gazes down. + +"There they are, cruising slowly up and down, close in shore, spouting +lazily, and showing their wet, gleaming backs and gaff-topsail-like +dorsal fins as they rise, roll, and dive again.... Some of them have +nicknames, and each is well known to his human friends. + +"Presently the watchman sees, away to the southward, a white, misty +puff, then another, and another. In an instant he brings his glass to +bear. 'Humpback!' Quickly two flags flutter from the flagpole, and a +fire is lit; and as the flags and smoke are seen, the waiting boats' +crews at the trying-out station are galvanised into life by the cry +of 'Rush, ho, lads! Humpbacks in sight, steering north-west! Rush and +tumble into the boats and away!' + +"Round the south head sweeps the first boat, the second following more +leisurely, for she is only a 'pickup' or relief, in case the first is +'fluked' and the crew are tossed high in air, with their boat crushed +into matchwood, or meets with some other disaster. And as the leading +boat rises to the long ocean swell of the offing, the killers close in +round her on either side, just keeping clear of the sweep of the oars, +and 'breaching' and leaping and spouting with the anticipative zest of +the coming bloody fray. + +"'Easy, lads, easy!' says the old boat-header; 'they are coming right +down on us. Billy has right. They're humpbacks, sure enough!' + +"The panting oarsmen pull a slower stroke, and then, as they watch the +great savage creatures which swim alongside, they laugh in the mirthless +manner peculiar to most native-born Australians, for suddenly, with a +last sharp spurt of vapour, the killers dive and disappear into the dark +blue beneath; for they have heard the whales, and, as is their custom, +have gone ahead of the boat, rushing swiftly on below fully fifty +fathoms deep. Fifteen minutes later they rise to the surface in the +midst of the humpbacks, and half a square acre of ocean is turned into a +white, swirling cauldron of foam and leaping spray. The bull-dogs of the +sea have seized the largest whale of the pod or school--a bull--and are +holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. +The rest of the humpbacks rise high their mighty flukes and 'sound' +a hundred--two hundred--fathoms down, and, speeding seaward, leave the +unfortunate bull to his dreadful fate. + +("And in truth it is a dreadful fate, and the writer of this sketch can +never forget one day, as he and a little girl of six watched, from a +grassy headland on the coast of New South Wales, the slaughter of a +monstrous whale by a drove of killers, that the child wept and shuddered +and hid her face against his shoulder.) + +"Banging swiftly alongside of him, from his great head down to the +'small' of his back, the fierce killers seize his body in their savage +jaws and tear great strips of blubber from off his writhing sides in +huge mouthfuls, and then jerking the masses aside, take another and +another bite. In vain he sweeps his flukes with fearful strokes from +side to side--the bull-dogs of the sea come not within their range; in +vain he tries to 'sound'--there is a devil on each side of his jaws, +their cruel teeth fixed firmly into his huge lips; perhaps two or three +are underneath him tearing and riving at the great rough corrugations of +his grey-white belly; whilst others, with a few swift, vertical strokes +of their flukes, draw back for fifty feet or so, charge him amidships, +and strike him fearful blows on the ribs with their bony heads. Round +and round, in ever-narrowing circles as his strength fails, the tortured +humpback swims, sometimes turning on his back or side, but failing, +failing fast. + +"'He's done for, lads. Pull up; stand up, Jim.' + +"The boat dashes up, and Jim, the man who is pulling bow oar, picks up +his harpoon. A minute later it flies from his hand, and is buried deep +into the body of the quivering animal, cutting through the thick blubber +as a razor would cut through the skin of a drum. + +"'Stern all!' and the harpooner tumbles aft and grips the steer oar, +and the steersman takes his place in the head of the boat and seizes his +keen-edged lance. But 'humpy' is almost spent, and though by a mighty +effort he 'ups flukes' and sounds, he soon rises, for the killers +thrust him upwards to the surface again. Then the flashing lance--two, +three swift thrusts into his 'life' a gushing torrent of hot, dark +blood, and he rolls oyer on his side, an agonised trembling quivers +through his vast frame, the battle is oyer and his life is gone. + +"And now comes the curious and yet absolutely truly described final part +that the killers play in this ocean tragedy. They, the moment the whale +is dead, close around him, and fastening their teeth into his body, +by main strength bear it to the bottom. Here--if they have not already +accomplished it--they tear out the tongue, and eat about one-third of +the blubber. In from thirty-six to forty hours the carcase will again +rise to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen +haye attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts are easily +discerned from the look-out on the headland; the boats again put off and +tow it ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they haye had +their fill of blubber, accompany the boats to the head of the bay and +keep off the sharks, which would otherwise strip off all the remaining +blubber from the carcase before it had reached the shore. But once the +boats are in the shallow water, the killers stop, and then with a final +'puff! puff!' of farewell to their human friends, turn and head seaward +to resume their ceaseless watch and patrol of the ocean. + +"The killers never hurt a man. Time after time haye boats been stove in +or smashed into splinters by a whale, either by an accidental blow from +his head or a sudden lateral sweep of his monstrous flukes, and the +crew left struggling in the water or clinging to the oars and pieces of +wreckage; and the killers have swum up to, looked at, and smelt them, +but never have they touched a man with intent to do him harm. And +wherever the killers are, the sharks are not, for Jack Shark dreads a +killer as the devil is said to dread holy water. Sometimes I have +seen 'Jack' make a rush in between the killers, and rip off a piece of +hanging blubber, but he will carefully watch his chance to do so." + + * * * * * + +One of the most experienced whaling masters of New Bedford, with whom +the writer once cruised from the Gilbert Islands to Tap in the Western +Carolines, told him that on one occasion when he was coming from the +shore to his ship, which was lying to off the Chatham Islands, the boat +was followed by a pack of five killers. They swam within touch of the +oars, much to the amusement of the crew, and presently several of what +are called "right whale" porpoises made their appearance, racing along +ahead of the boat, whereupon Captain Allen went for'ard and picked up +a harpoon, for the flesh of this rare variety of porpoise is highly +prized. The moment he struck the fish it set off at a great rate, but +not quick enough to escape the killers, for though the porpoise was +much the swifter fish (were it loose), the weight of the boat and fifty +fathoms of line was a heavy handicap. As quickly as possible the men +began hauling up to the stricken fish so that Allen might give it the +lance, when to their astonishment the killers seized it and literally +tore it to pieces in a few minutes. + +"If ever I felt mad enough to put an iron into a 'killer' it was then," +he said, "but I couldn't do it. And very glad of it I was afterwards, +for a week later I had two boats stove in by a whale, and of course, had +I hurt one of those beggars of killers, the whole crew would have said +it was only a just retribution." + + + + +"REVENGE" + +On that fever-stricken part of the coast of the great island of New +Britain, lying between the current-swept headland of Gape Stephens and +the deep forest-clad shores of Kabaira Bay, there is a high grassy bluff +dotted here and there with isolated coco-palms leaning northward to the +sea beneath, their broad branches restlessly whipping and bending to +the boisterous trade wind. On the western side of the bluff there is a +narrow strip of littoral, less than half a mile in width, and thickly +clothed with a grove of betel nut, through which the clear waters of a +mountain stream flow swiftly out oceanwards across a rocky bar. + +Near where the margin of the grove of straight, grey-boled betels touch +the steep side of the bluff, there may be seen the outline of a low wall +of coral stones, forming three sides of a square, and bound and knit +together with vines, creepers, and dank, ill-smelling moss--the growth, +decay, and re-growth of three score years. The ground which it encloses +is soft and swampy, for the serried lines of betel-trees, with their +thick, broad crowns, prevent either sun or wind from penetrating to the +spot, and the heavy tropical rains never permit it to dry. It is a dark, +dismal-looking place, only visited by the savage inhabitants when they +come to collect the areca-nuts, and its solitude is undisturbed save +by the flapping of the hornbill's wings as he carries food to his +imprisoned mate, or the harsh screech of a white cockatoo flying +overhead to the mountain forest beyond. + +Yet sixty years ago it was not so, for then on the shore facing the bar +stood a native village, and within the now rained wall were the houses +of three white men, who from their doorways could see the blue Pacific, +and the long curve of coast line with cape and headland and white line +of reef stretching away down to the westward in the misty tropic haze. + +Walk inside the old, broken walls, and you will see, half-buried in the +moist, steaming, and malarious ground, some traces of those who dwelt +there--a piece of chain cable, two or three whaler's trypots, a rotten +and mossgrown block or two, only the hardwood sheaves of which have +resisted the destroying influences of the climate; a boat anchor, and +farther towards the creek, the mouldering remains of a capstan, from the +drumhead holes of which long grey-green pendants of moss droop down upon +the weather-worn, decaying barrel, like the scanty ragged beard that +falls on the chest of some old man worn out with poverty and toil. + +That is all that one may see now; for the dense, evergrowing jungle has +long since hidden or rotted all else that was left. + + * * * * * + +The three men were named Ford, Adams, and Stenhouse. They were +_beche-de-mer_ fishers, and for nearly a year had been living in this +savage spot--the only white men inhabiting the great island, whose +northern coast line sweeps in an irregular half-moon curve for more +than three hundred miles from Cape Stephens to within sight of the +lofty mountains of New Guinea. In pursuit of their avocation, death from +disease, or from the spears or clubs of the treacherous, betel-chewing, +stark-naked cannibals among whom they dwelt was ever near, but to the +men of their iron resolution and dauntless courage that mattered not. +Two years' labour meant for them a large sum of money--enough to enable +them to return with their wives and families and native dependents, to +those more restful islands in the Western Carolines whence they had come +a year before. + +All three men were employed by one firm in Singapore, whose ship had +brought them with their families and some thirty or forty natives of Yap +to New Britain. Nine months after their landing, a small schooner had +called to replenish their supplies, and ship the cured trepang, which +by the most assiduous labour and daring enterprise they had accumulated; +and when this story opens, the schooner had been gone some weeks, and +they and their native workers were preparing their boats for another +cruise along the great barrier reef of New Britain. + +Two of these men, Adams and Stenhouse, were old and tried comrades, and +in their rough way, devoted to each other. Stenhouse, the elder of +the two, had some ten years previously, while sailing along the Pelew +Island, found Adams adrift in an open boat--the sole survivor of a +shipwrecked crew of sixteen men, and had nursed him back to life and +reason. Later on, Adams had married one of Stenhouse's half-caste +daughters. Ford, too, who was an American, was connected by marriage +with Stenhouse, and nearly every one of the thirty or forty male and +female Caroline Islanders who worked for the three white men were more +or less allied to their wives by ties of blood or marriage, and there +was not one of them who would not have yielded up his or her life in +their defence. + +Stenhouse, who was the leader of the adventurous party, was a man of +about forty-five years of age, and, like his two comrades, an ex-sailor. +He was nearly six feet in height, and possessed of such powers of +strength and endurance that his name was known throughout the Western +Pacific to almost every white man, but his once handsome features were +marred by such a terrible disfigurement, that those who came to know +the man and his sterling character always thought or spoke of him with +genuine and respectful pity. What had caused this cruel distortion was +known to but three other persons besides himself--the mother of his +children, his son-in-law, Thomas Adams, and the man who had inflicted +the injury; and to spare the reader's feelings as much as possible, it +need only be said that the left side of his face had been so injured by +violence of some kind as to be pitiful to look upon, the more so as the +eye was missing. + + * * * * * + +Late one evening, just as Stenhouse and his son-in-law, Adams, were +smoking their last pipes before tarning in, their comrade entered the +house hurriedly, accompanied by one of their native employees, who had +been away on a fishing excursion. + +"Here's news! There's a big full-rigged ship just anchored under Cape +Stephens. Masik boarded her, and had a yarn with the mate." + +"Where is she from?" asked Stenhouse, turning his one eye upon the +native, Masik. + +"I know not, master. But she is a great ship with many men on +board--some white, and some yellow, with shaven heads. + +"Ah, a Calcutta-Sydney ship, most likely," said Stenhouse to his +comrades. Then turning to Masik--"Why came she here? Didst ask?" + +"Aye," replied the man in his native tongue; "the ship came here because +there be many sick, and two dead men on board. It is a strong sickness." + +"Didst speak of us white men here?" + +The man nodded. "Aye, and the mate said that the captain would like thee +all to come to the ship; but to hasten, for when the two men are buried +to-morrow the ship will sail And the mate gave me these for thee." + +Adams eagerly extended his hand for a bundle of newspapers which Masik +carried wrapped up in a piece of old sail-cloth. + +"This is a god-send," said Adams, as he opened the packet and tossed +some of the papers to Stenhouse and Ford, "only about six months old. +Hallo, here's the name of the ship and captain I suppose, on one of +them: + +Roger Fullerton, Esq., Ship _Ramillies_------" + +"_What!_" + +It was Stenhonse who spoke, and his usual cheerful voice now sounded +cracked and discordant, as with an oath he tore the paper from his +comrade's hand, read the name, and then sat down, with one hand pressed +to his sightless orb, his whole frame trembling from head to foot. + +"What is the matter, Ted?" asked Ford anxiously. + +Slowly he turned his face towards his comrades. It was white. + +"Send them away," he said, "but tell them to call the others and get +ready. I am going down to the cape to-night, to that ship. I am going to +kill a man." + +Ford looked at him wonderingly. Adams, who understood, spoke a few +whispered words to the natives, who quickly left the room. + +"Tom." + +"Yes, Ted." + +"Are all the women and children asleep?" + +Adams nodded, and Stenhouse silently motioned to him and Ford to be +seated. He remained standing. + +"Jim Ford," he said quietly, "look at me"--he drew his hand down the +distorted side of his face--"and tell me what you would do to a man who +made you look like this." + +"I would have his life if I swung for it." + +"Well, I am going to have this man's life. I shall not be hanged for it, +but if I am killed, I look to you, Jim, and you Tom, to stand to my wife +and children." + +Ford put out his hand impulsively: "All that I have I owe to you, Ted. I +will stand to 'em, so help me God." + +"I knew you would. Now, only three people in the world besides me--Tom +Adams, my wife, and the man who did it--know what made me the blarsted +scarecrow I am; but as I may be a dead man by this time tomorrow, I'll +tell you." + +He paused, and with his forefinger still pressed firmly on the name on +the newspaper, said slowly:-- + +"This man, Roger Fullerton, was a passenger on the _Mahratta_, East +Indiaman. I was his servant. We were bound to Sydney from Table Bay. He +was going out to be Commissary-General or something of that kind in New +South Wales. We had a rough, mutinous crew on board, and one night there +was a fight between them and the officers and passengers. They burst +into the cabin, and would have captured the ship but for the mate, +who shot one man dead and cut another down. I had nothing to do with +them--as God is my witness--for I was only a lad of nineteen, and +would have stood to the captain and officers like a man, but I was made +prisoner by the mutineers early in the fight. After the row was over, +Mr. Fullerton missed his watch and a hundred sovereigns which were in +a writing case in his cabin. He accused me of stealing them, and when +I hotly denied the charge, knocked me down on deck and kicked me so +savagely in the face that I should have been killed if I had not been +dragged away from him. As it was, he broke my jaw and destroyed my left +eye. But that was not all. When he reached Sydney he charged me with +the theft. I got a heavy sentence and was sent to the coal-mines at +Newcastle; but after two years of hell I escaped by stowing away in a +Dutch barque bound to Samarang. And now _my_ turn has come." + +"Are you sure he is the man?" asked the American. + +"Quite. He settled in the Colony and married there. I have heard of him +from time to time for many years." + + * * * * * + +Before midnight the three white men, with twenty-five of their native +followers armed with muskets and cutlasses, were following the coastline +in the direction of Gape Stephens. The night was dark and rainy, but the +route was familiar to both Adams and Stenhouse. All night they marched +steadily onward, and only when daylight broke did they halt on the banks +of a stream to rest and eat. Then, crossing the stream, they struck a +native path which led to the shore. + +"There she is," said Ford. + +The ship lay about a mile from the shore. Stenhouse looked at her +earnestly, and then abruptly told his comrades his plans, which were +daring but simple. He would await the landing of the boat bringing the +dead men ashore for burial, and take them prisoners. In all probability +the captain would be in charge, and it was Stenhouse's intention to hold +him and his boat's crew as ransom for the man he wanted. He intended +no harm to them, but was determined to achieve his object if he had +to carry his prisoners off to the mountains, and keep them there till +Fullerton was given up to him. + +Immediately after breakfast, the watchers saw two boats leave the ship, +and pull in towards a creek which debouched into a sandy cove situated +immediately under Gape Stephens. The coastline here was uninhabited, +and except for the banks of the creek, which were heavily timbered, +presented a succession of rolling, grassy downs, and here and there +clumps of _vi_ (wild mango) and cedar trees, and Stenhouse felt pretty +certain that the burying party would pick upon one of these spots to +inter the bodies, and that he could easily cut them off from the boats. + +Swiftly and silently they took up a position on the banks of the creek, +Stenhouse with his two friends keenly watching the advancing boats +from behind the buttressed roots of a giant Indian fig-tree. In a few +minutes, the leading boat, in which were six men and an officer, entered +the creek, but the water being shallow, grounded on the bar, and the +crew got out. The second boat contained four seamen, and three or four +persons who were seated aft, and she too took the ground, and then, +as her crew stepped out into the water, Stenhouse gripped Adams by the +shoulder. + +"See, Tom, there he is! The man himself. Look! that big fellow with +the white whiskers, sitting between the others." He held a hurried +consultation with his comrades, and quickly decided on his course of +action. + +Both crews were now endeavouring to drag the boats across the shallow +bar into the deeper water beyond, but the task was too much for them, +and presently the captain, who was in the second boat, ordered them to +cease, and said something to the big, white-whiskered man, who nodded +his head in approval. + +Four seamen then lifted two coffins from the first boat, and, followed +by four others carrying their own and their shipmates' arms and some +spades, began wading through the water to the shore, directly to where +the unseen watchers lay awaiting; and the remainder of the party, +leaving the boats with two men on guard, came slowly after them. + +Stenhouse pointed to the two boat-keepers, and said something to Ford, +who, with half-a-dozen natives, quickly disappeared. + +In a few minutes the bearers of the coffins reached the shore, and +placed their burdens on the ground to await further orders. + +"We shall find clear ground, sir, within a few yards from the bank," +began the captain, addressing the tall man, who with bared head and slow +step walked by his side, when suddenly there came a rush of a score of +half-naked figures, who threw themselves silently upon the party, and +overcame them almost without a sound. + +"Surrender, or you are all dead men," cried a hoarse voice. + +There was no need for the stern summons, for not only were the +astonished sailors terrified by the extraordinary suddenness of the +attack and the savage appearance of their captors, but their captain, +the surgeon, and the big man had their pistols taken from their belts so +quickly that resistance was utterly out of the question, covered as they +were by half-a-dozen muskets pointed at their breasts. + +Then Adams stepped out and addressed the captain. 804 + +"No harm will be done to you and yonr men, but you must remain our +prisoners for awhile. Then your arms will be returned to you, and you +can go back to your ship. Your boat-keepers are secured." + +"What in God's name does this mean?" cried the unfortunate officer. + +"Silence, if you value yonr life," cried the same stern voice that had +called upon them to surrender. + +The captain turned and sought to discern the speaker, but the muzzle +of a pistol was placed menacingly against his chest, and he was again +ordered to be silent. + +Then at a sign from Adams all the crews' and officers' arms were carried +off to the boats by two natives, and the wondering seamen were bidden by +Adams to lift the coffins and follow him. + +"Do not attempt to escape," he said, speaking to the whole party +generally; "if you do you will be shot down without mercy." + +As he spoke Ford, with five armed natives, silently joined the rest of +the captors. Follerton, the captain, and the surgeon all looked at him +curiously. + +"March, gentlemen," he said, pointing with his drawn cutlass to the +bearers of the coffins, who were now, guided by Adams, pushing their +way through the timber, surrounded by their native guards with muskets +cocked. + +In ten minutes the belt of timber had been passed through, and captors +and captured emerged upon a grassy sward. + +"Halt!" + +Again that hoarse, strange voice sounded from somewhere near, and the +seamen shuddered as they gently laid their burdens on the ground. + +"Bury your dead, sir, and have no fear," said Adams to the captain. + +Then he and Ford spoke to their followers, who silently drew back and +permitted the seamen who carried shovels to advance. The ground was soft +and moist, and their task was soon accomplished, and the coffins lowered +into their graves. + +Then the captain, followed by the surgeon and Roger Fullerton, advanced, +prayer-book in hand, and read the burial service, and Adams and Ford +wondered somewhat when, at its conclusion, a heavy sob burst from +Fullerton. + +Quickly the earth was shovelled in, and soon two mounds showed on +the sward. Then came the clank of arms, and the mourners were again +surrounded by their half-nude guards. + +"Follow," said Adams shortly. + +He led them for a distance of about a hundred yards, then halted, and +the prisoners found themselves in a hollow square. + +"Are you going to slaughter unarmed men?" cried the surgeon, who was +terrified at the very appearance of the wild-looking Caroline Islanders +and their grim, silent leaders. + +Adams shook his head, but made no reply. + +A heavy footstep sounded in the jungle near them, and Stenhouse, +carrying two cutlasses under his arm, strode into the square and stood +before Fullerton. + +For a moment or two their eyes met, and then Stenhouse raised his hand +and touched his distorted face. + +"You know me, Mr. Fullerton?" + +"I know you. You have come to kill me." + +"Yes, unless you kill me." He drew a cutlass from its leather sheath and +held its hilt out to the man he hated. Fullerton folded his arms across +his chest. + +"Take it," said Stenhouse slowly, "or, by Heavens! I'll cut you down as +you stand." + +"As you will," replied the old man steadily, "but fight you I will not. +My life is in your hands. Take it. I am not afraid to die." + +Stenhouse drew his cutlass slowly, his one eye shining with a deadly +hatred. + +"For God's sake, man, whoever you are, whatever your injuries may be, +do not shed the blood of an old man on his son's grave!" and the captain +sprang forward with outspread, appealing hands. + +"His son!" and the point of the gleaming weapon drooped. + +"His only son. Have mercy on him, as you hope for mercy yourself." + +"Stop, Captain Marsland. Do not ask for mercy for me. I did this man a +grievous wrong. My life is his. Let him have his due." + +Stenhouse threw down his cutlass with an oath, turned his back on his +enemy, and put his hand to his forehead. + +Then he faced round sharply, and once more he looked into Fullerton's +unmoved face. + +"Go," he said. + +And without another word he strode away, followed by his comrades and +his savage companions. + + + + +SAUNDERSON AND THE DYNAMITE + +Saunderson was one of those men who firmly believed that he knew +everything, and exasperated people by telling them how to do things; and +Denison, the supercargo of the _Palestine_, hated him most fervently for +the continual trouble he was giving to every one, and also because he +had brought a harmonium on board, and played dismal tunes on it every +night and all day on Sundays. But, as Saunderson was one of the partners +in the firm who owned the _Palestine_, Denison, and Packenham the +skipper, had to suffer him in silence, and trust that something might +happen to him before long. What irritated Denison more than anything +else was that Saunderson frequently expressed the opinion that +supercargoes were superfluous luxuries to owners, and that such work "as +they tried to do could well be done by the captains, provided the latter +were intelligent men." + +"Never mind, Tom," said Packenham hopefully, one day, "he's a big +eater, and is bound to get the fever if we give him a fair show in the +Solomons. Then we can dump him ashore at some missionary's--he and his +infernal groan-box--and go back to Sydney without the beast." + +When the _Palestine_ arrived at Leone Bay, in Tutuila, Saunderson +dressed himself beautifully and went ashore to the mission-house, and in +the evening Mrs. O------ (the missionary's wife), wrote Denison a note +and asked if he could spare a cheese from the ship's stores, and added a +P.S., "What a _terrible_ bore he is!" This made the captain and himself +feel better. + +The next morning Saunderson came on board. Denison was in the cabin, +showing a trader named Rigby some samples of dynamite; the trader wanted +a case or two of the dangerous compound to blow a boat passage through +the reef opposite his house, and Denison was telling him how to use it. +Of course Saunderson must interfere, and said _he_ would show Rigby what +to do. He had never fired a charge of dynamite in his life, nor even +seen one fired or a cartridge prepared, but had listened carefully to +Denison. Then he sarcastically told Denison that the cheese he had sent +Mrs. O------ might have passed for dynamite, it was so dry and +tasteless. + +"Well, dynamite is made from cheese, you know," said the supercargo +deferentially, "just cheese slightly impregnated with picric acid, +gastrito-nepenthe, and cubes of oxalicogene." + +Saunderson said he knew that, and after telling Rigby that he would +walk over to his station before dinner, and show him where to begin +operations on the reef, went on shore again. + +About twelve o'clock Denison and Rigby went on shore to test the +dynamite, fuse, and caps--first in the water and then on the reef. +Just abreast of the mission-house they saw a big school of grey mullet +swimming close in to the beach, and Denison quickly picked up a stone, +tied it with some string round a cartridge, cut the fuse very short, lit +it, and threw it in. There was a short fizz, then a dull, heavy thud, +and up came hundreds of the beautiful fish stunned or dead. Saunderson +came out of the mission-house and watched the natives collecting them. +Denison had half-a-dozen cartridges in his hand; each one was tightly +enveloped in many thicknesses of paper, seized round with twine, and had +about six inches of fuse, with the ends carefully frayed out so as to +light easily. + +"Give me some of those," said Saunderson. + +The supercargo reluctantly handed him two, and Saunderson remarked that +they were very clumsily covered, but he would fix some more himself +"properly" another time. Denison sulkily observed that he had no time +to waste in making dynamite cartridges look pretty. Then, as Saunderson +walked off, he called out and told him that if he was going to shoot +fish he would want to put a good heavy stone on the cartridges. +Saunderson said when he wanted advice from any one he would ask for +it. Then he sent word by a native to Mrs. O------that he would send her +along some fish in a few minutes. + +Now within a few hundred yards of the mission-house there was a jetty, +and at the end of the jetty was Her Majesty's gunboat _Badger_, a small +schooner-rigged wooden vessel commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Muddle, +one of the most irascible men that ever breathed, and who had sat on +more Consuls than any one else in the service. + +Sannderson went on the jetty followed by a crowd of natives, and looked +over into the water. There were swarms of fish, just waiting to be +dynamited. He told a native to bring him a stone, and one was brought--a +nice round, heavy stone as smooth as a billiard ball--just the very +wrong kind of stone. He tied it on the cartridge at last, after it had +fallen off four or five times; then, as he did not smoke, and carried no +matches, he lit it from a native woman's cigarette, and let it drop into +the water. The stone promptly fell off, but the cartridge floated gaily, +and drifted along fizzing in a contented sort of way. Sannderson put his +hands on his hips, and watched it nonchalantly, oblivious of the fact +that all the natives had bolted back to the shore to be out of danger, +and watch things. + +There was a bit of a current, and the cartridge was carried along till +it brought up gently against the _Badger_--just in a nice cosy place +between the rudder bearding and the stern-post. Then it went off with a +bang that shook the universe, and ripped off forty-two sheets of copper +from the _Badger_; and Saunderson fell off the jetty into the water; and +the bluejackets who were below came tumbling up on deck; and the +gunner, seeing Lieutenant-Commander Muddle rush up from his cabin in his +shirt-sleeves with a razor in his hand, thought that he had gone queer +again in his head, and had tried to blow up the ship, and was going to +out his throat, and so he rushed at him, and knocked him down and took +his razor away, and begged him to be quiet; and Muddle, thinking it was +a mutiny, nearly went into a fit, and straggled so desperately, and +made such awful choking noises that two more men sat on him; and the +navigating midshipman, thinking it was fire, told the bugler to sound +to quarters, and then, seeing the captain being held down by three men, +rushed to his assistance, but tripped over something or somebody and +fell down and nearly broke his nose; and all the time Saunderson who +was clinging to one of the jetty piles, was yelling pitifully for help, +being horribly afraid of sharks. + +At last he was fished out by Bigby and some natives and carried up to +the mission-house and then, when he was able to talk coherently, he +sent for Denison, who told him that Commander Muddle was coming for him +presently with a lot of armed men and a boatswain with a green bag in +which was a "cat," and that he (Saunderson) would first be flogged and +then hanged at the _Badger's_ yard-arm, and otherwise treated severely, +for an attempt to blow up one of Her Majesty's ships; and then +Saunderson shivered all over, and staggered out of the mission-house +in a suit of Mr. O------'s pyjamas, much too large for him, and met +Commander Muddle on the jetty and tried to explain how it occurred, and +Muddle called him an infernal, drivelling idiot, and knocked him clean +off the jetty into the water again, and used awful language, and told +Denison that his chronometers were ruined, and the ship's timbers +started, and that he had had a narrow escape from cutting his own throat +when the dynamite went off, as he had just begun to shave. + +Saunderson was very ill after that, and was in such mortal terror that +Muddle and every one else on board the gunboat meant to kill, wound, or +seriously damage him, that he kept inside the mission-house, and said he +felt he was dying, and that Mr. O------ would prepare him for the end. +So Denison and Paekenham, who were now quite cheerful again, sent his +traps and his harmonium ashore, and sailed without him, a great peace in +their bosoms. + + + + +THE STEALING OF SA LUIA + +One dull rainy morning, soon after daybreak, as the ship _St. George_ of +New Bedford was cruising for sperm whales between the islands of Tucopia +and Vanikoro, the look-out hailed the deck and reported a boat in sight. +The captain was called, and a few minutes later appeared and went aloft. + +The boat was about three miles distant to leeward, and Captain +Elphinstone at once kept the ship away. The wind, however, was so light +that it took her some time to get within hailing distance, and then +it was discovered that the boat contained three natives--a man and two +young girls--who appeared to be greatly exhausted, for after +feebly raising their heads for a moment and putting out their hands +imploringly, they fell back again. + +A boat was quickly lowered from the ship, and the sufferers brought on +board, and their own boat, which was a small, native-built craft much +like a whale-boat, but with an outrigger attached, was hoisted on board, +for she was too good to be turned adrift. + +On board the _St. George_ was a Samoan named Falaoa. He was a native +of the island of Manua, and at once recognised the unfortunates as +country-people of his own. The man, who was in a dreadful state of +emaciation, and barely able to raise his voice above a whisper, was over +six feet in height, and appeared to be about five-and-twenty years of +age; his companions had evidently not undergone as much suffering and +did not present the same shocking appearance as he, for the sun had +burnt his skin to such a degree that that part of his tattooing which +was not covered by the scanty _lava lava_ of tappa cloth around his +loins had become almost black. + +Under the kind and careful treatment they received from Captain +Elphinstone and his officers, all three soon recovered, and ten days +after they had been rescued, the following entry was made in the ship's +log:--"This day, at their own request, we landed the three Samoans at +the island of Nufilole, one of the Swallow Group, where they were well +received by the natives and a white trader. They were accompanied by one +of my crew named Falaoa, who begged me to let him go with them, having +become much attached to one of the young women. We gave them some arms +and ammunition, and some clothing and tobacco. They all behaved with +the greatest propriety during their stay on the ship. From where they +started in Samoa to where we picked them up in 12 deg. S. is a distance of +1,800 miles." + +And here is their story, told by Sa Luia to the wife of Frank Chesson, a +white trader then living on the Santa Cruz Islands, in which the Swallow +Group is included. Chesson himself had lived in Samoa, and spoke the +language well, and the four people remained in his house for many months +as welcome guests. A strong and lasting friendship was formed, and +resulted in the trader, his wife and family, and the four Samoans +removing to the little island of Fenua-loa, and there founding what +is now a colony of Polynesians with language, customs and mode of life +generally entirely distinct from their Melanesian neighbours. + +* * * * * + +I am Sa Luia. I come from Mulifanua, at the lee end of Upolu in Samoa. +My father was not only the chief of Mulifanua, but has great lands in +the Atua district on the north side of Upolu--lands which came to him +through my mother, who died when I was but a week old--and from these +lands he had his name, Pule-o-Vaitafe (Lord of many Rivers). + +Now it is not well for a daughter to speak unkindly of her father; but +this what I now say is true. My father, though he was so rich a man, was +very cruel to those who crossed his path, and though he was a brave man +in battle, his heart was shrunken up by reason of his avarice and +his desire to grow richer, and all Samoa, from Manna in the east to +Falealupo in the west, spoke of him as Pule-lima-vale--"Pule the +close-fisted"--or Pule fata-ma'a--"Pule the stony-hearted." Yet all this +gave him no concern. + +"What does it matter to me?" he said to his brother Patiole one day, +when Patiole, who was a chief of Manono, reproached him for his meanness +in sending away some visitors from Tutuila with such scanty presents +that all the people of Mulifanua were ashamed. "What does it matter to +me what people say of me? This _malaga_ (party of visitors) from Tutuila +are eaten up with poverty. Why should I give them fine mats, and muskets +and powder and bullets? Am I a fool? What return can they make to me?" + +"They came to do thee honour," said my uncle, putting his hand across +his eyes out of respect to my father, who was of higher rank than he, +and speaking softly. "They are thy dead wife's relatives, and are of +good blood. And thou hast shamed them--and thyself as well--by sending +them away empty-handed." + +My father laughed scornfully. "What care I for my dead wife's relatives! +I have no need of them, and want them not. When I took the daughter of +Mauga to wife, Mauga was a great man. Now he and his people are broken +and dispersed. Let them go and eat grass or wild yams like pigs. I, +Pule-o-Vaitafe, want no needy dependents." + +"Thou art a hard man," said my uncle, bending his forehead to the mat on +which he sat. + +"And thou art a fool," replied my father; "if thy heart pains thee of +this, why dost thou not give them all that they wish?" + +"Because for me, thy brother, to do so, would put shame on thee, for +'tis thy place and thy honour as head of our family to help these people +who have fallen on evil days through warfare," said my uncle sadly. + +"Thine then be the place and the honour," said my father scornfully. "I +will not begrudge thee either. Naught will I have to do with broken men. +Farewell." + +That was my father's way. That was his hard, hard heart, which knew +neither pity nor remorse. This is how my mother died: + +When I was seven days old, she took me, as is customary with a woman of +chiefly rank, to the _fale siva_ (town dance house), where I had to be +shown to the people, who brought fine mats and tappa cloth, and many +other presents. Now my father was filled with anger that my mother had +not borne him a male child, for a male child would have meant richer +presents--not only from his own people, but from towns and villages far +away. So when he saw that instead of such gifts as a new canoe or some +very old, rare mats, or muskets, or such other things as would have +been given were the child a boy, there were but the usual presents for a +girl-child, his lips turned down with scorn, and he muttered a curse. My +mother heard him and the tears flowed down her cheeks. + +"It may be that my next child will be a boy," she whispered, and then +she held me up to my father. "See, Pule, though a girl, she hath thy +features, and thou wilt come to love her." + +"Tah!" said my father in angry contempt; and without another word he +rose and went away. + +Then my mother wept silently over me for a long time, for the shame put +upon her was very great, and not to be endured. So, with some of her +women, she took me to a place called Falema'a, where the cliffs rise up +straight from the sea. Her hair was then oiled and dressed, and then +she made gifts of her rings of gold and tortoise-shell to her women, +and bade them farewell. Then she took me in her arms, and leapt over the +cliff into the sea. + +It so happened that half-way down the cliff, which is twelve fathoms +high, there was a boy named Manaia. He was collecting the eggs of the +sea-bird called _Kanapu_ and his canoe was anchored just in front of the +base of the cliff. He was a brave boy, and being of a very poor family, +had clambered up the steep side of the wall of rock, so that he might +find the _kanapu_ eggs in the clefts and holes, and sell them to people +in exchange for food for his mother and sisters. As he clung to the +jagged face of the rock, he saw my mother falling through the air, and +in an instant he sprang after her. When she came to the surface, I was +still clasped tightly in her arms, and Manaia cried to her to swim to +the canoe. + +"Nay," she cried, "but take my babe." + +And so Manaia took me, and my mother threw up her arms and sank and +died. + +When my uncle heard of this, he sent a party of his people over from +Manono for me, and I was taken to live with him. My father did not +interfere, for the manner of my mother's death had made the people +murmur, and he was afraid that they might rise in rebellion, and kill +or banish him. But yet he tried to get another rich wife, and sent a +deputation of his chiefs to Seu Manu of Apia asking for his daughter +Sina; and Sina sent him back a piece of wood carved in the semblance of +a woman, together with a stone shaped like a heart, with this message-- + +"This is a good wife for Pule-o-Vaitafe. If she displease him, he can +sink her in the sea with a heart of stone." + +After that my father tried no more, for the people all round about were +murmuring, and he began to feel afraid. + +But in no other way did he change, and although Manono is but two +leagues distant from Mulifanua, he never came to see me till I was in +my fifteenth year, and when I was chosen by the people of Aana to be +_Taupo_{*} of Mulifanua. Then I had to leave my uncle, which made me +weep, for although I was proud of the honour done me, I did not wish to +leave him and go back to my father. But I had no choice but to obey, and +so I was taken back to Mulifanua by a fleet of canoes and _taumualua_ +(native boats), with great ceremony, and then followed many meetings and +much feasting and dancing. I was put under the care of two women, who +attended me day and night, as is the custom; they walked, ate, and slept +with me, and every day I was taught how to dance, and how to wear +my fine mats and long train of tappa, so as to receive or call upon +visitors who came to the town from other places in Samoa. + + * Taupo, the town maid. This distinction is usually conf + erred on a girl of good family, and has many honours and + emoluments in the way of presents attached to it. In some + cases a _taupo_ will not marry till she reaches middle age, + and occasionally will remain single. + +In all the many years that I had spent on Manono, I had not once seen +the boy Manaia--he who had taken me from the water--though I had heard +of him as having been tattooed and grown into a tall man. But on the +same day that I returned and was taken to the _fale taupule_ (council +house) to be received by the people as their _taupo_, a girl named +Selema who attended me whispered his name, and pointed him out to me. +He was sitting with the other young men, and like them, dressed in his +best, and carrying a musket and the long knife called _nifa oti_. I saw +that he was very, very tall and strong, and Selema told me that there +were many girls who desired him for a husband, though he was poor, and, +it was known, was disliked by my father. + +Now this girl Selema, who was of my own age, was given to me as my +especial _tavini_ (maid) and I grew to like her as my own sister. She +told me that already my father was casting about in his mind for a rich +husband for me, and that the man he most favoured was old Tamavili, +chief of Tufa, in Savai'i, who would soon be sending messengers with +presents to him, which if they were accepted, would mean that my father +was inclined to his suit, and that he, Tamavili, would follow himself +and pay court to me. + +All this frightened me, and I told Selema I would escape to my uncle in +Manono, but she said that that would not do, as if he tried to protect +me it would mean war. So I said nothing more, though much was in my +mind, and I resolved to run away to the mountains, rather than be made +to marry Tamavili, who was a very old man. + +One day Selema and I went to the river to wash our hair with the pith +of the wild oranges. We sat on the smooth stones near the water, and had +just begun to beat the oranges with pieces of wood to soften them, when +we saw a man come down the bank and enter a deep pool further up the +stream. + +"'Tis Manaia," said Selema; "he hath come to drag the pool for fish." +Then she called out to him, "_Ola_, Manaia," and he looked at us and +laughed as he spun his small hand-net into the pool. We sat and watched +him and admired his strength and skill and the clever way in which he +dived and took the fish from his net. In a little while he had caught +seven--beautiful fish, such as are in all the mountain streams of Samoa. +Then he came out of the water, made a basket of leaves, and approached +me, and without a word, laid them at my feet. This pleased me, so I put +out my hand and touched one of the fish--meaning that one only would I +take. + +"They are all for thee, lady," he said in a low voice. + +Selema laughed and urged me to accept the gift; so I took the basket, +and then, when I looked at his face and saw that his eyes were still +turned down, I took courage and said-- + +"Thou art Manaia. Dost thou remember me?" + +"How could I forget thee?" he replied; and then he raised his eyes to +my face, and I felt glad, for they were like unto those of my uncle +Patiole--kind and soft when they looked into those of a woman or child, +but steady and bold to those of a man. + +"I am glad to see thee, Manaia," I said, "for I owe thee my life," and +as he took my hand and pressed it to his forehead, Selema stole away and +left us together. + +Now I know not what he said to me, except that when he spoke the name of +Tamavili of Tufa, I wept, and said that I would I were back at Manono, +and that I was but a child, and had no desire to be wedded to any man. +Then he lifted me up in his great arms, and said-- + +"I love thee, Sa Luia, I love thee! And even if thou canst not love me, +yet shall I save thee from wedding this old dotard. Aye, I shall save +thee from him as I saved thee from the boiling serf of Falema'a when thy +mother, who was a great lady, cried out to me, 'Take my babe.'" + +So that is how Manaia my husband wooed me, and when Selema came back and +saw us seated together, she laughed again, though tears were in her eyes +when she took my feet and pressed them to her cheeks, for she feared +that when we fled, she would be left behind. Then Manaia whispered to me +and asked me if it was to my mind to take her. + +"Ay," I said; "else will my father kill her when we are gone." + +So we made our plans, and when the messengers of Tamavili came and laid +their presents before me, I said I was content, and that they could go +back to their master, and tell him that in a month's time I would +be ready and that he could come for me. This pleased my father, and +although at night time I always slept between the two women, as is +customary for a _taupo_, with a mat over me, and they lay on the +outside, one on each side, yet in the day time I often met my lover in +the forest, whilst Selema kept watch. + +"We shall go to Uea,"{*} he said; "'tis but seventy leagues away, and so +soon as the rainy season is ended we shall start. I have bought a small +but good boat and have strengthened it for the voyage with an outrigger, +and in my mother's house is hidden all the food we can carry. In eight +days more the westerly winds will cease, and we shall start, for then we +shall have the Matagi Toe'lau (trade wind) and at Uea we shall be +safe and live in peace. Then some day I shall send for my mothers and +sisters, for on the night that we escape, they too must flee for their +lives to Sen Mann, of Apia, who will protect them from thy father's +wrath." + + * Wallis Island, two hundred miles from Samoa. Many Samoans + fled there for refuge after a reverse in battle or for other + causes. + +On the morning of the fourth day after this, there came a strange +messenger to the town to see my father, who in a little time appeared at +his door with a smiling face and bade the conch be blown to summon the +people together. + +"Here is news, O people," he said. "Manka,{*} the white trader of Tufa, +also seeketh my daughter, Sa Luia, in marriage. He and Tamayili have +quarrelled--why, it matters not to me, or thee--and Manka, who is a very +rich man, hath sent me word that he will compete with Tamayili. Whatever +he offers for dowry and for presents to me, the white man will give +double. This is a good day for me." + + * Monk. + +But the people were silent, for they knew that he was breaking his +pledged word with Tamavili, and was setting at naught the old customs +and the honour of the town. So, as he looked at them, he scowled; then +he held out his hand, on the palm of which were ten American gold coins, +each of twenty dollars. + +"Two hundred dollars hath this white man, Manka, sent to my daughter Sa +Luia as a present, with these words: 'If she cares not for my suit, well +and good--let her have them made into bracelets for her pretty arms." + +Now this was a great gift, and it came with such generous words that the +people applauded, and my father smiled, as his long thin fingers closed +around the heap of gold; but suddenly his face darkened as Manaia spoke. + +"'Tis a free gift to the lady Sa Luia. Therefore, O Pule-o-Vaitafe, give +it to her." + +"Aye, aye! 'tis hers, 'tis hers," cried the people. + +My father sent a glance of bitter hatred to my lover, and his lips +twitched, but without a word he came to me, and bending low before me, +put the money on the ground at my feet, and I, his daughter, heard his +teeth grinding with rage, and as I felt his hot breath on my hand, I +knew that murder was in his heart. It is easy for a chief such as was my +father, to have a man who displeases him killed secretly. + +My father went away in anger, and then the chiefs decided that although +the white man could not wed me, he should be received with great honour, +and be given many presents; for he was known to us as a man of great +strength and daring, and was tattooed like a Samoan, which is a great +thing to the mind of a Samoan woman, who loathes an untattooed man as +unworthy of all that a woman can give, for without tattooing a young man +hath no manhood, and his children are weak of body and poor of mind. + +That night my father asked me for the money, which I gave him +unwillingly, for I wished to send it back to the white man. He took +it and placed it in a great box, which contained such things as guns, +pistols, and powder and ball, and the key of which he always wore around +his neck. + +When the eighth day dawned, the sea was very smooth, and our hearts were +gladdened by seeing that the wind was from the south-east, and as the +day wore on, it increased in strength. When night fell, and the evening +fires were lit, Manaia, saying he was going to fish for _malau_, +launched his boat and sailed along the shore for a league to the mouth +of a small stream. Here he was met by his mother and sisters, who were +awaiting him with baskets of cooked food, young coconuts and calabashes +of water for the voyage. Then they put their arms around him, and wept +as they bade him farewell, for seventy leagues is a long voyage for a +small boat not intended for rough seas. Then they went into the forest +and fled for their lives to Sen Manu of Apia, and Manaia waited for me. + +When the town was buried in slumber, Selema, who lay near me, touched my +head with her foot, and then asked me if I slept. + +"Nay," I replied in a loud voice, and speaking with pretended anger, so +as to awaken the two women between whom I lay. "How can I sleep? 'Tis +too hot. Let us go to the beach awhile and feel the cool wind." + +The two women grumbled a little at being disturbed, and Selema and I +rose and went out of the house. Then, once we were at a safe distance, +we ran swiftly to the beach, and then onwards to where Manaia awaited +us. + +Selema took her seat on the foremost thwart, Manaia at the stern, and I +in the centre, and then we pushed off, and using canoe paddles, made for +the passage through the reef out into the open sea. When the dawn broke, +we were half-way across the straits which divide Savai'i from Upolu, +and only two leagues away we saw the clustering houses of Tufa on the +iron-bound coast. We did not dare to hoist the sail for fear of being +seen, so continued to paddle, keeping well into the middle of the +straits. Only that the current was so fierce, Manaia would have +steered north, and gone round the great island of Savai'i and then made +westward, but the current was setting against the wind, and we should +have all perished had we tried to go the north way. + +Presently Manaia turned and looked astern, and there we saw the great +mat sail of my father's double canoe, just rising above the water, and +knew that we were pursued. So we ceased paddling, and hoisted our own +sail, which made us leap along very quickly over the seas, though every +now and then the outrigger would lift itself out of the water, and we +feared that we might capsize. But we knew that Death was behind us, and +so sat still, and no one spoke but in a whisper as we looked astern, and +saw the sail of the great canoe growing higher and higher. It was a very +large canoe and carried a hundred men, and on the raised platform was a +cannon which my father had bought from a whale-ship when it was in his +mind to fight against Tamalefaiga, who was the king of Upolu. + +Suddenly Selema cried out that she saw a _taumualua_{*} and a boat with +a sail coming towards us from Tufa, and my heart sank within me, for I +knew that if they saw we were pursued by Pule-o-Vaitafe, they would, out +of respect for him, stop us from escaping. Still there was naught for us +to do but go on, and so we leapt and sprang from sea to sea, and Manaia +bade us be of good heart, as he turned the head of the canoe toward the +land. + + * A large native-built boat + +"If this _taumualua_ and the boat seek to stay us, I shall run ashore," +he said, "and we will take to the mountains. It is Manka's boat, for +now I can see the flag from the peak--the flag of America." "And the +_taumualua_ is that of Tamavili of Tufa," said Selema quietly, for she +is a girl of great heart, "and it races with the white man's boat." + +I, who was shaking with fear, cannot now well remember all that +followed, after Manaia headed our canoe for the shore, and tried to +escape, but suddenly, it seemed to me, the white man's boat, with +flapping sail, was upon as, and Manka was laughing loudly. + +"Ho, ho!" he cried, pulling his long white moustache, "so this is the +way the wind bloweth! The old dotard Tamavili and I race together for a +bride, and the bride is for neither of us, but for the man who saved her +from the sea. Ha, ha! Thou art a fine fellow, Manaia, and I bear thee no +ill will, even though the girl hath my good golden money." + +"Nay, Manka," cried Selema quickly, and taking something from her girdle +she held it up to the white man; "see, here is thy gift to the lady Sa +Luia. We meant to give it back to thee with all good will, for Sa Luia +loves no man but this her lover Manaia, who held her up from the angry +sea when her mother died. And so when Pule-o-Vaitafe took the money from +her--which was thy free gift--I waited till he slept, and stole the key +of his treasure-chest, and took the money so that it might be returned +to thee." + +"Is this true?" asked the white man of Manaia. "The money is thine," +said Manaia, who knew not what else to say, "but the woman is mine. +So let us depart, for Tamavili and his men--whom no one in Malifanua +thought to see for three days yet--are drawing near, and we may escape +by running the canoe through the surf, and taking to the mountains." + +The white man swore an oath. "Thou art a fine fellow, and I bear no ill +will, but will help thee to outwit that old dodderer who tried to steal +away three days before me. I will put my boat between he and thee and +keep him off. Whither wouldst land?" + +"Not here, unless we are pressed. But we are in bad case; for see, on +the one side comes Pule-o-Vaitafe, and on the other Tamavili. Yet if +thou wilt be the good friend to us, we may escape both, and keep on our +way to the open sea." + +"The open sea!" cried Manka quickly--"and whither to?" + +"To Uea." + +"Thou art a bold fellow," said the white man again, "and shalt have the +girl, for thou art worthy of her. And she shall keep the money for her +dowry. I am no man to go back on my word, even though I lose so fair +a bride. As for Pule-o-Vaitafe, I care not a blade of grass, and for +Tamavili even less. And see, take this rifle, and if Tamavili cometh too +close to thee, how can I help thee defending thyself and the women?" + +With that he gave Manaia one of six rifles in his boat and two score and +ten cartridges, some tobacco, matches, and a pipe; then he pressed our +hands and wished us God-speed, and we parted, he sailing towards the +_taumualua_, which was crowded with men, and we following. When he came +within speaking distance of Tamavili, he again brought his boat to the +wind and mocked at the old man. + +"Ho, ho! Tamavili. Whither goest in such a hurry? See, there in the +canoe is the little bird we both sought, and there following comes her +father. But she is neither for me nor thee. Is not her lover there, a +fine man--nearly as handsome as I am, and big enough to make ten such +rats as thee." + +Tamavili was mad with rage, and did not answer. There were with Manka +six men--all armed with rifles which loaded at the breech like that +which he had given Manaia, and Manka was too great a man for even +Tamavili to hurt. But suddenly, as we in the canoe sailed in between the +boat and the _taumualua_, the old chief found his voice, and called out +to Manaia to lower his sail. + +"Give me the lady Sa Luia," he said, "and I will let thee and the girl +Selema go," and as he spoke, the crew turned the _taumualua_ round and +came after us, twenty men paddling on each side. + +"Keep back!" cried Manaia fiercely, as he changed seats with me, and +giving me the steering paddle, he took up the rifle and loaded it. + +"Beware, old man!" shouted Manka, "'tis a dog that bites!" + +But Tamavili was too hot with anger to take heed, and shouted to his men +to go on, and then Manaia took aim and fired, and two men went down. + +"Ho, ho!" and Manka's voice again mocked, "did I not say 'twas a dog +that bit?" + +There was great commotion in the _taumualua_ for a moment or two, but +_Tamavili_ shouted to his men to go on; he would have ordered some of +them to cease paddling and try and shoot Manaia, but feared to hurt +or perhaps kill me, and that would have meant war between Tufa and +Mulifanua. + +"Alo, alo foe!"{*} he cried, standing up on the stem and brandishing +his death-knife at Manaia. "I shall give thy head to the children of the +village for a football ere the sun is in mid-heaven." + + * "Paddle, paddle hard!" + +That was a foolish boast, for once more Manaia knelt and shot, and I +turned my head and saw the blood spurt from Tamavili's naked chest as he +fell down without a sound among the paddlers and a loud cry of anger +and sorrow burst from his men. But in a moment a young sub-chief of Tufa +named _Lau Aula_ (the Golden-haired) took command and shouted to the crew +to press on, and leaping to the bow, he began firing at us with a short +gun (revolver) and one of the bullets struck the girl Selema on the leg +and tore a hole through the fleshy part. Now this Lau Aula was a blood +relative of Manaia, who called out to him to cease firing, but Lau Aula +took no heed, and began shooting at us with muskets loaded with round +bullets, which were handed to him by some of his people. + +Then Manaia's face was evil to look at; his lips were drawn back, and +his teeth showed like those of an angry dog, for the blood which flowed +from Selema's wound was creeping around his naked feet. Yet once more he +cried out to Lau Aula to beware ere it was too late; but the young chief +called him a thief, and bade him bring the boat to the wind. + +"This for thee, then," cried Manaia, and once more he raised his rifle +and fired, and Lan Anla spun round and fell over into the sea, for the +bullet had struck him in the throat and his life was gone. + +That was the last of the fight, for when Lau Aula fell, the rest of +Tamavili's men threw down their paddles and let us sail on without +further pursuit. + +Then, whilst I steered, Manaia tied strips of tappa around Selema's leg +so as to stay the bleeding. + +"We are safe," cried the girl bravely through her tears, for the pain +was very great. "See, lady, the wind is not strong enough for the big +double canoe to pursue us." + +But yet, in his rage, when my father saw that we were escaping, he +lowered the mat sail and fired two shots at us with the cannon, and the +great heavy balls roared over our heads and fell into the sea with a +heavy splash not fifty fathoms away. But cannon-balls cost much money, +and so, when a third shot was fired, and it fell astern of our boat, my +father wasted no more, and we saw the sail again hoisted and the canoe +go slowly down towards the _taumualua_ of Tamavili, to which the white +man was already rendering succour, for Manka, although he had quarrelled +with the old chief of Tufa, was yet a man of a kind heart. + +And so we sailed on before a fair, soft breeze, and by sunset the great +mountain peaks of Savai'i had sunk beneath the sea rim, and we were +steering westward by the bright stars with a great joy filling our +hearts. + +For four days we sailed steadily onwards, and Selema's wound soon began +to heal. On the evening of the fourth day we saw the land of Uea just +showing above the sea rim, and thought to place our feet on the shore +in the morning. But now came sorrow, for in the night it began to blow +strongly from the north-east, and heavy rain squalls drove us past the +land. In the morning there was but the open sea, and the waves were +white and angry, and all that day and the next Manaia kept the boat to +the wind, hoping that it would change and let us sail back to Uea. But +we hoped vainly; and then, on the third day, there came such a furious +storm that we could do naught but drive before it, and go on and on into +the great unknown western ocean, whither so many have gone, and have +been no more known of men. For many, many days we sailed on, and then, +although we had much rain and so suffered no thirst, our food began to +fail, and had not Manaia one day caught a sleeping turtle, we should +have perished. Some time about the fourteenth day, we saw the jagged +peaks of an island against the sky, and steered for it. It was the +island called Rotumah--a fine, fair country, with mountains and valleys +and running streams, and on it dwell people who are like unto us Samoans +in appearance and manners and language. We sailed the boat into a bay on +which stood a village of many houses, and the people made us welcome and +gave us much food, and besought us to stay there, for their island was, +they said, a better place than Uea. And this we should have done and +been content, but in the night, as I slept in the house of the unmarried +women, a girl whispered in my ear-- + +"Get thee away with thy lover and the girl Selema. Felipa, the head +chief of Fao, hath been told of thy beauty, and hath sent word here that +the man Manaia must be killed to-night, and thou and Selema be sent to +him. This is wrong for even a chief to do, and we of this place would +aid thee to escape." + +So Manaia and I and Selema stole away to the boat, and the people of the +village, who pitied us, pretended not to hear or see us. They were very +kind, and had put baskets of cooked food and other things into the boat; +and so we pushed off, and stood out to sea once more. They had told +us to go round to the north end of the island, where there was a chief +named Loli, who would protect us and give us a home. + +But again evil fortune befell us, for the chief of Fao, hearing of our +escape, sent a messenger overland to Loli, claiming us as _mea tafea i +moana_--gifts sent to him by the sea--and asking him to hold us for him. +And so Loli, who would have welcomed us, was afraid, and begged us not +to land and so bring about bloodshed. + +"Great is my sorrow, O wanderers," he cried to us, as we sat in the boat +a little distance from the beach, "but ye must not land. Steer to the +west, and a little to the south, where there is a great land--many, many +islands which trend north and south."{*} + + * The New Hebrides Group. + +"Is it far?" asked Manaia scornfully. + +"Four days for a ship, longer for a boat," replied Loli shamefacedly; +"the gods go with thee, farewell." + +Once again we sailed towards the setting sun, steering by the stars at +night time, and for seven days all went well. Then after that there came +calms, and the hot sun beat upon us and ate its way into our hearts, and +we saw no sign of land, and only now and then did a seabird come near +us. And then came the time when all our food was gone, and we waited for +death to come. Manaia had eaten no food for five days when it came to +this, for he said he was feeling quite strong, and divided his share +between us. Once as he and I slept Selema put a little piece of old +coconut--the last that was left--into my hand, and slipped over the side +to die, but Manaia heard her, and, although he was very weak, he roused +and caught her as she sank. + +Two days before that on which the ship found us Manaia shot a small +shark which was following the boat. It was not as long as a man's arm +nor as thick as a woman's, but it kept us alive. Manaia gave us all the +flesh, and kept only the head and skin for himself; after that all the +world became dark to me, and we lay together in the boat to die. + +The captain of the whale-ship was very kind to us, and when he found +that the sailor named Falaoa did not wish to part from us on account of +Selema, whom he wished to marry, he gave his consent, and said he would +land us all here at Nufilole, where there was a white man who would be +kind to us. + +That is all, and now my husband Manaia and I, and Falaoa and his wife +Selema are well content to live here always. For even now, after many +months have passed, do Selema and I cry out in our slumbers, and when +we awaken our hair lies wet upon our foreheads; but soon all these bad +dreams will pass away from us for ever. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Memory Of The Southern Seas, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24807.txt or 24807.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/0/24807/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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. 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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 www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Memory Of The Southern Seas + 1904 + +Author: Louis Becke + +Release Date: March 11, 2008 [EBook #24807] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS + </h1> + <h3> + From “Chinkie's Flat And Other Stories” + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Louis Becke + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company 1904 + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> CAPTAIN “BULLY” HAYES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THE “WHALE CURE” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> THE SEA “SALMON” SEASON IN AUSTRALIA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> “JACK SHARK” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> SOME PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> “LUCK” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER + I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER + II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER + III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER + IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> BULL-DOGS OF THE SEA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> “REVENGE” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> SAUNDERSON AND THE DYNAMITE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> THE STEALING OF SA LUIA </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CAPTAIN “BULLY” HAYES + </h2> + <p> + In other works by the present writer frequent allusion has been made, + either by the author or by other persons, to Captain Hayes. Perhaps the + continuous appearance of his name may have been irritating to many of my + readers; if so I can only plead that it is almost impossible when writing + of wild life in the Southern Seas to avoid mentioning him. Every one who + sailed the Austral seas between the “fifties” and “seventies,” and + thousands who had not, knew of him and had heard tales of him. In some + eases these tales were to his credit; mostly they were not. However, the + writer makes no further apology for reproducing the following sketch of + the great “Bully” which he contributed to the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>, + and which, by the courtesy of the editor of that journal, he is able to + include in this volume. + </p> + <p> + In a most interesting, though all too brief, sketch of the life of the + late Rev. James Chalmers, the famous New Guinea missionary, which appeared + in the January number of a popular religious magazine, the author, the + Rev. Richard Lovett, gives us a brief glance of the notorious Captain + “Bully” Hayes. Mr. Chalmers, in 1866, sailed for the South Seas with his + wife in the missionary ship <i>John Williams</i>—the second vessel + of that name, the present beautiful steamer being the fourth <i>John + Williams</i>. + </p> + <p> + The second John Williams had but a brief existence, for on her first + voyage she was wrecked on Nine Island (the “Savage” Island of Captain + Cook). Hayes happened to be there with his vessel, and agreed to convey + the shipwrecked missionaries to Samoa. No doubt he charged them a pretty + stiff price, for he always said that missionaries “were teaching Kanakas + the degrading doctrine that even if a man killed his enemy and cut out and + ate his heart in public, and otherwise misconducted himself, he could yet + secure a front seat in the Kingdom of Heaven if he said he was sorry and + was then baptized as Aperamo (Abraham) or Lakopo (Jacob).” + </p> + <p> + “It is characteristic of Chalmers,” writes Mr. Lovett, “that he was able + to exert considerable influence over this ruffian, and even saw good + points in him, not easily evident to others.” + </p> + <p> + The present writer sailed with Hayes on four voyages as supercargo, and + was with the big-bearded, heavy-handed, and alleged “terror of the South + Seas” when his famous brig <i>Leonora</i> was wrecked on Strong's Island, + one wild night in March, 1875. And he has nothing but kindly memories of a + much-maligned man, who, with all his faults, was never the cold-blooded + murderer whose fictitious atrocities once formed the theme of a highly + blood-curdling melodrama staged in the old Victoria Theatre, in Pitt + Street, Sydney, under the title of “The Pirate of the Pacific.” In this + lively production of dramatic genius Hayes was portrayed as something + worse than Blackboard or Llonois, and committed more murders and + abductions of beautiful women in two hours than ever fell to the luck in + real life of the most gorgeous pirate on record. No one of the audience + was more interested or applauded more vigorously the villain's downfall + than “Bully” Hayes himself, who was seated in a private box with a lady. + He had come to Sydney by steamer from Melbourne, where he had left his + ship in the hands of brokers for sale, and almost the first thing he saw + on arrival were the theatrical posters concerning himself and his career + of crime. + </p> + <p> + “I would have gone for the theatre people,” he told the writer, “if they + had had any money, but the man who 'played' me was the lessee of the + theatre and was hard up. I think his name was Hoskins. He was a big fat + fellow, with a soapy, slithery kind of a voice, and I lent him ten pounds, + which he spent on a dinner to myself and some of his company. I guess we + had a real good time.” + </p> + <p> + But let us hear what poor ill-fated Missionary Chalmers has to say about + the alleged pirate:— + </p> + <p> + “Hayes seemed to take to me during the frequent meetings we had on shore” + (this was when the shipwrecked missionaries and their wives were living on + Savage Island), “and before going on board for good I met him one + afternoon and said to him, 'Captain Hayes, I hope you will have no + objection to our having morning and evening service on board, and twice on + Sabbaths. All short, and only those who like need attend.' Certainly not. + My ship is a missionary ship now' (humorous dog), 'and I hope you will + feel it so. All on board will attend these services.' I replied, 'Only if + they are inclined.'” (If they had shirked it, the redoubtable “Bully” + would have made attendance compulsory with a belaying pin.) + </p> + <p> + “Hayes was a perfect host and a thorough gentleman. His wife and children + were on board. We had fearful weather all the time, yet I must say we + enjoyed ourselves.... We had gone so far south that we could easily fetch + Tahiti, and so we stood for it, causing us to be much longer on board. + Hayes several times lost his temper and did very queer things, acting now + and then more like a madman than a sane man. Much of his past life he + related to us at table, especially of things (he did) to cheat + Governments.” + </p> + <p> + Poor “Bully!” He certainly did like to “cheat Governments,” although he + despised cheating private individuals—unless it was for a large + amount. And he frequently “lost his temper” also; and when that occurred + things were very uncomfortable for the man or men who caused it. On one + occasion, during an electrical storm off New Guinea, a number of + corposants appeared on the yards of his vessel, which was manned by + Polynesians and some Portuguese. One of the latter was so terrified at the + ghastly <i>corpo santo</i> that he fell on his knees and held a small + leaden crucifix, which he wore on his neck, to his lips. His example was + quickly followed by the rest of his countrymen; which so enraged Hayes + that, seizing the first offender, he tore the crucifix from his hand, and, + rolling it into a lump, thrust it into his month <i>and made him swallow + it</i>. + </p> + <p> + “You'll kill the man, sir,” cried Hussey, his American mate, who, being a + good Catholic, was horrified. + </p> + <p> + Hayes laughed savagely: “If that bit of lead is good externally it ought + to be a darned sight better when taken internally.” + </p> + <p> + He was a humorous man at times, even when he was cross. And he was one of + the best sailor-men that ever trod a deck. A chronometer watch, which was + committed to the care of the writer by Hayes, bore this inscription:— + </p> + <p> + “<i>From Isaac Steuart, of New York, to Captain William Henry Hayes, of + Cleveland, Ohio. A gift of esteem and respect for his bravery in saving + the lives of seventeen persons at the risk of his own. Honor to the brave.</i>” + </p> + <p> + Hayes told me that story—modestly and simply as brave men only tell + a tale of their own dauntless daring. And he told me other stories as well + of his strange, wild career; of Gordon of Khartoum, whom he had known, and + of Ward and Burgevine and the Taeping leaders; and how Burgevine and he + quarrelled over a love affair and stood face to face, pistols in hand, + when Ward sprang in between them and said that the woman was his, and that + they were fools to fight over what belonged to neither of them and what he + would gladly be rid of himself. + </p> + <p> + Peace to his <i>manes!</i> He died—in his sea-boots—from a + blow on his big, bald head, superinduced by his attention to a lady who + was “no better than she ought to have been,” even for the islands of the + North Pacific. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE “WHALE CURE” + </h2> + <p> + I once heard a man who for nearly six years had been a martyr to + rheumatism say he would give a thousand pounds to have a cure effected. + </p> + <p> + “I wish, then, that we were in Australia or New Zealand during the shore + whaling season,” remarked a friend of the writer; “I should feel pretty + certain of annexing that thousand pounds.” And then he described the whale + cure. + </p> + <p> + The “cure” is not fiction. It is a fact, so the whalemen assert, and there + are many people at the township of Eden, Twofold Bay, New South Wales, + who, it is vouched, can tell of several cases of chronic rheumatism that + have been absolutely perfectly cured by the treatment herewith briefly + described. How it came to be discovered I do not know, but it has been + known to American whalemen for years. + </p> + <p> + When a whale is killed and towed ashore (it does not matter whether it is + a “right,” humpback, finback, or sperm whale) and while the interior of + the carcase still retains a little warmth, a hole is out through one side + of the body sufficiently large to admit the patient, the lower part of + whose body from the feet to the waist should sink in the whale's + intestines, leaving the head, of course, outside the aperture. The latter + is closed up as closely as possible, otherwise the patient would not be + able to breathe through the volume of ammoniacal gases which would escape + from every opening left uncovered. It is these gases, which are of an + overpowering and atrocious odour, that bring about the cure, so the + whalemen say. Sometimes the patient cannot stand this horrible bath for + more than an hour, and has to be lifted out in a fainting condition, to + undergo a second, third, or perhaps fourth course on that or the following + day. Twenty or thirty hours, it is said, will effect a radical cure in the + most severe cases, provided there is no malformation or distortion of the + joints, and even in such cases the treatment causes very great relief. One + man who was put in up to his neck in the carcass of a small “humpback” + stood it for sixteen hours, being taken out at two-hour intervals. He went + off declaring himself to be cured. À year later he had a return of the + complaint and underwent the treatment a second time. + </p> + <p> + All the “shore” whalemen whom the writer has met thoroughly believe in the + efficacy of the remedy, and by way of practical proof assert that no man + who works at cutting-in and trying out a whale ever suffers from + rheumatism. Furthermore, however, some of them maintain that the “deader” + the whale is, the better the remedy. “More gas in him,” they say. And any + one who has been within a mile of a week-dead whale will believe <i>that</i>. + </p> + <p> + Anyway, if there is any person, rheumatic or otherwise, who wants to + emulate Jonah's adventure in a safe manner (with a dead whale), let him + write to the Davidson Brothers, Ben Boyd Point, Twofold Bay, N.S.W., or to + the Messrs. Christian, Norfolk Island, and I am sure those valorous + whalemen would help him to achieve his desire. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SEA “SALMON” SEASON IN AUSTRALIA + </h2> + <p> + The sea salmon make their appearance on the southern half of the eastern + seaboard of Australia with undeviating regularity in the last week of + October, and, entering the rivers and inlets, remain on the coast till the + first week of December. As far as my knowledge goes, they come from the + south and travel northwards, and do not appear to relish the tropical + waters of the North Queensland coast, though I have heard that some years + ago a vast “school” entered the waters of Port Denison. + </p> + <p> + Given a dear, sunny day and a smooth sea the advent of these fish to the + bar harbours and rivers of New South Wales presents a truly extraordinary + sight. From any moderately high bluff or headland one can discern their + approach nearly two miles away. You see a dark patch upon the water, and + were it not for the attendant flocks of gulls and other aquatic birds, one + would imagine it to be but the passing reflection of a cloud. But + presently you see another and another; and, still farther oat, a long + black line flecked with white can be discerned with a good glass. Then you + look above—the sky is cloudless blue, and you know that the dark + moving patches are the advance battalions of countless thousands of sea + salmon, and that the mile-long black and white streak behind them is the + main body of the first mighty army; for others are to follow day by day + for another fortnight. + </p> + <p> + Probably the look-out man at the pilot station is the first to see them, + and in a few minâtes the lazy little seaport town awakes from its morning + lethargy, and even the butcher, and baker, and bootmaker, and bank + manager, and other commercial magnates shut up shop and walk to the pilot + station to watch the salmon “take” the bar, whilst the entire public + school rushes home to prepare its rude tackle for the onslaught that will + begin at dark. + </p> + <p> + The bar is a mile wide or more, and though there is but little surf, the + ebbing tide, running at five knots, makes a great commotion, and the + shallow water is thick with yellow sand swept seaward to the pale green + beyond. Presently the first “school” of salmon reaches the protecting reef + on the southern side—and then it stops. The fish well know that such + a current as that cannot be stemmed, and wait, moving slowly to and fro, + the dark blue compactness of their serried masses ever and anon broken by + flashes of silver as some turn on their sides or make an occasional leap + clear out of the water to avoid the pressure of their fellows. + </p> + <p> + An hour or so passes; then the tumult on the bar ceases, the incoming seas + rise clear and sandless, and the fierce race of the current slows down to + a gentle drift; it is slack water, and the fish begin to move. One after + another the foremost masses sweep round the horn of the reef and head for + the smooth water inside. On the starboard hand a line of yellow sandbank + is drying in the sun, and the passage has now narrowed down to a width of + fifty yards; in twenty minutes every inch of water, from the rocky + headland on the south side of the entrance to where the river makes a + sharp turn northward, half a mile away, is packed with a living, moving + mass. Behind follows the main body, the two horns of the crescent shape + which it had at first preserved now swimming swiftly ahead, and converging + towards each other as the entrance to the bar is reached, and the centre + falling back with the precision of well-trained troops. And then in a + square, solid mass, thirty or forty feet in width, they begin the passage, + and for two hours or more the long dark lines of fish pass steadily + onward, only thrown into momentary confusion now and then by a heavy + swell, which, however, does no more than gently undulate the rearmost + lines of fish, and then subsides, overcome by the weight and solidity of + the living wall. + </p> + <p> + Along the beach on the southern side of the river stand a hundred or more + yelling urchins, with stout lines fitted with many baitless hooks and + weighted with a stone. As the swarming fish press steadily on within ten + feet or less of the shore the children fling their lines across, and draw + them quickly in. Sometimes two or three fish are “jagged” at once, and as + the average weight is 10 lb. the jagger takes a turn of the line around + his waist and straggles up the beach. Even if he has but one fish hooked + amidships he has all he can do to drag him out from the countless + thousands and land him. It is not an eminently ideal or sportsmanlike sort + of fishing, this “jagging,” but it possesses a marvellous enjoyment and + fascination for the youth of ten, and older people as well; for a + full-grown salmon is a powerful fellow, and his big, fluke-like tail + enables him to make a terrific rush when under the influence of terror or + when chasing his prey. + </p> + <p> + Once over the bar and into the placid waters of the tidal river, the + vanguards of the hundreds of thousands to follow pursue their way steadily + up the shallow flats and numberless blind creeks, where they remain till + spawning is over. Every day some fresh accessions to their numbers, and at + night time strange, indescribable sounds are heard, caused by the + movements of the fishes' tails and fins as they swim to and fro, and one + section, meeting another, endeavours to force a right-of-way. On the third + or fourth evening the sharks and porpoises appear, having followed the + “schools” in from the sea, and wreak fearful havoc among them. Sometimes + in a deep pool or quiet reach of the river one may see a school of perhaps + five or six thousand terrified salmon, wedged one up against the other, + unable to move from their very numbers, while half a dozen sharks dash in + among them and devour them by the score; and often as the current runs + seaward hundreds of half bodies of salmon can be seen going out over the + bar. At night time the townspeople appear on the scene in boats with + lanterns and spears, and for no other purpose than the mere love of + useless slaughter kill the fish till their arms are exhausted. At places + within easy access of Sydney by steamer or rail some few thousands of + salmon are sent to market, but as the flesh is somewhat coarse, they are + only bought by the poorer members of the community, 4d. and 6d. each being + considered a good retail price for a 10 lb. fish. The roes, however, are + excellent eating, and some attempt has been made to smoke them on a large + scale, but like everything else connected with the fishing industry (or + rather want of industry) in New South Wales, has failed. It sometimes + happens (as I once witnessed in Trial Bay, on the coast of New South + Wales) that heavy weather will set in when the salmon are either passing + inwards over the bars or are returning to sea. The destruction that is + then wrought among them is terrific. On the occasion of which I speak, + every heavy roller that reared and then dashed upon the beach flung upon + the sands hundreds of the fish, stunned and bleeding. At one spot where + the beach had but a very slight inclination towards the water from the + line of scrub above high-water mark there were literally many thousands of + salmon, lying three and four deep, and in places piled up in irregular + ridges and firmly packed together with sand and seaweed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + “JACK SHARK” + </h2> + <p> + “What is the greatest number of sharks that you have ever seen together at + one time?” asked an English lady in San Francisco of Captain Allen, of the + New Bedford barque <i>Acorn Barnes</i>. + </p> + <p> + “Two or three hundred when we have been cutting-in a whale; two or three + thousand in Christmas Island lagoon.” + </p> + <p> + Some of the hardy old seaman's listeners smiled somewhat incredulously at + the “two or three thousand,” but nevertheless he was not only not + exaggerating, but might have said five or six thousand. The Christmas + Island to which he referred must not be mistaken for the island of the + same name in the Indian Ocean—the Cocos-Keeling group. It is in the + North Pacific, two degrees north of the equator and 157.30 W., and is a + low, sandy atoll, encompassing a spacious but rather shallow lagoon, + teeming with non-poisonous fish. It is leased from the Colonial Office by + a London firm, who are planting the barren soil with coconut trees and + fishing the lagoon for pearl-shell. Like many other of the isolated atolls + in the North Pacific, such as the Fannings, Palmyra, and Providence + Groups, the lagoon is resorted to by sharks in incredible numbers; and + even at the present time the native labourers employed by the firm alluded + to make a considerable sum of money by catching sharks and drying the fins + and tails for export to Sydney, and thence to China, where they command a + price ranging from 6d. to 1s. 6d. per pound, according to quality. + </p> + <p> + The lagoon sharks are of a different species to the short, thick, + wide-jawed “man-eaters,” although they are equally dangerous at night time + as the deep-sea prowlers. The present writer was for a long time engaged + with a native crew in the shark-catching industry in the North Pacific, + and therefore had every opportunity of studying Jack Shark and his + manners. + </p> + <p> + On Providence Lagoon (the Ujilong of the natives), once the secret + rendezvous of the notorious Captain “Bully” Hayes and his associate + adventurer, Captain Ben Peese, I have, at low tide, stood on the edge of + the coral reef on one side of South Passage, and gazed in astonishment at + the extraordinary numbers of sharks entering the lagoon for their nightly + onslaught on the vast bodies of fish with which the water teems. They came + on in droves, like sheep, in scores at first, then in hundreds, and then + in packed masses, their sharp, black-tipped fins stretching from one side + of the passage to the other. As they gained the inside of the lagoon they + branched off, some to right and left, others swimming straight on towards + the sandy beaches of the chain of islets. From where I stood I could have + killed scores of them with a whale lance, or even a club, for they were + packed so closely that they literally scraped against the coral walls of + the passage; and some Gilbert Islanders who were with me amused themselves + by seizing several by their tails and dragging them out upon the reef. + They were nearly all of the same size, about seven feet, with long slender + bodies, and their markings, shape, and general appearance were those of + the shark called by the Samoans <i>moemoeao</i> (“sleeps all day”), though + not much more than half their length. The Gilbert Islanders informed me + that this species were also <i>bàkwa mata te ao</i> (sleepers by day) at + certain seasons of the year, but usually sought their prey by night at all + times; and a few months later I had an opportunity afforded me of seeing + some hundreds of them asleep. This was outside the barrier reef of the + little island of Ailuk, in the Marshall Group. We were endeavouring to + find and recover a lost anchor, and were drifting along in a boat in about + six fathoms of water; there was not a breath of wind, and consequently we + had no need to use water glasses, for even minute objects could be very + easily discerned through the crystal water. + </p> + <p> + “Hallo! look here,” said the mate, “we're right on top of a nice little + family party of sharks. It's their watch below.” + </p> + <p> + Lying closely together on a bottom of sand and coral <i>débris</i> were + about a dozen sharks, heads and tails in perfect line. Their skins were a + mottled brown and yellow, like the crustacean-feeding “tiger shark” of + Port Jack-son. They lay so perfectly still that the mate lowered a grapnel + right on the back of one. He switched his long, thin tail lazily, “shoved” + himself along for a few feet, and settled down again to sleep, his + bedmates taking no notice of the intruding grapnel. Further on we came + across many more—all in parties of from ten to twenty, and all + preserving in their slumber a due sense of regularity of outline in the + disposition of their long bodies. + </p> + <p> + The natives of the low-lying equatorial islands—the Kingsmill, + Gilbert, Ellice, and Tokelau or Union Groups—are all expert shark + fishermen; but the wild people of Paanopa (Ocean Island) stand <i>facile + princeps</i>. I have frequently seen four men in a small canoe kill eight + or ten sharks (each of which was as long as their frail little craft) + within three hours. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SOME PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHES + </h2> + <p> + Of all the food-fishes inhabiting the reefs, lagoons, and tidal waters of + the islands of the North and South Pacific, there are none that are prized + more than the numerous varieties of sand-mullet. Unlike the same fishes in + British and other colder waters, they frequently reach a great size, some + of them attaining two feet in length, and weighing up to ten pounds; and + another notable feature is the great diversity of colour characterising + the whole family. The writer is familiar with at least ten varieties, and + the natives gave me the names of several others which, however, are seldom + taken in sufficient numbers to make them a common article of diet. The + larger kind are caught with hook and line in water ranging from three to + five fathoms in depth, the smaller kinds are always to be found in the + very shallow waters of the lagoons, where they are taken by nets. At + night, by the aid of torches made of dried coconut leaf, the women and + children capture them in hundreds as they lie on the clear, sandy bottom. + In the picturesque lagoons of the Ellice Group (South Pacific), and + especially in that of Nanomea, these fish afford excellent sport with + either rod or hand-line, and sport, too, with surroundings of the greatest + beauty imaginable; for the little lagoon of Nanomea is perfectly + landlocked, except where there are breaks of reef—dry at low water—which + is as clear as crystal, and the low-lying belt of land is a verdant girdle + of coco and pandanus palms, growing with bread-fruit and <i>fetau</i> + trees on the rich, warm soil composed of vegetable matter and decayed + coral detritis. + </p> + <p> + And then, too, you can look over the side of the canoe, or from an exposed + boulder of coral, and see the fish take your bait—unless a breeze is + rippling the surface of the water. + </p> + <p> + I usually chose the early morning, before the trade wind roused itself, as + then, if in a canoe, one need not anchor, but drift about from one side of + the lagoon to the other; then about ten o'clock, when the breeze came, I + would paddle over to the lee of the weather side of the island (the land + in places not being much wider than the Palisadoes of Port Royal in + Jamaica) and fish in unruffled water in some deep pool among a number of + sand banks, or rather round-topped hillocks, which even at high water were + some feet above the surface. + </p> + <p> + When bent on sand-mullet—<i>afulu</i> the natives call them—I + was in the habit of going alone, although the moment I appeared in the + village carrying my rod, lines, and gun, I was always besought to take one + or two men with me. One of the most ardent fishermen on the island was one + Kino—a gentleman who weighed eighteen stone; and, as my canoe was + only intended for two light-weights like myself, I always tried to avoid + meeting him, for not only was he most persistent in his desire to see how + I managed to get so many mullet, but was most anxious to learn to speak + English. + </p> + <p> + On one occasion I fatuously took the monster out in my whaleboat to fish + for <i>takuo</i> (a variety of <i>tuna</i>) one calm starlight night when + the ocean was like a sheet of glass. We pulled out over the reef, and when + a mile from the shore lowered our heavy lines and began fishing. For + nearly a quarter of an hour neither of us spoke, then he suddenly asked me + in his fat, wheezy tones, if I would mind telling him something. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” + </p> + <p> + “Will you tell me, friend, what are the English words that should be + spoken by one of us of Nanomea to a ship captain, giving him greeting, and + asking him if he hath had a prosperous voyage with fair weather? My heart + is sick with envy that Pita and Loli speak English, and I cannot.” + </p> + <p> + Forgetting my past experiences of my man, I was fool enough to tell him. + </p> + <p> + “You say this: 'Good morning, Captain; have you had a good voyage and fair + weather?'” + </p> + <p> + He greedily repeated each word after me, very slowly and carefully; then + he asked me to tell him again. I did so. Then he sighed with pleasure. + </p> + <p> + “Kind friend, just a few times more,” he said. + </p> + <p> + I told him the sentence over and over again for at least a score of times; + and his smooth, fat face beamed when at last he was able to say the words + alone. Then he began whispering it. Five minutes passed, and he tackled me + again. + </p> + <p> + “Is this right?—'Good—mornin', kipen—ha—ad—you—have—goot—foy—age—and—fair + wesser?'” + </p> + <p> + “That is right,” I said impatiently, “but ask me no more to-night. Dost + not know that it is unlucky to talk when fishing for <i>takuo</i> and <i>tautau?</i>” + </p> + <p> + “Dear friend, <i>that</i> we believed only in the heathen days. <i>Now</i> + we are Christians.” + </p> + <p> + He paused a moment, then raised his face to the stars and softly murmured, + “Good—mornin' kâpen—haad—you—you—have—goot—foyage—and + wesser—and fair—wesser?” Then he looked at me interrogatively. + I took no notice. + </p> + <p> + He toyed with his line and bent an earnest gaze down in the placid depths + of the water as if he saw the words down there, then taking a turn of his + line round a thwart, he put his two elbows on his enormous naked knees, + and resting his broad, terraced chin on the palms of his hands, he said + slowly and mournfully, as if he were communing with some one in the + spirit-world— + </p> + <p> + “Good—mornin'—kâpen. Haad—you—haave——” + &c., &c. + </p> + <p> + Then I sharply spoke a few words of English—simple in themselves, + but well understood by nearly every native of the South Seas. He looked + surprised, and also reproachful, but went on in a whisper so faint that I + could scarcely hear it; sometimes quickly and excitedly, sometimes + doubtingly and with quivering lips, now raising his eyes to heaven, and + with drooping lower jaw gurgling the words in his thick throat; then + sighing and muttering them with closed eyes and a rapt expression of + countenance, till with a sudden snort of satisfaction, he ceased—at + least I thought he had. He took up a young coconut, drank it, and began + again as fresh as ever. + </p> + <p> + “Stop!” I said angrily. “Art thou a grown man or a child? Here is some + tobacco, fill thy pipe, and cease muttering like a <i>tama valea</i> + (idiot boy).” + </p> + <p> + He shook his head. “Nay, if I smoke, I may forget. I am very happy + to-night, kind friend. Good-mor——” + </p> + <p> + “May Erikobai” (a cannibal god of his youth) “polish his teeth on thy + bones!” I cried at last in despair. That shocking heathen curse silenced + him, but for the next two hours, whenever I looked at the creature, I saw + his lips moving and a silly, fatuous expression on his by no means + unintelligent face. I never took him out with me again, although he sent + me fowls and other things as bribes to teach him more English. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + These sand-mullet are very dainty-feeding fish. They are particularly fond + of the soft tail part of the hermit crabs which abound all over the + island, especially after rain has fallen. Some of the shells (<i>T. + niloticus</i>) in which they live are so thick and strong, however, that + it requires two heavy stones to crush them sufficiently to take out the + crab, the upper part of whose body is useless for bait. For a stick of + tobacco, the native children would fill me a quart measure, and perhaps + add some few shrimps as well, or half a dozen large sea urchins—a + very acceptable bait for mullet. My rod was a slender bamboo—cost a + quarter of a dollar, and was unbreakable—and my lines of white + American cotton, strong, durable, and especially suitable for fishing on a + bottom of pure white sand. My gun was carried on the outrigger platform, + within easy reach, for numbers of golden plover frequented the sand banks, + feeding on the serried battalions of tiny soldier crabs, and in rainy + weather they were very easy to shoot. The rest of my gear consisted of + twenty or thirty cartridges, a box of assorted hooks, a heavy 27-cord line + with a 5-in. hook (in case I saw any big rock cod about), a few bottles of + lager, some ship biscuits or cold yam, and a tin of beef or sardines, and + some salt. This was a day's supply of food, and if I wanted more, there + were plenty of young coconuts to be had by climbing for them, and I could + cook my own fish, native fashion; lastly there was myself, in very easy + attire—print shirt, dungaree pants, panama hat, and no boots, in + place of which I used the native <i>takka</i>, or sandals of coconut + fibre, which are better than boots when walking on coral. Sometimes I + would remain away till the following morning, sleeping on the weather side + of the island under a shelter of leaves to keep off the dew, and on such + occasions two or three of the young men from the village would invariably + come and keep me company—and help eat the fish and birds. However, + they were very well conducted, and we always spent a pleasant night, rose + at daybreak, bathed in the surf, or in the lagoon, and after an early + breakfast returned to the village, or had some more fishing. It was a + delightful life. + </p> + <p> + My canoe was so light that it could easily be carried by one person from + the open shed where it was kept, and in a few minutes after leaving my + house I would be afloat, paddling slowly over the smooth water, and + looking over the side for the mullet. In the Nanomea, Nui, and Nukufetau + Lagoons the largest but scarcest variety are of a purple-grey, with fins + (dorsal and abdominal) and mouth and gill-plates tipped with yellow; + others again are purple-grey with dull roddish markings. This kind, with + those of an all bright yellow colour throughout, are the most valued, + though, as I have said, the whole family are prized for their delicacy of + flavour. + </p> + <p> + As soon as I caught sight of one or more of the sought-for fish, I would + cease paddling, and bait my hook; and first carefully looking to see if + there were any predatory leather-jackets or many-coloured wrasse in sight, + would lower away, the hook soon touching the bottom, as I always used a + small sinker of coral stone. This was necessary only because of the number + of other fish about—bass, trevally, and greedy sea-pike, with teeth + like needles and as hungry as sharks. In the vicinity of the reef, or + about the isolated coral boulders, or “mushrooms” as we called them, these + fish were a great annoyance to me, though my native friends liked them + well enough, especially the large, gorgeously-hued “leather-jackets,” to + which they have given the very appropriate name of <i>isuumu moana</i>—the + sea-rat—for they have a great trick of quietly biting a baited line + a few inches above the hook. <i>Apropos</i> of the “sea-rat,” I may + mention that their four closely-set and humanlike teeth are so thick that + they will often crush an ordinary hook as if it were made of glass, and as + their mouths are exceedingly small, and many are heavy, powerful fishes, + they cause havoc with ordinary tackle. But a fellow-trader and myself + devised a very short, stout hook (1 1/2 inch of shank) with a barbless + curve well turned in towards the shank; these we bent on to a length of + fine steel wire seizing. They proved just the ideal hook for the larger + kind of sea-rat, which run up to 10 lb., and the natives were so greatly + taken with the device that, whenever a ship touched at the island, short + pieces of fine steel wire rigging were eagerly bought (or begged for). + </p> + <p> + However, no leather-jackets, wrasse, greedy rock-cod, or keen-eyed + trevally being about, the bait touches the sandy bottom, and then you will + see one—perhaps half a dozen—<i>afulu</i> cease poking their + noses in the sand, and make for it steadily but cautiously. When within a + foot or so, they invariably stop dead, and eye the bait to see if it is + worth eating. But they are soon satisfied—that round, pale green + thing with delicious juices exuding from it is an <i>uga</i> (hermit crab) + and must not be left to be devoured by rude, big-mouthed rock-cod or the + like, and in another moment or two your line is tautened out, and a + purple-scaled beauty is fighting gamely for his life in the translucent + waters of the lagoon, followed half-way to the surface by his companions, + whom, later on, you place beside him in the bottom of the canoe. And even + to look at them is a joy, for they are graceful in shape, lovely in + colour, and each scale is a jewel. + </p> + <p> + You take up the paddle and send the canoe along for half-a-cable's length + towards a place where, under the ledge of the inner reef, both <i>afulu + sama sama</i> and <i>afulu lanu uli</i> (yellow and purple mullet) are + certain to be found; and, as the little craft slips along, a large gar—green-backed, + silvery-sided, and more than a yard long—may dart after you like a + gleaming, hiltless rapier skimming the surface of the water. If you put + out a line with a hook—baited with almost anything—a bit of + fish a strip of white or red rag—you will have some sport, for these + great gars are a hard-fighting fish, and do the tarpon jumping-trick to + perfection. But if you have not a line in readiness you can wait your + chance, and as he comes close alongside, break his back with a blow from + the sharp blade of your paddle, and jump overboard and secure him ere he + sinks. + </p> + <p> + “Not very sportsmanlike,” some people will say; but the South Sea native + is very utilitarian, and it takes a keen eye and hand to do the thing + neatly. And not only are these gars excellent eating—like all + surface-feeding, or other fish which show a “green” backbone when cooked; + but fore and aft strips out from their sheeny sides make splendid bait for + deep-sea habitants, such as the giant sea bass and the 200-pounder “coral” + cod. + </p> + <p> + Under the ledge of the inner reef, if you get there before the sun is too + far to the westward, so that your eyes are not blinded by its dazzling, + golden light, you will see, as you drop your line for the yellow and + purple mullet which swim deep down over the fine coral sand, some of the + strangest shaped, most fantastically, and yet beautifully coloured rock + fish imaginable. As you pull up a mullet (or a green and golden striped + wrasse which has seized the bait not meant for him), many of these + beautiful creations of Nature will follow it up to within a few feet of + the canoe, wondering perhaps what under the sea it means by acting in such + a manner; others—small creatures of the deepest, loveliest blue—flee + in tenor at the unwonted commotion, and hide themselves among the + branching glories of their coral home. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + “LUCK” + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <p> + A “hard” man was Captain William Rodway of Sydney, New South Wales, and he + prided himself upon the fact. From the time he was twenty years of age, he + had devoted himself to making and saving money, and now at sixty he was + worth a quarter of a million. + </p> + <p> + He began life as cabin boy on a north-country collier brig; was starved, + kicked, and all but worked to death; and when he came to command a ship of + his own, his north-country training stood him in good stead—starving, + kicking, and working his crew to death came as naturally to him as + breathing. He spared no one, nor did he spare himself. + </p> + <p> + From the very first everything went well with him. He saved enough money + by pinching and grinding his crew—and himself—to enable him to + buy the vessel to which he had been appointed. Then he bought others, + established what was known as Rodway's Line, gave up going to sea himself, + rented an office in a mean street, where he slept and cooked his meals, + and worked harder than ever at making money, oblivious of the sneers of + those who railed at his parsimony. He was content. + </p> + <p> + One Monday morning at nine o'clock he took his seat as usual in his + office, and began to open his pile of letters, his square-set, hard face, + with its cold grey eyes, looking harder than ever, for he had been annoyed + by the old charwoman who cleaned his squalid place asking him for more + wages. + </p> + <p> + He was half-way through his correspondence when a knock sounded. + </p> + <p> + “Come in,” he said gruffly. + </p> + <p> + The door opened, and a handsome, well-built young man of about thirty + years of age entered. + </p> + <p> + “Good morning, Captain Rodway.” + </p> + <p> + “Morning, Lester. What do you want? Why are you not at sea?” and he bent + his keen eyes upon his visitor. + </p> + <p> + “I'm waiting for the water-boat; but otherwise I'm ready to sail.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, what is it then?” + </p> + <p> + “I want to know if it is a fact that you will not employ married men as + captains?” + </p> + <p> + “It is.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you make no exception in my favour?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “I have been five years in your employ as mate and master of the <i>Harvest + Home</i>, and I am about to marry.” + </p> + <p> + “Do as you please, but the day you marry you leave my service.” + </p> + <p> + The young man's face flushed. “Then you can give me my money, and I'll + leave it to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well. Sit down,” replied the old man, reaching for his wages book. + </p> + <p> + “There are sixty pounds due to you,” he said; “go on board and wait for + me. I'll be there at twelve o'clock with the new man, and we'll go through + the stores and spare gear together. If everything is right, I'll pay your + sixty pounds—if not, I'll deduct for whatever is short. Good + morning.” + </p> + <p> + At two o'clock in the afternoon Captain Tom Lester landed at Circular Quay + with his effects and sixty sovereigns in his pocket. + </p> + <p> + Leaving his baggage at an hotel he took a cab, drove to a quiet little + street in the suburb of Darling Point, and stopped at a quaint, + old-fashioned cottage surrounded by a garden. + </p> + <p> + The door was opened by a tall, handsome girl of about twenty-two. + </p> + <p> + “Tom!” + </p> + <p> + “Lucy!” he replied, mimicking her surprised tone. Then he became grave, + and leading her to a seat, sat beside her, and took her hand. + </p> + <p> + “Lucy, I have bad news. Rod way dismissed me this morning, and I have left + the ship.” + </p> + <p> + The girl's eyes filled. “Never mind, Tom. You will get another.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, perhaps I might have to wait a long time. I have another plan. Where + is Mrs. Warren? I must tell her that our marriage must be put off.” + </p> + <p> + “Why should it, Tom? I don't want it to be put off. And neither does she.” + </p> + <p> + “But I have no home for you.” + </p> + <p> + “We can live here until we have one of our own. Mother will be only too + happy.” + </p> + <p> + “Sure?” + </p> + <p> + “Absolutely, or I would not say it.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you marry me this day week?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, dear—today if you wish. We have waited two years.” + </p> + <p> + “You're a brave little woman, Lucy,” and he kissed her. “Now, here is my + plan. I can raise nearly a thousand pounds. I shall buy the <i>Dolphin</i> + steam tug—I can get her on easy terms of payment—fill her with + coal and stores, and go to Kent's Group in Bass's Straits, and try and + refloat the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>. I saw the agents and the insurance + people this morning—immediately after I left old Bodway. If I float + her, it will mean a lot of money for me. If I fail, I shall at least make + enough to pay me well by breaking her up. The insurance people know me, + and said very nice things to me.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you take me, Tom?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't tempt me, Lucy. It will be a rough life, living on an almost + barren, rocky island, inhabited only by black snakes, albatrosses, gulls + and seals.” + </p> + <p> + “Tom, you <i>must</i>. Come, let us tell mother.” + </p> + <p> + Three days later they were married, and at six o'clock in the evening the + newly-made bride was standing beside her husband on the bridge of the <i>Dolphin</i>, + which was steaming full speed towards Sydney Heads, loaded down almost to + the waterways with coals and stores for four months. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <p> + Two months had passed, and the sturdy <i>Dolphin</i> was lying snugly at + anchor in a small, well-sheltered cove on one of the Kent's Group of + islands. Less than a hundred yards away was one of the rudest attempts at + a house ever seen—that is, externally—for it was built with + wreckage from many ships and was roofed with tarpaulins and coarse + “albatross” grass. Seated on a stool outside the building was Mrs. Lester, + engaged in feeding a number of noisy fowls with broken-up biscuit, but + looking every now and then towards the <i>Braybrook Cattle</i>, which lay + on the rocks a mile away with only her lower masts standing. It was + nearing the time when her husband and his men would be returning from + their usual day's arduous toil. She rose, shook the biscuit crumbs from + her apron, and walking down to the <i>Dolphin</i>, anchored just in front + of the house, called—“Manuel.” + </p> + <p> + A black, woolly head appeared above the companion way, and Manuel, the + cook of the wrecking party, came on deck, jumped into the dinghy alongside + and sculled ashore. + </p> + <p> + “Manuel, you know that all the men are having supper in the house + to-night,” she said, as the man—a good-natured Galveston negro—stepped + on shore. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I've done all <i>my</i> share of the cooking—I've made two + batches of bread, and the biggest sea pie you ever saw in your life, but I + want two buckets of water from the spring.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, ma'am. I'll tote 'em up fo' yo' right away.”. + </p> + <p> + “Please do. And I'll come with you. Captain Lester and the others won't be + here for half an hour yet, and I want to show you some curious-looking + stuff I saw on the beach this morning. It looks like dirty soap mixed with + black shells, like fowl's beaks.” + </p> + <p> + The negro's face displayed a sudden interest. “Mixed with shells, yo' say, + ma'am. Did yo' touch it?” + </p> + <p> + “No—it looks too unpleasant.” + </p> + <p> + The negro picked up the buckets, and, followed by Mrs. Lester, set out + along a path which led to a rocky pool of some dimensions filled with rain + water.. “Leave the buckets till we come back, Manuel We have not far to + go.” + </p> + <p> + She led the way to the beach, and then turning to the left walked along + the hard, white sand till they came to a bar of low rocks covered with + sea-moss and lichen. Lying against the seaward face of the rock was a pile + of driftweed, kelp, crayfish shells, &c, and half buried in <i>débris</i> + was the object that had aroused her curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “There it is, Manuel,” she said, pointing to an irregularly-shaped mass of + a mottled grey, yellow and brown substance, looking like soap, mixed with + cinders and ashes. + </p> + <p> + The negro whipped out his sheath knife, plunged it into the mass, then + withdrew it, pressed the flat of the blade to his nostrils, and then + uttered a yell of delight, clapped his hands, took off his cap and tossed + it in the air, and rolled his eyes in such an extraordinary manner, that + Mrs. Lester thought he had become suddenly insane. + </p> + <p> + “Yo' am rich woman now, ma'am,” he said in his thick, fruity voice. “Dat + am ambergris. I know it well 'nuff. I was cook on a whaleship fo' five + years, and have handled little bits of ambergris two or three times, but + no one in de world, I believe, ever see such a lump like dis.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it worth anything then?” + </p> + <p> + “Worth anything, ma'am! It am worth twenty-two shillings de ounce!” + </p> + <p> + He knelt down and began clearing away the weed till the whole mass was + exposed, placed his arms around it, and partly lifted it. + </p> + <p> + “Dere is more'n a hundredweight,” he chuckled, as he looked up at Mrs. + Lester, who was now also feeling excited. “Look at dis now.” + </p> + <p> + He cut out a slice of the curious-looking oleaginous stuff, struck a match + and applied the light. A pale yellow flame was the result, and with it + there came a strong but pleasant smell. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Lester had never heard of ambergris to her recollection, but Manuel + now enlightened her as to its uses—the principal being as a + developer of the strength of all other perfumes. + </p> + <p> + Such a treasure could not be left where it was—exposed to the risk + of being carried away by the tide so the negro at once went to work with + his knife, catting it into three pieces, each of which he carried to the + house, and put into an empty barrel. Then he returned and carefully + searched for and picked up the minutest scraps which had broken off whilst + he was cutting the “find” through. + </p> + <p> + Just at sunset, Lester and his gang of burly helpers returned tired and + hungry, but highly elated, for they had succeeded in getting out an + unusual amount of valuable cargo. + </p> + <p> + “We've had great luck to-day, Lucy,” cried Lester, as he strode over the + coarse grass in his high sea boots; “and, all going well, we shall make + the first attempt to pull the ship off the day after to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “And I have had luck too,” said his wife, her fair, sweet face, now + bronzed by the sun, glowing as she spoke. “But come inside first, and then + I'll tell you.” + </p> + <p> + The interior of the dwelling consisted of two rooms only—a small + bedroom and a large living room which was also used as a kitchen. It was + quite comfortably furnished with handsome chairs, lounges, chests of + drawers, and other articles taken from the cabin of the stranded ship. The + centre of the room was occupied by a large deal table made by one of the + men, and a huge fire of drift timber blazed merrily at one end. Manuel was + laying the table, his black face beaming with sup-pressed excitement, and + the rough, sea-booted wreckers entered one by one and sat down. Mrs. + Lester bade them smoke if they wished. + </p> + <p> + “Well, boys,” said their leader to the wrecking party—of whom there + were thirty—“we all deserve a drink before supper. Help yourselves + to whatever you like,” and he pointed to a small side-table covered with + bottles of spirits and glasses. Then Lucy, after they had all satisfied + themselves, walked over to the cask containing her “find,” and standing + beside it, asked if they would all come and look at the contents and see + if they knew what it was. Lester, thinking she had succeeded in catching a + young seal, looked on with an amused smile. + </p> + <p> + One by one the men came and looked inside the cask, felt the greasy mass + with their horny fingers, and each shook his head until the tenth man, + who, the moment he saw it, gave a shout. + </p> + <p> + “Why, I'm blest if it ain't ambow-grease!” + </p> + <p> + Lester started. “Ambergris! Nonsense!” and then he too uttered a cry of + astonishment as a second man—an old whaler—darted in front of + him, and, pinching off a piece of the “find,” smelt it. + </p> + <p> + “Hamble-grist it is, sir,” he cried, “and the cask is chock-full of it.” + </p> + <p> + “Turn it out on the floor,” said Lester, who knew the enormous value of + ambergris, “and let us get a good look at it. Light all the lamps, Lucy.” + </p> + <p> + The lamps were lit, and then Manuel repeated his experiment by burning a + piece, amid breathless excitement. No further doubt could exist, and then + Manuel, taking a spring balance (weighing up to 50 lbs.) from the wall, + hung it to a rafter, whilst the men put the lot into three separate bags + and suspended them to the hook in turn. + </p> + <p> + “Forty-five pounds,” cried the mate of the Dolphin, as the first bag was + hooked on. “Come on with the next one.” + </p> + <p> + “Thirty-nine pounds.” + </p> + <p> + “<i>And</i> thirty-four pounds makes a hundred and eighteen,” said Lester, + bending down and eagerly examining the dial. + </p> + <p> + “How much is it worth, skipper?” asked the tug's engineer. + </p> + <p> + “Not less than £1 an ounce——” + </p> + <p> + “No, sah,” cried Manuel, with an <i>ex cathedra</i> air, “twenty-two + shillings, sah. Dat's what the captain of de <i>Fanny Long</i> Hobart Town + whaleship got fo' a piece eleven poun' weight in Sydney last June. And I + hear de boys sayin' dat he would hab got £1 5s. only dat dere was a power + of squids' beaks in it—and dere's not many in dis lot, so it's gwine + to bring more.” + </p> + <p> + He explained that the pieces of black shell, which looked like broken + mussel shells, were in reality the beaks of the squid, upon which the + sperm whale feeds. Then, for the benefit of those of the party, he and the + two other ex-whalemen described the cause of the formation of this + peculiar substance in the body of the sperm whale. + </p> + <p> + Lester took pencil and paper and made a rapid calculation. + </p> + <p> + “Boys, we'll say that this greasy-looking staff is worth only a pound an + ounce—though I don't doubt that Manuel is right. Well, at £1 an + ounce, it comes to eighteen hundred and eighty-eight pounds.” + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah for Mrs. Lester!” cried Lindley, the mate. + </p> + <p> + “She has brought us luck from the first, and now she has luck herself.” + </p> + <p> + The men cheered her again and again, for there was not one of them that + had not a rough affection for their captain's violet-eyed wife. They had + admired her for her pluck even in making the voyage to this desolate spot, + and her constant cheerfulness and her kindness and attention in nursing + three of them who had been seriously ill cemented their feelings of + devotion to her. There was a happy supper party in “Wreck House”—-as + Lucy had named her strangely-built abode—that night, and it was not + until the small hours of the morning that the men went off to sleep on the + tug, and left Lucy and her husband to themselves. + </p> + <p> + “I'm too excited to sleep now, Tom,” she said. “Come, I must show you the + place where I found it. It is not a bit cold. And oh! Tom, I'm beginning + to love this lonely island, and the rough life, and the tame seals, and + the wild goats, and the fowls, and black Manuel, and, and—oh, + everything! And look, Tom dear, over there at the lighthouse at Deal + Island. I really believe the light was never shining as it is to-night. + Oh! all the world is bright to me.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <p> + Two days later, and after nearly fifteen weeks of arduous and unremitting + labour, there came, one calm night, a glorious spring tide, and the <i>Dolphin</i>, + under a full head of steam, and with her stout, broad frame quivering and + throbbing and panting, tugged away at the giant hulk of the stranded ship; + and the ship's own donkey engine and winch wheezed and groaned as it + slowly brought in inch by inch a heavy coir hawser made fast to a rock + half a cable length ahead of the tug. And then the <i>Braybrook Castle</i> + began to move, and the wrecking gang cheered and cheered until they were + hoarse, and the second engineer of the tug and two stokers, stripped to + their waists, with the perspiration streaming down their roasting bodies, + answered with a yell—and then, lying well over on her starboard + bilge, the great ship slid off stern first into deep water, and Tom + Lester's heart leapt within him with joy and pride. + </p> + <p> + Lucy, as excited as any one else, was on the bridge with him, her face + aglow, and her hand on the lever of the engine-room telegraph. + </p> + <p> + “Half-speed, Lucy.” + </p> + <p> + As the bell clanged loudly, and the heart of the sturdy tug beat less + frantically, the wrecking gang on board the ship under Lindley slipped + their end of the coir hawser from the winch barrel, and worked like madmen + to get the ship on an even keel by cutting adrift the lashings of several + hundred barrels of cement (part of the cargo) which were piled up on the + starboard side of the main deck, and letting them plunge overboard As the + ship righted herself inch by inch, and finally stood up on an even keel, + Lester made an agreed-upon signal—blowing his whistle thrice—for + Lindley to stand by his anchors, which were all ready to let go. + </p> + <p> + His device of getting up the barrels of cement from the lower hold, and + stowing them against the iron deck stanchions (having previously cut away + the bulwark plates) so as to give the vessel a big cant to starboard, had + answered perfectly; for, high as was the tide that night, the <i>Dolphin</i>, + though so powerful, could not have moved a ship of 1,500 tons with her + keel still partly sustaining her weight on the rooks on which she had + struck. By canting her as he had done, she had actually floated—and + no more than floated—an hour before the tide was at its full. + </p> + <p> + Half an hour later the <i>Braybrook Castle</i> had been towed round to a + little bay just abreast of “Wreck House,” and the tug's engines stopped. + </p> + <p> + “All ready, Lindley?” shouted Lester. + </p> + <p> + “All ready sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Then let go.” + </p> + <p> + At a tap from Lindley's hammer, the great anchor plunged down, and the + flaked out cable roared as it flew through the hawse-pipes, drowning the + loud “Hurrah” of the men on board. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, Lindley?” cried Lester, “ten fathoms?” + </p> + <p> + “Twelve, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Give her another twenty-five. It's good holding ground and there is + plenty of room for her to swing. Lindley!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “We have had a bit of good luck, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir. That is because Mrs. Lester is on the tug. She brings us good + luck.” + </p> + <p> + Lester laughed and turned to his wife. “Do you hear that, Lucy?” + </p> + <p> + She was gazing intently over to the westward, but turned to him the moment + he spoke. + </p> + <p> + “Tom, I can see a blue light over there.... Ah, see, there is a rocket! + What is it?” + </p> + <p> + Lester took his night glasses and looked. + </p> + <p> + “There is a ship ashore somewhere between here and the Deal Island light,” + he said, and then he rang, “Go astern,” to the engine-room. + </p> + <p> + “Lindley,” he called as soon as the tug backed alongside the <i>Braybrook + Castle</i>, “there is a ship ashore about four miles away from us to the + westward. My wife noticed her signals a few minutes ago.” + </p> + <p> + “More salvage, sir,” bawled Lindley, “Mrs. Lester is bringing us more + luck. What's to be, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “I want ten or a dozen men, and I'll go and see what I can do. You are all + right, aren't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Right as rain, sir.” + </p> + <p> + Fifteen, instead of a dozen men slid down a line on to the deck of the + tug, and Lucy, at a nod from her husband, turned on “Full steam ahead,” + and Lester whistled down the speaking-tube. + </p> + <p> + “Hallo!” was the response. + </p> + <p> + “Give it to her, Patterson, for all she's worth. There is a ship ashore + about four miles away. She is burning blue lights and sending up rockets.” + </p> + <p> + Five minutes later, the Dolphin was tearing through the water at her top + speed—eleven knots—and Patterson came up on the bridge. + </p> + <p> + “Who saw the seegnals first?” he inquired. + </p> + <p> + “I did, Mr. Patterson,” said Lucy. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, I thoct as much, Mistress Leslie. Even that lazy, sheeftless Irish + fireman loon ae mine, Rafferty, said ye'd bring us mair guid luck.” Then + he dived below again to the engines so dear to his Scotsman's heart. + </p> + <p> + The night was dark, but calm and windless, and the panting tug tore her + way through a sea as smooth as glass towards where the ghastly glare of + the last blue light had been seen. Twenty minutes later, Lester caught + sight of the distressed ship. She was lying on her beam ends, and almost + at the same moment came a loud hail— + </p> + <p> + “Steamer ahoy!” + </p> + <p> + “Clang!” went the telegraph, and the <i>Dolphin's</i> engines stopped, and + then went astern, just in time to save her from crashing into a boat + crowded with men; a second boat was close astern of the first. They came + alongside, and the occupants swarmed over the tug's low bulwarks, and an + old greybearded man made his way up to Lester. + </p> + <p> + “My cowardly crew have forced me to abandon my ship. We were caught in a + squall yesterday, and thrown on our beam ends.” Then he fell down in a + fit. + </p> + <p> + “Veer those boats astern,” cried Lester to his own men, “I'm going to hook + on to that ship!” + </p> + <p> + Bailey, one of his best men, gave a yell. + </p> + <p> + “More luck, boys. Mrs. Lester!” + </p> + <p> + As the poor captain was carried off the bridge into the little cabin, the + <i>Dolphin</i> went ahead, and in a quarter of an hour, Bailey and his men + had cut away the masts and the tug had the ship in tow. + </p> + <p> + At daylight next morning Lester brought her into the little bay where the + <i>Braybrook Castle</i> lay, and Bailey anchored her safely. + </p> + <p> + When Lester boarded her he found she was the <i>Harvest Queen</i>, sister + ship to the <i>Harvest Maid</i>, <i>Harvester</i>, and his own last + command, the <i>Harvest Home</i>, all ships of 1,500 tons, and belonging + to Captain James Rodway. + </p> + <p> + “Why didn't you cut away her masts?” he said to the unfortunate captain + later on. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, you don't know my owner,” the old man replied, “and besides that, I + could have righted the ship if my crew had stuck to me. But after being + eighteen hours on our beam ends, they took fright and lowered the boats. + I'm a ruined man.” + </p> + <p> + “Not at all. You have done your duty and I'll give you command of another + ship to-day—the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>. You have nothing further to + do with the <i>Harvest Queen</i>. She was an abandoned ship. She's mine + now. Salvage, you know.” + </p> + <p> + The old man nodded his head. “Yes, I know that. And you'll make a pot oat + of her.” + </p> + <p> + “What is she worth?” + </p> + <p> + “Ship and cargo are worth £80,000. We loaded a general cargo in London.” + </p> + <p> + “That will be a bit of a knock for Rodway.” “Do you know him?” asked + Captain Blake in surprise. + </p> + <p> + “I do indeed! I was master of the <i>Harvest Home</i>. Now come ashore. My + wife is getting as something to eat.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <p> + At the end of another four weeks, the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>, with + three-fourths of the cargo she had brought from London, sailed for Sydney + under the command of Captain Blake of the <i>Harvest Queen</i>, and the <i>Harvest + Queen</i> under jury masts, and with her valuable cargo undamaged, was + ready to sail, escorted by the <i>Dolphin</i> on the following day, with + Lindley as master. + </p> + <p> + The last night at “Wreck House” was even a merrier and happier one than + that on which the wrecking party celebrated Lucy's “find.” But yet Lucy + herself felt a little sad at saying farewell to this wild spot, where amid + the roar of the ever-beating surf, and the clamour of the gulls and terns, + she had spent the four happiest months of her life. The rough food, the + fresh sea-air, and the active life had, Lester declared, only served to + increase her beauty, and she herself had never felt so strong and in such + robust health before. Almost every day in fine weather she had taken a + walk to some part of the interior of the island, or along the many white + beaches, filling a large basket with sea-birds' eggs, or collecting the + many beautiful species of cowries and other sea-shells with which the + beaches were strewn. Years before, another wrecking party had left some + goats on the island, and these had thriven and increased amazingly. Her + husband's men had shot a great number for food, and captured three or + four, which supplied them with milk, and these latter, with their playful + kids, and a number of fowls which had been brought from Sydney in the <i>Dolphin</i>, + together with a pair of pet baby seals, made up what she called her + “farmyard.” On one part of the island there was a dense thicket of low + trees, the resort not only of hundreds of wild goats, but of countless + thousands of terns and other sea-birds, who had made it their breeding + ground. It was situated at the head of a tiny landlocked bay, the beach of + which was covered with the weather-worn spars and timbers of some great + ship which had gone ashore there perhaps thirty or forty years before. The + whole of the foreshores of the island, however, were alike in that + respect, for it had proved fatal to many a good ship, even from the time + that gallant navigator Matthew Flinders had first discovered the group. + </p> + <p> + On the morning of the last day of the stay of the wrecking party on the + island, Lucy set out for this place, remembering that on her last visit + she had left a basket of cowries there. Bidding her beware of black + snakes, for the place was noted for these deadly reptiles, Lester went off + on board the <i>Harvest Queen</i>. + </p> + <p> + An hour afterwards, as Lester was engaged with Lindley in the ship's + cabin, a man on deck called down the skylight to him. + </p> + <p> + “Here is Mrs. Lester coming back, sir. She's running, and is calling for + you.” + </p> + <p> + With a dreadful fear that she had been bitten by a snake, Lester rushed on + deck, jumped into a boat, and was ashore in a few minutes. Lucy, too + exhausted to come down to the boat and meet him, had sat down in front of + the now nearly empty house. + </p> + <p> + “I'm all right, Tom,” she panted, as he ran up to her, “but I've had a + terrible fright,” and she could not repress a shudder. “I have just seen + three skeletons in the thicket scrub, and all about them are strewn all + sorts of things, and there are two or three small kegs, one of which is + filled with money, for the end has burst and the money has partly run out + on the sand.” + </p> + <p> + Lester sprang to his feet, and called out to the two men who had pulled + him ashore to come to him. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Lester's luck again!” he cried. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Lester's luck again!” bawled one of the men to the rest of the + wrecking party on board the <i>Harvest Queen</i>, and in an instant the + cry was taken up, and then came a loud cheer, as, disregarding discipline, + all hands tumbled into a boat alongside, frantically eager to learn what + had occurred. + </p> + <p> + Lester waited for them, and then Lucy gave a more detailed account of how + she made her discovery. + </p> + <p> + “I found my basket where I had left it, and had just sat down to take off + my shoes, which were filled with sand, when a goat with two of the + sweetest little kids you ever saw in your life came suddenly out from + behind a rock. The kids were not more than a day or two old, and I + determined to catch at least one of them to take home. The moment the + mother saw me she ran off with her babies, and I followed. They dived into + the thicket, and led me <i>such</i> a dance, for they ran much faster than + I thought they could. + </p> + <p> + “I had never been so far into the scrub before, and felt a little bit + frightened—it was so dark and quiet—but I was too excited to + give up, so on I sped until the nanny and kids ran into what seemed a + tunnel in the thick scrub. It is really a road made by the goats and is + only about three feet high, the branches and creepers making a regular + archway overhead. I stooped down and followed, and in a few minutes came + to a little space which was open to the sky; for the sunlight was so + bright that, coming out of the dark tunnel place, I was quite dazzled for + a few moments, and had to put my hands over my eyes. + </p> + <p> + “When I looked about, I saw that the ground was strewed with all sorts of + things—rotten boards and boxes, and ships' blocks, and empty bottles + and demijohns, with all the cane covering gone. Then I saw the three kegs, + and noticed one had burst open or rotted away, and that it was filled with + what looked like very large and dirty nickel pennies. I went to it and + took some up, and saw they were crown pieces! Of course, I was at once + wildly excited, and thought no more of the dear little kiddies, when I + heard one of them cry out—quite near—and saw it, lying down + exhausted, about ten yards away. I was running over to it when I saw those + three dreadful skeletons. They are lying quite close to each other, near + some brass cannons and a lot of rusty ironwork. I was so terrified that I + forgot all about the poor kid, and—and, well, that is all; and here + I am with my skirt in rags, and my face scratched, and my hair loose, and + 'all of a bobbery,' as Manuel says.” + </p> + <p> + “Boys,” said Lester, “I'm pretty sure I know how those poor fellows' bones + come to be there. An East Indiaman—the <i>Mountjoy</i>—was + lost somewhere on the Kent Group about sixty years ago; and I have read + that she had a lot of specie on board. Now, as soon as Mrs. Lester has + rested a bit, we'll start.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll carry you, ma'am,” said Bailey, a herculean creature of 6 ft. 6 in., + and stepping into “Wreck House” he brought out a chair, seated Lucy on it, + and amidst applause and laughter, lifted it up on his mighty shoulders as + if she was no more weight than the chair itself. + </p> + <p> + She guided them to the spot, and within an hour, not only the three small + casks—all of which were filled with English silver money, but the + contents of two others, which were found lying partly buried in the sandy + soil, were brought to the house. And then began the exciting task of + counting the coins, which took some time, and when Lester announced the + result, a rousing cheer broke from the men. + </p> + <p> + “Six thousand, two hundred and seven pounds, four shillings, boys; all + with the blessed picture of good old George the Third on them. Lucy, my + dear, let us drink your health.” + </p> + <p> + Lucy drew him aside for a minute or two ere she complied with his request, + and with sparkling eyes she talked earnestly to him. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I will, dear,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Now, hoys,” he cried, as Lucy brought out two bottles of brandy, and some + cups and glasses, “let us drink my wife's health. She has brought us good + luck. And she and I are dividing a thousand pounds between you, with an + extra fifty for Manuel; for I'm pretty well certain that the Home + Government can't claim any royalty.” + </p> + <p> + The rough wreckers cheered and cheered again, as they drank to “Mrs. + Lester's Luck.” They were all being paid high wages, and were worth them, + for they had toiled manfully, and the most pleasant relations had always + existed between them and Lester. + </p> + <p> + Immediately after breakfast on the following morning the anchors of the <i>Harvest + Queen</i> were weighed to the raising chanty of— + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah, my boys, we're Homeward Bound!” and then the <i>Dolphin</i>, with + Lester on the bridge and Lucy beside him at the telegraph, went ahead, and + tautened out the tow line, and Lindley made all sail on his stumpy jury + masts. + </p> + <p> + Seventeen days later, the gallant little tug pulled the <i>Harvest Queen</i> + into Sydney Harbour. “Mrs. Lester's Luck,” had been with them the whole + voyage, for from the time they had left Kent's Group, till they passed + between Sydney Heads, nothing but fine weather and favourable winds had + been experienced. + </p> + <p> + As the <i>Dolphin</i>, with the hulking <i>Harvest Queen</i> behind her, + came up the smooth waters of the harbour to an anchorage off Garden + Island, big Bailey, who was standing beside Lester and Lucy on the bridge, + uttered a yell of delight. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Lester's luck again, by all that's holy! There is the <i>Braybrook + Castle</i> at anchor over in Neutral Bay!” + </p> + <p> + It was indeed the <i>Braybrook Castle</i>, which had arrived only one day + previously, and when Lester went on shore a few hours later, he found that + he was a richer man by over £17,000 than when he had left Sydney less than + six months before. + </p> + <p> + And “Mrs. Lester's Luck” brought happiness to many other people beside + herself and her husband in the city of the Southern Sea, and when a year + later, in England, she stood on a stage under the bows of a gallant ship + of two thousand tons, built to Lester's order, and broke a bottle of + Australian wine against her steel plates, she named her “The Lucy's Luck!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BULL-DOGS OF THE SEA + </h2> + <p> + Not many sea-going people—outside of professional whalemen or + sealers—know much about the “killer” and his habits, and still less + of his appearance. Yet this curious whale (for the killer is one of the + minor-toothed whales) is known all over the world, though nowhere is it + more plentiful than along the eastern and southern coasts of the + Australian continent. In the colder seas of the northern part of the globe + it is not uncommon; and only last year one was playing havoc, it was + stated, with the fishermen's nets off the northeastern coast of Ireland. + </p> + <p> + On the eastern seaboard of Australia, however, the killers can be watched + at work, even from the shore, particularly from any bluff or headland from + which a clear view can be obtained of the sea beneath, and should there be + a westerly wind blowing, their slightest movements may be observed; + particularly when they are “cruising,” i.e., watching for the approach of + a “pod” of either humpback or fin-back whales. During the prevalence of + westerly winds the sea water becomes very clear, so clear that every rock + and stone may be discerned at a depth of six or eight fathoms, and the + killers, when waiting for their prey, will frequently come in directly + beneath the cliffs and sometimes remain stationary for half an hour at a + time, rolling over and over, or sunning themselves. + </p> + <p> + First of all, let me describe the killer's appearance. They range in + length from ten to twenty feet, have a corresponding girth, and show the + greatest diversity of colouring and markings. Their anatomy is very much + that of the sperm whale—the one member of the cetacean family which + they do not attempt to attack on account of his enormous strength and + formidable teeth—and they “breach,” “spout” and “sound” like other + whales. The jaws are set with teeth of from one or two inches in length, + deeply imbedded in the jawbone, and when two of these creatures succeed in + fastening themselves to the lips of a humpback, even fifty feet in length, + they can always prevent him from “sounding” and escaping into deep water, + for they cling to the unfortunate monster with bull-dog tenacity, leaving + others of their party to rip the blubber from his sides and pendulous + belly. + </p> + <p> + On the coast of New South Wales—particularly at Twofold Bay, where + there is a shore whaling station, there are two “pods” or communities of + killers which have never left the vicinity within the memory of the oldest + inhabitant, and indeed they were first noticed and written about in the + year 1790. At other places on the Australian coast there are permanent + pods of ten, fifteen or twenty, but those at Twofold Bay are quite famous, + and every individual member of them is well-known, not only to the local + whalemen, but to many of the other residents of Twofold Bay as well, and + it would go hard with the man who attempted to either kill or injure one + of any of the members of the two pods, for the whalemen would be unable to + carry on their business were it not for the assistance rendered to them by + their friends the killers, whose scientific name, by the way, is <i>Orca + Gladiator</i>—and a more fitting appellation could never have been + applied. + </p> + <p> + Now as to the colouring and markings—which are not only diverse, but + exceedingly curious. Some are of a uniform black, brown, dark grey, or + dirty cream; others are black with either streaks or irregular patches of + yellow, white or grey: others again are covered with patches of black, + white or yellow, ranging in size from half a dozen inches in diameter to + nearly a couple of feet. One which the present writer found lying dead on + the reef of Nukulaelae Island, in the Ellice Group, was almost a jet black + with the exception of some poorly defined white markings on the dorsal fin + and belly; another which he saw accidentally killed by a bomb fired at a + huge whale off the Bampton Shoals, was of a reddish-brown, with here and + there almost true circular blotches of pure white. This poor fellow was + twelve feet in length, and his death was caused by his frantic greediness + to get at the whale and take his toll of blubber. The whale was struck + late in the day, and the sea was so rough that the officer in charge, + after having twice tried to get up and use his lance, determined to end + the matter with a bomb before darkness came on. At this time there was a + “pod” of seven killers running side by side with the whale and + endeavouring to fasten to his lips whenever he came to the surface; and, + just as the officer had succeeded in getting within firing distance and + discharging the bomb, poor <i>Gladiator</i> came in the way, and was + killed by the shot, much to the regret of the boat's crew. + </p> + <p> + For, as I have said, the whalemen—and particularly the shore + whalemen, <i>i.e</i>., those who do their whaling from a station on shore—regard, + and with good reason, the killers as invaluable allies. Especially is this + so in the case of the Twofold Bay shore whalers, for out of every ten + whales killed during the season, whether humpbacks, “right” whales, or + finbacks, three-fourths are captured through the pack of killers seizing + and literally holding them till the boats come up and end the mighty + creatures' miseries. + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of winter an enormous number of whales appear on the + Australian coast, coming from the cold Antarctic seas, and travelling + northward along the land towards the breeding grounds—the Bampton + and Bellona Shoals and the Chesterfield Groups, situated between New + Caledonia and the Australian mainland, between 17° and 20° S. The majority + of these whales strike the land about Cape Howe and Gabo Island at the + boundary line between New South Wales and Victoria—sixty miles south + of Twofold Bay. Most of them are finbacks, though these are always + accompanied by numbers of humpbacks and a few “right” whales—the + most valuable of all the southern cetacea except the spermaceti or + cachalot. The latter, however, though they will travel in company with the + flying finback and the timid humpback and “right” whale, has no fear of + the killers. He is too enormously strong, and could crush even a + full-grown killer to a pulp between his mighty jaws were he molested, and + consequently the killers give the cachalot a wide berth as a dangerous + customer. The finback, however, swift and lengthy as he is, seldom manages + to escape once he is “bailed up,” and having no weapon of defence except + his flukes (for he is one of the baleen or toothless whales), he has but + one chance of his life, and that is to dive to such a depth that his + assailants have to let go their hold of him in order to ascend to the + surface to breathe. + </p> + <p> + The finback, I must mention, although the most plentiful of all the whale + family, and sometimes attaining the length of ninety feet, is never + attacked by whale-boats when he is “loose,” <i>i.e.</i>, free, and is only + captured when his struggles with the ferocious killers have so exhausted + him that a boat can approach and dart a harpoon into or lance him. The + reason for this immunity of primary attack by boats is that the finback is + in the first place of little value when compared to either the humpback or + “right” whale, for the coating of blubber is thin, and the plates of + baleen (or whalebone) he possesses are very short; and in the second place + he is, although so timid a creature, too dangerous to be struck with a + harpoon, for he would take the entire whale-line out of three or four + boats and then get away with it after all, for it is the swiftest of all + the cetacean family, and all whalemen say that no one but a stark lunatic + would dream of putting an iron into a loose “finner,” such as ranges the + Southern Ocean. I was told, however, of one well-authenticated case off + the Azores, where a reckless Portuguese shore-whaler struck a bull + finback, which, after taking the lines from four boats (220 fathoms in + each) towed them for three hours and then got away, the line having to be + cut owing to the creature sounding to such an enormous depth that no more + line was available. + </p> + <p> + The shore whaling parties at Twofold Bay, however, run no risks of this + sort. They let their friends, the Gladiators, do most of the work, and + find that “fin-backing” under these circumstances is fairly profitable, + inasmuch as they can tow the carcase ashore, and “try out” the blubber at + their leisure. + </p> + <p> + But, in a case where one of these finbacks is held by killers, it can be + approached, as I have said, by shore boats and killed, as is the practice + of the Twofold Bay whalemen. + </p> + <p> + Let the writer now quote, with the publisher's permission, from a work he + wrote some years ago describing the way the killers “work in” with their + human friends. In this particular instance, however, it was a humpback + whale, but as <i>Orca Gladiator</i> treats the humpback and “right” whale + as he does the lengthy “finner,” the extract from the article is quite + applicable. + </p> + <p> + “Let us imagine a warm, sunny day in August at Twofold Bay. The man who is + on the look-out at the abandoned old lighthouse built by one Ben Boyd on + the southern headland fifty years ago, paces to and fro on the grassy + sward, stopping now and then to scan the wide expanse of ocean with his + glass, for the spout of a whale is hard to discern at more than two miles + if the weather is misty or rainy. But if the creature is in a playful + mood, and 'breaches'—that is, springs bodily out of the water, and + falling back, sends up a white volume of foam and spray, like the + discharge of a submarine mine, you can see it eight miles away. + </p> + <p> + “The two boats are always in readiness at the trying-out works, a mile or + so up the harbour; so too are the killers, and the look-out man, walking + to the verge of the cliff, gazes down. + </p> + <p> + “There they are, cruising slowly up and down, close in shore, spouting + lazily, and showing their wet, gleaming backs and gaff-topsail-like dorsal + fins as they rise, roll, and dive again.... Some of them have nicknames, + and each is well known to his human friends. + </p> + <p> + “Presently the watchman sees, away to the southward, a white, misty puff, + then another, and another. In an instant he brings his glass to bear. + 'Humpback!' Quickly two flags flutter from the flagpole, and a fire is + lit; and as the flags and smoke are seen, the waiting boats' crews at the + trying-out station are galvanised into life by the cry of 'Rush, ho, lads! + Humpbacks in sight, steering north-west! Rush and tumble into the boats + and away!' + </p> + <p> + “Round the south head sweeps the first boat, the second following more + leisurely, for she is only a 'pickup' or relief, in case the first is + 'fluked' and the crew are tossed high in air, with their boat crushed into + matchwood, or meets with some other disaster. And as the leading boat + rises to the long ocean swell of the offing, the killers close in round + her on either side, just keeping clear of the sweep of the oars, and + 'breaching' and leaping and spouting with the anticipative zest of the + coming bloody fray. + </p> + <p> + “'Easy, lads, easy!' says the old boat-header; 'they are coming right down + on us. Billy has right. They're humpbacks, sure enough!' + </p> + <p> + “The panting oarsmen pull a slower stroke, and then, as they watch the + great savage creatures which swim alongside, they laugh in the mirthless + manner peculiar to most native-born Australians, for suddenly, with a last + sharp spurt of vapour, the killers dive and disappear into the dark blue + beneath; for they have heard the whales, and, as is their custom, have + gone ahead of the boat, rushing swiftly on below fully fifty fathoms deep. + Fifteen minutes later they rise to the surface in the midst of the + humpbacks, and half a square acre of ocean is turned into a white, + swirling cauldron of foam and leaping spray. The bull-dogs of the sea have + seized the largest whale of the pod or school—a bull—and are + holding him for the boat and for the deadly lance of his human foes. The + rest of the humpbacks rise high their mighty flukes and 'sound' a hundred—two + hundred—fathoms down, and, speeding seaward, leave the unfortunate + bull to his dreadful fate. + </p> + <p> + (“And in truth it is a dreadful fate, and the writer of this sketch can + never forget one day, as he and a little girl of six watched, from a + grassy headland on the coast of New South Wales, the slaughter of a + monstrous whale by a drove of killers, that the child wept and shuddered + and hid her face against his shoulder.) + </p> + <p> + “Banging swiftly alongside of him, from his great head down to the 'small' + of his back, the fierce killers seize his body in their savage jaws and + tear great strips of blubber from off his writhing sides in huge + mouthfuls, and then jerking the masses aside, take another and another + bite. In vain he sweeps his flukes with fearful strokes from side to side—the + bull-dogs of the sea come not within their range; in vain he tries to + 'sound'—there is a devil on each side of his jaws, their cruel teeth + fixed firmly into his huge lips; perhaps two or three are underneath him + tearing and riving at the great rough corrugations of his grey-white + belly; whilst others, with a few swift, vertical strokes of their flukes, + draw back for fifty feet or so, charge him amidships, and strike him + fearful blows on the ribs with their bony heads. Round and round, in + ever-narrowing circles as his strength fails, the tortured humpback swims, + sometimes turning on his back or side, but failing, failing fast. + </p> + <p> + “'He's done for, lads. Pull up; stand up, Jim.' + </p> + <p> + “The boat dashes up, and Jim, the man who is pulling bow oar, picks up his + harpoon. A minute later it flies from his hand, and is buried deep into + the body of the quivering animal, cutting through the thick blubber as a + razor would cut through the skin of a drum. + </p> + <p> + “'Stern all!' and the harpooner tumbles aft and grips the steer oar, and + the steersman takes his place in the head of the boat and seizes his + keen-edged lance. But 'humpy' is almost spent, and though by a mighty + effort he 'ups flukes' and sounds, he soon rises, for the killers thrust + him upwards to the surface again. Then the flashing lance—two, three + swift thrusts into his 'life' a gushing torrent of hot, dark blood, and he + rolls oyer on his side, an agonised trembling quivers through his vast + frame, the battle is oyer and his life is gone. + </p> + <p> + “And now comes the curious and yet absolutely truly described final part + that the killers play in this ocean tragedy. They, the moment the whale is + dead, close around him, and fastening their teeth into his body, by main + strength bear it to the bottom. Here—if they have not already + accomplished it—they tear out the tongue, and eat about one-third of + the blubber. In from thirty-six to forty hours the carcase will again rise + to the surface, and as, before he was taken down, the whalemen haye + attached a line and buoy to the body, its whereabouts are easily discerned + from the look-out on the headland; the boats again put off and tow it + ashore to the trying-out works. The killers, though they haye had their + fill of blubber, accompany the boats to the head of the bay and keep off + the sharks, which would otherwise strip off all the remaining blubber from + the carcase before it had reached the shore. But once the boats are in the + shallow water, the killers stop, and then with a final 'puff! puff!' of + farewell to their human friends, turn and head seaward to resume their + ceaseless watch and patrol of the ocean. + </p> + <p> + “The killers never hurt a man. Time after time haye boats been stove in or + smashed into splinters by a whale, either by an accidental blow from his + head or a sudden lateral sweep of his monstrous flukes, and the crew left + struggling in the water or clinging to the oars and pieces of wreckage; + and the killers have swum up to, looked at, and smelt them, but never have + they touched a man with intent to do him harm. And wherever the killers + are, the sharks are not, for Jack Shark dreads a killer as the devil is + said to dread holy water. Sometimes I have seen 'Jack' make a rush in + between the killers, and rip off a piece of hanging blubber, but he will + carefully watch his chance to do so.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + One of the most experienced whaling masters of New Bedford, with whom the + writer once cruised from the Gilbert Islands to Tap in the Western + Carolines, told him that on one occasion when he was coming from the shore + to his ship, which was lying to off the Chatham Islands, the boat was + followed by a pack of five killers. They swam within touch of the oars, + much to the amusement of the crew, and presently several of what are + called “right whale” porpoises made their appearance, racing along ahead + of the boat, whereupon Captain Allen went for'ard and picked up a harpoon, + for the flesh of this rare variety of porpoise is highly prized. The + moment he struck the fish it set off at a great rate, but not quick enough + to escape the killers, for though the porpoise was much the swifter fish + (were it loose), the weight of the boat and fifty fathoms of line was a + heavy handicap. As quickly as possible the men began hauling up to the + stricken fish so that Allen might give it the lance, when to their + astonishment the killers seized it and literally tore it to pieces in a + few minutes. + </p> + <p> + “If ever I felt mad enough to put an iron into a 'killer' it was then,” he + said, “but I couldn't do it. And very glad of it I was afterwards, for a + week later I had two boats stove in by a whale, and of course, had I hurt + one of those beggars of killers, the whole crew would have said it was + only a just retribution.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + “REVENGE” + </h2> + <p> + On that fever-stricken part of the coast of the great island of New + Britain, lying between the current-swept headland of Gape Stephens and the + deep forest-clad shores of Kabaira Bay, there is a high grassy bluff + dotted here and there with isolated coco-palms leaning northward to the + sea beneath, their broad branches restlessly whipping and bending to the + boisterous trade wind. On the western side of the bluff there is a narrow + strip of littoral, less than half a mile in width, and thickly clothed + with a grove of betel nut, through which the clear waters of a mountain + stream flow swiftly out oceanwards across a rocky bar. + </p> + <p> + Near where the margin of the grove of straight, grey-boled betels touch + the steep side of the bluff, there may be seen the outline of a low wall + of coral stones, forming three sides of a square, and bound and knit + together with vines, creepers, and dank, ill-smelling moss—the + growth, decay, and re-growth of three score years. The ground which it + encloses is soft and swampy, for the serried lines of betel-trees, with + their thick, broad crowns, prevent either sun or wind from penetrating to + the spot, and the heavy tropical rains never permit it to dry. It is a + dark, dismal-looking place, only visited by the savage inhabitants when + they come to collect the areca-nuts, and its solitude is undisturbed save + by the flapping of the hornbill's wings as he carries food to his + imprisoned mate, or the harsh screech of a white cockatoo flying overhead + to the mountain forest beyond. + </p> + <p> + Yet sixty years ago it was not so, for then on the shore facing the bar + stood a native village, and within the now rained wall were the houses of + three white men, who from their doorways could see the blue Pacific, and + the long curve of coast line with cape and headland and white line of reef + stretching away down to the westward in the misty tropic haze. + </p> + <p> + Walk inside the old, broken walls, and you will see, half-buried in the + moist, steaming, and malarious ground, some traces of those who dwelt + there—a piece of chain cable, two or three whaler's trypots, a + rotten and mossgrown block or two, only the hardwood sheaves of which have + resisted the destroying influences of the climate; a boat anchor, and + farther towards the creek, the mouldering remains of a capstan, from the + drumhead holes of which long grey-green pendants of moss droop down upon + the weather-worn, decaying barrel, like the scanty ragged beard that falls + on the chest of some old man worn out with poverty and toil. + </p> + <p> + That is all that one may see now; for the dense, evergrowing jungle has + long since hidden or rotted all else that was left. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The three men were named Ford, Adams, and Stenhouse. They were <i>beche-de-mer</i> + fishers, and for nearly a year had been living in this savage spot—the + only white men inhabiting the great island, whose northern coast line + sweeps in an irregular half-moon curve for more than three hundred miles + from Cape Stephens to within sight of the lofty mountains of New Guinea. + In pursuit of their avocation, death from disease, or from the spears or + clubs of the treacherous, betel-chewing, stark-naked cannibals among whom + they dwelt was ever near, but to the men of their iron resolution and + dauntless courage that mattered not. Two years' labour meant for them a + large sum of money—enough to enable them to return with their wives + and families and native dependents, to those more restful islands in the + Western Carolines whence they had come a year before. + </p> + <p> + All three men were employed by one firm in Singapore, whose ship had + brought them with their families and some thirty or forty natives of Yap + to New Britain. Nine months after their landing, a small schooner had + called to replenish their supplies, and ship the cured trepang, which by + the most assiduous labour and daring enterprise they had accumulated; and + when this story opens, the schooner had been gone some weeks, and they and + their native workers were preparing their boats for another cruise along + the great barrier reef of New Britain. + </p> + <p> + Two of these men, Adams and Stenhouse, were old and tried comrades, and in + their rough way, devoted to each other. Stenhouse, the elder of the two, + had some ten years previously, while sailing along the Pelew Island, found + Adams adrift in an open boat—the sole survivor of a shipwrecked crew + of sixteen men, and had nursed him back to life and reason. Later on, + Adams had married one of Stenhouse's half-caste daughters. Ford, too, who + was an American, was connected by marriage with Stenhouse, and nearly + every one of the thirty or forty male and female Caroline Islanders who + worked for the three white men were more or less allied to their wives by + ties of blood or marriage, and there was not one of them who would not + have yielded up his or her life in their defence. + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse, who was the leader of the adventurous party, was a man of about + forty-five years of age, and, like his two comrades, an ex-sailor. He was + nearly six feet in height, and possessed of such powers of strength and + endurance that his name was known throughout the Western Pacific to almost + every white man, but his once handsome features were marred by such a + terrible disfigurement, that those who came to know the man and his + sterling character always thought or spoke of him with genuine and + respectful pity. What had caused this cruel distortion was known to but + three other persons besides himself—the mother of his children, his + son-in-law, Thomas Adams, and the man who had inflicted the injury; and to + spare the reader's feelings as much as possible, it need only be said that + the left side of his face had been so injured by violence of some kind as + to be pitiful to look upon, the more so as the eye was missing. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Late one evening, just as Stenhouse and his son-in-law, Adams, were + smoking their last pipes before tarning in, their comrade entered the + house hurriedly, accompanied by one of their native employees, who had + been away on a fishing excursion. + </p> + <p> + “Here's news! There's a big full-rigged ship just anchored under Cape + Stephens. Masik boarded her, and had a yarn with the mate.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is she from?” asked Stenhouse, turning his one eye upon the native, + Masik. + </p> + <p> + “I know not, master. But she is a great ship with many men on board—some + white, and some yellow, with shaven heads. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, a Calcutta-Sydney ship, most likely,” said Stenhouse to his comrades. + Then turning to Masik—“Why came she here? Didst ask?” + </p> + <p> + “Aye,” replied the man in his native tongue; “the ship came here because + there be many sick, and two dead men on board. It is a strong sickness.” + </p> + <p> + “Didst speak of us white men here?” + </p> + <p> + The man nodded. “Aye, and the mate said that the captain would like thee + all to come to the ship; but to hasten, for when the two men are buried + to-morrow the ship will sail And the mate gave me these for thee.” + </p> + <p> + Adams eagerly extended his hand for a bundle of newspapers which Masik + carried wrapped up in a piece of old sail-cloth. + </p> + <p> + “This is a god-send,” said Adams, as he opened the packet and tossed some + of the papers to Stenhouse and Ford, “only about six months old. Hallo, + here's the name of the ship and captain I suppose, on one of them: + </p> + <p> + Roger Fullerton, Esq., Ship <i>Ramillies</i>———” + </p> + <p> + “<i>What!</i>” + </p> + <p> + It was Stenhonse who spoke, and his usual cheerful voice now sounded + cracked and discordant, as with an oath he tore the paper from his + comrade's hand, read the name, and then sat down, with one hand pressed to + his sightless orb, his whole frame trembling from head to foot. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter, Ted?” asked Ford anxiously. + </p> + <p> + Slowly he turned his face towards his comrades. It was white. + </p> + <p> + “Send them away,” he said, “but tell them to call the others and get + ready. I am going down to the cape to-night, to that ship. I am going to + kill a man.” + </p> + <p> + Ford looked at him wonderingly. Adams, who understood, spoke a few + whispered words to the natives, who quickly left the room. + </p> + <p> + “Tom.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Ted.” + </p> + <p> + “Are all the women and children asleep?” + </p> + <p> + Adams nodded, and Stenhouse silently motioned to him and Ford to be + seated. He remained standing. + </p> + <p> + “Jim Ford,” he said quietly, “look at me”—he drew his hand down the + distorted side of his face—“and tell me what you would do to a man + who made you look like this.” + </p> + <p> + “I would have his life if I swung for it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I am going to have this man's life. I shall not be hanged for it, + but if I am killed, I look to you, Jim, and you Tom, to stand to my wife + and children.” + </p> + <p> + Ford put out his hand impulsively: “All that I have I owe to you, Ted. I + will stand to 'em, so help me God.” + </p> + <p> + “I knew you would. Now, only three people in the world besides me—Tom + Adams, my wife, and the man who did it—know what made me the + blarsted scarecrow I am; but as I may be a dead man by this time tomorrow, + I'll tell you.” + </p> + <p> + He paused, and with his forefinger still pressed firmly on the name on the + newspaper, said slowly:— + </p> + <p> + “This man, Roger Fullerton, was a passenger on the <i>Mahratta</i>, East + Indiaman. I was his servant. We were bound to Sydney from Table Bay. He + was going out to be Commissary-General or something of that kind in New + South Wales. We had a rough, mutinous crew on board, and one night there + was a fight between them and the officers and passengers. They burst into + the cabin, and would have captured the ship but for the mate, who shot one + man dead and cut another down. I had nothing to do with them—as God + is my witness—for I was only a lad of nineteen, and would have stood + to the captain and officers like a man, but I was made prisoner by the + mutineers early in the fight. After the row was over, Mr. Fullerton missed + his watch and a hundred sovereigns which were in a writing case in his + cabin. He accused me of stealing them, and when I hotly denied the charge, + knocked me down on deck and kicked me so savagely in the face that I + should have been killed if I had not been dragged away from him. As it + was, he broke my jaw and destroyed my left eye. But that was not all. When + he reached Sydney he charged me with the theft. I got a heavy sentence and + was sent to the coal-mines at Newcastle; but after two years of hell I + escaped by stowing away in a Dutch barque bound to Samarang. And now <i>my</i> + turn has come.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure he is the man?” asked the American. + </p> + <p> + “Quite. He settled in the Colony and married there. I have heard of him + from time to time for many years.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Before midnight the three white men, with twenty-five of their native + followers armed with muskets and cutlasses, were following the coastline + in the direction of Gape Stephens. The night was dark and rainy, but the + route was familiar to both Adams and Stenhouse. All night they marched + steadily onward, and only when daylight broke did they halt on the banks + of a stream to rest and eat. Then, crossing the stream, they struck a + native path which led to the shore. + </p> + <p> + “There she is,” said Ford. + </p> + <p> + The ship lay about a mile from the shore. Stenhouse looked at her + earnestly, and then abruptly told his comrades his plans, which were + daring but simple. He would await the landing of the boat bringing the + dead men ashore for burial, and take them prisoners. In all probability + the captain would be in charge, and it was Stenhouse's intention to hold + him and his boat's crew as ransom for the man he wanted. He intended no + harm to them, but was determined to achieve his object if he had to carry + his prisoners off to the mountains, and keep them there till Fullerton was + given up to him. + </p> + <p> + Immediately after breakfast, the watchers saw two boats leave the ship, + and pull in towards a creek which debouched into a sandy cove situated + immediately under Gape Stephens. The coastline here was uninhabited, and + except for the banks of the creek, which were heavily timbered, presented + a succession of rolling, grassy downs, and here and there clumps of <i>vi</i> + (wild mango) and cedar trees, and Stenhouse felt pretty certain that the + burying party would pick upon one of these spots to inter the bodies, and + that he could easily cut them off from the boats. + </p> + <p> + Swiftly and silently they took up a position on the banks of the creek, + Stenhouse with his two friends keenly watching the advancing boats from + behind the buttressed roots of a giant Indian fig-tree. In a few minutes, + the leading boat, in which were six men and an officer, entered the creek, + but the water being shallow, grounded on the bar, and the crew got out. + The second boat contained four seamen, and three or four persons who were + seated aft, and she too took the ground, and then, as her crew stepped out + into the water, Stenhouse gripped Adams by the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “See, Tom, there he is! The man himself. Look! that big fellow with the + white whiskers, sitting between the others.” He held a hurried + consultation with his comrades, and quickly decided on his course of + action. + </p> + <p> + Both crews were now endeavouring to drag the boats across the shallow bar + into the deeper water beyond, but the task was too much for them, and + presently the captain, who was in the second boat, ordered them to cease, + and said something to the big, white-whiskered man, who nodded his head in + approval. + </p> + <p> + Four seamen then lifted two coffins from the first boat, and, followed by + four others carrying their own and their shipmates' arms and some spades, + began wading through the water to the shore, directly to where the unseen + watchers lay awaiting; and the remainder of the party, leaving the boats + with two men on guard, came slowly after them. + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse pointed to the two boat-keepers, and said something to Ford, + who, with half-a-dozen natives, quickly disappeared. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes the bearers of the coffins reached the shore, and placed + their burdens on the ground to await further orders. + </p> + <p> + “We shall find clear ground, sir, within a few yards from the bank,” began + the captain, addressing the tall man, who with bared head and slow step + walked by his side, when suddenly there came a rush of a score of + half-naked figures, who threw themselves silently upon the party, and + overcame them almost without a sound. + </p> + <p> + “Surrender, or you are all dead men,” cried a hoarse voice. + </p> + <p> + There was no need for the stern summons, for not only were the astonished + sailors terrified by the extraordinary suddenness of the attack and the + savage appearance of their captors, but their captain, the surgeon, and + the big man had their pistols taken from their belts so quickly that + resistance was utterly out of the question, covered as they were by + half-a-dozen muskets pointed at their breasts. + </p> + <p> + Then Adams stepped out and addressed the captain. 804 + </p> + <p> + “No harm will be done to you and yonr men, but you must remain our + prisoners for awhile. Then your arms will be returned to you, and you can + go back to your ship. Your boat-keepers are secured.” + </p> + <p> + “What in God's name does this mean?” cried the unfortunate officer. + </p> + <p> + “Silence, if you value yonr life,” cried the same stern voice that had + called upon them to surrender. + </p> + <p> + The captain turned and sought to discern the speaker, but the muzzle of a + pistol was placed menacingly against his chest, and he was again ordered + to be silent. + </p> + <p> + Then at a sign from Adams all the crews' and officers' arms were carried + off to the boats by two natives, and the wondering seamen were bidden by + Adams to lift the coffins and follow him. + </p> + <p> + “Do not attempt to escape,” he said, speaking to the whole party + generally; “if you do you will be shot down without mercy.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke Ford, with five armed natives, silently joined the rest of the + captors. Follerton, the captain, and the surgeon all looked at him + curiously. + </p> + <p> + “March, gentlemen,” he said, pointing with his drawn cutlass to the + bearers of the coffins, who were now, guided by Adams, pushing their way + through the timber, surrounded by their native guards with muskets cocked. + </p> + <p> + In ten minutes the belt of timber had been passed through, and captors and + captured emerged upon a grassy sward. + </p> + <p> + “Halt!” + </p> + <p> + Again that hoarse, strange voice sounded from somewhere near, and the + seamen shuddered as they gently laid their burdens on the ground. + </p> + <p> + “Bury your dead, sir, and have no fear,” said Adams to the captain. + </p> + <p> + Then he and Ford spoke to their followers, who silently drew back and + permitted the seamen who carried shovels to advance. The ground was soft + and moist, and their task was soon accomplished, and the coffins lowered + into their graves. + </p> + <p> + Then the captain, followed by the surgeon and Roger Fullerton, advanced, + prayer-book in hand, and read the burial service, and Adams and Ford + wondered somewhat when, at its conclusion, a heavy sob burst from + Fullerton. + </p> + <p> + Quickly the earth was shovelled in, and soon two mounds showed on the + sward. Then came the clank of arms, and the mourners were again surrounded + by their half-nude guards. + </p> + <p> + “Follow,” said Adams shortly. + </p> + <p> + He led them for a distance of about a hundred yards, then halted, and the + prisoners found themselves in a hollow square. + </p> + <p> + “Are you going to slaughter unarmed men?” cried the surgeon, who was + terrified at the very appearance of the wild-looking Caroline Islanders + and their grim, silent leaders. + </p> + <p> + Adams shook his head, but made no reply. + </p> + <p> + A heavy footstep sounded in the jungle near them, and Stenhouse, carrying + two cutlasses under his arm, strode into the square and stood before + Fullerton. + </p> + <p> + For a moment or two their eyes met, and then Stenhouse raised his hand and + touched his distorted face. + </p> + <p> + “You know me, Mr. Fullerton?” + </p> + <p> + “I know you. You have come to kill me.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, unless you kill me.” He drew a cutlass from its leather sheath and + held its hilt out to the man he hated. Fullerton folded his arms across + his chest. + </p> + <p> + “Take it,” said Stenhouse slowly, “or, by Heavens! I'll cut you down as + you stand.” + </p> + <p> + “As you will,” replied the old man steadily, “but fight you I will not. My + life is in your hands. Take it. I am not afraid to die.” + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse drew his cutlass slowly, his one eye shining with a deadly + hatred. + </p> + <p> + “For God's sake, man, whoever you are, whatever your injuries may be, do + not shed the blood of an old man on his son's grave!” and the captain + sprang forward with outspread, appealing hands. + </p> + <p> + “His son!” and the point of the gleaming weapon drooped. + </p> + <p> + “His only son. Have mercy on him, as you hope for mercy yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Stop, Captain Marsland. Do not ask for mercy for me. I did this man a + grievous wrong. My life is his. Let him have his due.” + </p> + <p> + Stenhouse threw down his cutlass with an oath, turned his back on his + enemy, and put his hand to his forehead. + </p> + <p> + Then he faced round sharply, and once more he looked into Fullerton's + unmoved face. + </p> + <p> + “Go,” he said. + </p> + <p> + And without another word he strode away, followed by his comrades and his + savage companions. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SAUNDERSON AND THE DYNAMITE + </h2> + <p> + Saunderson was one of those men who firmly believed that he knew + everything, and exasperated people by telling them how to do things; and + Denison, the supercargo of the <i>Palestine</i>, hated him most fervently + for the continual trouble he was giving to every one, and also because he + had brought a harmonium on board, and played dismal tunes on it every + night and all day on Sundays. But, as Saunderson was one of the partners + in the firm who owned the <i>Palestine</i>, Denison, and Packenham the + skipper, had to suffer him in silence, and trust that something might + happen to him before long. What irritated Denison more than anything else + was that Saunderson frequently expressed the opinion that supercargoes + were superfluous luxuries to owners, and that such work “as they tried to + do could well be done by the captains, provided the latter were + intelligent men.” + </p> + <p> + “Never mind, Tom,” said Packenham hopefully, one day, “he's a big eater, + and is bound to get the fever if we give him a fair show in the Solomons. + Then we can dump him ashore at some missionary's—he and his infernal + groan-box—and go back to Sydney without the beast.” + </p> + <p> + When the <i>Palestine</i> arrived at Leone Bay, in Tutuila, Saunderson + dressed himself beautifully and went ashore to the mission-house, and in + the evening Mrs. O——— (the missionary's wife), wrote + Denison a note and asked if he could spare a cheese from the ship's + stores, and added a P.S., “What a <i>terrible</i> bore he is!” This made + the captain and himself feel better. + </p> + <p> + The next morning Saunderson came on board. Denison was in the cabin, + showing a trader named Rigby some samples of dynamite; the trader wanted a + case or two of the dangerous compound to blow a boat passage through the + reef opposite his house, and Denison was telling him how to use it. Of + course Saunderson must interfere, and said <i>he</i> would show Rigby what + to do. He had never fired a charge of dynamite in his life, nor even seen + one fired or a cartridge prepared, but had listened carefully to Denison. + Then he sarcastically told Denison that the cheese he had sent Mrs. O——— + might have passed for dynamite, it was so dry and tasteless. + </p> + <p> + “Well, dynamite is made from cheese, you know,” said the supercargo + deferentially, “just cheese slightly impregnated with picric acid, + gastrito-nepenthe, and cubes of oxalicogene.” + </p> + <p> + Saunderson said he knew that, and after telling Rigby that he would walk + over to his station before dinner, and show him where to begin operations + on the reef, went on shore again. + </p> + <p> + About twelve o'clock Denison and Rigby went on shore to test the dynamite, + fuse, and caps—first in the water and then on the reef. Just abreast + of the mission-house they saw a big school of grey mullet swimming close + in to the beach, and Denison quickly picked up a stone, tied it with some + string round a cartridge, cut the fuse very short, lit it, and threw it + in. There was a short fizz, then a dull, heavy thud, and up came hundreds + of the beautiful fish stunned or dead. Saunderson came out of the + mission-house and watched the natives collecting them. Denison had + half-a-dozen cartridges in his hand; each one was tightly enveloped in + many thicknesses of paper, seized round with twine, and had about six + inches of fuse, with the ends carefully frayed out so as to light easily. + </p> + <p> + “Give me some of those,” said Saunderson. + </p> + <p> + The supercargo reluctantly handed him two, and Saunderson remarked that + they were very clumsily covered, but he would fix some more himself + “properly” another time. Denison sulkily observed that he had no time to + waste in making dynamite cartridges look pretty. Then, as Saunderson + walked off, he called out and told him that if he was going to shoot fish + he would want to put a good heavy stone on the cartridges. Saunderson said + when he wanted advice from any one he would ask for it. Then he sent word + by a native to Mrs. O———that he would send her along + some fish in a few minutes. + </p> + <p> + Now within a few hundred yards of the mission-house there was a jetty, and + at the end of the jetty was Her Majesty's gunboat <i>Badger</i>, a small + schooner-rigged wooden vessel commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Muddle, + one of the most irascible men that ever breathed, and who had sat on more + Consuls than any one else in the service. + </p> + <p> + Sannderson went on the jetty followed by a crowd of natives, and looked + over into the water. There were swarms of fish, just waiting to be + dynamited. He told a native to bring him a stone, and one was brought—a + nice round, heavy stone as smooth as a billiard ball—just the very + wrong kind of stone. He tied it on the cartridge at last, after it had + fallen off four or five times; then, as he did not smoke, and carried no + matches, he lit it from a native woman's cigarette, and let it drop into + the water. The stone promptly fell off, but the cartridge floated gaily, + and drifted along fizzing in a contented sort of way. Sannderson put his + hands on his hips, and watched it nonchalantly, oblivious of the fact that + all the natives had bolted back to the shore to be out of danger, and + watch things. + </p> + <p> + There was a bit of a current, and the cartridge was carried along till it + brought up gently against the <i>Badger</i>—just in a nice cosy + place between the rudder bearding and the stern-post. Then it went off + with a bang that shook the universe, and ripped off forty-two sheets of + copper from the <i>Badger</i>; and Saunderson fell off the jetty into the + water; and the bluejackets who were below came tumbling up on deck; and + the gunner, seeing Lieutenant-Commander Muddle rush up from his cabin in + his shirt-sleeves with a razor in his hand, thought that he had gone queer + again in his head, and had tried to blow up the ship, and was going to out + his throat, and so he rushed at him, and knocked him down and took his + razor away, and begged him to be quiet; and Muddle, thinking it was a + mutiny, nearly went into a fit, and straggled so desperately, and made + such awful choking noises that two more men sat on him; and the navigating + midshipman, thinking it was fire, told the bugler to sound to quarters, + and then, seeing the captain being held down by three men, rushed to his + assistance, but tripped over something or somebody and fell down and + nearly broke his nose; and all the time Saunderson who was clinging to one + of the jetty piles, was yelling pitifully for help, being horribly afraid + of sharks. + </p> + <p> + At last he was fished out by Bigby and some natives and carried up to the + mission-house and then, when he was able to talk coherently, he sent for + Denison, who told him that Commander Muddle was coming for him presently + with a lot of armed men and a boatswain with a green bag in which was a + “cat,” and that he (Saunderson) would first be flogged and then hanged at + the <i>Badger's</i> yard-arm, and otherwise treated severely, for an + attempt to blow up one of Her Majesty's ships; and then Saunderson + shivered all over, and staggered out of the mission-house in a suit of Mr. + O———'s pyjamas, much too large for him, and met + Commander Muddle on the jetty and tried to explain how it occurred, and + Muddle called him an infernal, drivelling idiot, and knocked him clean off + the jetty into the water again, and used awful language, and told Denison + that his chronometers were ruined, and the ship's timbers started, and + that he had had a narrow escape from cutting his own throat when the + dynamite went off, as he had just begun to shave. + </p> + <p> + Saunderson was very ill after that, and was in such mortal terror that + Muddle and every one else on board the gunboat meant to kill, wound, or + seriously damage him, that he kept inside the mission-house, and said he + felt he was dying, and that Mr. O——— would prepare him + for the end. So Denison and Paekenham, who were now quite cheerful again, + sent his traps and his harmonium ashore, and sailed without him, a great + peace in their bosoms. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STEALING OF SA LUIA + </h2> + <p> + One dull rainy morning, soon after daybreak, as the ship <i>St. George</i> + of New Bedford was cruising for sperm whales between the islands of + Tucopia and Vanikoro, the look-out hailed the deck and reported a boat in + sight. The captain was called, and a few minutes later appeared and went + aloft. + </p> + <p> + The boat was about three miles distant to leeward, and Captain Elphinstone + at once kept the ship away. The wind, however, was so light that it took + her some time to get within hailing distance, and then it was discovered + that the boat contained three natives—a man and two young girls—who + appeared to be greatly exhausted, for after feebly raising their heads for + a moment and putting out their hands imploringly, they fell back again. + </p> + <p> + A boat was quickly lowered from the ship, and the sufferers brought on + board, and their own boat, which was a small, native-built craft much like + a whale-boat, but with an outrigger attached, was hoisted on board, for + she was too good to be turned adrift. + </p> + <p> + On board the <i>St. George</i> was a Samoan named Falaoa. He was a native + of the island of Manua, and at once recognised the unfortunates as + country-people of his own. The man, who was in a dreadful state of + emaciation, and barely able to raise his voice above a whisper, was over + six feet in height, and appeared to be about five-and-twenty years of age; + his companions had evidently not undergone as much suffering and did not + present the same shocking appearance as he, for the sun had burnt his skin + to such a degree that that part of his tattooing which was not covered by + the scanty <i>lava lava</i> of tappa cloth around his loins had become + almost black. + </p> + <p> + Under the kind and careful treatment they received from Captain + Elphinstone and his officers, all three soon recovered, and ten days after + they had been rescued, the following entry was made in the ship's log:—“This + day, at their own request, we landed the three Samoans at the island of + Nufilole, one of the Swallow Group, where they were well received by the + natives and a white trader. They were accompanied by one of my crew named + Falaoa, who begged me to let him go with them, having become much attached + to one of the young women. We gave them some arms and ammunition, and some + clothing and tobacco. They all behaved with the greatest propriety during + their stay on the ship. From where they started in Samoa to where we + picked them up in 12° S. is a distance of 1,800 miles.” + </p> + <p> + And here is their story, told by Sa Luia to the wife of Frank Chesson, a + white trader then living on the Santa Cruz Islands, in which the Swallow + Group is included. Chesson himself had lived in Samoa, and spoke the + language well, and the four people remained in his house for many months + as welcome guests. A strong and lasting friendship was formed, and + resulted in the trader, his wife and family, and the four Samoans removing + to the little island of Fenua-loa, and there founding what is now a colony + of Polynesians with language, customs and mode of life generally entirely + distinct from their Melanesian neighbours. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + I am Sa Luia. I come from Mulifanua, at the lee end of Upolu in Samoa. My + father was not only the chief of Mulifanua, but has great lands in the + Atua district on the north side of Upolu—lands which came to him + through my mother, who died when I was but a week old—and from these + lands he had his name, Pule-o-Vaitafe (Lord of many Rivers). + </p> + <p> + Now it is not well for a daughter to speak unkindly of her father; but + this what I now say is true. My father, though he was so rich a man, was + very cruel to those who crossed his path, and though he was a brave man in + battle, his heart was shrunken up by reason of his avarice and his desire + to grow richer, and all Samoa, from Manna in the east to Falealupo in the + west, spoke of him as Pule-lima-vale—“Pule the close-fisted”—or + Pule fata-ma'a—“Pule the stony-hearted.” Yet all this gave him no + concern. + </p> + <p> + “What does it matter to me?” he said to his brother Patiole one day, when + Patiole, who was a chief of Manono, reproached him for his meanness in + sending away some visitors from Tutuila with such scanty presents that all + the people of Mulifanua were ashamed. “What does it matter to me what + people say of me? This <i>malaga</i> (party of visitors) from Tutuila are + eaten up with poverty. Why should I give them fine mats, and muskets and + powder and bullets? Am I a fool? What return can they make to me?” + </p> + <p> + “They came to do thee honour,” said my uncle, putting his hand across his + eyes out of respect to my father, who was of higher rank than he, and + speaking softly. “They are thy dead wife's relatives, and are of good + blood. And thou hast shamed them—and thyself as well—by + sending them away empty-handed.” + </p> + <p> + My father laughed scornfully. “What care I for my dead wife's relatives! I + have no need of them, and want them not. When I took the daughter of Mauga + to wife, Mauga was a great man. Now he and his people are broken and + dispersed. Let them go and eat grass or wild yams like pigs. I, + Pule-o-Vaitafe, want no needy dependents.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a hard man,” said my uncle, bending his forehead to the mat on + which he sat. + </p> + <p> + “And thou art a fool,” replied my father; “if thy heart pains thee of + this, why dost thou not give them all that they wish?” + </p> + <p> + “Because for me, thy brother, to do so, would put shame on thee, for 'tis + thy place and thy honour as head of our family to help these people who + have fallen on evil days through warfare,” said my uncle sadly. + </p> + <p> + “Thine then be the place and the honour,” said my father scornfully. “I + will not begrudge thee either. Naught will I have to do with broken men. + Farewell.” + </p> + <p> + That was my father's way. That was his hard, hard heart, which knew + neither pity nor remorse. This is how my mother died: + </p> + <p> + When I was seven days old, she took me, as is customary with a woman of + chiefly rank, to the <i>fale siva</i> (town dance house), where I had to + be shown to the people, who brought fine mats and tappa cloth, and many + other presents. Now my father was filled with anger that my mother had not + borne him a male child, for a male child would have meant richer presents—not + only from his own people, but from towns and villages far away. So when he + saw that instead of such gifts as a new canoe or some very old, rare mats, + or muskets, or such other things as would have been given were the child a + boy, there were but the usual presents for a girl-child, his lips turned + down with scorn, and he muttered a curse. My mother heard him and the + tears flowed down her cheeks. + </p> + <p> + “It may be that my next child will be a boy,” she whispered, and then she + held me up to my father. “See, Pule, though a girl, she hath thy features, + and thou wilt come to love her.” + </p> + <p> + “Tah!” said my father in angry contempt; and without another word he rose + and went away. + </p> + <p> + Then my mother wept silently over me for a long time, for the shame put + upon her was very great, and not to be endured. So, with some of her + women, she took me to a place called Falema'a, where the cliffs rise up + straight from the sea. Her hair was then oiled and dressed, and then she + made gifts of her rings of gold and tortoise-shell to her women, and bade + them farewell. Then she took me in her arms, and leapt over the cliff into + the sea. + </p> + <p> + It so happened that half-way down the cliff, which is twelve fathoms high, + there was a boy named Manaia. He was collecting the eggs of the sea-bird + called <i>Kanapu</i> and his canoe was anchored just in front of the base + of the cliff. He was a brave boy, and being of a very poor family, had + clambered up the steep side of the wall of rock, so that he might find the + <i>kanapu</i> eggs in the clefts and holes, and sell them to people in + exchange for food for his mother and sisters. As he clung to the jagged + face of the rock, he saw my mother falling through the air, and in an + instant he sprang after her. When she came to the surface, I was still + clasped tightly in her arms, and Manaia cried to her to swim to the canoe. + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” she cried, “but take my babe.” + </p> + <p> + And so Manaia took me, and my mother threw up her arms and sank and died. + </p> + <p> + When my uncle heard of this, he sent a party of his people over from + Manono for me, and I was taken to live with him. My father did not + interfere, for the manner of my mother's death had made the people murmur, + and he was afraid that they might rise in rebellion, and kill or banish + him. But yet he tried to get another rich wife, and sent a deputation of + his chiefs to Seu Manu of Apia asking for his daughter Sina; and Sina sent + him back a piece of wood carved in the semblance of a woman, together with + a stone shaped like a heart, with this message— + </p> + <p> + “This is a good wife for Pule-o-Vaitafe. If she displease him, he can sink + her in the sea with a heart of stone.” + </p> + <p> + After that my father tried no more, for the people all round about were + murmuring, and he began to feel afraid. + </p> + <p> + But in no other way did he change, and although Manono is but two leagues + distant from Mulifanua, he never came to see me till I was in my fifteenth + year, and when I was chosen by the people of Aana to be <i>Taupo</i>{*} of + Mulifanua. Then I had to leave my uncle, which made me weep, for although + I was proud of the honour done me, I did not wish to leave him and go back + to my father. But I had no choice but to obey, and so I was taken back to + Mulifanua by a fleet of canoes and <i>taumualua</i> (native boats), with + great ceremony, and then followed many meetings and much feasting and + dancing. I was put under the care of two women, who attended me day and + night, as is the custom; they walked, ate, and slept with me, and every + day I was taught how to dance, and how to wear my fine mats and long train + of tappa, so as to receive or call upon visitors who came to the town from + other places in Samoa. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Taupo, the town maid. This distinction is usually conf + erred on a girl of good family, and has many honours and + emoluments in the way of presents attached to it. In some + cases a <i>taupo</i> will not marry till she reaches middle age, + and occasionally will remain single. +</pre> + <p> + In all the many years that I had spent on Manono, I had not once seen the + boy Manaia—he who had taken me from the water—though I had + heard of him as having been tattooed and grown into a tall man. But on the + same day that I returned and was taken to the <i>fale taupule</i> (council + house) to be received by the people as their <i>taupo</i>, a girl named + Selema who attended me whispered his name, and pointed him out to me. He + was sitting with the other young men, and like them, dressed in his best, + and carrying a musket and the long knife called <i>nifa oti</i>. I saw + that he was very, very tall and strong, and Selema told me that there were + many girls who desired him for a husband, though he was poor, and, it was + known, was disliked by my father. + </p> + <p> + Now this girl Selema, who was of my own age, was given to me as my + especial <i>tavini</i> (maid) and I grew to like her as my own sister. She + told me that already my father was casting about in his mind for a rich + husband for me, and that the man he most favoured was old Tamavili, chief + of Tufa, in Savai'i, who would soon be sending messengers with presents to + him, which if they were accepted, would mean that my father was inclined + to his suit, and that he, Tamavili, would follow himself and pay court to + me. + </p> + <p> + All this frightened me, and I told Selema I would escape to my uncle in + Manono, but she said that that would not do, as if he tried to protect me + it would mean war. So I said nothing more, though much was in my mind, and + I resolved to run away to the mountains, rather than be made to marry + Tamavili, who was a very old man. + </p> + <p> + One day Selema and I went to the river to wash our hair with the pith of + the wild oranges. We sat on the smooth stones near the water, and had just + begun to beat the oranges with pieces of wood to soften them, when we saw + a man come down the bank and enter a deep pool further up the stream. + </p> + <p> + “'Tis Manaia,” said Selema; “he hath come to drag the pool for fish.” Then + she called out to him, “<i>Ola</i>, Manaia,” and he looked at us and + laughed as he spun his small hand-net into the pool. We sat and watched + him and admired his strength and skill and the clever way in which he + dived and took the fish from his net. In a little while he had caught + seven—beautiful fish, such as are in all the mountain streams of + Samoa. Then he came out of the water, made a basket of leaves, and + approached me, and without a word, laid them at my feet. This pleased me, + so I put out my hand and touched one of the fish—meaning that one + only would I take. + </p> + <p> + “They are all for thee, lady,” he said in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + Selema laughed and urged me to accept the gift; so I took the basket, and + then, when I looked at his face and saw that his eyes were still turned + down, I took courage and said— + </p> + <p> + “Thou art Manaia. Dost thou remember me?” + </p> + <p> + “How could I forget thee?” he replied; and then he raised his eyes to my + face, and I felt glad, for they were like unto those of my uncle Patiole—kind + and soft when they looked into those of a woman or child, but steady and + bold to those of a man. + </p> + <p> + “I am glad to see thee, Manaia,” I said, “for I owe thee my life,” and as + he took my hand and pressed it to his forehead, Selema stole away and left + us together. + </p> + <p> + Now I know not what he said to me, except that when he spoke the name of + Tamavili of Tufa, I wept, and said that I would I were back at Manono, and + that I was but a child, and had no desire to be wedded to any man. Then he + lifted me up in his great arms, and said— + </p> + <p> + “I love thee, Sa Luia, I love thee! And even if thou canst not love me, + yet shall I save thee from wedding this old dotard. Aye, I shall save thee + from him as I saved thee from the boiling serf of Falema'a when thy + mother, who was a great lady, cried out to me, 'Take my babe.'” + </p> + <p> + So that is how Manaia my husband wooed me, and when Selema came back and + saw us seated together, she laughed again, though tears were in her eyes + when she took my feet and pressed them to her cheeks, for she feared that + when we fled, she would be left behind. Then Manaia whispered to me and + asked me if it was to my mind to take her. + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” I said; “else will my father kill her when we are gone.” + </p> + <p> + So we made our plans, and when the messengers of Tamavili came and laid + their presents before me, I said I was content, and that they could go + back to their master, and tell him that in a month's time I would be ready + and that he could come for me. This pleased my father, and although at + night time I always slept between the two women, as is customary for a <i>taupo</i>, + with a mat over me, and they lay on the outside, one on each side, yet in + the day time I often met my lover in the forest, whilst Selema kept watch. + </p> + <p> + “We shall go to Uea,” {*} he said; “'tis but seventy leagues away, and so + soon as the rainy season is ended we shall start. I have bought a small + but good boat and have strengthened it for the voyage with an outrigger, + and in my mother's house is hidden all the food we can carry. In eight + days more the westerly winds will cease, and we shall start, for then we + shall have the Matagi Toe'lau (trade wind) and at Uea we shall be safe and + live in peace. Then some day I shall send for my mothers and sisters, for + on the night that we escape, they too must flee for their lives to Sen + Mann, of Apia, who will protect them from thy father's wrath.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Wallis Island, two hundred miles from Samoa. Many Samoans + fled there for refuge after a reverse in battle or for other + causes. +</pre> + <p> + On the morning of the fourth day after this, there came a strange + messenger to the town to see my father, who in a little time appeared at + his door with a smiling face and bade the conch be blown to summon the + people together. + </p> + <p> + “Here is news, O people,” he said. “Manka,{*} the white trader of Tufa, + also seeketh my daughter, Sa Luia, in marriage. He and Tamayili have + quarrelled—why, it matters not to me, or thee—and Manka, who + is a very rich man, hath sent me word that he will compete with Tamayili. + Whatever he offers for dowry and for presents to me, the white man will + give double. This is a good day for me.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Monk. +</pre> + <p> + But the people were silent, for they knew that he was breaking his pledged + word with Tamavili, and was setting at naught the old customs and the + honour of the town. So, as he looked at them, he scowled; then he held out + his hand, on the palm of which were ten American gold coins, each of + twenty dollars. + </p> + <p> + “Two hundred dollars hath this white man, Manka, sent to my daughter Sa + Luia as a present, with these words: 'If she cares not for my suit, well + and good—let her have them made into bracelets for her pretty arms.” + </p> + <p> + Now this was a great gift, and it came with such generous words that the + people applauded, and my father smiled, as his long thin fingers closed + around the heap of gold; but suddenly his face darkened as Manaia spoke. + </p> + <p> + “'Tis a free gift to the lady Sa Luia. Therefore, O Pule-o-Vaitafe, give + it to her.” + </p> + <p> + “Aye, aye! 'tis hers, 'tis hers,” cried the people. + </p> + <p> + My father sent a glance of bitter hatred to my lover, and his lips + twitched, but without a word he came to me, and bending low before me, put + the money on the ground at my feet, and I, his daughter, heard his teeth + grinding with rage, and as I felt his hot breath on my hand, I knew that + murder was in his heart. It is easy for a chief such as was my father, to + have a man who displeases him killed secretly. + </p> + <p> + My father went away in anger, and then the chiefs decided that although + the white man could not wed me, he should be received with great honour, + and be given many presents; for he was known to us as a man of great + strength and daring, and was tattooed like a Samoan, which is a great + thing to the mind of a Samoan woman, who loathes an untattooed man as + unworthy of all that a woman can give, for without tattooing a young man + hath no manhood, and his children are weak of body and poor of mind. + </p> + <p> + That night my father asked me for the money, which I gave him unwillingly, + for I wished to send it back to the white man. He took it and placed it in + a great box, which contained such things as guns, pistols, and powder and + ball, and the key of which he always wore around his neck. + </p> + <p> + When the eighth day dawned, the sea was very smooth, and our hearts were + gladdened by seeing that the wind was from the south-east, and as the day + wore on, it increased in strength. When night fell, and the evening fires + were lit, Manaia, saying he was going to fish for <i>malau</i>, launched + his boat and sailed along the shore for a league to the mouth of a small + stream. Here he was met by his mother and sisters, who were awaiting him + with baskets of cooked food, young coconuts and calabashes of water for + the voyage. Then they put their arms around him, and wept as they bade him + farewell, for seventy leagues is a long voyage for a small boat not + intended for rough seas. Then they went into the forest and fled for their + lives to Sen Manu of Apia, and Manaia waited for me. + </p> + <p> + When the town was buried in slumber, Selema, who lay near me, touched my + head with her foot, and then asked me if I slept. + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” I replied in a loud voice, and speaking with pretended anger, so as + to awaken the two women between whom I lay. “How can I sleep? 'Tis too + hot. Let us go to the beach awhile and feel the cool wind.” + </p> + <p> + The two women grumbled a little at being disturbed, and Selema and I rose + and went out of the house. Then, once we were at a safe distance, we ran + swiftly to the beach, and then onwards to where Manaia awaited us. + </p> + <p> + Selema took her seat on the foremost thwart, Manaia at the stern, and I in + the centre, and then we pushed off, and using canoe paddles, made for the + passage through the reef out into the open sea. When the dawn broke, we + were half-way across the straits which divide Savai'i from Upolu, and only + two leagues away we saw the clustering houses of Tufa on the iron-bound + coast. We did not dare to hoist the sail for fear of being seen, so + continued to paddle, keeping well into the middle of the straits. Only + that the current was so fierce, Manaia would have steered north, and gone + round the great island of Savai'i and then made westward, but the current + was setting against the wind, and we should have all perished had we tried + to go the north way. + </p> + <p> + Presently Manaia turned and looked astern, and there we saw the great mat + sail of my father's double canoe, just rising above the water, and knew + that we were pursued. So we ceased paddling, and hoisted our own sail, + which made us leap along very quickly over the seas, though every now and + then the outrigger would lift itself out of the water, and we feared that + we might capsize. But we knew that Death was behind us, and so sat still, + and no one spoke but in a whisper as we looked astern, and saw the sail of + the great canoe growing higher and higher. It was a very large canoe and + carried a hundred men, and on the raised platform was a cannon which my + father had bought from a whale-ship when it was in his mind to fight + against Tamalefaiga, who was the king of Upolu. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Selema cried out that she saw a <i>taumualua</i>{*} and a boat + with a sail coming towards us from Tufa, and my heart sank within me, for + I knew that if they saw we were pursued by Pule-o-Vaitafe, they would, out + of respect for him, stop us from escaping. Still there was naught for us + to do but go on, and so we leapt and sprang from sea to sea, and Manaia + bade us be of good heart, as he turned the head of the canoe toward the + land. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * A large native-built boat +</pre> + <p> + “If this <i>taumualua</i> and the boat seek to stay us, I shall run + ashore,” he said, “and we will take to the mountains. It is Manka's boat, + for now I can see the flag from the peak—the flag of America.” “And + the <i>taumualua</i> is that of Tamavili of Tufa,” said Selema quietly, + for she is a girl of great heart, “and it races with the white man's + boat.” + </p> + <p> + I, who was shaking with fear, cannot now well remember all that followed, + after Manaia headed our canoe for the shore, and tried to escape, but + suddenly, it seemed to me, the white man's boat, with flapping sail, was + upon as, and Manka was laughing loudly. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho!” he cried, pulling his long white moustache, “so this is the way + the wind bloweth! The old dotard Tamavili and I race together for a bride, + and the bride is for neither of us, but for the man who saved her from the + sea. Ha, ha! Thou art a fine fellow, Manaia, and I bear thee no ill will, + even though the girl hath my good golden money.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, Manka,” cried Selema quickly, and taking something from her girdle + she held it up to the white man; “see, here is thy gift to the lady Sa + Luia. We meant to give it back to thee with all good will, for Sa Luia + loves no man but this her lover Manaia, who held her up from the angry sea + when her mother died. And so when Pule-o-Vaitafe took the money from her—which + was thy free gift—I waited till he slept, and stole the key of his + treasure-chest, and took the money so that it might be returned to thee.” + </p> + <p> + “Is this true?” asked the white man of Manaia. “The money is thine,” said + Manaia, who knew not what else to say, “but the woman is mine. So let us + depart, for Tamavili and his men—whom no one in Malifanua thought to + see for three days yet—are drawing near, and we may escape by + running the canoe through the surf, and taking to the mountains.” + </p> + <p> + The white man swore an oath. “Thou art a fine fellow, and I bear no ill + will, but will help thee to outwit that old dodderer who tried to steal + away three days before me. I will put my boat between he and thee and keep + him off. Whither wouldst land?” + </p> + <p> + “Not here, unless we are pressed. But we are in bad case; for see, on the + one side comes Pule-o-Vaitafe, and on the other Tamavili. Yet if thou wilt + be the good friend to us, we may escape both, and keep on our way to the + open sea.” + </p> + <p> + “The open sea!” cried Manka quickly—“and whither to?” + </p> + <p> + “To Uea.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a bold fellow,” said the white man again, “and shalt have the + girl, for thou art worthy of her. And she shall keep the money for her + dowry. I am no man to go back on my word, even though I lose so fair a + bride. As for Pule-o-Vaitafe, I care not a blade of grass, and for + Tamavili even less. And see, take this rifle, and if Tamavili cometh too + close to thee, how can I help thee defending thyself and the women?” + </p> + <p> + With that he gave Manaia one of six rifles in his boat and two score and + ten cartridges, some tobacco, matches, and a pipe; then he pressed our + hands and wished us God-speed, and we parted, he sailing towards the <i>taumualua</i>, + which was crowded with men, and we following. When he came within speaking + distance of Tamavili, he again brought his boat to the wind and mocked at + the old man. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho! Tamavili. Whither goest in such a hurry? See, there in the canoe + is the little bird we both sought, and there following comes her father. + But she is neither for me nor thee. Is not her lover there, a fine man—nearly + as handsome as I am, and big enough to make ten such rats as thee.” + </p> + <p> + Tamavili was mad with rage, and did not answer. There were with Manka six + men—all armed with rifles which loaded at the breech like that which + he had given Manaia, and Manka was too great a man for even Tamavili to + hurt. But suddenly, as we in the canoe sailed in between the boat and the + <i>taumualua</i>, the old chief found his voice, and called out to Manaia + to lower his sail. + </p> + <p> + “Give me the lady Sa Luia,” he said, “and I will let thee and the girl + Selema go,” and as he spoke, the crew turned the <i>taumualua</i> round + and came after us, twenty men paddling on each side. + </p> + <p> + “Keep back!” cried Manaia fiercely, as he changed seats with me, and + giving me the steering paddle, he took up the rifle and loaded it. + </p> + <p> + “Beware, old man!” shouted Manka, “'tis a dog that bites!” + </p> + <p> + But Tamavili was too hot with anger to take heed, and shouted to his men + to go on, and then Manaia took aim and fired, and two men went down. + </p> + <p> + “Ho, ho!” and Manka's voice again mocked, “did I not say 'twas a dog that + bit?” + </p> + <p> + There was great commotion in the <i>taumualua</i> for a moment or two, but + <i>Tamavili</i> shouted to his men to go on; he would have ordered some of + them to cease paddling and try and shoot Manaia, but feared to hurt or + perhaps kill me, and that would have meant war between Tufa and Mulifanua. + </p> + <p> + “Alo, alo foe!” {*} he cried, standing up on the stem and brandishing his + death-knife at Manaia. “I shall give thy head to the children of the + village for a football ere the sun is in mid-heaven.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * “Paddle, paddle hard!” + </pre> + <p> + That was a foolish boast, for once more Manaia knelt and shot, and I + turned my head and saw the blood spurt from Tamavili's naked chest as he + fell down without a sound among the paddlers and a loud cry of anger and + sorrow burst from his men. But in a moment a young sub-chief of Tufa named + <i>Lau Aula</i> (the Golden-haired) took command and shouted to the crew + to press on, and leaping to the bow, he began firing at us with a short + gun (revolver) and one of the bullets struck the girl Selema on the leg + and tore a hole through the fleshy part. Now this Lau Aula was a blood + relative of Manaia, who called out to him to cease firing, but Lau Aula + took no heed, and began shooting at us with muskets loaded with round + bullets, which were handed to him by some of his people. + </p> + <p> + Then Manaia's face was evil to look at; his lips were drawn back, and his + teeth showed like those of an angry dog, for the blood which flowed from + Selema's wound was creeping around his naked feet. Yet once more he cried + out to Lau Aula to beware ere it was too late; but the young chief called + him a thief, and bade him bring the boat to the wind. + </p> + <p> + “This for thee, then,” cried Manaia, and once more he raised his rifle and + fired, and Lan Anla spun round and fell over into the sea, for the bullet + had struck him in the throat and his life was gone. + </p> + <p> + That was the last of the fight, for when Lau Aula fell, the rest of + Tamavili's men threw down their paddles and let us sail on without further + pursuit. + </p> + <p> + Then, whilst I steered, Manaia tied strips of tappa around Selema's leg so + as to stay the bleeding. + </p> + <p> + “We are safe,” cried the girl bravely through her tears, for the pain was + very great. “See, lady, the wind is not strong enough for the big double + canoe to pursue us.” + </p> + <p> + But yet, in his rage, when my father saw that we were escaping, he lowered + the mat sail and fired two shots at us with the cannon, and the great + heavy balls roared over our heads and fell into the sea with a heavy + splash not fifty fathoms away. But cannon-balls cost much money, and so, + when a third shot was fired, and it fell astern of our boat, my father + wasted no more, and we saw the sail again hoisted and the canoe go slowly + down towards the <i>taumualua</i> of Tamavili, to which the white man was + already rendering succour, for Manka, although he had quarrelled with the + old chief of Tufa, was yet a man of a kind heart. + </p> + <p> + And so we sailed on before a fair, soft breeze, and by sunset the great + mountain peaks of Savai'i had sunk beneath the sea rim, and we were + steering westward by the bright stars with a great joy filling our hearts. + </p> + <p> + For four days we sailed steadily onwards, and Selema's wound soon began to + heal. On the evening of the fourth day we saw the land of Uea just showing + above the sea rim, and thought to place our feet on the shore in the + morning. But now came sorrow, for in the night it began to blow strongly + from the north-east, and heavy rain squalls drove us past the land. In the + morning there was but the open sea, and the waves were white and angry, + and all that day and the next Manaia kept the boat to the wind, hoping + that it would change and let us sail back to Uea. But we hoped vainly; and + then, on the third day, there came such a furious storm that we could do + naught but drive before it, and go on and on into the great unknown + western ocean, whither so many have gone, and have been no more known of + men. For many, many days we sailed on, and then, although we had much rain + and so suffered no thirst, our food began to fail, and had not Manaia one + day caught a sleeping turtle, we should have perished. Some time about the + fourteenth day, we saw the jagged peaks of an island against the sky, and + steered for it. It was the island called Rotumah—a fine, fair + country, with mountains and valleys and running streams, and on it dwell + people who are like unto us Samoans in appearance and manners and + language. We sailed the boat into a bay on which stood a village of many + houses, and the people made us welcome and gave us much food, and besought + us to stay there, for their island was, they said, a better place than + Uea. And this we should have done and been content, but in the night, as I + slept in the house of the unmarried women, a girl whispered in my ear— + </p> + <p> + “Get thee away with thy lover and the girl Selema. Felipa, the head chief + of Fao, hath been told of thy beauty, and hath sent word here that the man + Manaia must be killed to-night, and thou and Selema be sent to him. This + is wrong for even a chief to do, and we of this place would aid thee to + escape.” + </p> + <p> + So Manaia and I and Selema stole away to the boat, and the people of the + village, who pitied us, pretended not to hear or see us. They were very + kind, and had put baskets of cooked food and other things into the boat; + and so we pushed off, and stood out to sea once more. They had told us to + go round to the north end of the island, where there was a chief named + Loli, who would protect us and give us a home. + </p> + <p> + But again evil fortune befell us, for the chief of Fao, hearing of our + escape, sent a messenger overland to Loli, claiming us as <i>mea tafea i + moana</i>—gifts sent to him by the sea—and asking him to hold + us for him. And so Loli, who would have welcomed us, was afraid, and + begged us not to land and so bring about bloodshed. + </p> + <p> + “Great is my sorrow, O wanderers,” he cried to us, as we sat in the boat a + little distance from the beach, “but ye must not land. Steer to the west, + and a little to the south, where there is a great land—many, many + islands which trend north and south.” {*} + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The New Hebrides Group. +</pre> + <p> + “Is it far?” asked Manaia scornfully. + </p> + <p> + “Four days for a ship, longer for a boat,” replied Loli shamefacedly; “the + gods go with thee, farewell.” + </p> + <p> + Once again we sailed towards the setting sun, steering by the stars at + night time, and for seven days all went well. Then after that there came + calms, and the hot sun beat upon us and ate its way into our hearts, and + we saw no sign of land, and only now and then did a seabird come near us. + And then came the time when all our food was gone, and we waited for death + to come. Manaia had eaten no food for five days when it came to this, for + he said he was feeling quite strong, and divided his share between us. + Once as he and I slept Selema put a little piece of old coconut—the + last that was left—into my hand, and slipped over the side to die, + but Manaia heard her, and, although he was very weak, he roused and caught + her as she sank. + </p> + <p> + Two days before that on which the ship found us Manaia shot a small shark + which was following the boat. It was not as long as a man's arm nor as + thick as a woman's, but it kept us alive. Manaia gave us all the flesh, + and kept only the head and skin for himself; after that all the world + became dark to me, and we lay together in the boat to die. + </p> + <p> + The captain of the whale-ship was very kind to us, and when he found that + the sailor named Falaoa did not wish to part from us on account of Selema, + whom he wished to marry, he gave his consent, and said he would land us + all here at Nufilole, where there was a white man who would be kind to us. + </p> + <p> + That is all, and now my husband Manaia and I, and Falaoa and his wife + Selema are well content to live here always. For even now, after many + months have passed, do Selema and I cry out in our slumbers, and when we + awaken our hair lies wet upon our foreheads; but soon all these bad dreams + will pass away from us for ever. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Memory Of The Southern Seas, by Louis Becke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MEMORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS *** + +***** This file should be named 24807-h.htm or 24807-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/8/0/24807/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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. 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